Tonight while searching around for different clips on YouTube and Daily Motion, we found ourselves on the homepage of INA. INA is the Institute National de l'Audiovisuel. INA claims to be "the first audiovisual archive center in the world and the first digital image databank in Europe." Through their site you can access 100,000 different broadcasts from radio and television.

You can begin exploring INA buy looking into one of many categories such as themes, personnalites, epoques, or programmes. We searched through the personnalities categories and found ourselves checking out clips about Renaud, Colette, Brel, and many others. You could also enter something into their search engine and see what comes up.

While you can watch or listen to most things for free, I believe you have to pay a fee if you want to download anything. For some longer clips you are only given a 10 minute extract. 

A while ago, I had the goal of attending a French university. This goal is still very much alive in my mind but it has been put on the back burner for just a bit. However, one of the entrance requirements for foreign students is a certain level in French. Most universities, schools, and textbooks are moving towards categorizing levels based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). I am not 100% sure but I believe to enter into French university you should have at least a B2 level. This may depend on the university and what program you are entering into. My intention is to enroll into a program as a regular student not as a student of French as a foreign language.

Currently, you can take two routes. First, there is the TCF-DAP (and/or TCF). The TCF is the Test de Connaissance de Français. The TCF is open to anyone who would like to determine their level in French. The TCF-DAP is intended for those who wish to enter into the first cycle of French university. It seems that this test covers all of the CEFR levels in one exam, you progress through each level and in the end you have an idea of where you stand.

The other option is take a DELF/DALF exam. The DELF (Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française) covers levels A1 through B2 of the CEFR and the DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) covers levels C1 and C2 with each level having its own individual exam. This is an official diploma from the French Ministry of National Education and is only for foreign students. This exam can be taken all over the world. Here are some subject examples.

Realizing that I was having trouble structuring my language learning, I thought it might be a good idea to revisit the CEFR levels in order to give myself a short-term goal. (The long-term is goal is to become fluent.) Also, if I have a diploma under my belt, I am all set to enter into French university when the time comes.

But I have no idea what my level is.

I picked up a book called Le Nouvel Entrainez-vous: DELF B1 to see how I did with the exercises. So far the oral comprehension exercises have been easy but I think that the written and oral production sections are not going to go so smoothly. I'll keep you posted.

Lastly, I am considering taking a correspondance/online class through CNED (Centre national d'enseignement à distance). Anyone can take classes through CNED and they offer courses to prepare for each level of the DELF/DALF as well as the TCF. The prices are reasonable and you have a tutor who works with you. For an extra fee, you can participate in forums and discussion boards with other students doing the same course.

Anyone have experience with this?

The BBC's French Language Learning website is full of great resources. It has fun games (which I love), videos, and other interesting tidbits. Their interactive course, Ma France, is quite impressive.

There are 24 interactive videos with authentic French and somewhat authentic situations. You follow the video route through one of my favorite parts of France, Lyons and the Alps. While you watch each video you have the option to have subtitles in both French or English and each video segment is followed by games and activities. There is also a vocabulary list and grammar explanations. I suggest creating an account so that you can keep track of your progress as you go along. (For some reason, I couldn't access all the activities without signing up.)

In addition to the video course, Ma France also has a podcast series that covers a variety of subjects from "how not to get lost" to "house-hunting."

They suggest that you have some experience with French in order to use the course but with the English subtitles I think even beginners could get something out of this. Also, be sure to check out the other resources in the French section. They have a level test which is followed up with suggestions that are appropriate.

Have fun and tell me what you think!

Even if you feel silly, singing in French is really helpful. I am a fan of the French artist Bénabar and I found a few videos on YouTube that are fairly easy to understand. Elles sont tellement drôle.

Everyone does it. Musicians, athletes, yogis. It is the subject of latest podcast that my husband is working on. Camille, from Easy French Poetry, says just one line in English during her podcast: "Remember, repetition is key."

So, here I am listening to my podcasts, reading my books, and really enjoying myself. But I keep asking myself, what am I supposed to repeat? Where do I begin?

I think this is the hardest part of independent study. The role of the teacher is to structure the learning process and help guide you through the important points in a somewhat logical sense. Without a framework, I feel a little lost.

Today, while listening to the book, I realized that I could write down words that I don't know or I am not sure about. This would give me a list to repeat but is simply repeating words enough. And which words do I choose? Nouns? Verbs? Wouldn't phrases be better and if so, which phrases?

I suppose I am a bit intimidated by the work. Listening has been so enjoyable and so easy but I definitely need to take it further.

Any ideas?

In the meantime, I suggest checking out Le journal en français facile which was recommended to me by Lucy. I really like that it is easy but not too easy. And you get the transcript. I love that.

I found the podcast, Easy French Poetry in Itunes. I loaded up the two most recent episodes and have since gone back for more. I really like Camille's podcast. First, she is French so you are getting an authentic experience. Second, she speaks almost entirely in French. I have expressed before that I have a hard time when language learning podcasts include too much English - it distracts me. Third, her content is interesting and intellectual. Her method of discussing and analyzing poems is similar to the style that my professor used during my Sorbonne classes. In fact, some of the poems she has featured on her podcast are the same that we studied in my class, like Demain dès l’aube de Victor Hugo.

