Learning French: A Rendezvous with French-Speaking Cultures

Bonjour! Begin your voyage with a global look at the French language and French-speaking countries around the world. Learning a new language is an active process, and language is deeply connected to the cultures where it is spoken. To begin, you will survey a few patterns and rules to jump-start your understanding of French.

One important facet of the French-speaking world is that manners and politeness still matter. Discover a few essential phrases that will ensure you don't commit any faux pas before you've even had a chance to open your mouth. Then survey the basics of numbers, definite and indefinite articles, the alphabet, and geography.

Continue your exploration of French manners and culture and build on earlier phrases you've learned. Then reflect on several "word families" that will help you build your vocabulary and make connections across the language. Along the way, you'll also pick up a few common verb forms, adjectives, and adverbs.

When traveling in French-speaking countries, the verb aller - "to go" - is one of the most useful. Get to know this verb along with important question words such as "How much?" "Why?" and "When?" You will also get a chance to listen to a great deal of spoken French to help you practice your de-coding skills.

Find out how to discuss the weather, as well as what the weather is like in different parts of France. Then shift your attention to times of year - seasons, months, and dates. While you learn about the weather and time, Professor Williams also introduces you to a few new verb forms to help you talk about preferences and things to do.

Continue your study of time by examining the days of the week, times of day, and typical French routines throughout the day. More verb forms will help you express what you want to do, what you can do, and what you have to do. And of course, you'll also gain plenty of practice speaking and listening.

In addition to teaching you the language, this also serves as a cultural toolkit. You may know that the French enjoy their leisure time, so here you will discover the language of vacation and leisure, including the major French holidays. You'll also get your first glimpse of the "imperative mood."

You won't get far in a French-speaking country without being able to talk about food and drink, particularly given that mealtime is often sacred in the French culture. Venture through breakfast and lunch, learning how to express hunger and thirst, how to order, and the necessary vocabulary to enjoy your meal.

Shift your attention from ordering food in restaurants to buying food (and other items) from the store. Find out how to count and calculate totals, and review the language and cultural considerations of making a purchase. Then tackle a few more regular and irregular verb forms to help you build your communications skills.

Going to a market or restaurant is a culinary adventure. Here, you will put together several things you've learned and take a virtual trip to a restaurant. Professor Williams walks you through a typical dialogue with a waiter. You'll also begin to examine different verb "moods" - the conditional, the indicative, and the imperative.

This first look at traveling through a French country arms you with the language around the daily routines of a tourist. Step into a Parisian hotel and have a conversation with a clerk to make sure you have somewhere to stay for the night. Continue your study of grammar with a look at pronominal and reciprocal verbs.

Go on a journey around France to immerse yourself in the language of transportation to help you get from point A to point B. Professor Williams gives you a few common verbs and expressions to help you talk about where you came from, where you're going, and how to get there.

While values evolve very slowly, cultures often change quickly due to new devices. Round out the unit on life as a tourist with an examination of modern technology. Reflect on the French value of privacy and investigate the way smart phones and the internet have changed the nature of privacy - and the way we travel.

Gain a few helpful tools for learning about other cultures and the objects you'll encounter. Discover the vocabulary to talk about clothing and houses, and then review the grammar you've learned thus far. In French, the verbs will always be with us, so take a few moments to survey some new verb forms as well as the subjunctive mood.

Revisit some of the verbs you've already encountered to help you dress with style, particularly faire (to do or make), savoir (to know), and voir (to see). Build on what you've learned about the subjunctive mood to help you make your sartorial decisions. What you learn here will help you to dress your best for your travels.

Your final cultural stop around France is the home. Tour the house to uncover the vocabulary of different rooms and their functions, as well as some regional differences in architecture. Then delve into a few "tricky translations" where you must choose the right word for the right situation.

Visit the town of Lyon with Professor Williams to review what you've learned and see how well prepared you are to navigate an unfamiliar city. Continue studying how get around and ask for directions. Learn a few additional nuances to the vocabulary you've acquired.

You can't understand a culture without understanding its arts. Here, Professor Williams transitions to an exploration of the arts, beginning with the world of performing arts. The great news is that much of the vocabulary of music, theater, and dance involves English cognates. Also discover the past tense.

Shift your attention from the stage to the realm of literature and cinema. Learn key words to help you navigate the bookstore and talk about novels, biographies, histories, poems, and more. Continue your study of verb tenses, which are the building blocks for telling a story.

Delve into the visual arts: sculpture, painting, and photography. As you build your vocabulary, you will also add new tools to your storytelling repertoire. With a particular focus on the verb "to be" - être - Professor Williams introduces the imperfect tense, which will better help you describe what is going on in a given situation.

In addition to the arts, cultural heritage is important in French-speaking cultures. Your first stop is the museum, and your survey helps you put together much of what you learned in the previous unit. Review the major verb tenses - present, past, composé, and imperfect - and learn how to distinguish the different types of past tense.

Consider the relationship between customs and heritage, and uncover the language for French myths and traditions. Then hone the necessary skills to help you follow a story in French. Find out how to make your descriptions livelier with adjectives and adverbs, including words of "degree" - très, trop, peu, and the like.

Travel through history and around French-speaking countries to explore several cultural heritage sites. You'll unpack how heritage refers both to the legacy of the past that we benefit from today, as well as what we will pass onto the future. On your tour, you will learn a series of new comparative adjectives.

Because of the connection between language and culture, there are many commonalities among French-speaking countries. But regional differences also abound. From food to everyday activities, explore what makes different countries and regions in France unique. From the Alps to Bordeaux, witness the diverse and exciting variety of the French-speaking world.

One of the joys of travel is seeing the cultural connections and distinctions from one place to the next. Use the language of celebrations to gain insight into the culture. Festivities include parties, commemorations, and...rodeos! You'll also revisit the conditional "would" tense as well as a few verbs with irregular stems.