Today, the Learn French at About site is ten years old - can you believe it? I share quite a bit about myself in my blog and bio, and now I'd love to know more about all of you. Please visit these polls to give me some idea about who you are, why and how you are learning French, and how you use this site - you can respond to any number of them and then see the results for each individual poll. And as always you're welcome to leave comments.
More polls...
Questions about you
What is your relationship to French (e.g., student, teacher)?
More polls...
Questions about your French learning
How long have you been learning French?
Questions about you and the About French site
How long have you been using this site?
What do you like/use on this site?
Comments
I have used your site for a little more than 1 year now. I find the materials very helpful, but I would like more quizzes, particularly those that would be interactive so I do not have to scroll down to see whether my response was correct. The audio files are great. I am in the process of trying to get my ear accustomed to the sounds of the words and how they are spoken by native speakers rather than classroom lecturers.
I have been teaching myself Spanish for 8 years and decided to take up French again from college some 50 years ago. I am amazed at how much easier it is now with the Spanish background. I have not taken full advantage of all that you offer yet, but I only started a couple of weeks ago. Thank you for your efforts.
I am struck by your reply. I studyed French in college more than 50 years ago. In recent years, for a number of reasons, I have started studying French again. By now I consider myself near fluent in the the language. But what really struck me was that you are apparently fluent in Spanish, and I have been toying with the idea of casually studying Spanish. Do you have any thoughts about how I could pursue this at low cost and “hit the ground running.?”
I do have one thought for you about French and probably Spanish for me. The Foreign Service Institute provides public domain autio tapes in mp3 format. They are good, but amusing in their old fashioned content — e.g., they talk a lot about smoking and other things that are passe.
J´adore votre site et il m´a´beaucoup aidé à apprendre le français, cette langue très passionant.
Je voudrais qui avait plus lessons pour pratiquer le DELF, comme par exemple, quelque teste qui a déjà donné auparavant. Et aussi que, j´adore lire vos experiences en France, les villes que vous aiez visité, etc.
Meci par tout votre travail et s´ilvousplait ne décourage pas,on aime beaucoup de vous
Je suis brésilien et excuse-moi mon français!
Romar
C’est le meilleur site que j’ai trouve. Les mots de jour et les lecons m’aident beaucoup. J’attends chaque couriel avec impatience. Merci pour tout le travail dur a ta parte.
I use this site for reference as often as I can. I use the vocabulary on the site to make flash cards for personal study, using a program called Before You Know It (www.byki.com) by Transparent Language (www.transparent.com). Excellent site for reference. Very, very helpful! I am glad I found it! I read Laura Lawless’s blog that I receive in my email. I’m doing rather well understanding it without having to read the English portion. I still do anyway, just to double check
Thanks so much for this site, it helps me learn and review French!!
Congrats on a great job of ten years of French!
Je trouve que votre site est très très utile et je l’apprecie–merci. Pour moi, l’exercise que je trouve m’aide plus que les autres–c’est quand vous avez les exercise ou je peux ecouter et lire le transcript. D’abord, j’ecoute sans le texte, ensuite avec le texte en français, en fin avec le traduction anglais a côte la française–Très bon exercise car je peux ecouter les paroles, en même temps que je peux lire, et en plus, je peux voir les traductions quand j’ai des questions a propos le context. Super–Merci. Aussi je regardes le “subjunctivator” souvent. Merci! (Je gardes toutes vos leçons dans un dossier uniquement pour vos leçons). J’ai regardé votre site depuis six mois ou un peu plus.
Laura, I read all your messages to readers and find them very enjoyable. I have little opportunity to speak French and don’t do it very well. But I have business contacts in Montreal who really appreciate the fact that I can frequently email them in passable French (with dictionary close at hand!) Since I am in public relations, it’s a real plus. Your service has been extremely valuable in this regard. Merci bien!
J’ai visite votre site souvent, et j’aime beaucoup toutes les choses que vous avez choisie pour m’aider enseigner la langue francaise. Ca fait presque cinq ans maintenant. Le mot du jour c’est une des meilleures choses, et des petites lecons surs les difficultes francaises ca c’est tres utile aussi. Mais j’ai envie d’avoir des autres choses comme la poesie francaise mondiale par exemple. C’est difficile de faire la connaissance de tout ce qu’il y a dans le monde litteraire, et un lien pour des choses litteraires serait tres utile. J’ai traduit des poetes quebecois, mais ils sont inconnus pour la plupart aux EU. Aussi un lien sur des choses musicales, comme les chanteurs et chanteuses francais ou quebecois. Ca peut s’elargir l’horizon des choses culturelles.
I began learning German at age 16 and French at age 40, but I have sure had a struggle with the French. Try to visit Germany every other year to catch up with friends since I lived there 30 years ago. Just returned a month ago & spent a day in Liege. Try to spend one day in a French speaking town & it is always like being in a cold shower!! Your site has been very helpful as has aboutgerman.com.
I love the word of the day. I think a great enchancement would be to incorporate all the words of a month into a repetitive Word of the Day work sheet or story or audio clip. It’s often difficult to remember each word without repeated usage.
I have written before congratulating you on your site, however, I felt I should add my comments publicly and add that I have recently met a friend of yours, here in France. Small world isn’t it.
Janet Edmonds
St Aignan (41)
http://www.loirevalleyhomes.com
I took eight years of French in high school and college. Following that, I did not speak the language for thirty-plus years, until I visited France at Christmas, 2004. I did read French occasionally in the intervening years. Now, I find that your site is an excellent way to brush up on and bring back the French that I have lost over the years. Merci!
I really enjoy the site and in particular your own letter to the students. Your lessons have been very helpful. Thank you!
I want to thank you for creating a great french learning resource. My favorite part is your personal greeting (with English translation available) that is atop of every e-newsletter. That is a terrific method of reading (and learning) “everyday” french. Merci pour tous. Adam
Un grand merci beaucoup!!
I think your site is fantastic. I love how it’s organized. The way everything is done makes sense to me, and is explained very clearly. And it’s fun.
I’ve visited other free language sites in French and other languages, and this one wins hands down. Sure, I have a few nitpicks. I wish every lesson had a ‘print this page’ option being my main one. However, they don’t detract at all from what I consider to be a superior site.
Congratulations on a job well done.
Steve
Laura,
You and your site have been like good friends to me for better than three years now. I always enjoy your newsletter and notes to your readers, especially your reflections on your recent stay in France. While I spent many years in Europe, I have only visited France, never lived there. My interest in learning French is both personal and job related and runs primarily to being able to read and understand the language. Now living in the mid-West, our local community college unfortunately offered only four semesters of French. While that got me started, it was obviously not enough. Today my exposure to the language consists of regular visits to the web sites of Le Figaro, Le Monde, Radio France, and of course yours. Keep up the good work.
Franz in Battle Creek, MI
When I receive the newsletter online I can’t do anything else until I read it twice, and then I read the translation in English. Then I try to retranslate it back to French on my own, with a little help peeking at your version. It is truly my hilite of the day, and before I know it, I’m reading your website, scrolling through your daily lessons and my whole morning has zoomed by–but I LOVE IT!! I love your website. No other better!
Thank you very much for your site, I have lived in France for almost 3 years now and I find your site helps to top up my french classes, although I am doing quite well with speaking, reading and writing I still find comprehension very difficult.
My dear Laura,
J’aime beaucoup vite site, que je touve particulièrement bien fait et très utile pour tous ceux qui désirent étudier la langue française.
Veuillez accepter l’expression de ma plus vive gratitude.
Bien à vous,
Oskar (Brésil)
Merci!
Chère Laura,
Je suis hollandais, j’ai appris français à l’école, il y a plus de 50 années. J’ai décidé de reprendre après un tour d’orgue avec la FFAO (Fédération Française des amis de l’orgue).
Maintenant je suis des cours chez l’Alliance Française à Rotterdam, et en addition un cours écrit.
Les leçons sur About.com sont de temps en temps très utiles.
Amicalement,
Bart Hengeveld
J’aime bien ce site ; je le trouve très organisé et utile. Il y a beaucoup de choses que j’utilise avec mes étudiants (je suis institutrice de français au lycée). Bon travail, Laura, et merci mille fois !
Hi Laura,
Just when I think you have done it all, you surprise me with something else. I miss our association with About.com. You were the primary reason I stuck with it that long.
I recently corresponded with some people in France through the Internet. They asked who my teacher was and I sent your picture!
Best regards,
Don
Nous aussi, chère madame, nous voulons mieux vous connaître. Alors, donnez nous, je vous en prie, une photo plus grande! On ne peut pas aggrandir la petite à la tête de votre paragraphe parce que elle manque la résolution.
