I started learning French when I was nine and I loved it for many decades thereafter. What fascinated me though was that real people spoke the language and I wanted to know not just how to say' Pass me the pencil' but also how to talk about the latest movies, hairdos, musicians.
I wanted to find out what the hotels were like, what people ate, what the driving laws were, how the taxis operated, what the trains were like. After a few months living in a French -speaking area, in Quebec, I realized my school French was woefully inadequate for me to fit into the culture. I was clearly an outsider, even by my speech. I wanted to know what the slang of the language was. I wanted to know the abbreviations, the street talk.
And over the course of twenty years I researched this information and put it together into one vast series of 3 volumes. It is in English and French. It is material adaptable to any level of French and to any course instructing French. It is about real life in French. |
Over the three volumes, 2000 some pages, you will see school timetables and report cards, learn how to fill out job aplications and reserve hotel rooms, learn laws about renting cars and riding bikes, learn the history of the LeMans car race, the Tour de France bike race, learn how to play pool or chess, hopscotch or bingo - in French. You will learn about the French and Quebec holidays - Mardi Gras, Carnaval, the sugaring off season of spring. You will learn about French cooking, the sauces, the wines, kind of specialty stores, the bus routes of Paris, the history of French art, a tour of museums in Montreal. Here you will learn dating expressions, the history of France, superstitions, proverbs, how to tell medical symptoms, names of famous French swimmers, telephone slang, how to tell the weather in French. |
