Coucou ☕️🇫🇷🥐 I'm Amélie Laurent and this is my French newsletter. I supercharge your progress from A2 to B2 through colloquial dialogues.
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Salutations, mes petits génies de la langue française! 📚 We’re back with another edition of French with Amélie for your reading pleasure!
Continuez comme ça, vous êtes sur la bonne voie!
Keep it up, you're doing great! 👍🏼
We all secretly know the only way to truly learn a language are real-life conversations and experiences. Lessons and grammar can only take us so far.
While real-life experiences are difficult to recreate, 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.
Gros Bisous! A x
👑 Comment of the week
Each issue I ask my readers to write their own response to the day’s dialogue question—it’s a great habit and helps take your French to the next level. Reading these comments is a real highlight for me, and some of them are so good I have to share!
Quelle est la meilleure chose qui t'est arrivée cette semaine ? 💬 Suzanne a répondu :
Mon petit-fils, âgé [de] 10 ans, a gagné le plus haut prix à la compétition nationale de gymnastique pour sa routine de trampoline. La famille entière est extatique!
Félicitations au petit-fils de Suzanne et à sa famille ! Tout simplement génial. Et Elizabeth a répondu:
J’ai participé à un concours en achetant deux bouteilles de vin rouge. La semaine dernière j’ai reçu un e-mail [m'informant] que j’ai gagné un prix. Quatre verres à vin très à la mode en cristal. J’ai de la chance, non?
C'est tout à fait approprié au sujet d'aujourd'hui hein.
Alors, c'est parti!
✨New Feature: Dialogue Audio 🎧
Dialogue du Jour
Nathan : Tu crois à la chance ✪, Zoé ?
Zoé : Oh que oui ✪, Nathan ! J'en suis convaincue. Par exemple, la dernière fois que j'ai trouvé un billet de vingt euros sur le trottoir ✪, si ce n'est pas un coup de chance ✪, je ne sais pas ce que c'est.
Nathan : T'as entendu que ✪ moi, j'avais gagné à la loterie la semaine dernière ?
Zoé : Non, sérieusement ? Tu en as de la chance ✪! Combien t’as gagné ?
Nathan : Pas grand-chose, juste cinquante euros. Mais quand même, ça fait toujours du bien.
Zoé : Oh, petit veinard ✪! Avec ma chance au loto, je n'aurais même pas gagné un euro !
Nathan : Oui, mais tu te souviens de la fois où tu as l'échappé belle ✪ en évitant cette voiture qui roulait trop vite ? C'est de la chance aussi, non ?
Zoé : Je suppose que la chance peut se manifester de différentes façons, pas seulement en termes d'argent.
Nathan : Exactement. Que ce soit un billet trouvé ou éviter un accident, tout est question de hasard. Ou tu peux le voir comme ça en tout cas. Certaines personnes croient en Dieu ou au hasard total, je suppose.
Zoé : La chance, c'est comme le changement de temps, on ne peut pas la prévoir.
♡ 𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 👇
✪ Notes
la chance = luck. careful here! False friend alert🚨 ‘La chance’ doesn’t mean ‘chance’. le hasard = chance. Look for it later in the dialogue. au hasard = at random
oh que oui = oh yes / hell yeah
le trottoir = sidewalk (US), footpath (UK)
un coup de chance = a stroke of luck
t’as entendu que✨ = did you hear that .. ? Ex. ’T’as entendu que Nathan et Zoé ne sont plus ensemble ?’
Tu en as de la chance !🧩 = You’re lucky ! / Lucky you !
Don’t worry about the ‘en’ in there. It’s what I call a ‘canned’ expression.. think of it as coming ready made for you, it’s a package deal, you just have to repeat or recognise it as is.
I have students wrap themselves in knots trying to deconstruct and understand expressions like this, but they just are what they are. The best tactic is to treat them like puzzle pieces (I might mark them with 🧩 from now on) that you place in the right spot in a conversation.
