About

Welcome to The French Post!

I created this site to be the tool I wish I’d had when I started learning French over twenty years ago. At the time, I really didn’t like my traditional, textbook-based classes because I hated…

  • Not having the big picture.
  • When the chapter started to explain different major concepts in the middle of another lesson.
  • How grammar concepts were arbitrarly worked ino chapters divided by vocabulary topics.
  • The assumption that teenagers or adults would be comfortable learning through “immersion.” (And I’m not sure the concept even applies unless you’re living in a French-speaking area. Going to class doesn’t count.)

Since taking my first French class in high school, I’ve studied abroad and/or visited France and the French-speaking areas of Switzerland for significant amounts of time, including Paris, Avignon, Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Geneva, Switzerland.

Unlike textbooks that provide no context of French grammar concepts in the larger scheme of the language, I take a top-down view and try to explain where each lesson fits into the whole, and, where I can, why French language quirks are the way they are. I have found that learning the language is much less overwhelming this way.

My teaching style might not be helpful for everyone. I write traditional grammar and vocabulary lessons just like you might find in a textbook, but I don’t integrate them because I did not find that useful when I was learning French. I also don’t introduce unfamiliar vocabulary and expect readers to figure out its definition based on context clues. Other students desiring different styles might want to check out immersion methods or follow a traditional textbook approach, which will introduce vocabulary and grammar together in a methodical way.

Please leave any comments, questions, or suggestions for future articles that you’d like to see. If you see any mistakes or think I was unclear anywhere, please let me know that as well. I try my very best, but I am lifelong learner as well. I’d love to hear from you!

-Brittany

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