Book review – Bear’s First French Words by b small publishing

April 23, 2013 by
bears first french words cover

As I’ve commented elsewhere on this blog, I see the issue of moving my two children as one of the most challenging in weighing up the pros and cons of moving to France. That said, the process would be made considerably smoother if they had some French language skills (even if they are fairly basic) prior to the move. Thankfully, these days, there are some excellent French language resources aimed at children and I looked at a selection of books produced by b small publishing in an earlier … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Language, Resources

Learn French the dirty way – Dirty French by Adrien Clautrier & Henry Rowe

January 13, 2013 by
Dirty French book cover cropped

Let’s face it, when you are trying to learn French, most formal French language learning tools (the excellent Paul Noble (which I reviewed here) or Michel Thomas audio CD courses, for example), while providing both beginner and intermediate learners with plenty to get stuck in to, don’t often go very far into the more colloquial ways of expressing yourself in your favourite second language. In short, they don’t teach you everyday slang or how to swear. I spent my formative years living … [Read more...]

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Learn French with Charles Timoney’s Pardon My French – Move To France blog review

December 9, 2012 by
Pardon My French book cover

Take a visit to your favourite bookstore - whether on the high street or online - and you will find plenty of books that can help you in your quest to learn French as you plan your move to France. Typically, these are technical in nature; they may take you from very simple phrases through to the more esoteric delights of different tenses but they are intended to get you speaking, reading or writing grammatically correct French. What they are less likely to do is (a) give you an insight into … [Read more...]

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Learn French for kids – French language books from b small publishing

September 23, 2012 by
b small logo website v1

If you browse any of the mainstream ‘move to France’ websites or forums you will see regular comments to the effect that younger children find it easier to learn French than older children or adults. However, that doesn’t mean that primary school age children have to be just left to get on with it or that they can not benefit from some support. While there are lots of DIY French language courses that are available that are suitable for adults (or even suitably motivated teenagers), there … [Read more...]

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Move To France blog review – iTranslate VOICE app review

August 21, 2012 by
iTranslate VOICE logo

Regular readers of this blog will know that, while thinking about a move to France, I’m keen to improve my French language skills. However, I’m also honest enough to know that there are still occasions when I need a crutch to get me through a conversation and, as such I’m a big fan of the various computer-based translation products that are available. I’ve looked at a couple of these previously (try here and here, for example). If you are a users of one of Apple’s iOS devices such … [Read more...]

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