French Language
Classes Frenchness French Language
5 Reasons to Join AF Chicago this Fall!
Jess from Scotch & the Fox is one of our students! 1: It’s the place for all things French in Chicago! The Alliance Française de Chicago is the place for all things French in the city! It was established in 1897 and is part of an international network of over 1,100 Alliances and affiliated cultural centers worldwide. It is the second oldest Alliance Française in the U.S. and second largest after the one in New York City.
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Francophone Fun French Language
Go Away, Dr and Mrs. Vandertramp – 8 Superior Acronyms for remembering the “être” verbs
I have a confession to make – I hate Dr. and Mrs. Vandertramp. If you’re not familiar (and I envy you, hypothetical reader), DR MRS VANDERTRAMP is the acronym French students are often forced to learn in order to help them remember the list of irregular verbs that take “être” rather than “avoir” when conjugated in the passé composé. Here’s the problem – the Vandertramps are boring as hell. You may be thinking that it’s odd to pass such judgment over an anthropomorphized mnemonic device, but I’ve spent more grammatical time with the good doctor and his wife than I’ve really cared to over the years, and they are the dullest imaginary friends ever. When I reach into the rattling void of my mind, straining to remember whether “devenir” is an unpretentious verb or one of those annoying ones that deserves special treatment, I’m greeted by the mental image of a buttoned up couple of nevilles who look exactly like the dynamic duo from American Gothic. There is nothing glamorous about the Vandertramps. No sex appeal. No danger. Their favorite drink is warm milk and their favorite movie is the American Airlines pre-flight safety video.
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Francophone Fun French Language Spotlights
Top Ten French Names for Animals Because Why Not at this Point
Hey francophiles. Crazy week, huh? (It doesn’t actually matter when you read this; I’m sure that week has been crazy too) In an effort to distract myself from the mounting horrors of the outside world and the mounting responsibilities of the inside world, I’ve started regarding my pile of books with a special kind of attention usually reserved for savants or madmen. From these hours of nervous-avoidant reading, I’ve come to realize that one of my favorite things about the French language is its propensity for having wildly better names for animals than English does. Sure, we can concede that simply everything sounds better en français, but there’s no arguing that the French know how to name their critters. I don’t really have any criteria for my ranking system, other than the explosive need to share these really great-sounding words with you. I will provide a rationale for each entry, so bear with me. Also, if it weren’t already apparent, this is not a list of cool French suggestions for pet names. As a piece of consolation, “Gigi” normally works fine.
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8 French-language comics that helped me learn French
By Matthew Jackson, AF staff Much like Barbie once said of math class, French is tough! I took class after class in a long trajectory from middle school to college and wasn’t confident enough to read a full novel until somewhere around my second college-level course. But during that period where I was still trying to sort out my passé composés from my imparfaits, and when the subjonctif was still the dreaded word du jour, I found myself reading a lot of French comics. Why comics? Well, they’re reliably understandable, for starters. The visual aspect helped me follow the narrative even when I didn’t pick up on every piece of dialogue or description. Picking up an issue of Tintin was also far less intimidating than diving into a Camus or a Collette - which is not to imply that comics are trivial, just that there’s a lower barrier to entry. When Stendahl felt out of reach, Hergé did not. I still maintain that delving into the world of comics is one of the best ways for easing yourself into a new language, and given that France has a huge market for the medium, there’s all manner of things to choose from without limiting yourself to superheroes and spectacle. A whole slew of genres, styles, and stories live under the label of bande dessiné and it’s a world worth venturing into if you’re curious about putting your French skills to the test. Here are some of the comics and graphic novels that helped me practice my French - without feeling like homework!
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Celebrating 20 Years with Chicago Public Schools
Last week, almost 50 students from Chicago Public Schools visited the Alliance for one of their last times this school year and exchanged laughs, memories, and even some bittersweet tears at the 2018 Awards for Excellence Program. It was an evening for students who successfully completed their program to reflect on their time with teachers and friends. The ceremony was also a celebration of 20 years of bringing CPS students into the Alliance to study French.
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