A blog for those wanting to escape across the channel
The internet can be a wonderful source of information for those thinking of a move to France but, if that information is in a language you are not fluent in, then you can’t take advantage of it. Except, of course, now you can – and I’m grateful to @frank_o_file for tweeting a link to the Lifehacker blog to tell me how. I don’t know about you, but I suspect like lots of folks, I’m pretty stuck in my ways when it comes to my use of web browsers so, it’s Safari when I’m using my … [Read more...]
As regular readers of this blog will be aware, as I'm keen on a move to France, I’ve talked about the wonders of language translation software before, whether it is Google Translate via your web browser or apps such as Jibgigo’s excellent Jibbigo-FR (for iPhone/iPod/iPad) that can put the same technology on your smartphone and in your pocket. The Jibbigo-Fr app can take both typed text and voice recognition as its input and, in the main, the latter works pretty well. However, I’ve also … [Read more...]
Hands up all those who want to move to France and are trying to learn French? And keep your hands up if you own a French-English dictionary as part of your educational toolkit? Yep, the humble bilingual dictionary is a pretty essential item to have around when you need to check up on the translation of a particular word and, whether you have it in a pocket sized book or an electronic format (for example, as an app on your smart phone), a dictionary is something that you shouldn’t leave home … [Read more...]
I’ve commented in earlier posts on this blog about both (a) the need to learn French and improve your French language skills when considering a move to France and (b) my own lack of those skills. However, having finally decided to take my own advice and begun a more serious approach learning French, I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at the various options. There are, of course, all sorts of possibilities – including classroom tuition (including some very expensive but, I suspect, very … [Read more...]
As outlined in other posts in this blog, there are some compelling reasons for learning the language if you are thinking of making a move to France, whether part-time or full-time. However, becoming fluent is something that can take a considerable time, especially for adults. It is, therefore, almost inevitable that you are going to need a crutch to get you through the language barrier when you really need to understand what someone is telling you or need to make yourself understood. In years … [Read more...]
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