Connected Through French Language

Meet Jin Jin, better known by her family and friends as Kitty! When she first stepped into the Alliance Française de Chicago four years ago she didn’t know any French, not even “bonjour.

French, Pierre de Coubertin and the Olympics

The 2018 Olympics are upon us and let me preface this blog post by saying that I am a huge Olympics fan. Being a naturally competitive person, I am drawn to competitions and what competition is more grand than the Olympics?

"Ça va ?" : A conversation

Salut tout le monde, ça va? Have you ever noticed how much francophones use the phrase ça va? Yeah, a lot. Like a lot, a lot. It feels like you and I could have an entire conversation using different variations of ça va!

Verlan your French! How can your French sound more like a native speaker?

If you have ever learned a second language you probably have had the experience realizing that the language you are working so hard to learn might be very different from the way that language is actually spoken.

The romance between French and English

No language is a completely static thing. In a way, a language breathes and grows, similar to a living organism. Over time, words are gained and words are lost. [caption id=“attachment_3328” align=“alignright” width=“339”] A language tree of Proto-Indo-European language relationships.

Learning a new language makes you a better person

Imagine that you are on the train. You’re sitting down and trying to read an Alliance Française blog post on your phone but you can’t help but get distracted by those around you.

Dolphins become bilingual in their sleep. What does that mean for us humans?

At the Planète Sauvage in Port-Saint-Père, France in 2011 it was observed that captive dolphins were talking in their sleep. While sleep-talking in general can be rather alarming, what made this even stranger was that they weren’t speaking the same dolphin language they speak during their waking hours.

How music can aid in language learning

Here at the Alliance Francaise we are always interested in learning about new ways to acquire language. So when we found this article we thought you could be interested too!

AF Student Spotlight: Dennis Smithenry

AF Student Spotlight: Dennis Smithenry When Dennis Smithenry learned that his ancestors were from Alsace, France, he became motivated to learn French in honor of his family heritage. His journey at the Alliance Française de Chicago began in 2012 when he became a member and started taking French classes.

Yet another reason why French is great...or 5 actually!

‘‘There are good reasons for learning other languages. As scientists unlock more of the neurological secrets of the brain, they’re learning that speaking more than one language may have cognitive benefits that extend from childhood into old age.