Acceptez, chère madame, l’expression de mes remerciments de tous vos efforts.
Derek Lucas (près de Londres UK)
Bonjour Laura,
Merci beaucoup pour le travaille que tu as fait dans ce site. J’attend ton bulletin chaque semaine et bien sûr tu as devenu mon amie- et bon maintenant tu le sais!
Amicalement,
Luisa
I already live in France (orignally from Chicago and married for 32 years to my French penpal) and came across this site on the About.com main site. I was in a quandry about certain French grammar rules, and my kids (FrancoAmericans now 27, 22 and twins 18) weren’t too interested in taking the time to explain anything, so I wound up looking up the answers myself. I found them and continue to refer to the About French site; it’s very interesting and there’s always something new to learn. I especially enjoyed reading about Laura’s trip in France. Keep up the good work.
Love the French verb conjugator…its open on my desktop whenever I’m studying and/or writing. Also find the listening exercises very helpful.
BTW…I’m from Monterey!
I live in a small village not far from Carcassonne so I found your stay in Toulouse very interesting. I have recommended your site to several friends who are trying to learn French and need regular motivation. I have been receiving your word and lesson of the day for awhile but they are stacking up in my inbox and unfortunately I never seem to have the time to work on them!! Keep up the good work and the wide variety of subjects. Many thanks
I live in SW France and use the site extensively for various joint French/English classes where I teach on a voluntary basis. We have a group of around 90 people of various native language backgrounds, divided into five smaller groups depending on level of language ability. I teach the beginners group, and also a group of slightly more advanced English natives on another day. Teaching beginners of French and English simultaneously can be difficult and demanding, but also great fun. I appreciate any games that are available to make my life easier!
Your site gives me a wealth of teaching materials, but I find that most of the immigrants who live here find the grammar too difficult to follow on this site, especially since British schools have not taught grammar for several generations.
I very much appreciate the variety, quality and contents on your work and hope you will continue! May thanks.
I’ve been visiting your site for about the last year. I never learnt French before and I’m now trying to do so having recently bought a holiday home in France. I always look forward to your introduction and have reached the stage where I can pretty much understand it without looking at the translation.
I was very interested in your recent stay in France as I would like to do the same myself at some time. I’m also attending classes at Alliance Francaise in Dublin. Your site is great – keep it up!
Congratulations on a fantastic site. It’s obvious that you’ve put a lot of work into it and continue to do so. Your passion is clearly evident in everything you do! I took French in high school over 40 years ago, and have come back to it in my retirement. Your site influenced my decision to take French at our local community college, which I have enjoyed doing for a year now–I plan to go back to studying Spanish as well beginning in the fall. Merci mille fois.
Je suis étudiant australien en relations internationales et actuellement en échange à Paris (pendant 18 mois). J’ai commencé mes études en français il y a 2 ans à Montréal. Je m’intéresse en particulier à la grammaire française. Mon rêve depuis longtemps c’est de pouvoir parler couramment le français ainsi j’ai décidé de effectuer mes études en France. J’adore le site http://french.about.com, surtout toutes les explications grammaticales. Si jamais vous voulez parler avec « un accro de la grammaire française », veuillez m’envoyer un courriel.
Jamesscurry@gmail.com. Je trouve très utile les conversations avec des autres anglophones en ce qui concerne leurs difficultés et les choses qu’ils ne comprennent pas. C’est un échange de bons procédés.
Bonjour Laura,
Votre site est merveilleux! J’ai recommence a enseigner il y a a peu pres un mois, et je profite beaucoup des sujets de vos lecons. J’adore vos petites histoires, dont ma favorite est celle du souris dans le resto pendant votre sejour toulousain. Ce materiel represente pour moi une aide supplementaire d’enseignement dont la valeur est inestimable. Merci mille fois, Laura, et continuez a nous faire plaisir avec ce site formidable!
I love your site. It’s great to see so many positive comments about it. I always enjoy your messages. You clearly do a lot of work to maintain this site and it’s impossible for me to adequately express my gratitude.
Thanks.
Sincerely, JD
simply the best you can get from the internet and its free.
Thanks a lot and keep up the great work
Sincerely, Xinxiang, Calgary Canada
Thank you so much for your wonderful teaching site. The French language is so beautiful and I have studied it off and on for many years. I am trying to improve and I get my hands on whatever materials I can, but I can always find answers on your site. My family is moving to Singapore. My husband and I will both teach over there. One of the draws to our move was the international aspect of the city. I can find other French speakers there! I will also begin learning Mandarin. I am teaching my daughter French (7th grader) so she can pick up with the other children when she moves to Singapore. Here in Texas very few schools offer French but it is the best language! Thanks again for all you do!
Greetings Laura… all the way from South Africa!
Thank you for a wonderful site. Your attention to detail and love of the French language is so evident every time I visit french.about.com.
I am currently attending classes at the Alliance Francaise in Johannesburg and your lessons and tips are always useful in my studies.
Merci beaucoup!
I just started learning French and am extremely impressed with LKL. I just read her Bio and spent some time on the site, I also ordered her books from Amazon. What a great service for us to use. I think it is fantastic.
I took 5 years of high school French but got very rusty over the years from misuse. When I started homeschooling my kids and teaching them French, I fell in love all over again with the language. I am working hard to become fluent. The site is very helpful in my pursuit.
Thank you SO much for your fantastic website! It has kept me seriously motivated ever since I came across it a few months ago. It is like an ocean, so very full of information, but you can just go in and dip your toes at whatever end you want to! I have been trying to learn French on and off for many years now, but it is thanks to your site that I am beginning to make a real progress. While speaking French is still a problem, my French teacher (and fellow pupils) are very impressed with my vocabulary – all thanks to your Mot du Jour! I spread a word about your site whenever I can. Thanks especially for your Newsletter – I wait for each installment impatiently and I learn so many useful phrases from it! Thanks also for your grammar explanations – they are the most useful ones I have ever come across. Thank you, Laura, for all your work!
Hi Laura,
I love hearing about what you do in French. It’s like a soap. As for myself, I have lived for 10 years in the UK and taught French for 8 years. Needless to say I love the Brits and speaking English. It’s a fantastic language. I now learn Spanish and plan to spend two weeks in an intensive course near Madrid.
Hope to see you sometime, maybe in NY, who knows?
Take care,
Fabien
Merci beaucoup Laura!!!!!!!!!
I found your site about a year ago, and used it immensely in my preperation for a trip to Paris last year. I am from Montreal but have been living in the US for almost 9 years now and I NEVER speak french here so I enjoy brushing up on the language with the help of your site and your weekly newsletter! Thanks you!
Bonjour Laura
Je vous remercie beaucoup pour tout l’aide que vous m’ avez donné. Ca me plaît. Je fais bien progrès.
Je ai prèsque 67 ans et je le trouve ce n’est pas un gâteau une langue étrangère à apprendre quand on est vieille, malgré ça je l’essaie tous les jours, et toute ma journée est prises avec beaucoup de travail. Il n’y a pas d’ennui!
Il faut que je fasse mes devoirs ce soir autrefois il est trop tard et je deviens fatiguée, donc je vous remercie encore pour tous l’aide que vous m’ avez donnée. Bonne nuit et à bientôt.
Un grand bisou de Marlene Hill
J’ai appris beaucoup de choses ici que je les ai trouvées très utile pendant les leçons à l’alliance française. Merci beuacoup de cette site.
I have been teaching French for 6 years at the high school level. I am an anglophone raised in Montreal with a year of school in Lausanne in 1970. Your site has been a godsend to me. My spoken french returned fairly quickly however I had forgotten all the grammmar and could only rely on my ear. While I love the textbook I chose for my students, it is weakest in grammar. I use your grammar lessons daily as an instructor and have given some of them to my students (always crediting french.about.com). I also love you newslaetters particularly those about France and Morocco. While I search frequently for other sites, I have yet to find anything that comes even close.
As a result of your sponsoring I now receive Fluent French Audio and will be ordering Les Portes Tordues and Champs Elysée.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
Gaill
Laura,
Thanks for all your hard work. Your passion for your site (and all things French) is evident and refreshing. I love receiving your newsletter and and find your site an excellent addition to my classes at the Alliance in Sydney. Cheers,
I grew up in NB Canada and had a love for the french culture all my life. I studied the language in high school and a couple of years in college. I moved to the States with my husband and don’t have anyone to practice it with.
I now homeschool our daughter in the US (6th grade) and it is coming alive again with your website and the software program we use for her schooling. It’s like we have a secret language. I really enjoy your website!
