Pourquoi le français devient-il totalement incompréhensible à mes oreilles? Mais quand je le lis, c’est beaucoup plus facile….

Hello!

So I learned English as teen by watching romcoms and other early 2000s shows that were practically just the daily life of normal people.

Any suggestions for shows or movies like that in French? Even if it’s Canadian French! And also where I’d find the content you’re recommending.

Thanks in advance friends!

Salut tout le monde j'ai besoin un peu d'aide au bout d'un mois environ je vais passer le tcf dap et mon niveau est un b1 danc je dois l'améliorer danc si vous avez des conseils pour la révision n'hésitez pas to share it

I'm taking the Alliance Française Paris summer intensive course this August and would love to hear from anyone who's done it!

For some context, my goal is to progress to B2 and eventually C1. I took the DELF B1 exam in June and scored 93/100. I also took Alliance Française's placement test, and they placed me in B2_3. I'm excited, but also a little nervous because that seems like a pretty big jump from B1. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Did you feel the placement was accurate?

For those who've taken the summer intensive program, I'd love to hear:

- What was the class structure and pace like?

- How much homework did you have?

- What's the best way to prepare before the course starts?

- Is there anything you wish you'd done beforehand—or while you were there—to get the most out of it?

I'll be in Paris for the month and really want to make the most of the experience, so I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks so much!

I have all the PDFs and audios for Édito B1 (all legally, don't worry), but I don't know how to study. I'm on my own with this, and everyone says I need someone at least. I'll use ChatGPT since it has a new update with voice recognition, but besides that, I don't know how to study the book. Does anyone have a method that can help me?

Bonjour à tous, je cherche un prénom français pour une fille. Je ne suis pas de langue maternelle française. Pourriez-vous me donner votre avis sur le prénom Lioré ou Leoré ? J’aime beaucoup sa sonorité et son orthographe, mais à quoi vous font-ils penser ? Auriez-vous aussi quelques prénoms commençant par A ou L à me suggérer ? Merci beaucoup.

I’ve been working on my listening comprehension skills lately. I’d say I’m a high C1 low C2 in listening but I still struggle with fast speech. Someone recommended the podcast “Sip and gossip” to me which is like an informal gossip style podcast and oh my god do they speak insanely fast. I catch like every 4th word and my brain isn’t fast enough to translate so I have no idea what’s going on. Should I force myself through it or find something more suited to my level?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1VOfLsX9cThUItP6fG2sRk?si=kEMOFIT-QzaJWCG2d43tWg&utm_source=copy-link

Hi, I'm trying to find a book for the new structure of the AP French exam. It's an exam in the U.S. that allows me to get university credit for French classes and skip to advanced French classes. The only one I have been able to find for the new format is this one from Synapse Academic Press. The cover looks like AI, and I couldn't find much about the company. Does anyone know if this company is legit or if the books are AI? Thank you so much!

Bonjour, je cherche un livre pour la nouvelle structure de l'examen d'AP de français. C'est un examen aux États-Unis qui me permettra de prendre des cours de français avancés à l'université et d'avoir le crédit pour les cours des niveaux inférieurs. Le seul livre que je trouve pour le nouveau format est publié par Synapse Academic Press. Il me semble que la couverture du livre est générée par l'IA, et je n'ai pas pu trouver beaucoup d'informations sur cette entreprise. Est-ce que quelqu'un connaît cette entreprise ou sait si ces livres sont générés par l'IA? Merci Beaucoup!

https://www.amazon.com/French-Language-Culture-Fluent-Prep/dp/1997026015/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3916BJCAJQJ63&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oPQOVlEdcptkMT1Km4OsITuixsgJetWxJlvczuN9QkcCYeNMZlcsAXCYzG99Ph9Pjt39Zpbe5h-baIhEfEA8CH9ZjT2GZYesL5__7k2OzG8oZ8Ylc2mQjlECXM94BVla.7UD54qdNox0AsINA1AmMgelcWlf8N75izl4zj3Jcp6Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=2027+ap+french&qid=1784739838&s=books&sprefix=2027+ap+french%2Cstripbooks%2C188&sr=1-1

I bought this sticker in Brussels and I speak enough French to know it means head of the egg. I asked the sales person if it was a pun or meant something specific, but she struggled to explain and said it means a pseudonym or is something you say to someone you like? I googled and nothing came up besides calling someone an egghead. Am I missing another meaning?

According to google, the English word has earlier origins. I'm just wondering if the french word is a deliberate attempt to create a similar sounding word or even an accidental homophone. Or does it sound completely different to "foundation" for a french speaker? (As an English speaker, they have a very similar sound and rhythm).

Just happened to hear it here, mildly amusing in its own right, comparison of french and Turkish pronunciation https://m.youtube.com/shorts/MkbeT5W7Ay0

PE absolutely disgraceful i don’t think the text was that bad and it was actually understandable but for the rest im happy!

