Notre Jean-François du jour est une star internationale de l'histoire ! Même si sa découverte date d'il y a 200 ans, on parle toujours de lui. Même sur les ondes de Cultivate Your French ! www.cultivateyourfrench.com
On retrouve un Jean-François que nous connaissons déjà dans cet épisode, mais cet épisode me plaît beaucoup, car il raconte comment Felicia a découvert la viole de gambe en 2018. www.cultivateyourfrench.com
Mon voisin Jacques m'avait proposé de l'accompagner salle Gaveau. C'était en février 2013. La salle Gaveau est une salle de concert parisienne. Le spectacle que nous allions voir était une leçon de Jean-François Zygel. Ce pianiste est très connu en France pour ces leçons de musique dans lesquelles il donne des explication sur les œuvres qu'il interprète. C'est notre Jean-François numéro 2. www.cultivateyourfrench.com
La série des Jean-François est une série culturelle à partir du prénom Jean-François. L'occasion pour vous de découvrir d'anciens épisodes du podcast dans lequel ce prénom apparaît. Vous verrez, c'est un type très sympa. www.cultivateyourfrench.com
Tania de Montaigne is a writer and journalist who lives in Montmartre, the Montmartre of today. La butte is her neighbourhood. In this episode, she tells us about her favourite time of day: the morning, when she sits down to write. It's often between eight thirty and nine o'clock in the morning. In the notes accompanying the transcript, there are some cutlural notes, and we'll be looking at three expressions used by Tania de Montaigne and other examples of their use in natural French. So if you ...
150 years ago, in 1875, work began on the Sacré-Cœur church on the Butte Montmartre. Today, this church is part of the Parisian landscape and is loved by Parisians and visitors alike, but this was not always the case. www.cultivateyourfrench.com
Montmartre is a district of Paris where the adventure began for many artists, poets and songwriters whose names still resonate on this planet. Here are just a few of the names that make you dream: Suzanne Valadon, Van Gogh, Pissaro, Degas, Renoir, Picasso, Modigliani, Severini, Alphonse Allais, Emile Goudeau and the Hydropathes, Aristide Bruant, and so on. Places too: Le Chat Noir, Le Lapin Agile, Le Cirque Medrano, Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette. And there's one place where all this atmosphere ...
In this episode, I dive deep into French literature with Aurélie, a high school French teacher, as we analyze "L'éphémère" by 19th-century poet Marceline Desbordes-Valmore. You'll discover how French students approach poetry analysis, learn advanced vocabulary for literary discussion, and explore themes of life, death, and motherhood through this beautiful poem. www.cultivateyourfrench.com
Last Tuesday, I went with Micaela to an acrobatics class at a Chinese circus school in Montreuil. She was keen to try out the class with a view to improving her kung fu. Montreuil is a large, popular town to the east of Paris. Artists love it because you can still find unusual buildings to set up your studio. It's a very lively town, a ‘ Ville-monde ’ as Gilles Soufi would have said, even if it is in the process of becoming gentrified. In the notes that accompany the text of this episode, we'll ...
Last week, I walked through the doors of the Sorbonne, the famous university, the oldest in France, which has been in existence since the 13th century. I was there to meet linguist Gilles Siouffi, who has just written a book on the linguistic history of Paris. His book is called ‘Paris Babel’. I loved this book, which reads like a novel and allows us to take a closer look at the history of French as it has never been told before. The seventeenth century is a very important century in the history...
I don't know about you, but I don't write letters any more, at least not handwritten ones, because you could say that some emails are letters. So I was delighted to discover the café Pli in Paris, a letter café. My friend Lorena and I went there a few days ago. The café is located in an area of Paris that I know well, not far from the Place de la République. The formula is simple: you order a drink and they give you an envelope, a card and some paper to write a letter that will be sent in one, f...