Best,
Jolene Wall
Thank you for your wonderful site. I have been using it for a little over a year. I am a high school teacher of both French and English. Your site gives me more exposure to French outside of the classroom. This year I have not taught a French class so reading about your trip has kept me using the language. Thanks for all of the wonderful lessons, quizzes, and interesting hints, ideas, etc. I look forward to each new e-mail!
I found your site through a search engine and it has ended up being one of the most useful tools I have found! My French-speaking husband is always impressed with what I have learned from your site. I also study French at the Alliance Francaise in Vanuatu. Reading your blogs are a great exercise for me and really tempt me to plan a trip to France. Keep up the good work!
Dear Laura ! you are doing wonderfull job – your site made me to learn French and to visit regularly your lessons. It would be great help and pleasure if you decided to record your written texts – for people who must hear the foreign sounds to learn what they read – and get correct pronunciation your voice could be the best teacher !
Thanks a lot for all your efforts
and good luck for the future ideas
Greetings from
Marek
I find the lessons extremely useful. Ideas for future content:- I would like some more informal conversational French and more idioms – not so much to use them as to understand them! I find speaking on the telephone difficult – any help you can devise – standard phrases etc – would be much appreciated. As an enthusiastic gardener I would also like to know some more horticultural French! Perhaps you could list vocabulary for the different kinds of places one visits in France eg – museums, gardens, parks, art galleries, chateaux, churches, record offices, mairies etc
I’m very busy just now and haven’t enough time to comment correctly in French. One of these days…
I studied French some 50 years ago for my BA in my homeland, Ireland, after I had hitched with a friend from Paris to Lourdes and was so embarrassed at our failure to chat with the kind drivers who gave us rides. (I passed the exam but my conversation since is not colloquial but I sound like Moliere, La Fontaine, et al)
Now I have four Quebecois grandchildren, believe it or not, and want to impress them with my fluency (in real French, not just in their Quebec brand). I’m a long way from that goal but, Laura, I intend to persevere with your excellent program. Many thanks indeed.
Bonjour d’Australie!
Like most people of my generation (mid fifties) I learned French for five years at high school. This was in an era of critical teacher shortages in Australia, so teaching was through textbooks and scratchy 78 rpm records. Our vocabularies and grammar were all right, but not one of us could say a word, or understand anything spoken.
I am a bike rider, and every four years go to France to take part in the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 km bike ride. Next year I am determined to be able to talk to people and make freinds.
Your site has been a real boon. The lessons have brought back and extended my knowledge of grammar, the listening exercises are brilliant, and I love reading your newsletters. I supplement these with reading the cycling news each day in L’eqipe on line, and Google News in French. I have also bought audio CDs on ebay, and listen to them on the way to work. My understanding of spoken French is finally improving!
Keep up your brilliant work on this fantastic site Laura,
Chris
Best site on the net for me.I received a university cert. in French at the age of 60years in 1993, and it is the only way thatIam able to continue my studies.
I meet French speakers through playing pétanque,and have helped friends with their non English speaking visitors.I adore French literature and films.I went to a language school in New Calédonia with the university but I have never been to France.New Zealand is a long way from everywhere else.Hope you can visit our beautiful country sometime.
Your enthusiasm makes learning fun.
I have discovered Dictionary.com word of the day a few years ago and about 3 years ago wondered if there was a Mot-du jour aussi. Voila! I found your site by typing mot du jour into google.
I think your resources on this site are brilliant, although i really don’t have a good regime in place to make full use of them. For a while I had the motdujour as my home page, but
cont’d from paragraph 56 above…
but it took far too long to load and it just slowed everything down when i wanted to get to another web-page. I would so much rather receive a daily email with a mot-du-jour rather than have to go to the site.
This is what I find most useful, as the other things take up too much time.
I wish there was some kind of routine memory game/quiz that would help me memorise the new vocabulary more easily. Is there any liklihood of this?
regards
Lovett, London UK
Another hello from Australia, Laura. I stumbled across your site just a few weeks before you went to Toulouse and loved receiving all your news from there.
I studied French (my favourite subject) and Italian at high school and university and travelled extensively for a couple of years, including lots of time in France, but then didn’t keep it up. I have just taken up French again 15 years later and although very rusty, am loving it. I think your site is brilliant!
Stephanie M, Sydney Australia
I am a French teacher at the Middle School level and enjoy reading your site for its teachable content. My husband and I spend 9 months in Paris where he was transferred in 1997. I will be retiring in 2007 but plan to continue susbscribing. At that time, I will probably be more interested in information about traveling in France.
I cannot praise your site highly enough. It is quite simply the most important resource on the web. I hope you will continue your fine work. I am a French teacher and I recommend your site to my students all the time.
The French About site is absolutley fantastic. The lessons are easy to grasp because there are excellent examples that accompany the particular lessons. The Mot du Jour has aided me increase my French language capability. This site is one of the best on the Internet. I thank Laura Lawless for providing the lessons.
J’ai appris le français en école pendant trois ans et puis j’ai été stationné en France encore deux ans; grâce à Uncle Sam. J’ai quitté la France en 1961. Maintenant; après une visite breve en 2003; j’ai le desire pour toutes choses français; particulièrement la langue. Je voudrais y habiter une été ou six mois.
Merci! Ton site m’est très utile. Je n’ai pas l’occasion de parler ou d’ étudier français maintenant; donc le site me permet de garder la langue. J’aime aussi tes blogs.
Bonne continuation!
Je suis très content d’avoir trouvé ce site. Il y a trois ans que j’apprendre le français avec Laura et je peux dire qu’elle est fantastique. J’adore la langue française e je voudrais continuer à apprendre. Au revoir et me felicitations pour votre site. Jordy
Note: je ne peux pas utilizer le forum je ne sais pas pour quoi. Est-ce que vous pouvez m’aider?
Merci bien.
Laura, I LOVE this website!!!!! When I first found it (accidentally, by the way) I thought it was too good to be true- EVERYTHING i need to help my french!?! And also, the forums which have been so very helpful when I am still confused…THANKS SO MUCH! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
I took French in school in Wales from age 11 to 18 (it was not very well taught, I’m afraid) and have kept up with reading and conversation ever since. I’ve traveled fairly frequently in Europe — even from as far away as Hawaii, where we have lived for the past 39 years! I always speak French when I travel and have received some pleasant compliments — on my accent, I suppose, rather than my grammar! I have found your site to be outstandingly valuable; goodness, how I wish such help had been available when I was a kid in school. Thanks profoundly for the work you put in and the human level at which you maintain your communication. My very best wishes and may you continue for many years!
Aloha,
Bill
Like all the others commenting, I find aboutFrench.com a really excellent site – the regular newsletter is pitched at a good level for myself who started to learn French for the first time just over 2 years ago. The lessons are very well structured and a great resource. Well done! Keep up the great work. Even here in Canberra Australia we look forward to your newsletter introduction twice a week!
I have been learning French mostly by myself at home and I discovered your site about 6 months ago. I think it is great and particularly find your newsletters motivating. Its so good to see in the results of the polls that so many of your students learn French for the love of the language, like you (and me !). That is very encouraging as so many people in my daily life think I am a little crazy. I finally took the plunge this year and enrolled in uni by correspondence.
Like many others, I feel Laura is a friend. I have tried French classes, a tutor, videos, CD’s, teach-yourself books, software….all have helped but I always return to Aboutfrench.com. I have printed many of the lessons, catalogued them and find these a valuable source of information. Thank you, Laura.
I really appreciate your site Laura. It has helped with my French enormously, and would be lost without it. I wonder if it would be possible to have some flash cards on this site, as i find these are a good way to remember French words, and also the verbs. I use the flash cards on the byki site, but they are very limited on the free version.
Merci Laura
Chère Laura,
J’ai 83 ans et ça fait 57 ans que j`habite l`Angleterre. J`avais besoin de me tenir au courant des changements qui ont lieu dans toutes langues parlées. Voilà pourquoi je trouve votre site si intéressant et informatif. Je vous en remercie tant!
Yvette Pearcey, Portsmouth, U.K.
I would like more sound files in lessons and on site. I find pronouncing french correctly is the most difficult aspect of learning french.
I have lived in Québec for 3 nows and I am very glad I found your site, it has helped me a whole lot. I would like to see if possible some red flags next to verbs only used in France or Québec such as briser which they don’t used in France. Other than that you are providing a first class service for people who want to learn french. Ne lâchez pas – bravo!
J’adore votre site. Je felicite Laura K Lawless ! Les premeiers mois pendant mon apprentissage de francais, les lecons du jour m’avait aide trop. Grace aux lecons , j’etais la meilleure etudiante dans ma classe ! chui allee a pari ossi.. j’ai appris l’argot !! mdrr !
Merci Laura !
