Les Bons Mots: A Podcast about Language Learning

Are you learning French in a Canadian context? Do you work with clients or colleagues in Quebec? In this episode, Roxane and Britta talk about how the French language is used in Quebec, including topics like politeness and formality, what to expect at a 5 à 7, and some unique Quebec vocabulary. Join us, and practice your French listening skills, because this episode is in French!

This week, the guest host is Roxane St-Hilaire. Roxane is pedagogical advisor at ACA, and she is also a French as a second language instructor. Roxane. She is finishing her masters degree in second language didactics and she’s interested in the use of technology in class, the development of intercultural competence and intergenerational relationships.

In this episode, Britta and Roxane discuss an expression in French, se faire passer un sapin. Do you know what it means and how to use it? Listen to find out!

Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs.

Are you working on making your English pronunciation sound more natural? When you listen to people speaking English, does it seem like they are speaking too quickly? If you answered yes to either of these questions, this episode is for you. Learn about how words in spoken English are connected. In this episode, Britta and Clémence discuss how some sounds change, appear, or even disappear when people speak English. They also share practical tips on how to understand spoken English, and how to use connected speech to improve your English pronunciation.

This episode’s guest host is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA, and has a bachelor’s degree in English literature along with a master's degree in English studies, and a master's degree in journalism. She’s taught ESL in France and Quebec, and has a deep understanding of the difficulties of mastering pronunciation in a second language.

Our expression this week is to speak out of turn. Listen to find out what this expression means, and some of the situations where you can use it.

Do you want to read more about connected speech? Here are a few articles for further information:

• Connected Speech (teachingenglish.org)
• 5 Features of Connected Speech (eslbase.com)

Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs.

Are you looking for a new position? Are you going to be interviewed either fully or partially in English? This week Jenni and Britta talk about what kind of questions you can expect to hear in an English-language job interview, and how to answer them. They share advice about answering wildcard questions, which verb tenses to use, key vocabulary to highlight your skills, and how to prepare for success before the interview even starts. This episode is essential listening for job seekers!

This week’s guest host is Jenni Campbell. Jenni has a Human Ecology degree from the University of Manitoba and a language certificate from the University of Laval. She has been with ACA for ten years, and has extensive experience doing curriculum development. She also does hiring and recruiting for ACA here in Quebec and across Canada.

Our phrasal verb of the week is take on - do you know how to use this phrasal verb to talk about employment? Listen and find out!

Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs.

Is it there, their or they’re? Why is the verb tear pronounced differently than the tears we cry? Do I have to pronounce the ‘b’ in doubt? English and French are full of words that sound the same, but have different meanings, words that are written the same, but have different pronunciations, and silent letters! In this week’s episode, Britta and Clémence help you to understand some of the homophones, heteronyms and silent letters that can be challenging for language learners.

This week’s guest host is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA, and has a bachelor’s degree in english literature along with a master's degree in English studies, and a master's degree in journalism. She’s taught ESL in France and Quebec, and has a deep understanding of the difficulties of mastering pronunciation in a second language.

In this episode:

Clémence recommends a podcast called Word Bomb, which is a deep exploration of a different English word in each episode. The words they choose are important and timely, and they go beyond the dictionary to contextual them.

Britta recommends the highly entertaining book about the English language, The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way, by Bill Bryson. If you are curious about how English became the language it is today, a lot of the answers may be found in the history of the language, and this book is anything but dry.

Did you know there are three ways to pronounce the -ed ending in English? Does thinking about syllable stress and word stress make you feel...stressed? This week, Britta and Clémence demystify some of the mysteries of English and French pronunciation, and help you to make yourself understood when speaking these languages. This episode is essential listening for language learners!

This week’s guest host is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA, and has a bachelor’s degree in english literature along with a master's degree in English studies, and a master's degree in journalism. She’s taught ESL in France and Quebec, and has a deep understanding of the difficulties of mastering pronunciation in a second language.

In this week’s episode:

Clémence suggests searching out video of Steve Ballmer’s “Developers!” chant for a fun way to remember the syllable stress on that word! Also, Season 10, episode 13 of Friends features Joey "learning" to speak French, with comic results. For another fun example of syllable and word stress, check out the scene from My Fair Lady, where Eliza Dolittle masters the phrase, “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.”

This week, Clémence recommends The History of Swear Words, though only for adult listeners! It’s an interesting and well-researched program about the history of swear words in English.

Britta recommends two great language resources for people learning French in Canada. The Banque de dépannage linguistique and the Grand dictionnaire terminologique provide excellent definitions, explanations, and usage examples focused on how French is used in Quebec.