Teaser Tip

ORGANIZING A FRENCH “DO”

You can do this on your own, with your family if you’re all trying to learn French together, or with some French-speaking friends, whether they’re native speakers or come from the same French class you’re taking. Try to make this into a regular event, once a month maybe, or even once a week if you really enjoy it.

Organizing a French “do” only requires 2 things. Firstly, that you buy or cook some French food: from a simple “café et croissant” at your local coffee shop, to a light lunch of “croque-monsieur, Evian et salade verte” at home, to a full dinner of “steak-frites, vin de Bordeaux et crème brulée” at your nearest French restaurant. And secondly, that you practice your French listening and speaking skills during the event.

In fact, there is but one rule: for the duration of the meal, all participants should strive to speak only French. This can be done whatever your current level but of course, the more limited your conversational skills, the more imaginative and resourceful you’ll need to be, which is challenging but can also be tremendous fun. For instance, beginners can start by using the usual greetings, point at the things around them and name them, then ask simple questions such as: “où est le pain ?”, “vous aimez le poisson ?” or “comment tu trouves le vin ?”, and give simple answers to these.

Obviously, this is more fun if you can do it with other learners, but you can still plan a French evening at home if you’re on your own: whilst preparing your French meal, you can talk to yourself in French, or imagine you’re having a conversation with someone, or listen to a French music CD and sing along.

So, have fun eating delicious French food and practising your French at your next French “do”!

(As published on my private blog: http://tips2learnfrench.wordpress.com)