French for Fun South Downs

28/08/2026

🇫🇷⛅️ Whatever your plans and whatever the weather, have a lovely bank holiday weekend! ⛅️🇫🇷

22/08/2026

🇫🇷💼 La rentrée at the beginning of September is a big turning point in the French calendar. It could be translated by ‘Back to school’, ‘Back to work’ or simply ‘Back to normal’. The whole of France seems to take a break or at least dramatically slow down for the entirety of the month of August so it’s not just the children going back to school; it’s about everyone getting back up to speed and back to a regular routine.

The photo was taken 15 years ago on our son’s first day in Petite Section at the Ecole Maternelle in the village where we were living in France. He would have been 3 years old. He went to school 4 days a week; everyone had the day off on Wednesdays. The school day started at 8.30am and ended at 4.30pm with a break for a couple of hours at lunchtime - time to eat, play and have une sieste (a nap). This year he is off to university.

If you are planning your autumn/winter routine and are interested in joining a French class, our 'rentrée' is a little later. We have several 10-week courses starting at the very end of September/beginning of October. Sessions are relaxed, sociable and confidence building. See our website for more details.💼🇫🇷

17/08/2026

🇫🇷🥐Comment ça va? Here are a few expressions for saying how you feel in French. The last one is the least well known and is not as it might appear - hâte is pronounced 'at' and has nothing to do with hate!

J’ai hâte translates as 'I am looking forward to it.' or 'I can't wait'.

J’ai trop hâte d'aller en France cet été = I am really looking forward to going to France this summer (true!) 😊🇫🇷

09/08/2026

☀️⛱️ Full of French but not France. We have been staying with friends in Guernsey for a few days this week. Travelling around the island it would be easy to imagine that the locals are all bilingual but, having taught French there in the past, I know this not to be the case.

What has been spoken in Guernsey for over a thousand years is Guernésiais (Guernsey French) which is a distinct regional variety of Norman-French. It is fascinating to listen to but is worlds away from the French that is spoken in France today. Sadly, in spite of efforts to preserve the language, it is now endangered with only a handful of fluent speakers left. ⛱️☀️

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ8ZQ3wrNaA&list=PLBp-rSGyXJzgeOOc7uTNgKmKvJsmwHmcA&index=9

02/08/2026

🇫🇷☀ On Saturday we had our first Summer Social at the lovely Meeting Place in Wiston near Steyning. Everyone brought food and the table was heaving. Fabulous though the food was, the best thing was seeing everyone having a great time catching up with friends who they hadn’t even met this time last year. 😍🇫🇷

01/08/2026

25/07/2026

🇫🇷🧐 Are Language Learning Apps the best thing since sliced bread? Radio 4 have tried out and compared several popular apps and the results were aired this week. It’s definitely worth a listen if you are thinking of learning another language.

It was a lovely learner who emailed me to recommend the episode. She wrote “There was a BBC Radio 4 programme on comparing language apps yesterday. Some of them extremely expensive
and do not compare to your system.”

In short, the conclusion they come to is that, while Language Learning Apps are a great tool, the best way to make progress is by using a combination of human teaching and learning platforms. Which is exactly what we do. 😊 🇫🇷

Can you really learn a new language from apps like Duolingo?

10/07/2026

🇫🇷 La fête nationale 2026 – a little different to the norm.

🇫🇷 The 14th July is known as 'La fête nationale' in France and 'Bastille Day' in English. It is a celebration of the French Republic and commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789 which is seen as the start of the French Revolution and has become a symbol of revolutionary struggle.

🇫🇷 In addition to a day off work for many, la fête nationale is usually celebrated with ‘un feu d’artifice’ (fireworks) during the evening of 14th July. This year, in many towns and cities including Paris, the display will take place on 13th July instead.

🇫🇷 This change is to mark the 10-year anniversary of an attack in Nice on 14th July 2016 when a truck drove into the crowds gathering to watch the fireworks on La promenade des anglais killing 86 people and injuring hundreds more. The evening of the 14th July will instead be a moment of reflection.

🇫🇷 In many areas of France, le feu d’artifice has had to be cancelled this year because of the risk of fire due to the ongoing heatwave.

🇫🇷 In Paris the big event is the military parade on the Champs Elysées overseen by the president. There is usually one other country invited as a special guest to be celebrated alongside France. In 2025 it was Indonesia. This year, however, the parade will be dedicated to the support of Ukraine and there will be 35 European countries taking part.

🇫🇷 Other celebrations on the nights of 13th and 14th July include street parties and ‘bals’ (dances) organised by the ‘les pompiers’ (firemen) in towns and villages across France. Les pompiers are mostly volunteers and have many roles in France. In addition to fighting fires and organising parties, they are also the first service to be called to a medical emergency or road accident.

🇫🇷 Bonne fête nationale !

08/07/2026

Just one of the many reasons people join French for Fun classes!

Study finds those who speak two languages have brains that appear around six years younger than those who speak one