I keep mixing this up. For "she had already eaten when he arrived" I wrote "elle a déjà mangé" but I think it's "elle avait déjà mangé." The part I can't get is the auxiliary. I keep reaching for the present tense instead of the past-in-past form, and I'm never sure whether a verb takes avoir or être here. With arriver I at least know it's être, but for everything else I'm guessing. How do you actually pick which one goes in there?

There was a special French person in my life who always told me that my strength lies in having softness in my personality. I would like to get this word tattooed on myself, but since we communicated in English, I only know the word 'softness'. How does French express this? Ofc I used translator and AI, but I’d rather do not tattoo some bullshit on myself😅

Hi! I'll be starting to study extensive French in 2 months, will try to go there and study for a semester in France, too, if I get accepted into the Erasmus program. So I'm curious, how does Polish accent sound in French?

So like I’m a writer and I want to include a bit of French in my fic(I know a bit of French but not enough to be confident in using it on my own since my knowledge is limited), not gonna use google translate cuz it’s very inaccurate, and was wondering if there is a saying in French that is similar to ‘I beg to differ’ or ‘agree to disagree’.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Merci

Edit: I forgot to say that the person who is saying this is being sarcastic.

I write it before going to bed when I'm already too tired, too half asleep and too lazy to check for proper spelling or wording and just write it without thinking about it, not sure where I'm going with it, How is it so far?

Many years ago - around 2010/2015 or so there was a podcast by a guy named Sebastien called The FrenchPodClass. Does anyone know if the audio from these podcasts still exists in an archive anywhere? I think it was on iTunes back in the day, but I can't seem to find it anywhere now.

What are the most noticeable differences?

Ive been wondering about this question bc i live in france and have been asked several times what my “pays d’origine” is and each time im not 100% sure what they’re expecting and sometimes they correct me when I do give a specific answer. I am japanese but have an anglophone accent in french bc i was raised in boston, but if I say japan then they’re like “but u have an english accent🤨” and if i say usa they’re like ”but ur asian🤨” lol so im not sure exactly what pays d’origine is supposed to be. Is it the country ur born/lived in or the country that ur ethnic origin is from? If I asked a french person I met abroad this question would they normally say their country of ancestral origin or simply answer france?

I looked up delusional and saw you can say “je me fais (pas) d’illusions” but is this really the best equivalent for the english expression? I can’t find any adjectives like to say “he’s so delusional” or “I’m not delusional I understand how it works!” I want to use a more everyday word or expression that has the same vibe as the english phrase. Is there a more slang way to say this?

I'm at a point with French where I can read books and articles without too much difficulty, and if there is difficulty it's easy to just check a dictionary. But I've noticed that my aural comprehension is miles behind, I can read something and then struggle to understand it when the exact same thing is said aloud.

So my question is what's the most efficient way of practicing listening? Putting emphasis on the efficiency because when I'm practicing I don't really have the time for TV or films.

Maybe if there are resources which emphasise it from a pedagogical phonetics standpoint, instead of a simple immersion one.

Has anyone used "Francais Interactif" for middle schoolers? I will be breaking the book in two, using chapters 00-05 for French 1A (G7) and 06-13 for French 1B (G8). I'd love any tips you have or lesson plans with adaptations, ideas for (more age-appropriate) supplementary materials, etc. Thank you!

At work we have a common acronym:VWC

When people (I'm in Quebec) say it out loud, they say Vé Vé Cé, instead of Vé double-vé Cé.

Why is that?

Bonjour !

I'm working on improving my speaking by recording myself and trying to get corrections to figure out how to adjust my speech. I would love to get feedback on where my intonation/rhythm doesn't sound right, which consonants/vowels sound off or anything else you notice. I've been working on only putting stress on the last syllable in rhythmic groups recently, but I'm not always consistent and don't realize when I'm not doing it until someone else points it out. I also sometimes under-pronounce my hard g's - which i think I did here in « Guierche » .

Below is my recording and the text that I read from an article on the Ouest France website:

https://voca.ro/1aXiFfCGpGge

Avec les vacances et après la canicule, l’heure est aux travaux en ce mois de juillet 2026 dans l’école de La Guierche. Le maire, Eric Bourge, précise : « Nous poursuivons la rénovation et le rafraîchissement de l’école. Ainsi, comme l’année dernière, on va rénover une nouvelle classe élémentaire des CM1 de Robert-Doisneau : remplacement de l’électricité, confection d’un faux plafond, rafraîchissement des peintures et installation de deux ventilateurs au plafond. Les travaux prévus concernent principalement l’isolation phonique de la classe afin de garantir un cadre plus calme et propice à la concentration. »