Read the entire article here: http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/lifestyles/18383252-423/naperfrench-focuses-on-individual-progress.html

As she explained in the article, Vickie started French tutoring with me to be able to better communicate with her new co-workers after the place she worked for was acquired by a French company.   She learned proper pronunciation of their names and the functional French she needed to make business trips to Paris. She learned how to read menus and signs just as she expected, but then she kept on with the lessons simply because she enjoys it.  It just confirms what I always tell people who ask about why they should learn French.  Learning French is fun!

Each day I am inspired by my students who come to lessons not because they have to, but because they want to.   I take great pride in watching a student journey from knowing absolutely no French to becoming a fluent speaker with a near native French accent!

Thanks to all my students who have made NaperFrench a business worth featuring. I hope you’ll spread the word that learning French is fun!

Un grand MERCI à tous ceux qui étudient avec moi depuis longtemps, MERCI pour votre soutien, votre confiance et votre fidélité.

 This post was written by Anne Cottez-Jones

It is never to late to learn French

My average adult student is 40-50 years old and they all want to learn French for different reasons.  Some of them learned French in high school and just want to pick it back up again, or they may want to converse with a friend or loved one who also knows the language. I also have several adult students that have always wanted to learn the language and now in later life, they are finding the time to do so.   For some students, it’s quality “me time” (even though I’m there too!) and some of them even joke that it’s their “therapy!”

I always tell students the best reason to learn French is because you want to, but now there is buzz about it being great for your mind, too.  A recent article in the New York Times entitled The Benefits of Bilingualism reported that bilingual people are faster at problem solving and can monitor their environment more attentively.  Because their minds must “switch” between two languages, the part of the brain that controls attention processes is strengthened. Even in senior citizens, studies show that bilingualism helps slow the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.  I knew there were a lot of benefits to learning French but this one might be the best of all!

Ready for a new challenge that’s fun, satisfying and even strengthens your mind?  You’re never too old to begin French language lessons at  NaperFrench.  For more information, contact me today.

The Knowledge of a Language is a Passport to a Country

Do you want to learn French? Not sure how to start? Have you learned any languages before? Your best bet is to find a French teacher who can help and teach you.

French is a beautiful and rich language and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. it can claim to be the only language to be represented officially on every continent of the planet. French is the official language of over 25 countries, Francais, the other name for French, mainly spoken in France, Belgium and Switzerland has a history dating back as early as 842 AD.  Of course, French is primarily spoken in France, but it is also spoken in many countries in Africa and believe it or not, it is the fourth most spoken language in the USA. Only English, Spanish and Chinese top it there.

You can see the advantages to learning to speak French are many. If you are a world traveler, or wish to visit or reside in France for a while, then it is essential to learn how to speak the language.

So what is the best way to learning French? There are many methods, such as going back to school or taking an evening class. You could try to teach yourself with CDs and audio tapes, or of course using one of the many pieces of software that are out there. You could even move to France and jump right in and learn it as you go along, by experience.

All are useful and good ways to learn to speak the language and should not be dismissed in any way.

However, arguably the best way to learn the language is one on one with a French teacher. This opens up a variety of positive reasons compared to the other methods of learning, such as:

1. The personal language teacher will be able to quickly assess what level you are at and build the teaching around that.
2. Focus of the lessons are entirely on you.
3. The lessons can flow at your own pace, so there is never any fear of being left behind.
4. If you are stuck, the teacher is there instantly to help.
5. Help with pronunciation of words. French is much stricter than English, and if you do not pronounce words properly, you will not be understood.
6. Because you are the only one being taught, all the time is spent with you rather than having to wait your turn as in a class.
7. Your teacher will get to know you much quicker and therefore be able to adapt teaching techniques to suit you.

These are just a few examples of why having your own personal French teacher is better than the other methods of learning.

However, to really maximize your French learning, by all means utilize these other methods along with your French lessons, it will help you understand a great deal more, as well as accelerate your learning experience.

Having your own French teacher to teach you French will provide you with an excellent foundation and enable you to continue in your studies It will help accelerate your knowledge to being closer to a fluent speaker.

Your passport to France is not as far out of reach as you might think.

Sign up for your own personal French lessons today!

To type French accents with ALT codes, hold down the ALT key, then on the numeric keypad type the three or four digits listed here. When you release the ALT key, the French accent character will appear.