Last week we had lunch with Pauline at Coda. As we live in the same neighbourhood, she offered me a lift in her new car. And this car isn't just any car, it's the new favourite of the French: the electric R5. The R5 is an old model brought up to date, an iconic car from the 80s. We recorded our journey through Paris. Pauline really enjoys driving around town in her new R5. But what about the power? I become a motoring journalist in this episode. In the notes that accompany the transcript, we're ...
Cette semaine, nous allons à nouveau au restaurant, mais cette fois avec mon amie Pauline. Après le bouillon, c’est le bistrot qui nous attend. Le bistrot parisien a beaucoup évolué depuis les années 2000, du restaurant de quartier un peu désuet aux nappes à carreaux rouges, on est passé à un restaurant de quartier, toutjours, mais tenu par des jeunes chefs avides de créativité, d’amitié, de vins naturels et de produits locaux. C’est ce qu’on appelle « la bistronomie » qui est un mot valise comp...
Last week, I saw my friend Caroline. We'd booked tickets to see a play at the Théâtre des Abbesses in Montmartre. We'd arranged to meet at the Place de Clichy. As we had time for a little dinner, Caroline suggested the Bouillon Pigalle, a typically Parisian and inexpensive restaurant. That's the dinner I'm telling you about in this episode. In the accompanying notes, we'll take a look at the history of bouillons, as well as the typical restaurant vocabulary developed in this episode. Then you'll...
Join me in today's episode as I share how my daughter Felicia's school presentation on nuclear energy unexpectedly connected with the morning news! Discover how this mirrors information from Felicia's research on nuclear energy production costs compared to other energy sources. I'll also share some thoughts on France's historical dependency on nuclear energy Perfect for learners looking to improve their listening skills with authentic French content! www.cultivateyourfrench.com #FrenchPodcast #L...
In this episode of "Cultivate Your French," I share a family anecdote about the famous "Le Jeu des Mille Euros" radio game and our discovery of France's tallest skyscraper. This episode follows the "right pace" method with both slow and normal versions of the same content in sequence - designed to build your listening comprehension progressively. First, you'll hear the story at a gentle pace to understand vocabulary and structure, then at natural speed to develop real-world listening skills. Sub...
In today's episode of "Cultivate Your French," Lisa and I take you on a delicious French pastry tasting adventure! We compare strawberry tarts and other desserts from several renowned pastry shops in our neighborhood, including the famous Lola tart from Arnaud Larher and creations from award-winning pastry chef Stéphane Glacier. Join us for this unscripted conversation as we discuss textures, flavours, and what makes the perfect French pastry. Perfect for French learners who want to improve thei...
Join me and my daughter Lisa on our search for the perfect strawberry tart! We explore Asnières, a town near Paris, visiting a comic book store and a famous pastry shop. Discover the town hall where I got married years ago, and follow our quest for seasonal treats as spring begins. This mother-daughter conversation provides natural French vocabulary about books, pastries, and seasonal specialties - perfect for improving your listening skills! www.cultivateyourfrench.com #LearnFrenchBaking #Frenc...
Last Saturday, on a warm and sunny afternoon, I met Emilie from the Instagram account @shotdecafeine. It was Micaela who introduced me to her account, because Emilie has a rather creative way of running in Paris. You'll find out how in this episode. We've reached the point in the conversation where Emilie tells me that she had the idea of running along the metro lines after running with a colleague from La Défense, where they work, to his home near the Château de Vincennes for an aperitif and ch...
In this episode, I take you on a journey to Argenteuil, a suburb of Paris made famous by Impressionist painters like Claude Monet. Join me as I travel on bus 164 to a kung-fu competition, while discovering the charming neighborhoods where Monet lived and painted for five years. I share my observations of the Seine river, the historic Argenteuil bridge that appears in many famous paintings, and my plans to visit Monet's house with its recreated boat-studio. This episode also offers practical Fren...
Do two and two make five? Yes, sometimes on certain artificial intelligence platforms. So can we say that AIs are stupid? I had a conversation with Olivier, a computer scientist friend who has been passionately following developments in AI for his work for many years. He's going to give us his answer from a professional's point of view. This will be an opportunity to discover the vocabulary of AI in French. In the notes that accompany the transcript, we'll focus on Olivier's way of speaking. Oli...