Bonjour Laura, merci beaucoup pour ton cours français. Je apprends français pour quelques ans. Principalement après le travaille à école du soir. Un jour ou l´autre, j´ai cherché un cours français en ligne et a trouvé ton cours française. Il est un grand aide pour moi parce que je n´ai pas plus de possibilité de appliquer français à mon routine quotidien. À début je lu les citation du jour et je profite plus de régularité des tes emails. Je me réjouir sur le 7 ans prochain. Reinhard / Berlin
I homeschool my daughter and we have been studing French for two years. It has been an interesting adventure because we have found that learning a language in sync with how children learn is a very successful and joyful method. Your site is a tremendous help and it has been very much appreciated! Our favorite is your personal greetings. Fun to read. Fun to translate.
Merci beaucoup!
Lisa
Merci bien Laura pour votre site.Je réapprend la française de nos jours depuis un an, après avoir l’étudié à l’ecole il ya 40 ans. J’aime beaucoup des choses l’apropos et je le regard souvent, particulièrement votre bulletin, les leçons, mot du jour etc. Continuez-vous votre travail formidable!
I’m very impressed with your site, apart from its heavy load of advertising, but I guess without it, it wouldn’t operate. I appreciate your ability to keep my French up-to-date (I did a French honours major at university here in Australia 35 years ago); after teaching it & other langs in Aust high schools for some years, I grew tired of the indifference of Aussie kids to FL study (this was in the pre-internet age!) & retrained in other fields of education, but have come back to French in the last 10 years via teaching it to committed adult learners at evening college & they value very much your site’s gift for enhancing their class work while I am grateful for the way you lift my own understanding, insights & currency as their tutor. I also work now during school vacations as a FREENG medical intrepreter mostly working with patients from French Pacific territories flown to Aust for hospital treatment. With Aust so far from France your regular letters well convey the daily reality of life there. Keep up the excellent work, Laura. Can you please point me towards quality online French vocab drills dealing with all the usual beginner themes suitable for a grade 12 boy who is making heavy weather of his beginner course (I tutor him privately) – he sits his final examination in Nov? Bonne continuation / amicalement – BE
Laura, I really like your newsletter, and I have enjoyed your updates from France (with jealousy)! I don’t just learn new words from your newsletter, but I also learn the rhythm of the French language. I have been studying French for many years, first formally in high school and college and now every day for the past 6 months — with a tutor, French language groups, reading books and magazines in French, chatting with native Parisians by email, visting Paris and speaking only French while I’m there, etc…I do find About.com a little tough to navigate. The links seem to take me in all different directions. I wish the site were better organized. But I enjoy your lessons and your newsletter. Merci beaucoup!
Your site is great, Laura, and I have learned so much from it. It’s a valuable addition to my regular lessons and conversation classes. I read and analyse your newsletter particularly carefully in order to improve my French writing skills. Merci beaucoup.
I really appreciate your site. One thing I would find useful is a sound file of the sample sentences you use for your mots du jour. It doesn’t help me that much to have just the words pronounced–I’d like to hear them in context. Thanks!
Laura…I adore your page. It is so huge amd equally helpful. I started learning French at 43. You helped me through 3 semesters of university French and 6 weeks of French in Tours, France. When I couldn’t grasp grammar points, I’d run to you for a simple explanation. When I returned from France, I enrolled with the local Alliance Francaise (found through links on your page)and continued study with them and on my own with your page as a guide and aid. In June I begin my 5th year of French study. I never grow tired of it. I have recently relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico and I’ve found myself doing a few exercises on your Spanish language page– thank you for the pronunciations! I can now say the street names correctly! I know you don’t know me from Adam… but I’m aquainted with you through your pages and feel very close to you. I appreciate your tireless work on these pages. I give you credit for much of my progress! Merci mille fois!
I think this site is terrific, I get a lot out of it and it has definately helped me to learn so far. As I will be visiting France in August 2006 the site has been a great help to this end.
BillE
I found your site when I was searching for a keyboard guide to diacritical accents and have been a subscriber ever since.
I value the links to other French resources, it has become the best reference point for francophiles and wanna-be francophones.
I enjoy reading your personal experiences, particularly from your recent stay in France.
Hi Laura,
J’aime beaucoup votre site. C’est tres utile. J’adore votre histoires chaque semaine. J’emploie votre site comme un aide pour m’aider avec le programme français que j’emploie. Quand dans le doute, je vais à votre emplacement.
Many thanks.
Hii Laura,
Iam Dheeraj from India.
First of all i would like to congratulate you on the completion 7 years of yr site. Vous ne pouvez pas imaginer a quel point j’ai ameliore mon francais. I recently gave my Diplom de langue d’alliance francaise and i cleared it with Mention : tres bien. All thanks to you and yr lessons. What helped me were yr Listening excercises. What i learnt as an observing student from u, is how to cope up with 2-3 languages. Your Biography helped me and motivated me to keep in touch with spanish and french. I have also done all the levels in German. Your passion for this language ( french) is clearly visible in yr lessons. Keep up the good work. Le mot “merci” est vraiment petit, mais ça signifie beaucoup pour moi; merci beaucoup: Thanking You once again for helping me to keep in touch with my passion : thats the french lnaguage.
I like this site in that is it maintained by a person and it has audio and written ways to learn. I have been coming here for at least two years.
About.com has been very helpful for me in learning French. My husband and I spent 4 months in Nantes (West France) this past fall as he had an exchange program with his graduate program. I have never studied French, but was a Spanish minor in college. In Nantes, our (French) friends there were astounded that I had such high proficiency having only used Language CD’s and my About French newsletters. I was sad to return to the US, but glad to re-live memories as I read Laura’s experiences in Toulouse!
I consult your website every day. I love language study and consult other sites for Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Catalan. Yours is by far the best; it has the most information and is the best organized. Please stay online at least seven more years.
I find this site great for reference and the forums, especially the prof forum is great for ideas. I am a new french teacher and I enjoy your grammar explanations. It would be nice if you had practice examples and quizzes with each lesson, but those you do have are great.
Quant à moi, ça fait presque 3 ans que j’utilise About.com en français. J’apprends de nouvelles choses à chaque jour que je m’en sers. C’est très utile, et les exercises que vous nous donnez sont excellents. Je suis très content de vous avoir trouvée
Dear Laura,
Your About French site is a true jewel. I love French language, culture & people but have not had the time or ability to study French for a long time. Your site has re-opened a door to an old love. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Hi Laura,
Thank you so much for hosting this site! I’ve been using it for about 7 months, since I first arrived in France (I have a 8-month fellowship in Montpellier).
I found your site when I was searching for a French word-of-the-day, and the site has been a really good resource for me ever since. I mostly use the site when I need specific grammar information or when I click on the links in your newsletters. By the way, would it be possible to have the word-of-the-day emailed?
Like some others have said before, I can now read your blog with pretty good comprehension (but I double-check with the English translation). I read with interest about your stay in Toulouse, and without knowing, you convinced me to visit! I just went this past weekend, and I loved it!
Merci beaucoup!
Chere Laura, since you live in the US, can you do an article on the state of French language teaching in American high schools. It used to be in the 1950′s that every suburban high school taught French, Spanish and German. I heard that French has lost out to Spanish in many schools. Has there been a big decrease in the teaching of French in the last 50 years? What about at the university level? Thanks, James Kearney, St. Jean de Braye, FRANCE
Today’s new word is “une mèche”. The sound file for that says only “mèche” (several times). Because learning the gender of each noun is crucial to learning French, I suggest that the sound files for new words include the article with the noun. I am enjoying the fruits of your labors; merci!
Clare
Laura: You saved my life! I’m learning French in “late life” and was having a difficult time understanding the texts at the University. Your lessons are crisp and clear. I was hooked from the moment I found your site. Thank you very much for taking the time to present this beautiful language to your readers in a comprehensible manner. Merci!
You are a natural teacher. Take this from someone who taught at the college level for 27 years. Unfortunately, I was not a french teacher. I taught foods/nutrition, which is how I came to want to learn french. After teaching food customs and culture for several years, we decided when I retired to rent an apartment in Nice for 5 months and cook with the Nicois. What a wonderful experience, and what a impetus for learning french. The fact that I am 66 years old and self-taught makes it a little difficult, but I keep plugging away. My improvement is slow, but your site and our yearly return to Nice makes it very, very enjoyable. Thank you so much. Jeanette
Merci, Laura. J’adore votre site. J’ai étudié à Nantes pendant 18 mois il y a une dizane d’années et la France me manque BEAUCOUP! J’aime bien lire les intros, et surtout voir des photos que vous avez montées. J’espère revenir en France bientôt. Je rêve d’y acheter une petite maison et y vivre un de ces jours. Pour le moment, je vais me contenter à suivre le DELF/DALF et c’est grâce à votre site que j’en suis consciente. Merci encore.
