Coucou ☕️🇫🇷🥐 I'm Amélie Laurent and this is a 💎 premium edition 💎 of my newsletter. Starting next Thursday only paid subscribers will have access to all the goodies I’ve added (audio, notes, exercises etc.). But, of course, two fresh dialogues every week will still be free for my readers!
I do this work because I know it works, and it's necessary. Through this practice, my students really do work toward colloquial fluency. My hope is that you'll join us.
If you’d like to upgrade (and make sure you don’t miss anything next week) here’s a handy button 👇
Bonjour mes amis! 👋🏼 C'est avec plaisir que je vous accueille à une autre édition.
Continuez comme ça, vous êtes sur la bonne voie!
Keep it up, you're doing great! 🌟
Who doesn’t love a good trip? Nothing quite gets the dopamine pumping like booking a cheeky plane ticket or BnB room to a new city or an old haunt. And today we’re going to learn how to get our friends to come along for the ride!
But before we jump in and talk about planning future trips, I want you all to be sending me photos of past ones—past French ones.
🤳🏼 Share photos friends!
I created some Subscriber Chats → (sign in with your email) for everyone to share photos and they’ve been popping off all week! The idea is to give the community a space to share some France love and some cool pics.
The main thread is “Avez-vous visité la France ? 🇫🇷 Partagez une photo !”
If you visited France this summer and would like to share a photo please do ! ✨
The other thread I’m super excited for is “𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓥𝓲𝓮𝔀𝓼 : Share a photo of where you read French with Amélie from"
These are my absolute favourite! I get to see all the places my dear readers are reading the newsletter from, and it fills my heart with joy.
Kitchens, offices, coffee shops, parks, mountain tops, have fun with it ! 💜
To join our chat, you’ll need to go to the website, or download the Substack app.
[See full guide below] Chats are sent via the web/app, not email, so turn on push notifications if you don’t want to miss conversation as it happens.
🇺🇸🇬🇧 My colloquial conversational dialogues help you learn authentic French in context. They’re how real French people actually speak. If you have any questions or concerns - comment below or simply reply to this email. ✌🏻
🇫🇷 Je suis convaincue que cette newsletter sera une source d'inspiration pour vous dans votre parcours d'apprentissage.Que vous soyez débutant ou avancé, j'espère que cette newsletter vous permettra de découvrir de nouveaux aspects de la langue française, d'améliorer vos compétences et de mieux comprendre la culture francophone.
Gros Bisous! A x
Dialogue Audio 🎧
Dialogue du Jour
Adam : J’aimerais qu'on planifie ce voyage en fin de semaine ✪. Qu'en penses-tu ?
Chloé : Hm, je sais pas. J'ai trop de choses à faire. Je suis vraiment occupée.
Adam : Je comprends, mais ça pourrait être amusant. On pourrait inviter Pierre et Marie aussi. Quel jour t’arrange ?
Chloé : Hmmm... Peut-être dimanche, mais je suis pas sûre. Je dois vérifier mon emploi du temps.
Adam : D'accord, si tu es disponible, préviens-moi… si tu as un créneau de libre ✪.
Chloé : D'accord, je le ferai. Mais je ne promets rien, Adam.
Adam : C’est pas grave. T’as des plans pour vendredi soir ? On pourrait se voir et en discuter davantage.
Chloé : Ça pourrait être une bonne idée. Je te tiens au courant ✪.
Adam : Super. Dans l'intervalle, je contacterai Pierre et Marie pour voir s'ils sont disponibles. J'ai hâte d'entendre tes nouvelles.
Chloé : Ça marche ✪.
….
En fait, t’as raison. Ça pourrait être amusant.
Adam : Parfait. Ça pourrait être une grande aventure, qui sait ?
♡ 𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 👇
✪ Notes
la fin de semaine = weekend. Although in reality French people will mostly use ‘le week-end’ 🤷🏼. Stuffy French types might hate it.. but Franglais is your friend. The more English words work.. the easier your life is.
un créneau de libre 🧩 = a free spot/slot
Ça marche ✨= that works! (OK!, great!, sure!). Not just a great interjection for when you’re planning, but for every conversation!