Being able to recognise ‘canned’ expressions is its own skill, but I’ll help you. The more colloquial the more canned, is a general rule.
petit veinard(e) = you lucky duck! sacré veinard(e) = lucky devil. né coiffé = (lit.) born with your hair done (😂) = born lucky. “Je n'ai jamais eu de gros problèmes dans ma vie : je pense que je suis né coiffé”
l'échappé belle = near miss / lucky escape
*✨ = especially ‘Frenchie’ words/phrases you should try and use more
*🧩= ‘canned’ expressions or phrases that are best learned as a whole, like puzzle-pieces
Writing Prompt ✍️
I’m torn on this one. I think there's a certain magic and mystery in the idea of luck influencing events. But I can’t help reading meaning and seeing patterns in people’s lives and biographies, so maybe that doesn’t make me a true luck-believer? I don’t know, what do you think?
Alors, tu crois à la chance ?
All answers are welcome. One word.. or one sentence.
Write me your answer in the comments. I can’t wait to read them! 👇🏼
Translation
N: Do you believe in luck, Z?
Z: Hell yes, N! I'm sure of it. For example, the last time I found a twenty euro bill on the sidewalk, if that wasn't a stroke of luck, I don't know what was.
N: Did you hear that I won the lottery last week?
Z: No, seriously? You're so lucky! How much did you win?
N: Not much, just fifty euros. But still, it always feels good.
Z: Oh, lucky you! With my lottery luck, I wouldn't have won even one euro!
N: Yes, but do you remember the time you had a narrow escape by avoiding that speeding car? That's luck too, isn't it?
Z: I suppose luck can manifest itself in different ways, not just in terms of money.
N: Exactly. Whether it's finding a ticket or avoiding an accident, it's all about luck. Or you could look at it that way, anyway. Some people believe in God or total chance, I suppose.
Z: Chance is like a change in weather - you can't predict it.
Exercise - Fill in the blank 💪
Quickly test your comprehension, accelerate your learning. 🚀
___, Jules a déménagé à Paris ?
Have you heard that Jules has moved to Paris?J'ai laissé tomber mes clés sur ___ en sortant de la voiture.
I dropped my keys on the sidewalk when getting out of the car.___, c'était le meilleur concert auquel j'ai assisté !
Oh yes, it was the best concert I've ever attended!Sophie a gagné un voyage tous frais payés à Rome. Quelle ___ !
Sophie won an all-expenses-paid trip to Rome. What a lucky girl!Trouver un billet de cinéma non utilisé dans la rue, c'est vraiment ___ !
Finding an unused movie ticket on the street is really a stroke of luck!
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. T’as entendu que 2. le trottoir 3. Oh que oui ! 4. petit veinarde 5. un coup de chance
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:
🥪 Listening sandwich - Listen to the recording (2-3 times), then read the dialogue and fill in your understanding, then listen again.
This is a great way for beginners to boost their oral comprehension in small helpful doses. Listening first exercises your brain, and listening again after studying allows you solidifying the connections. It’s also encouraging as you can see what you’ve learned !
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. 🙌🏻
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.
𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 ♡ 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕦𝕓𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜👇
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If you have any type of feedback please let me know in the comments. Or you can just reply to this email.
Prenez soin de vous, mes amoureux de la langue française! ❤️
Bonne chance,
Amélie x
Je crois en une certaine chance. Mais je crois surtout qu'il faut être béni. Rien ne se passe par pur hasard. Je crois que Dieu veille sur nous et que ce qu'il nous a destiné se jouera au fil du temps. Bon ou mauvais, nous n'avons aucun contrôle, c'est juste la vie ! Profitez des bons moments et appuyez-vous sur Lui dans les pas si bons.
Oui, mais je crois aussi qu'on crée sa propre chance, par la persévérance et la détermination. Quand nous creusons profondément, nos réactions instinctives s'activent et nous trouvons de très bonnes informations pour nous guider dans la bonne direction.