I think that about.com is really great and that the french lessons with Laura K Lawless are very helpfull in learning to speak french. A BIG THANKS TO YOU about.com and even bigger THANKS to Laura K Lawless. I have been your student for 5years. Thanks again Laura you are very much appreciated (senior student) Keith
Hello Laura,
I love your site and the e-mails you send out. Probably my favorites are the sound files with the transcripts, since I am trying very, very hard to improve my listening comprehension (my knowledge of grammar and reading ability far surpass my audio/lingual abilities!) However, the lessons are excellent for review. . . there’s a lot to “forget” if you don’t brush up.
Also, your Spanish site is soooo helpful. My major was French and minor was Spanish.
Thanks for all you are doing for us!!
Sharon
I’ll add to the acolades, I think your site is great. Currently my biggest problem/confusion is with pronunciation of verb conjugations. It would be a great help if there were audio files of the most common verbs and their complete conjugations!
Keep up the great work.
Great site — the most useful lessons for me have been the lists of verbs and their uses. For example — expressions with faire, avoir, etre. I also find the listening exercises to be helpful. I usually listen to a single transcript several times, following along with the transcript. Several days later, I try to return to the same exercise, this time, forcing myself to follow closely without the benefit of the transcript.
J’aime beaucoup votre website.
Mais je me demande, apres lisant vos commentaires écrit aujourd’hui, si les mots du jours sont prononcés comme Francophone, au naturel. Peut-on avoir la confiance en eux? Merci.
Great site full of useful information. Thanks Laura for the daily dairy!
Something that would make the site even more useful would be an easy way to make information available for working off-line – especially on the commuting train!
J’aime bien votre site! Cet ete, je vais suivre un cours immersion a l’Universite McGill a Montreal. Ca fait plus de dix ans que je prends le francais a l’universite. Alors j’utilise ce site pour emeliorer ma grammaire et vocabulaire, etc… Je ne peux pas attendre pour avoir l’abilite de parler le francais courament et correctement. Merci pour tout votre travaille.
Laura, I have never known how to contact you directly and appreciate the chance to say “bonjour” and say that I love your site and have been on it about 6 years. I use the site to keep me up to date and practicing the language, French of course. Please, I would like to have more advanced material and resources available even if I would have to pay. Your trip to France and you sharing it was so wonderful. That was very personal and I appreciate it. I lived in France in the 1980s and miss it so much. I try to keep up with the language and the new vocabulary and words each year which is so difficult to do not being there. I receive TV5 Monde here in the U.S. It is indespensable for a real contact with the french language in France and Quebec which I love. How do I contact you more directly? I have had to wait all of these years to compliment you on how well you do this site. Maybe a paying section to the site for advanced learners and people keeping up to date like myself might be a good idea. Je te remercie beaucoup de tout mon coeur, Laura
Excellent site. I have learnt a lot from here about the language i love a lot. Je ne suis pas courant mais je me suis beaucoup ameliore grace a ce site.
Je vous remercie bcp Laura.:-)
Your site has been the most powerful aspect of keeping my motivation going, in learning French. I love the newsletter emails…..I knew my French was coming along when I didn’t need to use the dictionary to translate these!!
Excellent work Laura
Chere Laura,
J’aime beaucoup votre site. I love the variety of the daily topics – lessons, quizzes, gestures, listening/comprehension. I particularly like the clear and logical explanations for each aspect of grammar and usage – very user-friendly for those learning French as a second language to English. Je vous remercie.
Cordialement votre,
Pauline (L’Australie)
Dear Laura,
Since I got hooked to your newsletter from a class mate, I’ve always look forward to it. You carry everyone along as if you know them personally. Your site is the best so far. I love browsing through the forum to compare and be encouraged by other people’s challenges, but I’ll like to read everyone’s contribution to a topic without clicking for next continuously. Thanks and God bless.
Thank you so much for a really terrific and comprehensive French language site. I review something on the site every day and I always find it stimulating and fun!
I am retired, married to a Frenchman (for 34 yeaars), and travel to France for about 3 months a year. I have struggled with French every since high school, and your site really helps me to work toward the fluency level, which is imperative for communicating with my husband’s family. Your passion for the French language really encourages me! Again, merci mille fois!
A friend of mine suggested I needed a hobby about 2 years ago. I already speak pretty good Spanish and some German, but decided I wanted to learn French. I found your site using Search, tested a few of the lessons and found I really loved it, I purchased a French program and dove into it. I added, another program to help me read and write French. I wrote poetry using French, (I write). And the best thing that has happended to me is I met a wonderful man on the internet who lives in Toulouse, speaks great english and loves helping me with my French. He says Im really good. Our friendship means a great deal to me and with out your help I would have never met him.
I visit your site at least once a week and love your newsletters.
My coment is in the form of a question which I have been meaning to as for some time. I find your letters Laura, relatively easy to read. Do you deliberately write in a beginners standard?
Thanks for a good site – I look at it twice a week, and have been doing so for about 5 years. I use French for twinning trips to France, and have several good family friends, who we stay with.
Can you add, perhaps once a month, some common expressions / proverbs etc
thanks
brian
I love your site! The newsletter is a wonderful way to practice French several times a week. Would it be possible for you to review some French magazines and give subscription information? I am interested in magazines in French (like Elle), magazines in English from/about France, and magazines in intermediate French for students. Thanks for all you do!
J’adore ce site! Je suis prof de francais, mais aussi je visite le site pour ameliorer mon propre niveau de la langue. Il y a toujours un tas de choses pour aider mes eleves et moi-meme. Merci bien Laura!
Merci mille fois Laura. I have loved French since I started learning age 10 with a Parisienne teacher, I am now 55. Your site helps me find more and more about the language and yours is the best site bar none I have ever visited.
I lived and studied in Monpellier 1956/57.It has been 50 years.That year cahnged and infomed my whole life. One of my passions has been to recovered my fluency and understanding ( stucture/grammar ) of the French language. I went back to school to our community college last fall to start all over again. When I found your site, then I knew that I had what I needed to really grow and re-learn the language that I adore. It has been a termendous help in my class. You are doing a FABULOUS job!!! I love especially your letters and the intensive grammar and tests, SoooooooooooooooL Helpful!.So Merci,mille,mille fois Laura.!!!!!!! Vive Laura!!!!!!
Of course I wonder if anyone reading this was in Montpellier when I was there?????????????????? I would love to find my copains from so long ago!!
C’est vraiment le meilleur site d’internet que j’ai trouve au sujet de la langue francaise. J’aime surtout le newsletter, parce que’il est relativement court, pas trop complex et si bien ecrit. J’espere Laura que vous pourriez continuer de maintenir ce superbe site. Merci Beaucoup.
I have used your site for about 6 months. Mainly I read the introductions and then compare my translation. I am currently using Michel Thomas CD’s which I find excellent. I would have liked to hear your introductions but understand it’s not possible. It’s a great site. Thank you.
My favorite part of the newsletter is the short introduction. It’s short and to the point, and I can check my understanding of it against the translation, noting any unfamiliar expressions or construction.
Merci beaucoup!
Votre site est une ressource excellente et inestimable pour toutes les questions sur la langue Française que j’ai pendant mon travail et j’aime aussi très bien lire votre newsletter même si je n’ai pas toujours le temps de le faire toute de suite. Il est toujours intéressant, particulièrement l’introduction, et il offre beaucoup de tuyaux précieux. Je l’ai déjà recommandé è plusieurs copines.
Keep up the good work!
Je trouve que votre cours sont tres bien pour des etudiants .
I’ve been using your site for about three years, Laura. It’s fabulous and very much appreciated.
Unfortunately, my life is far too busy for me to really study your lessons on a daily basis.
My reason for taking up French after one year’s study 50 years ago is simple. I use eBay a lot, mostly with French sellers, who expect to be contacted in French even when they reply in perfect English. Fair enough! It’s simply a matter of courtesy.
My biggest problem concerns ordinary non-textbook issues, such as “I’d love to bid on your item but you don’t take PayPal”; “Sending cash through the mail is illegal and Western Union is way too expensive”; “How do I pay you in cash when EURO banknotes come in 5, 10, 20, 50, etc denominations?”
Sincerely,
Mick.