*✨ = especially ‘Frenchie’ words/phrases you should try and use more
*🧩 = ‘canned’ expressions or phrases that are best learned as a whole, like puzzle-pieces.
🗝️ Key Phrases
Qu'en penses-tu?
So what do you think?
Quel jour t’arrange ?
Which day is best for you?
Je dois vérifier mon emploi du temps
I'll have to check my schedule.
Si tu es disponible, préviens-moi
If you're available, let me know.
Mais je ne promets rien
But I can't promise anything.
Je te tiens au courant
I'll keep you posted.
Writing Prompt ✍️
Often summer adventures are what trigger us to look forward and begin to think about what we might be able to do or where we might be able to go next summer!
I’m definitely hoping to return to Paris in the winter, it’s a great Christmas city. But my other big hope this year is Iceland. I’ve never been and there’s a group of friends I haven’t seen since college that have been trying to make it happen. Now, if we can just get a space in everyone’s calendar…
Alors, où prévoyez-vous de vous rendre ensuite ?
All answers are welcome. One word.. or one sentence.
Write me your answer in the comments. I can’t wait to read them! 👇🏼
Translation
A: If you're available, I'd like us to plan this trip for the weekend. What do you think?
C: Hm, I don't know. I've got too much to do. I'm really busy.
A: I understand, but it could be fun. We could invite Pierre and Marie too. What day is best for you?
C : Hmmm... Maybe Sunday, but I'm not sure. I need to check my schedule.
A: OK, check and let me know if you have a free slot.
C: OK, I will. But I'm not promising anything, A.
A: That's okay. Do you have any plans for Friday night? We could get together and talk about it some more.
C: That might be a good idea. I'll let you know.
A: Great. In the meantime, I'll contact Pierre and Marie to see if they're available. I look forward to hearing from you.
C: All right.
....
Actually, you're right. It could be fun.
A: Perfect. It could be a great adventure, who knows?
Exercise - Fill in the blank 💪
Quickly test your comprehension, accelerate your learning. 🚀
J'adore aller à la plage pendant ___.
I love going to the beach during the weekend.Donne-moi un appel ___ pour la réunion.
Give me a call if you are available for the meeting.___ Je serai là à 5 heures pour te retrouver.
Alright, I'll be there at 5 to meet you.Je regarderai mon calendrier pour voir si j'ai ___ ce jour-là.
I'll check my calendar to see if I have a free slot that day.Si tu décides de venir à la fête, ___ à l'avance.
If you decide to come to the party, let me know in advance.
If you’re struggling the ✪ Notes section is always a good place to look. 😉 The answers are all in the dialogue or notes section.
[NO PEAKING] Answer Key: 1. le week-end 2. si tu es disponible 3. Ça marche! 4. un créneau de libre 5. préviens-moi
⏪ Catch Up On Recent Dialogues
Une Façon d'utiliser ce Dialogue
These dialogues are a very simple tool. Yet this allows them to be versatile and endlessly flexible to you and your learning style.
Here’s one way you could use the dialogue this week:
👄 Beginner ‘Shadowing’ - Listen to the recording and read the dialogue aloud at the same time.
Repeat this at least x3. You will be surprised at how you can self-detect mistakes. It’s the best way not only to master colloquial speech, but accent and intonation as well.
Check out my quick guide🔗 for different ways you can learn with these dialogues. Perfect if you’re finding them too easy or too hard. 🙌🏻
How to get started with chat on mobile
Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Substack Chat is now available on both iOS and Android.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.
That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.
Private French Lessons
If you’re a serious intermediate student, and would like a private lesson, you can book one here →. Please note there are limited spots available, it is '“first-come first-served” as you say in English.
✉️ Votre invitation à Paris
𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 ♡ 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕦𝕓𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜👇
If you want a link to message someone or share on socials (this is the biggest thing you can do to help me grow! 🌱) here it is:
If you have any type of feedback please let me know in the comments. Or you can just reply to this email.
Till our next rendezvous, remember, practice is the key to unlock the French in you! À la prochaine fois! 🗝️
Amélie x
Je previos d’aller avec un groupe en Grece l’ete prochain.
Je ne suis pas sûr si c’est correct. On dit “musique country” en français? 🥺