Talk in French: Season 1 Podcast for Advanced Learners Out Now!
This is the original launch announcement for season 1 of the Talk in French podcast, designed for upper-intermediate and advanced learners. The former courses are now closed to new students; existing students can sign in through the store.
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Introducing: the new Talk in French PodcastTechnical Details and Podcast InformationExisting student accessYes, you read that right. After months of lengthy preparation, the full first season is here: 26 numbered episodes, plus episode 0!
Introducing: the new Talk in French Podcast
I have heard your requests, your feedback, and all your frustrations in learning French especially for advanced learners. It is difficult to look for suitable learning materials for your level. That is precisely the reason why this all new Talk in French advanced level podcast is created.
The podcast is perfect for advanced learners or at least B2 (Upper Intermediate) to C1 (Advanced) and C2 (Proficient) in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). So if you plan to pass DELF B2 or DALF C1/C2, this podcast is probably one of the best tools you can use to practice your listening comprehension and increase your vocabulary.
Compared with existing podcasts from other competitors, this new Talk in French podcast is more advanced. In each episode, I work with Katie, my British female co-host. She raises questions from the perspective of a French language learner and we talk about a variety of topics such as language, food, cultural differences, humour, literature, love, children, and a whole lot more.
Aside from the various topics, every episode also comes with a grammar section which focuses on the main issues faced by advanced learners. Some episodes also discuss several useful French expressions.
Here is the list of topics for all 27 episodes (including episode 0):
| Episode # | Titre | Title – English | Grammaire | Grammar Topic |
| 0 | Les tendances | The “beard peak” and other 2016 trends destined for the dustbin of history. | L’utilisation de dont | Dont: replacing a complement introduced by de (“whose”, “of/about whom/which”, depending on context) |
| 1 | Comment des lardons ont failli briser l’amitié franco-italienne | How bacon almost broke the Franco-Italian friendship | Le verbe Faillir | the verb Faillir (almost + verb) |
| 2 | Les langues se sont adaptées à leur environnement | How languages have adapted to their environment | Le participe présent, à distinguer du gérondif. Dans le texte : « des chercheurs venant de mettre en évidence… » | Present participle: venant de mettre means “who have just put…”. A gerund normally uses en + present participle; this example does not. |
| 3 | Hemingway, un Américain fou de Paris | Hemingway, an American crazy about Paris | Il y a et les expressions commençant par il y… | Il y a (“there is/are”; also “ago” with a duration) and other expressions beginning with il y… |
| 4 | «Ognon», «nénufar», accent circonflexe: la réforme surprise de l’orthographe | The surprising changes in French spelling | Il s’agit de | Il s’agit de: “it is about” / “it concerns” |
| 5 | Différence de conversation | Differences in conversation between French, British and American people | Le verbe falloir | The verb falloir: expressing necessity or giving advice |
| 6 | La femme qui désirait une « personne mature » est malheureusement attirée par les hommes | A woman who is looking for a “grown-up” person is unfortunately attracted to men | en travers de la gorge | A French idiom “hard to swallow” and how to use French idioms |
| 7 | La monstrueuse littérature jeunesse part 1 | Why are French fairy tales so scary? Part 1 | Si (affirmative response to a negative question or statement) | Si (affirmative response to a negative question or statement) |
| 8 | La monstrueuse littérature jeunesse part 2 | Why are French fairy tales so scary? Part 2 | Si (if) | Si (if) |
| 9 | Les Français ne sont pas de gros dégoûtants | French people are not so dirty | valoir mieux | How to say in French “it would be better”/ to advise someone |
| 10 | On a passé un an dans la peau des marchés | We spent a year in the shoes of the financial markets. | vieil / vieux | French adjectives Spelling: some special cases |
| 11 | Comment être arrogant comme un Français | How to be arrogant like a French person | le verbe rendre/ se rendre | The verb “rendre” and its different uses |
| 12 | Les Français, puristes de la langue Part 1 | Why the French are so uptight with their language Part 1 | Verlan | Verlan: a unique way to form some slang terms in French |
| 13 | Les Français, puristes de la langue Part 2 | Why the French are so uptight with their language Part 2 | Celui-ci / Celui-là | Celui-ci / celui-là: “this one” / “that one” (masculine singular) |
| 14 | Trop de vacances en France | Too many holidays in France | Vocabulaire / expressions pour les vacances | Vocabulary / expressions for holidays |
| 15 | La discrimination par l’accent Part 1 | How people can be discriminated by their local accent Part 1 | Les expressions régionales | Distinctive idioms in some French regions |
| 16 | La discrimination par l’accent Part 2 | How people can be discriminated by their local accent Part 2 | to care about something | How to express the idea of ” to care about something” |
| 17 | Les blagues | How do the French joke? | Exemples de blagues | Some examples of French jokes |
| 18 | Le coq et le cocu français | The French and their relationship with cheating | Le genre des mots | Masculine and Feminine Words: how to know which is which? |
| 19 | Détester les Français | Why French people hate French people | Verbe se rendre | A weird verb: “se rendre” and how to use it |
| 20 | Français et anglicismes | How the French use English words these days | Phrases pour le subjonctif | Some useful subjunctive phrases |
| 21 | Faire deux choses à la fois | Being a multitasker | “Could” in French | How to express “could” in French |
| 22 | Les Français sont nuls en anglais | The French suck at English: the reason why | Ne pas + infinitif | How to use the negative with an infinitive verb: ne pas + infinitive |
| 23 | La France, un pays pas très recommandé | The weird French habit through a foreigner’s perspective | “Should” in French | How to express “should” in French |
| 24 | Brexit | Brexit and how France and U.K can work together | encore et toujours | The difference between encore and toujours |
| 25 | Ambiancer, arty, spin-off, émoticône… Le Petit Larousse accepte 150 nouveaux mots | Discover some new and recently added French words | Le Causatif | The causative: faire + infinitive, to express having somebody do something. |
| 26 | Les 12 fautes de français qui vous énervent le plus | The 12 most annoying French mistakes made by the French themselves | Malgré | Malgré: “despite” / “in spite of”. |
As I have previously mentioned, the podcast is not really for everyone. But if you are an advanced level French learner who is serious about mastering the language, the podcast would be a great way to practice your listening skills and train your ears through real French conversations.
If you are not yet at this level, keep building your French step by step. This announcement was written for learners ready to practise with longer French conversations.
Technical Details and Podcast Information
- The season contains extended conversations. Episode lengths vary.
- The recordings give you substantial listening practice across the full season.
- The podcast notes and transcripts let you review grammar and vocabulary and follow the conversations in writing.
This was originally offered as a complete season with MP3 recordings and notes covering vocabulary, grammar and transcripts. The former courses are now closed to new students. Existing students can sign in through the store or contact support if their purchased course is missing.
What’s included
The full season includes all 27 episodes (counting episode 0), with the transcripts and notes for every episode.