Bonjour Laura, J’habite la Belgique, je suis tout d’abord belge mais flamande donc néerlandophone et non pas francophone. J’ai appris le français à l’école (à l’internat en 1958/59 et 1959/60 à mes 13 et 14 ans) en Wallonie et depuis lors j’ai toujours aimé la langue française. En plus j’ai eu de la chance car pour mon boulot (aujourd’hui j’ai 61 ans)j’utilise encore toujours le français et j’adore faire les traductions (dépliants, fiches techniques etc.)mais ce qu’il me manque c’est la conversation. Pour ne rien perdre de la langue française j’attends impatiemment votre newsletter pour lire la petite rubrique et pour voir s’il y a des petits trucs qui puissent me rafraîchir la mémoire. Vous faites un excellent travail et j’espère que vous continuerez encore très longtemps à nous surprendre!
A la prochaine! Francine
Dear Laura,
I live in Formosa, a province at the north of Argentina in the city of the same name.
I’ve found your site so so good that I use it every time I can to practice my english. I love your mails and suggestion.
I study French because I plan to live in Canada, in Montreal at Quebec. I already made my paper work to obtain my permanent resident visa. Waiting for answer from Embassy.
You’re site is excellent and I’m always so so surprised by the power of Internet. Because you are so far away…. and I still contact you and have the benefits of your aknowledge in french and all the work you’ve done to teach this beatiful language.
Sending my best wishes and love from Formsa, Argentina.
Martin
PD: My mother langue is Spanish, Argentinean version. If you have any question please do it I’ll reply with pleasure.
Hugs,
Hey, Laura! I’ve been using your site for three years or so… for almost as long as I’ve been learning French. I love it. You’re awesome. Seriously, I’d be a fish on land without your site.
I’m 17 and also learning Romanian. With so little material, it’s hard. Maybe one day, if I master the Romanian language, I’ll make a site like yours for that language. It’s really a wonderful thing you do.
i started delving into this site 4 years ago and i continue to use it daily- it never ceases to educate and entertain – thank you for having everything to keep a person stimulated – when i think of doing my o level in the 80s with the use of one text book – how much more lucky i am to have come across this – i think i have read most of your sections and thankfully they are not exhaustive – you have helped me sooooooooo much for free! merci mille fois
I think you are amazing! I began teaching french two years ago…after basically not having dealt with it in 30 years! After extensive searching for sites that would be helpful to me, I found yours. I teach K-8 french (and music). Grades 6-8 use a textbook, but the other grades are up to me (and you). Merci beaucoup!
I think your site is great, Laura, except when you show your PC vegetarianism.
Actually I’ve nothing against vegetarians, but few Americans (or Australians) understand that gender is about grammar and sex is about biology.
I would like to see much – repeat MUCH – more on actually USING French in real life eBay transactions. For example,
“You don’t use PayPal, it’s illegal for me to have a French bank account, it’s illegal for me to send cash through the mails, and international money orders cost both of us (sender and recipient) an arm and a leg.”
“Western Union” is a real rip-off and there’s no security.”
“What’s the total cost, including packing and postage, to Australia?”
“I’ve got a problem. The total is 5.05 euros, more than a 5 euro banknote. What do I do? Send you a 10 euro banknote? And what about the change?”
These illustrate some of the problems I have with French and about.french.com.
Cordialement,
Mick.
You do what you love and you love what you do. You are blessed!
Your friend,
Don
I had two years of French in college many years ago and liked it very much. I’ve stayed in touch with French through French opera, Planetecinema on Yahoo.fr and About French. About French is a great refresher course and a great site in general.
This site is fabulous. I have improved my French vocabulary and comprehension of the use of the language. I treasure every lesson, and I wish the lessons were all in a reference book or books. I thank you for a wonderful learning tool that has been a big plus for me.
The site is wonderful, and I very much enjoy the personal tone of the initial paragraphs. I would, however, like to know how to communicate with Laura — I have read her questions to us, but I don’t know how to answer her, or to ask her anything. I’ve been involved with French for 50 years and it’s the love of the language that keeps me at it!
Thanks for asking.
Dear Laura. Iam from Lithuania.Iam 65 years of age.My hoby learning langua-
ges. English I study many years.I learn German also.Speak Russian and read very wel.With yuors help I begin
study francais. Thank you very much.
Many thanks for this very useful language site. It became so dear and trusty like a good friend/a faithful companion which is something rare indeed! I do realize the great effort you excert to achieve such success, therefore accept my heartly appreciation and thankfulness.
Laura, you obviously put a lot of thought and effort into this site, and I appreciate it. I took French up through my freshman year in college, and I am happy to say these lesssons and features are bringing a lot of it back!
this site is great. my favorite part is your personal message. i would have liked to be able to make more than one response on your poll, because some of the questions had several answers for me. keep up the good work!
I too have often wondered how those readers you quote make contact with you!
Thanks for the site – it’s great. Trouble is I usually save the daily lessons for when I have time….and time never comes, what with a full-time job and lots of other activities. There wasn’t a box for people like me- pretty fluent at 21 (minored in French, lived on French corridor at Swarthmore dorm) and then 40 years of disuse. Am now taking lit classes and made friends at Sacramento’s Alliance Francaise (I’m VP of the Conseil d’Administration) and trying to revive my French. Learning and remembering are hard at 65! Thanks for plugging the Alliance!! Jane
Hi Laura
You have a great website for learning french. I love learning this language. I am an independant student trying to become fluent. With your help i MIGHT JUST DO IT. I find your lessons a great support with many references to grammar that i don’t see in books.
Keep the site just as it is.GREAT!!
Salut Laura,
J’ai essayé de bien répondre à vos questions. Votre site est super, et surtout, je pense, grace à toi. J’adore lire vos mots salutaires dans tous les mails que je reçois. Les leçons (je suppose que c’est ça) dans les mails sont très claires et très bien précisées. Vous êtes un bijou – beaucoup plus et mieux.. Merci : )
Your website is extremely helpful with my learning of French. I thank you for your support!
Excellent and comprehensive site. First-class resource for teaching material especially Mot du jour. I enjoy your Newsletters. At first I didn’t think Laura was a real person, but now have come to know you very well. Thank you for sharing your life and thougths with us.
I am a French teacher in Australia, and I recommend your site to my students. There is so much on it, and it is so helpful with clear explanations and examples. I wish I had time to read all the links and to organise a list of all the interesting topica nd links you have given over the years! I also teach German and subscribe to about.com. German, but I find your site twice as helpful and more interesting. Keep up the great work!
Merci Laura pour votre site et tout votre travail! J’aime lire votre nouvelles dans votre bulletins, aussi les leçons du jour.
Bien sûr les aides comme listes des verbes avec translation et le “fonction rechercher” sont très utiles. Pourriez vous fournir plusieurs des listes comme des nouns, adjectives, adverbs etc par ordre alphabétique? Maintenez-vous votre travail marveilleux s’il vous plait
Dear Laura
I love your website. I have a degree in French and teach it at high school, but I still come across things that puzzle me, or points of grammar that I know instinctively but do not know how to communicate to students. For example, ever since I started learning French I’ve wondered why we use “tres bien” to mean “very good”. I have searched grammar books in vain for an explanation. But lo and behold, in your page on “Bon vs Bien” you write “bien can only be used as an adjective with copular (state-of-being) verbs such as etre”. Voila – 30 years of puzzlement cleared up at a stroke. You give the clearest and most comprehensive explanations of grammar I have ever come across. Long may your website continue!
Laura, without your site I may not have continued with my lessons. The information and audios have been invaluable in motivating me and re-enforcing what I learn in my lessons. I am lucky to have a wonderful, supportive and patient French lady here in Australia as my teacher. Merci beaucoup.
Bonjour!
J’apprends le français depuis 2002
J’aime bien votre site pour sa bonne structuration et courts exercices.
Les “newsletters” que je reçois sont interessantes et m’aide à connaître
mieux la culture française et bien sûr
le vocabulaire et la grammaire.
It is a brilliant site, exceptionally well thought-out. The listening comprehension A ( can’t make accent on capital! ) Mois Paris has improved my listening skills from zero to somewhere better and the lessons are really well judged with plenty of interesting material everywhere. Thank you.
Thanks,Laura- I’ve been on your site since returning five years ago from an Elderhostel French course in Southwest France.I have been trying to learn and speak French since I was 20,but I married a fabulous guy whose native language was French and consequently let him do all the French talking. Now I.m starting again -thanks so much for your great site.
patti
I only have to say THANK YOU. I really enjoy the minutes I spend reading your site. I really do. I can not say what is my favourite part of the site, I enjoy all of them, and of course, I enjoy the newsletter with your comments.
Thanks again¡¡¡¡ best regards from Barcelona, Spain.