In the notes that accompany the transcript, you'll find the 2020 notes: a list of vocabulary to read before listening to the episode, so that you understand it better the first time, cultural references and three useful expressions to remember, with examples of how to apply them. So if you want to cultivate your French, the slow way version 2020, I invite you to subscribe to cultivateyourfrench.com
We had Lisa's Italian exchange student with us for a week. She left yesterday and in 10 days' time it will be Lisa's turn to go to Italy. Lisa's Italian friend did a lot of visiting with her class, but at the weekend she was with us, so we prepared a programme for her: the department stores, a view of Paris from the terrace of Galeries Lafayettes, a play in a small theatre near the Moulin Rouge, dinner at a crêperie and a trip to the Eiffel Tower in the evening. In the morning, we'd also done a ...
Every winter vacation, we take the girls away for a few days. The destination is kept secret until the last minute. This year, it was Mont Saint-Michel. Micaela found our destination when I gave the following clue: it's a controversial place. Indeed, we like to play around in France with the geographical location of Mont Saint-Michel. The Bretons like to say that it's in Brittany, whereas it's in Normandy, because the bay of Mont Saint-Michel lies between the two regions. When you arrive by car,...
This week, I invite you to discover or rediscover an episode recorded in February 2020. It was after a period of strikes in the Paris transport system and a month before the start of the lockdown. Lisa was ten at the time. We were both taking Bollywood dance classes on Saturday mornings. In the notes accompanying the transcript, you'll find cultural explanations, but also three expressions that are natural in French, with examples of how they're used. So, to improve your French, the slow way, I ...
So last week we went to the Opéra Garnier to see Castor et Pollux, a lyrical tragedy by Jean-Philippe Rameau, directed by Peter Sellars. I was afraid I wouldn't enjoy the show. But what did it turn out to be? That's what I tell you in this episode. In the notes that accompany the transcript, we're going to make a list of practical phrases for giving your opinion of a show, rather enthusiastically, and discover a range of formulations that may be useful to you in other circumstances too. Of cours...
A few months ago, Pietro and I were offered a ‘box’, a gift box, to go to the Opera. We chose to go and see Jean-Philippe Rameau's lyrical tragedy Castor et Pollux, directed by Peter Sellars. The orchestra is the Utopia Ensemble, led by the Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis. Before going to this exceptional evening, tomorrow Thursday 13 February, I did some research on the composer, but I also read some reviews of this new staging. I don't know if it was a good idea. By the way, when I s...
Lisa had a French assignment due on Sunday evening. She had to choose a poem from Book IV of Victor Hugo's Contemplations and then send in a ten-minute audio file in which she presented the poem, explained her choice, read the poem and finally suggested a parallel with a painting. All the poems in the collection deal with the same subject: the disappearance of Victor Hugo's daughter, Léopoldine, and how sad this death made him. The poem Lisa chose was entitled ‘A quoi songeaient les deux cavalie...
Last week, I visited the offices of the newspaper Le Monde. I had an appointment with Nabil Wakim, the journalist who runs the podcast Chaleur humaine. It's a podcast that takes an expert but relaxed look at the various issues surrounding climate change, with expert guests. Each episode takes the form of a question. For example, the last episode was entitled ‘How can we save the Mediterranean Sea? I met Nabil Wakim at the Human Heat Ideas festival last December. I was there with my daughter Mica...
I hadn't really followed the story. Of course, I knew that transport fares were going to change in the Ile-de-France, that the price of a ticket outside Paris was going to be a single rate of 2.50 euros. I imagined some sort of magic ticket that would allow me to go further than Bécon if I suddenly changed my plans. Then, one day when we were coming back from Nordic walking, Thierry mentioned the Navigo Liberté. The Navigo is a pass, with a photo, that allows you to travel throughout the Ile-de-...
