french | Conquering Babel

Browsing All posts tagged under »french«

Reasons to Learn a Language, #1402: It’s Attractive

February 14, 2014

In a recent BuzzFeed quiz (“which Disney character are you?”, if memory serves), the following question was asked: “Which random thing turns you on?” Not sure about random, though. I mean, take this as Exhibit A. Happy Valentine’s Day. — for more hints and tips on language learning, buy Conquering Babel: A Practical Guide […]

Reasons to Learn a Language, #926: Indulge Your Other Obsessions

January 31, 2014

When I switched on my DVR today, I found that something new had recorded: Little Manhattan. I muttered something about how I already have that, you silly machine, but before I deleted it I hovered over it just long enough to notice that it had recorded in Spanish. So I kept it. This is a film […]

“Conquering Babel” gets a new look!

March 15, 2013

The eBook “Conquering Babel” has a new cover – and to celebrate, the Kindle version will be free on Amazon from Friday 15th to Monday 18th March 2013. Enjoy!

Beginning French: a six-week online language course

March 28, 2012

I’m excited to announce the launch of the first Conquering Babel online course! Beginning French will last six weeks, and is designed to kick start your self-study. Each week, you will be sent a lesson consisting of grammar, vocabulary, and tips for learning, and links to resources. You’ll be set homework, which you will send […]

App Review: Scrabble and Angry Words (or how to use word games to increase your vocabulary)

March 15, 2012

Word games are a great way to stretch your linguistic muscles and learn new vocabulary. You can, of course, buy word searches in magazine format, or play a solitaire game of Scrabble on a traditional board. But if you have a smartphone or a tablet, these days there are many other options. I was excited to find […]

Three things I didn’t know I knew about the subjunctive

February 25, 2012

Health warning: you probably don’t want to read this unless you’re already advanced in French and have a fairly good grasp of what you thought were the rules of the subjunctive. When I first started teaching French, I often had to bite my lip when I turned over the page of a grammar book in […]

Quality books for learning French

February 24, 2012

I’ve been asked a couple of times this week about good books for studying French. For all the great resources that are out there, I still don’t think that you can beat the CLE series. They aren’t glamorous or trendy, and their titles aren’t subtle: Grammaire Progressive Du Francais, Vocabulaire Progressive du Francais. There’s no attempt to […]

App Review: the Bescherelle Conjugaison

February 17, 2012

Since the dawn of time, the school supply lists of French schoolchildren have included a book known as the Bescherelle. French verbs andtheir spellings are notoriously difficult, even for native speakers, and the Bescherelle is a kind of road map to help them (and their parents) navigate the pitfalls. It basically consists of list after […]

Language Learning and Me: Norwegian

November 4, 2011

In a new series of interviews about the experience of language learning, I asked Katy a few questions about her experience with Norwegian. You may remember that Katy was freshly pressed a few weeks ago with her post, “15 years on and still learning the lingo“, in which she reminded us that some days are […]

Christmas gifts for language learners

October 20, 2011

The nights are drawing in; the leaves are beginning to turn and fall; there’s a chill in the air. This can only mean one thing: the Christmas shopping panic is only weeks away. But fear not, dear reader: if there is a language lover in your life, panic is unnecessary. Instead, you can have a […]