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Linking words often make THE difference in language fluency. Here is a list of 10 linking words with exemple and audio recording.

Far from me to proselytize, but this recording can be interesting to some. I know some of my students will attend a service regularly, even when in a foreign country. Also, a fair amount of priests volunteer on missions to places where they might say the mass in French, whether invited to do so, or in an emergency situation like in a war zone. Well, I looked all over the web and couldn’t find a clear, well enunciated recording of a Catholic mass. So here it is, I hope some of you may enjoy it.

Today's poem is very simple and is studied by French middle school students as an introduction to Old French. I am going to read the poem, but also explain the text in French and speak about the author.It's about the arrival of spring. The descriptions are charming and talk to all our senses: we can feel the coat of Winter against our skin, our ears capture the animal songs celebrating the upcoming Spring, and our eyes are blinded by the reflection of the sun over the rivers full of winter's waters.

Like most of La Fontaine's fables, "La Cigale et la Fourmi” is not a story that he invented. Drawing inspiration from oral traditions and the fables of Aesop and other poets of Greek and Roman antiquity La Fontaine changes the classic fable by omitting the moral. Why? Listen to the poem's analysis to find out.

Didn’t your Mom always tell you “watch where you walk”?This charming and well known fable is the perfect example of why you should.

Je suis rentrée en France, apres 18 ans de vie aux Etats-Unis et donc ce poème a  pour moi une signification tout à fait particulière. Vous entendrez dans ce poème que je suis très émue...

I chose this poem quite simply because it is one of my favorites. Of course, like many French and Americans, I adore Baudelaire for his stylistic originality and his extreme sensitivity. I love this poem because it is simply beautiful, highly sensual, and surprisingly positive for a Baudelaire poem!

This sad and melancholic, yet wonderful, short poem is also charged with historic meaning. You might be familiar with the first 2 verses which were used by General de Gaulle, chief of the resistance and future president of the liberated France, in the days and hours preceding the launch of D-day.

This 19th century poem, 336 verse long, is in fact very philosophical and talks about the human condition. Written in Alexandrines, the poet entices a woman (Èva) to leave urban life, and live in Nature (considered as God's creation) which fascinates him as much as it disgusts him.

"La Maison du Berger" (the Sheppard's House) is in fact a mobile home: it is therefore a symbol of mobility which allows the poet to live in the middle of Nature, and then come back to the city.

I'm going to talk about one of the most well known Canadian poems, and share with you a narrative of the poet's life, and analysis of the poem as written by a dear student of mine.

This poem – written in the 16th century for King Charles IX's court – is a very well done exercise of style.

Based on a quite common image – a girl and a rose – Ronsard manages to create a graceful and sensual poem that glorifies the game of seduction.

Today, I’m going to read 2 poems of the 15th century: I will read them once in current French, and once in 15th century French, in their original form, and I will also present you the life of Villon.And you'll also get a bonus; the interpretation by French songwriter George Brassens of "Ballade des dames du temps jadis".

The first recognized French poetess, Louise Labbé was born in Lyon, between 1520 and 1525. She was raised during one of the most interesting centuries in literature's history. The Middle Ages were over, and the Italian renaissance was creating a revolution in France’s artistic life. The message is simple and still so very modern: love and its torments...

"Les Vous et Les Tu" is a sensual, yet very deep poem from Voltaire, 18th century.Particularly interesting for students is that it plays on the difference between Tu and Vous, since Voltaire says "tu" to the woman he loved, and "vous" to the one she became.

This time, I'm going to read 2 poems by Mallarmé. The beginning of L'Après-midi d'un Faune is one of my favorite poems to read out loud. It’s pure music, with flashes of enchanting images.I am not quite sure what the story says, but the rhythm of the melody is enough to delight me.

In this classical yet sensual and very musical poem, Valéry describes two people: the “I” who represents the poet (who is in his bed and not sleeping) and a feminine entity who is approaching.

Ghost? Fairy? Or would it be the poet's muse?

J'ai chaud et j'ai envie de faire une promenade... In this chapter, you will

learn the idiomatic expressions using avoir and faire memorize your irregular verbs avoir, faire, croire, s'asseoir, voir, naître, and the way to conjugate regular IR verbs answer questions to check your understanding of chapter 2.

What does "Je m'entends bien avec lui" mean? Learn the irregular verbs entendre, attendre, sortir, as well as the way to conjugate verbs ending in YER. Check your understanding of chapter 3 with the questions and answers.

Learn how to say French clothes;  train on the verbs s'habiller, acheter and vendre, and check your understanding of chapter 4 with these questions and answers.

These exercises on A Moi Paris - Une Histoire au Présent Chapter 5 are all about food: learn your verb boire, food related vocabulary and train on your understanding of the book with these questions and answers.

 

What is the difference between savoir and connaître? Learn the rule and train with an exercise. In this lesson, you will also learn sleep vocabulary, and check your understanding of chapter 6.

Do you know that "une pièce" is a room, and une chambre a "bedroom"? I've heard this mistake many times, and it can be quite embarrassing. In this lesson you'll learn house and furnishing vocabulary, and with the questions and answers, check your understanding of chapter 7.

"Petits-enfants" et "grands-parents": in this lesson you'll learn the vocabulary for family and relatives, the irregular verbs vivre and mourir, and with the questions and answers, check your understanding of chapter 8.

Do you know that the word "vacances" is always plural in French? In this lesson you'll learn the vocabulary related to going on vacation, and with questions and answers, check your understanding of chapter 9.

Check your understanding of chapter 10 with these exercises.

Il fait beau, mauvais, chaud, froid: in this lesson you'll learn the vocabulary related to the weather and the beach, the irregular verb courir, and you will check your understanding of chapter 11.

Train on your understanding of chapter 12 with this set of questions and answers.

"Avoir mal au coeur, au ventre, à la tête": in this lesson you'll learn the vocabulary related to being sick, the irregular verb souffrir, and with questions and answers, check your understanding of chapter 13.

"Claudia est de mauvaise humeur"... check your understanding of chapter 14 with this set of questions and ansers.

Mary has to take an important decision. Answer the questions to check your understanding of chapter 15.

Why is Mary calling her family? Check your understanding of the final chapter of the story with this set of questions and answers.

This lesson will help you memorize the most common French irregular verbs: aller, être, prendre, venir, vouloir, devoir, pouvoir, as well as the way to conjugate reflexive verbs, and answer questions to check your understanding of chapter 1.

Camille's version of the tale - 17:42 mn of audio - FREE

The poor Cinderella is a servant in her own home. Her stepmother and her two awful stepsisters are mean and cruel to her. The king announces he wants to marry his son, and is inviting all the girls in age to be married to attend. Will Cinderella be able to go? Will she ever find true love and escape her misery?

This is my version of this famous fairy tale, full of magic and romance, as I tell it almost everyday to my 3½ years old daughter. I've added a couple twists from the original story; I hope you'll enjoy it as much as my daughter does :-)