French for Beginners: Lesson 1 - Does Roast Beef mean “I’m ready to settle down?”

Topics covered:

• Un and une
• Tu and vous
• Personal pronouns
• Être in the present
• Ah bon !

Bienvenue ! Welcome to the Language Theater! Come in, come in! Take your seat and get ready for a unique experience. My name is Jean-Paul and I will take you through this masterful play.

I hope you will enjoy the performance and learn to understand and even speak French by the end of the play. Oh, and by the way, it’s a long play... from one act to the next, you will learn the language, discover nuances of French culture, and experience the thrill of a theatrical performance in the language you are learning. Oui, oui ! We start with just a few words of French in act I, but by the end of our play, most of the acts will be performed in French! Oh, what a thrill it is to enjoy a play in French!

Now, a few words about the format of the show, or “course” if you will ... A French teacher, Valérie, gives one-on-one lessons. The students who come for the lessons have very little knowledge of French, almost none. From the first lesson to the last, they will learn to the extent that each one of them will be able to understand and speak French well. You are cordially invited to enjoy the Language Theater and learn French with our students.

Well, let’s begin Act I. Valérie, our French teacher, is waiting for her student Jack. This is the first time Valérie and Jack meet in person.