French Podcast Ep# 5: Differences Between French, British, and American Conversations
Listen for free to the 5th episode of the new Talk in French Podcast and discover the differences between French, British, and American conversations.
On this page
Listening companionTimelineVocabularyFalloir practiceAfter listeningBut wait—a quick reminder.Ready to listen? Here is Episode #5.Bonjour tout le monde. Ça va ? I launched a podcast for advanced French learners.
Today, I’m giving you a sneak peek into the podcast by sharing one episode that you can listen to for free.
In this episode, my co-host Katie and I talk about the differences between French, American, and British conversations. We also discuss how one should behave during conversations among the three different cultures.
Aside from that, we talk about how to do “small talk” (banalités) in French. That one can be pretty scary for some, but this episode should help you with that. Finally, for the grammar part, we discuss the important verb ‘falloir’ which is particularly useful when expressing advice or a recommendation.
Listening companion
Published in November 2016, this 33-minute episode begins with a short article, then moves into a conversation about culture, humour and useful French expressions. Listen first for the main ideas. On a second pass, pause during the vocabulary explanations and try to summarise the hosts’ points of view in French.
Episode timeline
Times are approximate. Use them to find the section you want to practise.
- 00:25 — Introduction: Frédéric and Katie introduce the article and their French and British perspectives.
- 01:50 — First article reading: Listen for the contrasts the article draws between French, British and American conversations.
- 04:10 — Vocabulary, sarcasm and humour: The hosts unpack expressions from the article and discuss irony, sarcasm and French comedians.
- 11:25 — Railleries, gossip and expectations: Listen for explanations of railleries, ragots, être censé and avoir lieu.
- 14:30 — Small talk and questions about work: The hosts compare ways of getting to know someone and discuss banalités.
- 20:25 — Reassurance, disagreement and dialogue: They discuss reassuring someone, responding to an opinion, interruptions and monologues.
- 29:30 — Grammar: falloir: The final language section explains il faut, other tenses and il faut que followed by the subjunctive.
- 32:35 — Closing: The hosts invite listeners to share their experiences before signing off.
Vocabulary to listen for
- un point de vuea point of view
- se moquer de quelqu’unto make fun of someone
- des railleriesteasing; mocking remarks
- des ragotsgossip
- être censé faire quelque choseto be supposed to do something
- avoir lieuto take place
- des banalitéssmall talk; commonplace remarks
- rassurer quelqu’unto reassure someone
- couper la parole à quelqu’unto interrupt someone
- un comédien / une comédiennean actor / an actress; sometimes a comedian, depending on context
Comédien usually means an actor. For someone whose job is telling jokes, humoriste is a useful word. Listen to the hosts’ discussion of this false friend around 09:30.
Practise falloir
Falloir is an impersonal verb: its conjugated forms use il. Il faut can express necessity or obligation; il faudrait can make advice softer. The English subject depends on the context, so the il in il faut does not mean a particular “he”.
These are new practice examples, rather than quotations from the recording.
Il faut écouter son interlocuteur.
English translation
You need to listen to the person you’re speaking to.
Il faudrait poser une autre question.
English translation
We should ask another question.
Il faut que tu sois à l’heure.
English translation
You need to be on time.
Use an infinitive after il faut, or que followed by a subject and the subjunctive: il faut que tu sois. You can also use a noun to name what is needed, as in il faut du temps (“time is needed”).
After listening
- Choose one point where the hosts agree and one where they offer different perspectives. Explain each in French.
- What does être censé mean? Write your own example.
- How would you make advice softer using falloir?
- Describe a conversation style you have encountered. Use un point de vue or des banalités in your answer.
Language checks
Être censé means “to be supposed to”. To soften advice, try il faudrait followed by an infinitive. The personal discussion questions have several possible answers.
But wait—a quick reminder.
This podcast is ideal for advanced level French learners. Intermediate learners may still find this useful for practising their listening skills. This free episode does not come with a transcript.
