Top articles

• Coronavirus jokes

  21 septembre 2020

  These images / jokes have been sent to me. I really don't know the who wrote / made them. If you are the one who made/wrote them, and don't want me to post them, let me know.

• Laurel Zuckerman: English teachers in France

  30 avril 2018

  Laurel Zuckerman Is the current concours system the best way to select and prepare English teachers? Perhaps the most reliable answer is to be found in the students' results. The 2002 European Assessment of English skills is, in its fashion, eloquent:...

• Silent letters

  20 octobre 2015 ( #Pronunciation )

  Based on some other lists that I have found on the internet, I have created a list of words with silent letters. Sometimes, there seems to be a sort of rule, sometimes it is just one word that is pronounced differently. I have marked the latter with an...

• Basic Adjectives (French - English)

  21 novembre 2012 ( #Vocabulary )

  Here is a very useful table of opposite adjectives (eg. big - small), with their French translation. This is especially helpful for beginners. Thank you Yannick for making this overview!! GRAND / GROS BIG PETIT SMALL BEAU BEAUTIFUL LAID UGLY VIEUX OLD...

• "Faux Anglicismes"

  01 octobre 2018

  photo du site: https://quadro.fr/nos-creations/dressings/ What are "Faux Anglicismes"? From the French Wikipedia page on this subject: "des lexèmes pris dans la langue anglaise (ils en ont l'orthographe et la prononciation), mais ne sont pas utilisés...

• Irregular verbs

  25 janvier 2013 ( #Grammar )

  In most grammar books or course books you can find a list of irregular verbs. And I think this is a good idea, because irregular verbs are very important!However, most lists are just in alphabetical order, which makes it rather difficult to learn them....

• Comparison Tenses: English - French

  02 décembre 2017

  English sentence English tense Phrase française temps français I have a car. present simple J' ai une voiture. présent simple I often go to the cinema. present simple Je vais souvent au cinéma. présent simple I' m watching TV. present continuous Je regarde...

• English more 'precise' than French! ;)

  07 septembre 2012 ( #Vocabulary )

  Lots of French people say that French is more precise than English.... Needless to say I don't agree! ;) So, just for fun, let's have a look at some words where the English terms are more 'precise' than the French ones. Personnel (Adj) - personnel Mr...

• website for children

  01 août 2014 ( #External links )

  If you would like to help your children learn English, or if you need to teach English to young children, the following site might be of interest: starfall.com . Of course this website is aimed at native English speakers, but there are lots of fun activities...

• Actively speaking two languages protects against cognitve impairment

  02 octobre 2020

  I'm sharing an interesting article! In a paper published in Neuropsychologia, the researchers conclude that speaking two languages on a regular basis – and having done so all one's life – enhances cognitive reserve and delays the appearance of symptoms...

• state verbs

  07 septembre 2012 ( #Grammar )

  State verbs are verbs that cannot be used in the continuous form. That means that for instance if you normally would use the present continuous, when you use a state verb, you have to use the present simple. Here is a list: to be (être) He is at home...

• The comma splice

  15 décembre 2014

  I'd never heard of this, until I read about it in an article: the comma splice. What is a comma splice??? It means that you connect two independent clauses by a comma, where in fact, you should either use a connector or another punctiation mark. If you...

• Games to learn English

  29 décembre 2018 ( #External links )

  One of my colleagues shared this with me: a site to learn English, but by doing fun games! Have a look! " The games are aimed at a relatively low level of English with pretty much all the content being around elementary level. A lot of the vocabulary...

• Semantle

  27 avril 2022

  Another word game! This one is really difficult, but great fun. You have the guess the word by making associations. "Guess the secret word Each guess must be a word (or short phrase like San Juan or id est). Semantle will tell you how semantically similar...

• Bilingualism changes children’s beliefs

  24 janvier 2015

  I have found this very interesting article on the website of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. I have slightly shortened it, but you can find the original article if you click on the link below. "Concordia University study shows that kids exposed...

• outnumber / outweigh / outvote

  31 juillet 2014 ( #Vocabulary )

  A couple of interesting verbs... the ones that begin with "out"... to outnumber = être plus nombreux que The women outnumbered the man. Les femmes étaient plus nombreuses que les hommes. to outweigh = peser plus lourd que The pros outweigh the cons. Les...

• Freedom (Louis Dudek)

  22 novembre 2017 ( #Culture )

  I read this poem a few days ago... My two dogs tied to a tree by a ten-foot leash kept whining and howling for an hour till I let them off. Now they are lying quietly on the grass a few feet further from the tree and they haven’t moved since I let them...

• compound nouns, etc.

  09 décembre 2012 ( #Vocabulary )

  What are compound nouns? Examples are: kitchen door, bus driver, business meeting...Compound nouns are two nouns together that create a new noun. Very often the first nouns functions as a kind of adjective. In French compond nouns are often translated...

• "Les origines des langues"

  03 septembre 2010 ( #Culture )

  I just bought this magazine at the local newsagent: "Les cahiers de Science et Vie", N° 118 Août/Septembre 2010, Les Origines des Langues." Very interesting! It talks about the first languages, Indo-European languages, African languages, French, English,...

• Don't teach the 'Queen's English' to foreign students

  02 novembre 2011 ( #Culture )

  Daily Mail By Emily Allen Last updated at 8:30 AM on 2nd November 2011 ________________________________ Don't teach the 'Queen's English' to foreign language students, linguist urges Mario Saraceni said the English are not the only legitimate users of...

• pending...

  02 décembre 2012 ( #Vocabulary )

  'Pending' is an interesting word. It is probably a good idea to have a look at the etymology first. 'Pending' stems from the French 'pendant' , which means 'during'. 'Pendant' was originally a preposition, as is the word 'pendant'. The French word 'pendant'...

• Basic verbs!

  01 novembre 2012 ( #Vocabulary )

  Below you will find a list of the basic verbs any learner of English should know! to ask = demander to be = être to believe = croire to buy = acheter to get = obtenir to give = donner to have = avoir to hear = entendre to help = aider to know = connaître...

• Limericks

  28 mai 2010 ( #Culture )

  I love limericks, they are very cleverly written poems. Just a few examples: A gourmet dining at Crewe Found a rather large mouse in his stew. Said the waiter, "Don't shout And wave it about, Or the rest will be wanting one, too." *** There was a young...

• Do not stand at my grave...

  21 février 2013 ( #Culture )

  In the past couple of weeks some of my friends/students have lost one of their parents. For them and for all the other people who have (recently) lost a loved one, I'm putting this beautiful poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye on my blog today... Do not stand...

• Duolingo

  31 août 2014 ( #External links )

  Hi, I just had a quick look at the website of Duolingo. This is a website to learn languages and specifically to learn English by French speakers. I don't find it very interesting because it is very much translation-based. I did the first test and I either...