I took up French when I retired 16 years ago bur am slow and did not get on well in classrooms so I chose to read French books with the result I now read French very well but struggle with writing grammatically and can hardly speak it at all so I very much appreciate your mot de jour and other grammatical explanations. I have found “NaturalReader” text to speech which I use on your newsletter to try to improve my speech comprehension but being 78 years of age I doubt that I will now improve very much as I can only spend limited time on this. I thank you so much for your newsletter and the links you provide. I skype a Parisian but he wont slow down.
Laura, I must be a bit thick, if not France what country do you live in???
Next to the weekly 2 hour class I go to (about to start the third year) and the set text book I use your site as a good third resource, especially translating your ‘Salut tous le monde’ and seeing how sentences are formed. I have horrible times with French grammer so a little more simple stuff on the subject would be helpful.
Ian
Merci Laura, et vous allez rire, moi qui suis française, j’ utilise votre site à l’ envers, pour apprendre l’ américain….Very helpful !
Bonjour! Merci Beaucoup, merci beaucoup et merci beucoup! J’aime votre site. J’ai fait de progres en francais en raison de votre web site.
Ma premiere langue est Navajo (Indien d’amerique)…..tres different que francais. Pour cette raison, je peux prononcer la langue francaise sans difficulte. Mais j’ai la difficulte avec la comprehension. C’est pourquoi j’aime bien des exercices en “listening comprehension”
A l’universite, je survecu au cours intensif de francais il ya plus de vingts ans maintenant. Malheureusement, j’ai oublie beaucoup de mots francais. Votre site m’aide a continuer a lire et pratiquer la langue francaise. Ca marche, j’ai ete en France beaucoup de fois et ils disent que je parle francais bien! (Well almost! we won’t mention a couple of unintentional insults made as a result of my misunderstanding of the language)
J’adore paris et la france. A plute.
Laura – I found your site several months back when I started taking full time French language training for my job. Your site has helped me understand grammar rules my profs could never get through my head. I’ve recommended your site to every student of French I’ve met. Everyone finds it helpful. As an anglophone living in Quebec, having the capacity to understand, read and speak French is an incredible advantage. I completed full time training 2 weeks ago (and passed!), but I’ll continue to use your site on a regular basis. Je vous remercie….Beverly
Dear Laura,
Vous ne savez jamais que vous devenez mon amie en site. Il me faut qu’être sur votre web-site tous les jours depuis plusieur d’un an. Je n’ai pas la chance d’aller au classe mais c’était ma chance trouver votre site. Vous m’aidez beaucoup de me faire approcher ma langue favorable. Merci beaucoup pour votre dévouement et votre travail productif.
Tous mes voeux pour votre succes et bien-être.
Chere Laura,
Je suis etudiante indienne de la langue francais.J”aime toutes les choses sur le site. Il ya bcp de choses que j”utilise dand votre site. Il m~aide enseigner la langue francaise. Je vous remercie. Ma fille bien etudie cette langue.
Coridialement,
Yashoda Avocate
Bangalore-inde.
31/07/06.
Salut Laura
I live in Nigeria and came across your site by accident. Since then i have been hooked. I love the French language and have visited France twice and it was simply magnifique! I love receiving your newsletter and usually i am able to read it without the help of the English translation. It’s a great help to know that i can always check the translation. I also love the mot du jour. I use every opportunity to practice on anyone who comes close whether they understand or not! Keep up the good work. I would love to get to know you better too. Can you send me an email? I guess you have access to mine. p.s I hope your dream of living in France comes true. Don’t give up!
The site is brilliant. I agree with others who said that the best part is your greeting and news as the vocabulary there may not be covered in any book or site and it makes the learning more fun and friendly. It is wonderful to provide such a fine service for free and I really appreciate it.
Salut Laura,
Une petite note de felicitations! Ton site m’est tres utile car il est tres facile d’y trouver une activite pour mes eleves. J’adore tes Listening Tasks qui sont toujours tres actuelles et tres interessantes. Bravo, merci et bonne continuation!
I lived in France as a child, but that didn’t help – I just wish I had a better affinity for languages but I have to work very hard, especially on listening comprenhension. My hope is one day it will just click (I am told this happens). As such, I will continue to work on it. This is the best site for learning I have found and really enjoy it! Merci, Laura
I particularly appreciate your personal passion and approach to the language. I am sure that your word of the day section has enormouly improved my vocabulary and I am beginning to rely on your lessons more and more. Thank you for your great work!
I am happy to see a sister MIIS grad who is so successful! I received my MBA from MIIS in 1987.
In your survey you ask “what are your French learning methods/tools?” One I like to use is podcasts which I listen to on my Ipod Nano. There are 2 very good ones. The French Pod Class is done by a French MIIS student. Another is called “Europe 1″ — it’s a 15 minute daily French radio broadcast. Podcasting is a great way for adults to learn because we can listen to it at odd times to multi-task — like while cooking dinner!
I love your email messages — really fun to read, and they help to keep my French fresh!
Merci beaucoup.
Sheila
Laura,
Merci beaucoup pour tout votre travail. C’est toujours un plasir de recevoir les emails avec les nouvelles de votre vie. J’espere que votre visa vous trouvera tres vite. J’attend avec impatience les nouvelles de ta vie en France!
(Je regrette que j’ai completement oublie comment faire les accents sur un PC!– c’est beaucoup plus facile sur un MAC.)
felecitation Laura et merci beaucoup pour votre travail. En avance.
Banana
Chère Laura! J’habite à Mumbai en Inde.
Merci mille fois pour votre site qui est super. J’ai trouvé les exercices d’écoute très utile. Mais on ne peut pas télécharger tous les exercices et beaucoup d’exercices exigent qu’on reste en ligne pour les faire . Est-ce que c’est possible de télécharger tous les exercices d’écoute dans l’avenir?
Je vous remercie aussi pour votre recommandations des livres sur une variété des sujets.
C’est une trouvaille votre site! J’aime surtout les petites lecons grammaticales et le mot du jour. J’espere que vous auriez la chance de faire de plus en plus…
I LOVE your site, have it as my Homepage and read it first every morning. Since I have no one to speak French with, I’m a very slow learner, but listen to your Audios and often as possible hoping to develop the “ear” for French. Thanks so much for your LOVING effort. I do hope your sojourn in France doesn’t tempt you to cease in this much appreciated endeavor. Sincerely, Goldie
Laura, your site is a treasure for French teachers like myself. Yours is one of the sites that I use over and over again. You provide us with info not easily attained elsewhere. I have not been able to travel much in the past few years so I live vicariously through your travels and stories. You provide a great service for those of us who are fighting against dwindling French enrollments in our schools. With your help and the help of others who connect through your site we can strive to promote this wonderful language and culture. Vive la francophonie!
Many thanks, Laura for all your hard work. This is, without a doubt, the most useful site I have come across (I also subscribe to about.Italian which does not come close to the high standard you have set). I always look forward to your newsletters and use it and the daily lessons, mot du jour & citation du jour to structure my learning. I am also amazed at how much help you give in the Forums as well. Thank you again for making learning French so easy and oh so enjoyable.
J’aime plutot les “Mot de Jour français.” Je les appelle “the French funnies.” Le grammaire et les contrôles sont assez bien aussi. Mais j’aime mieux d’instruire avec la musique et les blagues s’il est possible.
Je ne suis pas étudiante ou prof de langues, je suis simplement une Française, naturalisée Américaine, habitant le Midwest et qui aime rester en contact avec sa langue natale. J’aime beaucoup le site de Laura. J’ai répondu à son questionnaire et ai été surprise de voir que les “native speakers” étaient dans la minorité. Après beaucoup d’années passées loin de mon pays natal, j’apprécie lire des nouvelles et anecdotes en Français. Merci.
I use some of the activities on your site with my high school students and I have the site bookmarked on our class laptops. The sound files of alphabet, numbers, gestures, etc. are fun for beginning students and encourage them to use this site to learn French. The lessons and daily words/citations are succinct and helpful and give explanations in an interactive way that the textbook does not. I consider this site to be part of their educational materials. It gives us a great reason to use the technology. And I know the kids like this activity.
Thank you.
This is the site I recommend to everyone in my french class and to anyone wanting to study french. I love the organization of your site, the interesting lessons, the sound files-everything. I print out the quizzes and do them on the train during commute. I can print out a verb page and study only that, if I want. Your site is flexible and useful (I also tried the Italian language site, expecting something like yours and was disappointed). Thanks.
Hi, i just recently found this out of sheer curiosity and the love of the language. Since i’m not French, i enjoy your sound files ’cause they help me with pronounciation.I hope i will be fluent in future. Please keep it up, I love your Site very much.
French is my maternal language. I speak it, write it and (of course) read it fluently. But knowing a languagbe is ALWAYS an ongoing process so I just keep on learning.
following my above message…. Writing it never stops me from making typos… see the word “language” which I just butchered….
