Coffee Break French

Our second episode of Coffee Break French Season 3 provides further details on Katie who has been writing her diary about her experience studying French in Nice. In this episode we’ll be looking at more language points which come up in Katie’s diary including direct and indirect object pronouns. Please note that lesson 02 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 302 of Coffee Break French. We ha...

Welcome to the first lesson of Coffee Break French Season 3! In this episode listeners will meet American student Katie, Australian entrepreneur Veronica, and Alf who is a retired teacher from England. Our three characters are studying French at a language school in Nice, and in each episode you’ll hear an extract from their diaries, recounting their adventures on the French Riviera. We’ll pick up...

Oui, c’est vrai! Nous sommes de retour! Coffee Break French is returning for a third season starting next Monday, 18th October. Season 3 will consist of 40 lessons and will give you the opportunity to develop your knowledge of the French language further, increasing your range of expression and building your confidence in a variety of grammatical constructions. In this season we’ll be featuring th...

We’ve arrived at the final episode in our series of Coffee Break French. In lesson 40, we reach the end of the meal in which our friends Christina, David, Sophie and Jean-Jaques have been getting to know each other. As usual, we cover a range of topics and constructions in this conversation and everything is explained in the lesson. Please note that lesson 40 of Season 2 was originally known as le...

After an enjoyable meal our two couples are about to enjoy a coffee and un petit digeo . The conversation continues between David, Christina, Sophie and Jean-Jacques in this penultimate episode of the series. Expressions covered include ça te dirait de faire quelque chose, aussitôt que , and further examples of the future and conditional tenses. Please note that lesson 39 of Season 2 was originall...

In the 38th episode of the course, we continue our radio play featuring David and Christina, who are having dinner with their new friends Sophie and Jean-Jacques. This lesson introduces the pluperfect tense and also looks at a few examples of avoir expressions, including avoir l’habitude , avoir besoin de quelque chose and avoir de la chance . Please note that lesson 38 of Season 2 was originally...

In this lesson our radio play continues and Sophie, Jean-Jacques, David and Christina are talking about what they will be doing in the coming days. We’ll therefore be taking a look at the future tense. Please note that lesson 37 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 77 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our list...

In this lesson of Coffee Break French, our radio play continues. Sometimes it’s difficult to know when to use tu and when to use vous when speaking to people in French. In this lesson, Jean-Jacques suggests that he and David should tutoyer each other – ie. use the tu form. This lesson includes some useful tips on dealing with tu and vous . We also take a close look at the conditional tense. P...

Our radio play continues in this week's lesson as David and Christina get to know Jean-Jacques and Sophie a bit more. They talk about their children and pets, and about the food they’re going to order. The conversation includes some examples of the conditional tense, the comparative, and the use of the word en . Please note that lesson 35 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 75 of Coffee Bre...

In this week's episode of Coffee Break French David and Christina decide to join Jean-Jacques and Sophie for dinner in the latest instalment of our ‘radio play’. Topics covered include a review of beaucoup de and a very brief introduction to the subjunctive mood. Please note that lesson 34 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 74 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each...

In this episode of Coffee Break French our conversation between David, Christina and Jean-Jacques continues, and they are joined by Jean-Jacques’ wife, Sophie. Topics covered include the use of ça vous dirait de + infinitive to suggest an activity. We also take a look at negatives in the form of ne … pas and ne … jamais . Please note that lesson 33 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 73 of...

In this episode of Coffee Break French we’ll hear the next instalment of the conversation between David, Christina and Jean-Jacques. Please note that lesson 32 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 72 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. This season of Coffee Break French features a total of 40 less...

One of the main things learners seem to be finding difficult is the idea of making conversation with people. It’s easy enough to order a coffee, or book into a hotel, and saying the words and phrases you’ve learned at the appropriate time is great, but sometimes it’s not enough. What happens when you ask a question and you receive 30 seconds of solid French in return? In the final ten lessons of C...

In this 30th episode of Coffee Break French, Mark and Anna look at one activity which learners traditionally find difficult in a foreign language: using the telephone. Please note that lesson 30 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 70 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. This season of Coffee Break...

This week’s Coffee Break French deals with hiring a car in a French-speaking area. Like our last episode, this lesson focuses on using the language we’ve been working on recently in a practical context. Please note that lesson 29 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 69 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our lis...

It’s time to put the language we’ve been learning into practice and return to some transactional situations, this time equipped with a thorough understanding of how the language works. In this week’s show Mark and Anna discuss travelling by taxi in French, and use the constructions and expressions learned in recent weeks within this context. Please note that lesson 28 of Season 2 was originally kn...

In this week's lesson we’re building on the verbal constructions we’ve been learning over the past few weeks and introducing the phrase après avoir fait quelque chose . This lesson also explains what happens when an être verb is used with this construction. Please note that lesson 27 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 67 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season...

In this lesson we’re covering two constructions which will help to increase your range of expression: venir de faire quelque chose (to have just done something) and avant de faire quelque chose (before doing something). Please note that lesson 26 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 66 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more s...

In this lesson you’ll solve the mystery of qui or que . Please note that lesson 25 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 65 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. This season of Coffee Break French features a total of 40 lessons, all of which will be included in the podcast feed. Just stay subscribed...

In this lesson you’ll find out exactly why Prince Philip changes his wig frequently… or at least when the imperfect tense is used in French! Please note that lesson 24 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 64 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. This season of Coffee Break French features a total of...

In this lesson we take a further look at the imperfect tense, this time looking at the formation of -re and -ir verbs. We also consider some verbs with slightly different patterns and the only verb with an irregular stem in the imperfect tense: être . Please note that lesson 23 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 63 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as le...

In this week’s lesson we look at another tense used to talk about the past: the imperfect tense. We learn how to construct it and look at one of the situations in which the imperfect is used. Please note that lesson 22 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 62 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Thi...

In this week’s lesson we look at two tiny pronouns which can cause some confusion for French learners: y and en . Please note that lesson 21 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 61 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. This season of Coffee Break French features a total of 40 lessons, all of which w...

In this lesson, we check whether Anna has done her homework by taking a look at her diary entry using avoir verbs, être verbs and reflexive verbs. In doing so, we review everything we have covered in Lessons 29-21. Please note that lesson 20 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 60 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple...

This week we look at demonstrative adjectives: different ways of saying "this", "these", "that" and "those". We will also have the chance to practise the perfect tense. Please note that lesson 19 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 59 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. This season of Coffee Brea...