Top 10 Cultural Differences Between France and the USA

Hello les francophiles ! Aussi loin que je me souvienne, j’ai toujours adoré voyager, pouvoir visiter des nouveaux pays, et surtout découvrir d’autres cultures, c’est très enrichissant. S’informer sur la culture et les habitudes d’un pays, c’est bien, mais s’immerger et vivre dans sa culture, c’est encore mieux. Cela fait un peu plus de trois mois maintenant que je vis aux États-Unis, à Chicago; et je peux vous dire que passer d’un village de 350 habitants en pleine campagne à la troisième plus grande ville des US avec 3 millions d’habitants, eh ben ça change la vie !

Un café, s'il vous plaît!

Bonjour tout le monde, Your favorite Alliance intern here. If you are anything like me, you enjoy a good cup of coffee. I know some of you aren’t fans of coffee, and I get that… you’re just wrong. No disrespect, I just needed you to know who you’re talking to: an avid coffee drinker and lover. And as that coffee lover, I have come to encounter many cups and different types of coffee, including the famous French café.

Summer is Sizzling: Lisons Ensemble!

Summer Reading List 2017 As much as I love hanging out by the beach and playing volleyball, nothing compares to relaxing with a good book in the summer sun. The only challenge is finding the right thing to read before the Chicago cold returns. Luckily, the Brown Médiathèque has chosen a dozen books that are the perfect companion for the season. Some are fast-paced romances that will fit in your hectic schedule; others will give your mind a workout on days when you’re not feeling the gym.

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. Think of how in the English language, numerous words become trendy and other words fall out of fashion. Sometimes rather than a few single words changing, an entire separate grammar structure is born within a language. You may be familiar with pig-latin or cockney rhyming slang but did you know that there is a secret language that has become a big part of everyday spoken French? It’s called verlan!

La francophonie behind the scenes

During the entire month of March, we at the Alliance Française de Chicago have hosted a variety of events as part of our Festival de Francophonie. By the end of the month you’ll have had the opportunity to learn about Russian and French cultures influencing each other, hear about books from around the world, eat amazing food, and see films that explore a variety of Francophonie experiences. While we have a lot of fun presenting you with these events and we hope you have fun attending, we thought it would be good to also give you a little bit of background on why exactly we celebrate Francophone cultures and International Francophone day beyond just the fun of experiencing new cultures.

Student Spotlight: Lisa Kinney

What was it about the Alliance Française that first interested you? I was interested in the Alliance Française because of its reputation as being one of the best French language schools in the world.

We met Dany Laferrière... Do you want to know all about it?

A few weeks ago, on February 13, in conversation with our very own Director of Programs, Aimee Laberge, Dany Laferrière told us stories about his life. When asked where he lives these days he responded whimsically that he lives in the vast space of writing. He also spends a fair amount of time in hotels due to the large amount of travelling he does. Some of the places he described travelling to included Italy (where two of his books are set) as well as Haiti, Madagascar, Algeria, Canada, China and France. He also confirmed that his books have been translated into a wide variety of languages.

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. The man across from you is loudly eating a ham sandwich. The woman next to you yawns and suddenly it strikes you how you also need to yawn.

When our Programs Director meets Dany Laferrière and tells us all about it!

I met Dany Laferrière at the Salon du livre de Quebec in April 1986, where I was peddling my first publication, a collection of bad poems hesitating between French and English. I think it was called Turtleneck and Black Slacks. Nobody was showing much interest so I had plenty of time to walk around and check the competition.