Les Bons Mots: A Podcast about Language Learning

Whenever we learn something new like a language, making mistakes is part of the process. What is the difference between a mistake and an error in language learning? How do language teachers help learners correct their mistakes? Why don’t the people around us correct us when we make a mistake? Join Britta and Kelsey as they discuss these questions, and offer advice and suggestions to help us make t...

English and French have thousands of words in common - how can you tell which words have the same meaning in both languages, and which ones are false friends, words which look or sound the same, but have different meanings? Join Britta and Kimberly as they explore some of the similarities, and deceptive differences, between English and French. This week’s episode tackles verb tenses, parts of spee...

Welcome to Season Two of Les Bons Mots! Join Britta and Taylor for a discussion of the business of language learning. How do successful organizations approach language training? Why does ACA invest in our instructors and our own made-in-Quebec curriculum? How has language training changed in the last decade, and what is next for language education and for ACA?  This week’s guest host, Taylor irela...

Explore language teaching with the Les Bons Mots Team, and get to know the creative team behind this project! What are some of the classroom activities we love to use? What challenges do our students face? What is our best language-learning advice, and what has teaching languages taught us?  This week’s guest hosts are Lauren McIntosh and Nathan Elliott. Lauren has been teaching since 2014 and has...

Do you attend meetings in French, or do you hope to attend them soon? Our French instructors and guest hosts Zoé Moamadi and Nicole Wirtz are here to help you, with some useful phrases to help you people who are learning French to participate in meetings. This week’s minisode is in French!  Our guest hosts this week are Zoé Moamadi and Nicole Wirtz. Zoé has a master’s degree in visual arts from Un...

Are you learning French and intrigued by all of the differences between English and French? Our French language instructors, Nicole Wirtz and Zoe Moamadi, break down some of the key differences that students of French encounter. Join us, and practice your French listening skills, because this is the first French language episode of Les Bons Mots!  Our guest hosts this week are Zoé Moamadi and Nico...

Is that vegetable a courgette or zucchini? Are you looking for the lav or the restroom? Join Britta and Jeff as they discuss  regional varieties of English and the differences in some essential categories such as greetings, thank yous, washrooms, food and clothing. This week's guest host is Jeffrey Smale. Jeffrey is a member of the teaching team at ACA , and since obtaining his CELTA teaching...

Join Britta and Jeff as they discuss bilingualism, an important subject in the world of language learning. What does it mean to be bilingual? What are some of the misconceptions about bilingualism? They also discuss the physiological, social and financial benefits of bilingualism!  Jeffrey Smale is a member of the teaching team at ACA , and since obtaining his CELTA teaching certificate has taught...

Join Britta and Chris to discuss how we can use technology to optimize language learning. Our hosts also provide you with suggestions for many great websites and apps (including ACA’s own online learning platform, Mindi) you can use to build your skills in many different languages.  This week's guest host is Chris Ashton. Chris is an ESL Teacher at ACA and also a Psychology teacher at an Engl...

Join Britta and Chris as they talk about the stressful parts of language learning. What makes learning a language so stressful? What can we do as language learners (or language teachers) to reduce language-learning anxiety? Our hosts explore these questions in detail, and provide practical advice for ways to make language learning a positive, motivating experience. This week's guest host is C...

Join Britta and Johnson to tackle some of the key questions language learners have about verb tenses. From the challenge of choosing the correct auxiliary verb and  the difficulties of learning irregular verbs and phrasal verbs to learning the infamous subjunctive, Britta and Johnson offer practical advice to anyone struggling to talk about time in a new language. This week's guest host is Jo...

Join Britta and Johnson as they talk about verb tenses, and specifically, the present perfect. What makes this tense challenging?  When is  it appropriate to use it? We take a deep dive into this tricky verb tense. Our hosts discuss some tips to help you gain confidence in using this verb tense. This week's guest host is Johnson Bresnick. Johnson is the Director of Learning & Development...

Join Britta and Clémence as they answer some common questions about pronunciation and discuss strategies for improving pronunciation, no matter what language you are learning! They talk about learning how to produce new sounds, how to practice them, what minimal pairs are, and more! This week's guest is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA , and has a bachelor’s degre...

Join Britta and Clémence as they talk about pronunciation! What makes pronunciation so difficult? How important is it? How can you improve your pronunciation? Our language teachers offer you information and advice to help you improve your pronunciation as you learn languages. This week’s episode takes a dive into English and French pronunciation. This week's guest is Clémence Grison. Clémence...