French for Beginners

Topics covered:  Un and une Tu and vous Personal pronouns Être in the present Ah bon ! Bienvenue ! Welcome to the Language Theater! Come in, come in! Take your seat and get ready for a unique experience. My name is Jean-Paul and I will take you through this masterful play.  I hope you will enjoy the performance and learn to understand and even speak French by the end of the play. Oh, and by the way, it’s a long play... from one act to the next, you will learn the language, discover nuances of French culture, and experience the thrill of a theatrical performance in the language you are learning. Oui, oui ! We start with just a few words of French in act I, but by the end of our play, most of the acts will be performed in French! Oh, what a thrill it is to enjoy a play in French!  Now, a few words about the format of the show, or “course” if you will ... A French teacher, Valérie, gives one-on-one lessons. The students who come for the lessons have very little knowledge of French, almost none. From the first lesson to the last, they will learn to the extent that each one of them will be able to understand and speak French well. You are cordially invited to enjoy the Language Theater and learn French with our students.  Well, let’s begin Act I. Valérie, our French teacher, is waiting for her student Jack. This is the first time Valérie and Jack meet in person.

Topics covered:  Basic verb negation Indefinite articles Avoir in the present Avoir and idiomatic expressions Il y a Welcome to the Language Theater! Bienvenue! Do you remember my name? That’s right, je m’appelle Jean-Paul. I hope you really enjoyed Act I and are ready for Act II. Are you ready? Oh, one more thing: review the flashcard before listening to the play. These new words will be used in the play and you should memorize them. They will also be used in our coming acts.  Well, let’s begin! Today Valérie, our French teacher, is having another lesson with Jacques. Let’s see how much he remembers from his first lesson! Enjoy the show!

Topics covered: Introduction to French verbs -ER verbs in the present Definite articles Voilà and Voici   Bonjour ! I’m glad to welcome you today to Act III of our play. I am sure you, like all of Valérie's students, must have reviewed the flashcard, studied the lessons on our website and even did grammar exercises before you listened to the play. Très bien ! We’re ready to start!    Today Valérie meets with a student you haven’t met yet. Her name is Michelle. She is at the same level as Jacques and she has a boisterous personality as well! Michelle’s motivation to learn French? We’ll discover it today. Well, let’s meet Michelle! Enjoy the show! Prêts ?

Topics covered: Prepositions with aller Aller in the present Ça va   Bonjour ! C’est moi Jean-Paul, your host for Act IV. Oui, Act IV already! We hope that following Jacques and Michelle in their endeavor to learn French is helping you to learn as well. Before you listen to the play, take time to familiarize yourself with the flashcard. Shall we begin?    Valérie, our French teacher, is meeting with Michelle today for another lesson. As it turns out, Michelle is a really serious student with a specific goal, or dream... Who are we to say? Let’s hope she continues to learn for our great pleasure. Vous êtes prêts ? Enjoy Act IV.

Topics covered: Adjectives Avoir and idiomatic expressions (part 2) Qu’est-ce que c’est ? C’est, ce n’est pas Ce sont, ce ne sont pas   Bonjour les amis ! I’m glad to welcome you to Act V. Did you miss Jacques? We haven’t seen him in a few weeks. Today, we will catch up with him. Jacques has been busy with his restaurant project but it hasn’t prevented him from continuing his lessons with Valérie. He’s actually doing great!    Valérie now gives the grammar lessons to her students to study before they meet. So during the class, they can focus more on speaking. We hope that you also find time to study the lessons every week on our website before enjoying the dialogues. Have you already looked at the flashcard and the lessons for today? Oui ? Let’s start then! Enjoy Act V.

