by Alliance Française | Aug 5, 2012 | Blog
Martine, one of our French tutors, studied them with her Tuesday French tuition class earlier on this year. Her students enjoyed the humour, the style and the atmosphere created by Daudet very much. She then asked her students, an advanced group, to write a letter in...
by Alliance Française | Jul 30, 2012 | Blog
Les jeux olympiques or JO were re-introduced in 1896 by le baron Pierre de Coubertin in memory of the antique tradition and they took place in Athens.The second JO happened, in total confusion, over 5 months, in Paris in 1900.By 1920, the flag, le drapeau, with the 5...
by Alliance Française | Jul 23, 2012 | Blog
I am sure that if you are French or British, you do know!! What a splendid win by Bradley Wiggins, le vainqueur du Tour ( the winner) who wore le maillot jaune ( yellow jersey) for 14 étapes ( stages) and a fantastic display by his team right through Le Tour, without...
by Alliance Française | Jul 14, 2012 | Blog
Do you know what 14th July stands for? It is a commemoration of the storming of the Bastille (la prise de la Bastille) which happened on 14th July 1789, during the French revolution (la révolution française). It was a very important symbol, even if only seven...
by Alliance Française | Jul 8, 2012 | Blog
Have you ever heard of ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ (la dame à la licorne)?It is a series of tapestries (tapisseries) from the late 15th century, considered to be one of the greatest works of art from the Middle Ages. You can now see it in Cluny Museum in...
by Alliance Française | Jul 1, 2012 | Blog
Audrey and her students have recently had a game of pétanque in Queensquare. If you have never played, you might want to give it a try on your next holidays in France. It is played with metal balls (boules) and a smaller wooden one (le cochonnet). The aim is to...
by Alliance Française | Jun 23, 2012 | Blog
La fête de la musique started on 21st June 1982, it was promoted by Jack Lang who was then Minister of culture ( ministre de la culture) under the president of France ( le président de la France ), François Mitterrand.Here is a link to a video produced by l’INA...
by Alliance Française | Jun 17, 2012 | Blog
C’est la fête des pères! Time to make a cake perhaps…. Read the poem below about a cake written by Alice, a student in Gwen’ s French tuition class. She started with a tiny bit of French and this is what she could write after a few months of French...
by Alliance Française | Jun 10, 2012 | Blog
The final ( la finale) is between Nadal and Djokovic under rather grey skies in Paris.Why are the stadium and the tournament called Roland Garros? Roland Garros, who lived at the beginning of the 20th century, was more of a football player than a tennis man although...
by Alliance Française | Jun 3, 2012 | Blog
La fête des mères is a tradition that goes back to the ancient Greeks and appeared in England in the 15th century when it was called Mothering Sunday, it became official in the UK in 1914. It started being mentioned in France in the early 20th century but officially,...
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