Enjoy summer in Montpellier AND practice French conversation, this was Russell’s goal when he contacted me a few weeks ago from the USA!
We planned a video call before his trip to France (of course, it is free!) to talk about his level in French and also what he wanted to do.
Saturday, June 8th, we went to meet the people living in La Paillade, a working-class area in Montpellier west and Russell was happy because it reminded him the neighbourhood where he grew up, Harlem.
As you can see in the video, Russell had to deal with the noise around but also with people talking fast (and sometimes even with an accent!), children with low voice, etc. At the end of the day, he did pretty well! 👏
The secret to speak French is… To speak French! Take any opportunity, even the smallest, to go to people, make mistakes and learn from them
Only a small school like École Bonjour France can be flexible to fit your requirements whether you want to work on reading, listening or speaking… And of course according to y-o-u-r availability!
A few weeks ago, Agata contacted me from Germany because she was planning a trip here and was looking for a French school in Montpellier.
👏 Bravo: this is what you call in French “mêler l’utile à l’agréable” or “faire d’une pierre deux coups” (kill two birds with one stone)
⚠️ Agata’s only conditions were to have around 10 hours of French lessons end April / beginning of May and with a focus on conversation.
When we talked on the phone, I immediately realized that her French was veeeeery good 👏! Also, she said that one of her hobbies was lindy hop and “ce n’est pas tombé dans l’oreille d’une sourde” 😁 (it hasn’t fallen on deaf ears).
Indeed, learning is easier when you are motivated so since I am able to prepare every type of content, I created a tailor-made program for Agata:
debates: expressing pros and cons is a must-do when you have reached a high level in French
talking about French events, general knowledge and social issues with a focus on dance topic, her passion
Et voilà ! We did that program last week and I would like to share here an interesting question Agata had:
What’s the difference between “se dérouler” & “se trouver”?
🤔
By the way, these two verbs are called “verbes réfléchis / verbes pronominaux” You use a pronom when you conjugate them, it will be like: je m’appelle / tu t’appelles / il s’appelle, etc. (for: me / te / se)
Ok so first let’s find out real examples…
> Se dérouler
L’Open Sud de France se déroule à Montpellier du 30 janvier au 4 février Le Parisien, 30/01/2024
Cycles SH a déménagé : où se trouve à présent le spécialiste du vélo électrique ? Actu.fr, 30/04/2024
Can you replace “se dérouler” by “se trouver” in these examples (and vice versa)?
🤔
Let’s give it a try!
L’Open Sud de France ̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶o̶u̶v̶e̶ à Montpellier du 30 janvier au 4 février ❌ La huitième bourse aux vélos du Vieux Biclou ̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶o̶u̶v̶e̶ à Montpellier les 4 et 5 ❌
Le plus grand skatepark d’Europe ̶s̶e̶ ̶d̶é̶r̶o̶u̶l̶e̶ à Montpellier ❌ Cycles SH a déménagé : où ̶s̶e̶ ̶d̶é̶r̶o̶u̶l̶e̶ à présent le spécialiste du vélo électrique ? ❌
📣 Conclusion
Se dérouler
Se trouver
focus on duration, proceedings synonyms: se passer, se tenir
focus on location synonym: être situé à
🌴 Feel free to contact me if you plan a sunny trip in Montpellier 😎🌴