Topics covered: Adverbs -IR verbs in the present Être en train de   Bonjour les amis and welcome to Act VI. Today, we meet with Michelle for the third time. Valérie has been continuing the lessons with her and, as it turns out, Michelle is very determined to learn French... and to move to France with her retired husband.    As you know, Valérie meets with her students to practice what they have already learned at home. We hope you do the same, that is to study the material before you enjoy the dialogues. Our website has just the kind of tools you need to progress at the same pace as Michelle and Jacques: lessons, essays, quizzes, pronunciation guide and flashcard. Are you ready then? Enjoy Act VI

Topics covered: RE verbs in the present Possessive determiners Tu te rends compte ! Tu ne te rends pas compte ! Bonjour les amis, c’est Jean-Paul ! Bienvenue ! Today, I introduce to you Act VII and a special treat: a new character! ... I mean, a new student! He is not new to Valérie, however. He has been studying with her as long as Jacques and Michelle have. Why haven’t we introduced him earlier, you might ask? Well, Kevin, that’s his name, is not particularly talkative. In fact, it’s been challenging for Valérie to make him talk during the first lessons. He now seems to be coming out of his shell, so I feel it’s the right time to introduce him to you, dear spectators. Contrary to our other students, Kevin has actually lived in France for a while as an exchange student and has quite a different opinion of France. You’ll find out more about that today. I hope you already consulted the lessons and the flashcard in preparation for today’s show. I know Kevin has. Vous êtes prêts ? Allons-y !

Topics covered: Introduction to questions Faire in the present Faire et expressions idiomatiques Ça ne fait rien / Cela ne fait rien Bonjour et bienvenue ! C’est moi, Jean-Paul ! I’m glad to introduce Act VIII. Yes, Act VIII already! I’m sure you’re keeping pace with our students and making fine progress as they are. I also hope you’re being entertained enough so that you almost don’t notice you’re learning a new language. Today, I leave you in good hands. You’ll be once again joined by our very patient teacher, Valérie as well as Jacques who, I’m sure, will know how to entertain you. And don’t forget, take time to consult the lessons and the flashcard before enjoying the dialogues.

Topics Covered: Modal verbs vouloir, pouvoir, devoir Demonstrative determiners À mon avis.. Bonjour mes amis ! Bienvenue ! Today, for Act IX, we’ll be joined by Michelle who is still making plans for her big move to France with her husband. She has been very consistent with her French lessons and is making much progress. I encourage you to follow Michelle’s example. Non, non, I don’t mean that you have to move to France! Rather, keep taking advantage of the tools available on our website, study the lessons and do the exercises and quizzes in advance. You’ll enjoy the dialogs even more! Vous êtes prêts ? Allons-y !

Topics Covered: DIRE (to say), LIRE (to read), ÉCRIRE (to write) Alternate forms of negation Dis donc ! Dites donc ! Bienvenue mes amis ! Today, we meet with Kevin again. As you might have noticed, Kevin’s motivation for learning French is quite different from Michelle’s and Jacques’s. So far, he’s flunked French in high school and needs to get good grades for his college application. The only problem for Valérie is that Kevin doesn’t seem to like French very much or France for that matter. Hopefully she can help him do better and maybe even like it...at least a little. Kevin has been working hard but not without complaining...he’s a teenager after all. We hope you have already looked up our grammar lessons for this week and have done the exercises. Enjoy Act X!

Topics Covered: -RE verbs (irregular) like prendre Interrogative and exclamative quel C'est-à-dire / C'est-à-dire que   Bonjour et bienvenue mes amis ! Today we’ll hear Act XI! I hope you’re feeling quite sharp because we meet with Jacques. I’m sure you’re looking forward to know what he’s been up to and how his French restaurant project is coming along. I know Valérie does, she never gets bored when she has a lesson with Jacques.  Have you studied the grammar lessons for this week and have done the exercises? Oui ? Then you’re ready for our new act! Oh, look! Jacques is already at the door and it looks like he has something on his mind. He is glued to his phone and didn’t even hear Valérie arrive. Let’s listen!

Topics covered: -RE verbs (irregular) like mettre Partitive articles Bon marché Bonjour ! C’est moi Jean-Paul ! Once again I’ll be your host for Act XII. We hope that following Jacques, Kevin and Michelle in their endeavor to learn French is helping you to learn as well. Before you listen to the play, take time to familiarize yourself with the flashcard. Let’s begin!  Valérie, our French teacher, is meeting with Michelle today for another lesson. Michelle’s dream to move to France is getting more and more concrete...we hope so anyway. Let’s hope she continues to learn for our great pleasure. Voici l'acte XII !

