Be sure to check out the LINKS PAGE for additional language-related & learning resources

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With so many languages out there, which one(s) to learn? (#378)

Article of interest: A week in an intense immersion program in rural Quebec [Globe & Mail] (#355)

Article: The Molsons, builders of our heritage (#346) (in French)

• An interesting article with which to practice your French reading if you’re at a basic or elementary article.  It’s just the right length as well.

Another way to practice your French – Gov’t call centres (#345)

You’re trying to learn French, you can read a bit, but it still sounds like one big garble. What to do? (#343)

• Radio-France’s regularly “slowed-down” and “simple vocabulary” newscasts.  This is great for those who have a difficult time understanding long, drawn-out newscasts.   Check it out.  It might help you make quick progress.

Portrait of a village: Debden, SK (#340)

• A radio-report spoken in a very clear manner which would be good for language learners.

Legendary loggers of a by-gone era – an online documentary from 1962 (#338)

• You can use the translation of the documentary to practice your French reading and listening skills.

The Quebec Board of the French Language (#337)

• A great online resource with
  • French and French-English dictionaries (two of the best in the world),
  • as well as an online tool on how to use French words correctly (again, one of the best such tools in the world).

The most amateur, tacky video in the world about Gatineau, Québec (#331)

• A terrible video I made myself — but at least you’ll be able to practice your “hick” French.  Hahaha!!

SERIES:  COLLOQUIAL (SPOKEN) FRENCH – HARD-CORE LEARNING EXERCISE (6 POSTS)

• Let’s go fishing… and learn hard-core French while you’re at it! – Post 1 of 6 (#323) – Difficulty level 1
• Let’s go fishing… and learn hard-core French while you’re at it! – Post 2 of 6 (#324) – Difficulty level 2
• Let’s go fishing… and learn hard-core French while you’re at it! – Post 3 of 6 (#325) – Difficulty level 3
• Let’s go fishing… and learn hard-core French while you’re at it! – Post 4 of 6 (#327) – Difficulty level 4
• Let’s go fishing… and learn hard-core French while you’re at it! – Post 5 of 6 (#328) – Difficulty level 5
• Let’s go fishing… and learn hard-core French while you’re at it! – Post 6 of 6 (#329) – Difficulty level 6

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Quiz: Accents & Eagles (#326)

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Couple of posts for language learning:

• Québec’s own “Happy Birthday” song / de facto Anthem – Part 3 of 4 (#321)
• Québec’s own “Happy Birthday” song / de facto Anthem – Part 4 of 4 (#322)

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“Hard-core French” learning exercise (#302)

• Involves course language.  Not suitable for younger readers.
• My second video-post.

300e billet / 300th post — Mon premier billet vidéo / My first video post

• My first video-post — and for many people, their first time hearing one of Alberta’s French accents.

Texto Lingo, and the debate about dedicated cycling lanes (#274)

Texto Lingo : C-tu c kwa? (#273)

A very interesting French-language experience in Anglophone regions of Canada (#270)

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SERIES:  “TU” VERSUS “VOUS” (2 POSTS)

• The use of “VOUS” versus “TU” — in EUROPE – Post 1 of 2 (#268)
• The use of “VOUS” versus “TU” — in CANADA – Post 2 of 2 (#269)

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SERIES:  QUÉBEC AND CANADIAN FRENCH SWEAR WORDS (6 POSTS)

• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Introduction to swear words – Part 1 (#239)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears A to CH – Part 2 (#240)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears CI to J – Part 3 (#241)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears M to SAC – Part 4 (#242)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears SAI to V – Part 5 (#243)
• Gettin’ vulgar! This ain’t no picture book for the kiddies! – Part 6 (#244)

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UNIS (Canada’s newest French-language TV station) — Tout franco, tout beau (#225)

• I’m including UNIS in the “Learning French” section, simply because it can give Anglophone Canadians a wide exposure to the many different French accents and styles of French spoken across Canada (a country of a real kaleidoscope of different styles of French).

A short word on Belgian French (#218)

A brief history of France’s former languages, and how they helped to shape our French in Canada (#217)

• Contains very interesting YouTube videos of languages in France which influenced Canadian French.

Real-life documentary: “Bienvenue chez Normand” (#215)

• An online documentary with very thick North Coast Québec accents (rare to hear).

SERIES: “REGIONAL” VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS (6 POSTS)

• “Regional” Vocabulary and Expressions within Québec – Introduction (#169) – PART 1
• “Regional” Vocabulary and Expressions – Québec City Region – A to E (#170) – PART 2
• “Regional” Vocabulary and Expressions – Québec City Region – F to Z (#171) – PART 3
• “Regional” Vocabulary and Expressions – La Beauce Region (#172) – PART 4
• “Regional” Vocabulary and Expressions – Saguenay Lac St-Jean (#173) – PART 5
• “Regional” Vocabulary and Expressions – Other Regions of Québec (#174) – PART 6

SERIES:  FRENCH IMMERSION (4 POSTS)

• French Immersion across Canada – Some maps (#163) – Part 1 of 4
• General USA Immersion programs, and French Immersion in the USA (#164) – Part 2 of 4
• The significance of Canada’s French Immersion Program – for Québec (#165) – Part 3 of 4
• L’Importance du programme d’immersion française au Canada anglophone – pour le Québec (#166) – Part 4 of 4

Learning French – don’t be afraid to take things to the next level (#162) – Some statistics, and an encouraging example where someone tried her best, pushed her French to the limits, and made a big break-through.

Official Francophone Representation Outside Québec (#107) – A list of Francophone organizations across Canada you can turn to in your journey to learn French.

Michaëlle Jean & La Francophonie (#106) – Thoughts of the future of French in the world, why you just might want to keep at it, from an international perspective.

Our 32 Accents (7 posts)

• 1. “Our 32 Accents” – Post 1:  Canada French Accents Overview (#86)
• 2. “Our 32 Accents” – Post 2:  (Ontario x 4, Québec x 3) (#87)
• 3. “Our 32 Accents” – Post 3:  (Québec x 5) (#88)
• 4. “Our 32 Accents” – Post 4:  The Big Three (Montréal x 2, Standard x 1) (#89)
• 5. “Our 32 Accents” – Post 5:  (Québec x 7) (#90)
• 6. “Our 32 Accents” – Post 6:  (Atlantic Provinces x 11) (#91)
• 7. “Our 32 Accents” – Post 7:  (Western Province accents x 2 and nuances) (#92)

Montréwood’s 10 hottest sitcoms and TV drama series (#77) – Entertaining programs with which to practice your French listening skills

Series:  Canadian Blingualism Trends (4 posts)

• 1. Western Canada trends in bilingualism (#68)
• 2. Ontario trends in bilingualism (#69)
• 3. Québec trends in bilingualism (#70)
• 4. Bilingualism in the Atlantic Provinces (#71)

Fast way to develop an accent and ear for Canadian French (#51)

Great trick for learning French — Fast! (#50)

C’est la vie (#48) – A CBC Radio program with weekly French vocabulary capsules.

Joual, Informal French – An Audio Post with Examples (#23)

• This post tackles aspects of Canadian & Québec French which learners say they have the most difficulty with (the informal aspect of our “oral” French).   The post is a little long, but I felt I needed to cover all the bases.  I even threw in an audio component with examples of International French, versus Joual/Informal French.  I ventured to the edge of my own comfort zone to make this one, considering that I made the audio segment myself (yikes!).