In addition to her Easy French Poetry podcast, Camille has free lessons, a free online book, and travel tips on her website. If you live in the Boston area you can go have a lesson with her and if you live a bit further away, you could try lessons by telephone. Either way, go check out her work. It is quite impressive and very well done - she does it all herself so if you enjoy her material consider giving her a donation or purchasing one of her books.

Thanks Camille for a great French learning tool!

Life has been a bit hectic chez nous so I haven't been able to plunge into some of the bigger projects I have in mind for my french development. Keeping my iPod filled with lots of French podcasts has been a great way to fit a little bit of practice into my life. Basically, I spend all of my metro and train riding time listening to French.

I picked up a few books on tape (along with the books themselves) at our local library so right now I am working my way through La jeune fille à la perle. I thought choosing a book that I had already read in English would give me a little advantage since I already know the basic plotline. At times I think it may be a disadvantage because I don't have to concentrate quite as hard since I can already imagine in my mind what is happening. Also, I have listened to the first CD about three times now and I am ready to do something more with the text but I am not sure where to begin.

Should I first start identifying words that I am not sure about? Should I work on writing down phrases that I want to learn? Should I work on a specific grammar point?

The only two annoying points are: 1) The text is abridged on the CD so suddenly the dialogue jobs ahead 3 or 4 paragraphs and I have to pause the audio in order to find out

where I should be and 2) it is written in passé simple. I can't complain too much about this because passé simple is a literary tense but it doesn't help me in finding ways to incorporate what I am reading into my everyday speech.

Other than that, the reader speaks French very well and clearly although quite fast. The story is interesting and after reading it one time through with the book and then listening without the book, I found that I understood quite a bit.

Make sure you check out the great links that Lucy left in the comments of the previous post! Thanks Lucy!

If you don't know about LibriVox yet, you've got to check it out.

Et en plus, they have recordings in French. So essentially, you are able to access texts in the public domain and their recordings. C'est genial comme idée!

Charles Perrault: Le petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), Cendrillon (Cinderella), le Chat botté (Puss in Boots) to simply name a few.

Fables de La Fontaine

Le Tour de Monde en quatre-vingts jours de Jules Verne (Around the World in 80 Days)

J’accuse par Émile Zola

List of French recordings here.

Does this happen to you? I am moving along, working on a language, feeling pretty good and suddenly a word appears that I have never seen before. Then, it is everywhere I look. (Granted, I live in a french speaking country so this happens a little more often for me.) I wonder how this word escaped my radar if it is so common and then I wonder, what the heck does it mean?

Right now, this word for me is oser. First, I saw it on a poster for one of the presidential candidates, José Bové. (If you don't know who this guy is, read about him here in french or english.) The poster said, Osez Bové. I thought that it was pretty cute because it rhymes and it is catchy but I still didn't know what it meant. Then I saw it on the cover of a magazine, which I can't recall the name of but the tagline was something similar to the one on this page. Yesterday, I noticed in one of my son's books. It was talking about the sharp teeth of a shark...sens comme mes dents sont pointues...si tu l'oses! Feel how sharp my teeth are...if you dare!

oser [oze] to dare

Even though I kept asking my husband what it meant, the meaning just didn't seem to stick in my head and each time I saw it I was left wondering what it meant. So, today I looked it in up in our gigantic Robert & Collins. Here are some expressions they listed:

• il faut oser! one must take risks
• oser fair quelquechose to dare (to) do something
• il voudrais bien mais je n'ose pas I'd like to but I don't dare
• approache si tu l'oses come over here if you dare
• comment osez-vous! how dare you!

oser conjugates like a regular -er verb such as aimer, so that it makes it much easier to use in my everyday language. The next step is to figure out how to do just that.

If you look at the sentance about the shark's teeth, it doesn't say si tu oses. It says, si tu l'oses which would probably be directly translated as if you dare to. My guess is that if previously in the dialogue I have referred to the action which I am daring to do, I need to use this reference when forming my response with oser. Let' see...

Now that I know the definition of oser I can start using it in my everyday language...if I dare!

Maintenant que je sais la définition d'oser je peux commencer a utiliser dans ma langage quotidien...si je l'ose!

Edited to add: So, there are a few mistakes in my translation above.

Maintenant que je connais la définition d'oser je peux commencer à l'utilser dans mon langage quotidien...si je l'ose!

In any case, I don't think I will forget the meaning of oser again!

In my last post I mentioned the radio show, Les Petits Bateaux. This show is broadcast on franceInter which is part of Radio France. Radio France is the french equivalent of NPR or BBC Radio. There is a lot of great stuff to listen to and most of it can be listened to streaming on the Internet and more and more is becoming available in podcast form. But, perhaps you just feel like listening to some music in French. I suggest checking out FIP. FIP is one of my favorite radio stations. It is truly eclectic, placing classical music next to James Brown...and somehow they make it all work. Listening to FIP will expose you to some new French (and not French) music mixed in with old favorites. They really have something for everyone. Check it out!

(During the day you can track what song is playing as well as what has just played and what is to come but between 11 pm and 7 am France time, this service is not available.)