Topics covered: VENIR Interrogative words Je n’en reviens pas ! Bonjour et bienvenue ! Are you ready for Act XIII? Today, our French teacher Valérie meets with Jacques again. Jacques has been preparing a trip to France during which he hopes to find a chef for his new restaurant. As the day of his departure gets closer, he seems to be increasingly preoccupied with the quality of his French. He’s been studying really hard and I hope you’re doing the same. Have you already looked up the lessons and have done the exercises? So I think we’re ready! Allons-y!

Topics covered: BOIRE (to drink), CROIRE (to believe), VOIR (to see) Time in French Bien dans sa peau / Mal dans sa peau Bienvenue au cours de français ! It’s me Jean-Paul, I’m ready to introduce Act XIV to you. Are you ready? By ready, I mean, have you looked up our grammar lessons and have done the exercises? It’s very important you do that before enjoying the dialogues as it will greatly enhance your experience and allow you to make more connections. Now, let’s connect with Valérie who will meet with Kevin for another lesson. I’m sure you’ve noticed that Kevin seems to be coming out of his shell, all for our enjoyment. Well, let’s listen in!

Topics covered: Savoir vs Connaître Tout Par contre / En revanche Bonjour et bienvenue ! Today, we’ll be enjoying the company of our French teacher Valérie and of her diligent student Michelle. I am confident that you feel encouraged to see students on our show like Michelle and others, with different backgrounds and with different purposes, tackling the French language with success. Have you already studied for today’s episode and have done the exercises? So I think you are ready. Enjoy Act XV!

Topics covered: Pronominal verbs Tôt, tard, en avance, en retard, à l’heure Il ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard Bienvenue les amis ! C’est moi Jean-Paul ! I’m happy to welcome you to Act XVI. Today, you’ll have the pleasure to listen to Valérie and Jacques. As you know Jacques is still pursuing his dream to open, not just a French restaurant but a restaurant geared to help couples who are on an awkward first date. I hope you have already looked up and studied the material for today and learned your verbs. Don’t forget to do the exercises as well. Well, I think we’re ready to listen in. Enjoy the show!

Topics covered: -RE verbs (irregular) like suivre, vivre Comparative and superlative of adverbs A priori Bonjour et bienvenue ! Are you ready for Act XVII? Today, Valérie meets with Kevin again. Kevin is about to go to Canada for his annual family vacation. He’s looking forward to spending some time with his cousin Rex and maybe practice some French. Kevin has been studying really hard and making great progress. I hope you’re doing the same. Have you already looked up the lessons and have done the exercises? So...je crois que nous sommes prêts pour notre leçon ! Allons-y !

Topics covered: Passé composé with avoir Negation and placement of adverbs with passé composé C'est pas de la tarte Bonjour les amis ! C’est moi, oui, Jean-Paul ! Bienvenue au théâtre en français ! Today we’ll spend some time with Valérie and Michelle. Michelle is meeting with Valérie for the first time since her surgery. I hope you’re ready for some real entertainment...and some serious French lessons of course. By the way, have you studied already and have done the exercises? Oui ? Je crois que nous sommes prêts. Allons-y !

Topics covered: Passé composé with être More past participles for être D'ailleurs Bonjour les amis du français ! Comment allez-vous ? Je suis content d'être avec vous pour un nouvel épisode. Aujourd’hui, nous allons écouter Valérie et Jacques. Jacques just got back from France. I’m sure you’re looking forward to hearing his stories. We’ll also learn a lot of new things today. Avez-vous déjà étudié la leçon pour aujourd’hui ? I hope you did the exercises and consulted the flashcard as well. Bon...je crois que nous sommes prêts ! Allons-y !

Topics covered: Direct object pronouns Agreement of the past participle Les doigts dans le nez Bonjour chers amis ! C’est moi Jean-Paul. Je suis très content de présenter un nouvel épisode aujourd’hui ! It’s our 20th episode already. I hope you have taken the time to study the grammar lessons, to do the exercises and to learn the vocabulary for this new act of our play. I’m sure you have noticed that the dialogues are becoming complex so hopefully you can keep up and progress at the same pace as our three wonderful students. Today, we’ll catch up with Kevin. Je crois que nous sommes prêts ! Let’s welcome our favorite teacher Valérie and her student!