Merci. Je regarde le mot du jour pour chaque journée – lundi à vendredi – depuis plus quatre ans. Aussi les écris-je sur une feuille de papier. Maintenant, les mots commencent à se répéter! Les leçons et les bulletins sont aussi utiles. Je te souhaite une bonne continuation et bonne chance avec le visa.
Laura, Yo he tenido la curiosidad de este idioma desde que vivia en California. Y pues, lo relaciono con mi propio idioma “Español”, creo que el mundo hispano que se esta desarrollando no solo aqui en Mexico como todo Latinoamerica y Estados Unidos su reencuentro con este idioma de Arte y de comprension humana me lleva a transformarlo a comprender lo que esta relacionado con sus bellas artes como en el Museo de Louvre. Para mi es un encanto satisfacerlo como una fuente de agua para los sedientos de Conocimiento. Pues, Laura que diria, que en mi sueños personales me encuentro con una Diosa desprendida de Mayah, comprendida ella de estrellas celestes como tambien de asteroides, centellas y cometas. Esa Diosa es Venus. Significa para mi el propio aposento de mujeres martires de mi propio pais “Mexico” Representada del color “Azul” que es de obreros. Este idioma de sangre azul consiente desde las mas precarios y remotos inicios de la propia Europa. Es sin duda nuestro primer elemento que debemos protegerlo y no privatizarlo: Es El A G U A.
Dear Laura:
Several years ago a Ferench tutor of mine gave me some printouts from your site to help in our lessons…I have been using the site ever since, usually following the links to lessons which you give in your regular e-mails ( which I enjoy reading enormously!). Your site sustains me in my neverending attempt to achieve greater fluency when I do not have the time or motivation to keep studying through classes, books and tapes. It is truly wonderful how you have lessons for students of any level. Even after six years of formal study in high school and college, and several years of very serious self study and tutoring about 25 years later, I still struggle to make that very difficult step up from advanced intermediate/low level advanced to becoming truly comfortable comprehending and conversing…But your site helps me inch a bit closer every day! And whenever I have the opportunity to visit a francophone country I find myself a little less intimnidated and awkward.
Salut et merci mille fois!!!!!
Philippe Sullivan
Laura:
Yours is by far the best French resource website on the internet. It has been invaluable to me in my projects and in my interest in the French language and culture.
Merci mille fois.
What a fantastic resource for French language learners and teachers! Wow! I just recently found this site and am thrilled to have found it before the start of a new school year as I am a Core French (FSL) teacher – this will certainly make my life easier. I have also been able to use the site in my tutoring job, to recommend to my student. I also love the fact I can brush up on my own French by completing the lessons, quizzes and exercises of all sorts. This is such a huge resource collection that it has taken some time to navigate, but well worth it. Thanks!
Have been visiting this site for 4 or 5 years now! (Since before I really started taking classes or anything!) Now, between semesters, I find it really great to be able to visit this site! Thank you!
This is a great site. I cannot resist visiting it for good lessons.Please keep helping a great number of people even as you do not necessarily know them. Thanks.
Hi. I use this site for about 3 years.it is so useful for me .it is one of the best french sources.
Merci beaucoup, Laura. Quelle bonne ouvrage.
Merci beaucoup, Laura. Felicitations et Fantastique.
-Finally I found who gives his experience without thinking that it will make others better than him.
-I am saying that because this is my 6 years in learning French , but believe it or not, until now I can n`t speak french and ان شاء اللهafter two years I will be a translator in English and french and Arabic.I will be bad I know.
-Any way Thank you Laura for your help…
Mon professeur de français vient de me dire de votre site-web et il faut que j’admisse, je suis très impressionné. J’aime les contrôles surtout, peut-être parce que je suis toujours très compétitif, même avec moi-même! Merci pour tout Laura.
Laura, I wish I could say this in French, but I’m still a beginner, really. To say what I like about your site would mean to turn this posting into a very long exposition. So I simply say: Well done and many, many thanks.
10 emes anniversaire et felicitations heureux!
(sorry about the accents missing)
Je suis d’australie et essayant de reapprendre le francais.
Je peux venir en France pour vivre pendant quelques mois, si je suis chanceux!
Maintenez le bon travail! au revoir pour maintenant, Jannette (Hope that’s understandable!!)
Bon anniversaire au site. Dire que j’étais déjà là au tout début.
Un grand bravo aussi à Laura. Je me suis toujours demandé comment tu faisais pour sans cesse trouver des nouvelles idées d’articles.
Sylvain
laura the great ;you are learning the french language in a very magnificant way and your magic style is highly acceptable by different kinds of people all over the world and i would like strongly thank you for keeping your efforts in growing our knowledge in this lovely language.
Bon soir Laura! I’m a beginner and currently studying w/ a native Parisenne…I use your site toujours!
Merci beaucoup!
Chere Laura,
Merci beaucoup pour votre travail qui est vraiment extraordinaire! J’adore votre site (surtout “Les Mot du Jour” et “Expressions en francais”. Votre site est vraiment utile pour les etudiants de francais qui habitent dans les pays anglophones! Bonne Continuation!
Laura, je suis vraiment passionne par le francais. Je voudrais devenir un professeur de francais un jour ou un traducteur de francais-anglais (et inversement). C’est mon reve professionnelle!
Bien Cordialement,
Shaunaq Kashikar
(From Bangalore, India)
Mobile No. +91-9945281584
E-mail Id: shaunakck@gmail.com
C’est mon site Web préféré du monde.
Cool, comment number 200, is that a record?!?
Congratulations Laura, qu’il serait 10 ans de plus
Thank you Laura for your hard work on this site. I visit several times per week I read your articles about your experiences in France and enjoy them very much. everything else you contribute is helpful to me. I also like the sound files for pronunciation and the stories like “A Moi A Paris.” I appreciate you very much,
Victoria Rock
Laura what a terrific site … I can remember when I first stumbled upon it 3-4 years ago… I was cutting and pasting like there was no tomorrow thinking ‘this can’t be free’ of course now I am a very regular visitor and love to see friends’ faces after they have come to the site for the first time. All aspects help with our learning and it has solved many a grammar debate. How wonderful to have this help to assist with our understanding of the French language and at the same time brushing up our English!! Mille merci Laura
Salut,Laura, je viens de la Chine et j’ai commencé à connaître votre site par hazard depuis dix mois environ quand je n’ai sais pas comment j’ai pu continuer à apprendre français par moi. Et maintenant, je me benifite beaucoup de ce site et en particulièr votre blogs et leçons. Même si il y a des autres de sites, votre site n’est pas replacé. Merci beaucoup.
P.S.:
Pour moi, votre site est aussi utilisé comme google quand j’ai des questions sur le français. J’ai toujours trouvé une bonne explication ici. Merci.
I found your site when it first started and have been using it for ten years. There is so much on it – it’s unbelievable! The best thing about your site is the format of the lessons, etc. It’s very easy to read and learn with your visual charts and colors. I feel like I know you since I’ve been reading your blog for years. I’m also vegetarian so I love your recipes as well. I have been studying french for over 30 years – just for the love of the language and all things french. Congratulations on your 10 years of excellent work!!
I have been living in France since last year for professional reasons, Je suis turc et avocate and I started to learn French 3 months ago, I know I am late but beyond my surival efforts I need to learn French for my profession. I found this site by coincidence while surfing on internet. Work is very busy and I can only go to courses for 2 hours a week. I can not stand to be dumb here in France anymore. Many thanks for all your great work here!!
Chere Laura,
Je te remercie pour cette web page, je visite souvent french.about.com . J’ai deja visité beaucoup des sites, mais cette site un les meilleurs. Je te demande de continuue de meme maniere.
Pardonnez moi pour les fautes.
Bonjour,
Je suis tres content de votre site et de votre newsletter.
J’habite en Turquie. Je parle Anglais et Allemand aussi et je veux lire …. French newsletters so I can refresh my memory of French a little bit otherwise I will forget all I had learned before.
Bonjour,
J’habite en Bulgarie. J’adore ce site. Je suis prof de IT. Je parle Bulgare et petit Anglais.
Je suis d’angleterre, j’adore votre site. C’est toujours interessant, et il m’aide apprendre la français. Je visite la France un ou deux fois par an. Je voudrais habiter là!
Bisous
Simply Awesome!!!
Merci
I really enjoy this site and look forward to seeing it in my inbox. It compliments the software programme that I am using very well and it gives me confidence to speak to people in the shops, etc. and believe that I will one day be a french speaker. Many thanks for all the hard work that must go into preparing the site, I truly appreciate it.
Your goal is to be a french speaker huh? That is awesome, good luck on that! How resourceful is this site? It is amazing, I love it!