It is easy to type French letters, just try it yourself.  Knowing when and where to use these special French accent letters might be a little trickier, that’s where a French teacher like myself might come in handy.

Another way to type French accents on your laptop or desktop computer is to install the French keyboard, you can find that and the language bar under regional settings in Window control panel.

The language bar allows you to switch between the French and English keyboard easily.

Here is where you start:

Now I have something to hand out to my students so they have my contact info handy.

Let me know what you think.

]]> http://www.naperfrench.com/new-business-cards-for-my-french-classes/feed/ 0 http://www.naperfrench.com/why-learn-french-5-good-reasons-to-learn-the-french-language/ http://www.naperfrench.com/why-learn-french-5-good-reasons-to-learn-the-french-language/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:20:51 +0000 Anne Cottez-Jones http://www.naperfrench.com/?p=254

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sophie_Le_Cuiche

But in a country like France where going on strikes is a national pastime and the left–if delusional–remains somewhat a force to be reckoned with, the Fête du Travail is sacrosanct. Besides, it kicks off the merry month of May, which in France is all the merrier for having more official holidays (thus, time off work) than any other month. With the Fête du Travail, and the Catholic holidays of Ascension and Pentecôte all being official national holidays and thus mandatory days off, the national preoccupation becomes “making the bridge” between the official day off and the nearest weekend. Making the bridge (faire le pont) means scheming to take yet another day or two off to connect the official holiday with the weekend and thus being able to leave town for a real mini-vacation.

Need I mention that nothing much of importance gets done here during the month of May. However, the French do have a most charming custom to usher in this month of merriment: the buying for oneself or one’s loved ones or friends a pot or bouquet of lily of the valley (muguet de bois). Lily of the valley is referred to as a “porte-bonheur”–literally, “bringer of happiness” or perhaps what we would call a good luck charm.

A few days before May Day, you begin to see vendors popping up on every corner selling lily of the valley. Although at all other times of the year, selling any kind of flowers or anything else on the street requires paying for a permit, merry May Day is exempted from this evil tax, and anyone can sell the blossoms anywhere without being tithed by the city. And of course, every florist has pots and bouquets of lily of the valley dominating their outdoor displays. The pots for lily of the valley are always deep and vase-shaped, another tradition. Commuters are everywhere clutching their lily of the valley, to be offered to girl- or boyfriend, husband or wife, dinner host, boss, you name it. Even the Metro is perfumed.

I unabashedly love this custom. I can’t think of a more à propos way to usher in this most perfect of months, when all is bursting into blossom, trees are spangled with perfect new leaves, and every gardener’s heart is full of the promise of this season’s plantings. It’s hardly any wonder that May Day was originally a joyous pagan holiday celebrating the promise of the spring’s planting. I’m happy that here in Paris, even though May Day has officially fallen into the clutches of cranky labor unions, it’s arrival is rung in with the perfume and innocent white bells of lily of the valley.

Can you really learn fluent French without getting to grips with the grammar?

What I’m going to say now will probably upset a lot of teachers, but I believe it’s perfectly possible to learn French – to a standard where you can live and work in France – without really having much of an idea of French grammar at all. Why do I say that? Because it’s exactly what I have done.

I have to be honest, I don’t know a definite article from a pronoun or adverb in English, let alone in French! Yet I have lived and worked here for five years. I have French friends who don’t speak a word of English, yet although I wouldn’t claim to be completely fluent, my lack of French grammar lessons doesn’t hold me back.

In fact I have a friend who is a teacher of both French and German who says that we all worry too much about grammatical construction and that the French language should be learned more casually. More time should be spent on learning French words – increasing our vocabulary – and listening to the French language. We pick up grammar and nuance as we go along.

For some people, of course, this is too laid back. Some people learning French need a rigid structure to build the language on. That’s fine, except as with any language, the real French – that spoken by French people every day – uses poor construction, bad grammar and slang.

I’m not suggesting that you ignore French grammar lessons completely. The French say things differently and it’s important to use correct construction. For example, we say a green chair but the French say “une chaise verte” – a chair green. They have masculine and feminine, which we don’t have in English. All of those things might be grammar – but is it really necessary to know whether it’s a noun, adjective, conjunction or whatever? I just want to learn how to speak the French language – I don’t need a university degree in dissecting it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Beacham