Connect 2 Languages Podcast: Recent Episodes
Nolwenn-Languages
The Connect 2 Languages Podcast is a reflection on what it feels like to speak different languages and to live in a foreign country. It’s about culture, languages, identity, emotions and... it’s in 3 languages: French, English and Spanish! Learning a language is not just about linguistics, it's also accepting to change your identity.
Today, I have a guest. Leanne is exactly the kind of person I have in mind when I record the podcast. That’s the strange thing about podcasting, I’m talking to you, but I don’t know who you are. Leanne is typically the person I imagine listening to it.
**She is from Malaysia, so she grew up in a multicultural country surrounded by several languages. She went backpacking for a while after finishing her studies, crossed path with a man and eventually moved to France to be with him. She has been in France for almost ten years now. I’ve had countless conversations with her about what it feels like to be a foreigner and about the duality of nationalities. So, I said to her, let’s just switch the mike on and record some of it… Unfortunately, I didn’t plan it very well on the day that I recorded and the sound for my voice is quite poor. So, I edited out quite a bit of my questions, but in the end, it doesn’t matter, because we get to hear Leanne’s voice clearly and you’ll get to enjoy listening to her accent which I personally love.
QUESTIONS:
02:44 Why are you here in France ?
03:25 Tell me about Malaysia and your family
05:00 What languages do you speak?
05:35 How is Malaysian English different from other English?
07:12 Where do people think you are from when they listen to your accent?
08:35 How long have you been in France? How Malaysian/French are you today?
10:50 How does having a Franco-Malaysian son feel like?
12:00 What languages does your son speak?
14:50 How connected are you to French language?
16:10 How do you feel about remaining in France?**
Quick reminder, the transcription is on my website connect2languages.com And, if you’re learning French, then go to my website connect2french.com
Today’s episode is sponsored by Story Learning. Olly Richards just launched his new INTERMEDIATE French uncovered course! Finally! If you enjoy reading, then you’ll love the Story Learning courses, they are based on short stories and you get to learn the language within context. All the info are available on my website connect2french.com
I recommend Story Learning courses! I worked several times with Olly Richards to create French courses, so I know they’re good!
What a topic today: Brooklyn (2015)
Have you seen it? It’s one of my favourite movies.
Apart from the language barrier, this movie incorporates pretty much all the topics I talk about in this podcast.
Eilis, a young Irish woman, has to move to New York in 1951 because of the recession in Ireland. She feels desperately homesick for several months before adapting to her new life. A tragedy happens back home in Ireland and so she’s confronted with a question we’re all familiar with: Should I stay or should I go (back home)?
In this episode, I want to talk about some of the scenes and explore the topics a bit further. There will be mild spoilers, I won’t reveal anything that’s not in the trailer, so you can listen away even if you haven’t seen it. I do recommend you to see it.
A quick reminder, all the transcriptions are available on my website connect2languages.com This episode is in my native language: en français. If you’re interested in learning French, visit my website connect2french.com.
We’re speaking Spanish today, and you can find the transcription on my website Connect2languages.com where you can also find information about my language courses.
Today, we’re gonna talk about a topic that I find deeply interesting. We’re gonna talk about how in France and in many other cultures I guess, we tend to put people in boxes. An example of it is our relationship with work and professional careers. In France, we tend to specialize in one field. We become experts in one field and according to the field you should project an image that matches that field.
I’m saying, if you’re a serious journalist for Le Monde, this serious newspaper, it might come across as strange if you’re also a stand-up comedian.
Dedicating your time in two different jobs or careers may even make you lose credibility in your Main occupation.
Today, I want to talk about the fact that things are different in Argentina. You can have different jobs and dedicate time to various occupations and it’s actually valued. Experience matters, or should I say experiences matter.
Let’s talk about that in my absolutely beautiful Spanish, that’s my British dark humour here, I’m not confident in Spanish anymore, so this podcast is a great way to challenge myself.
Before learning to speak my second language fluently, I was wondering what it must feel like to think in a different language without having to translate first from your native language, because that’s what you do at first, you do tend to translate from your native language.
When I reached the intermediate level in English and that I was fluent, I started to ask myself a different question: How do you think with gestures? How do you think in Sign Language? How do you structure your thoughts?
In 2008, I decided to learn a sign Language. As I was living in the UK, I took a course to learn the British Sign Language.
In this episode, I want to talk about my motivation to learn BSL and what came out of that experience.
I want to talk about my experience of adapting to teaching at University in France after having taught at a University in Argentina for 4 years.
In teaching, the years of experience count, of course, still, the reason why this job is fascinating is that you’ll have to adapt your teaching style to the students. But, sometimes you forget you have to adapt, or you think the gap is not going to be that big.
That’s what I thought when I started teaching at a University here in France, I started confidently, but quickly realized I had a totally different crowd in front of me from the one I was used to in Buenos Aires.
In this episode, I want to talk about the 5 main differences, plus an extra one actually, so really it’s 6 differences or six aspects, often cultural aspects that differed significantly from my groups of students in Buenos Aires to the ones I had in Nantes.
Let me state that there is not a better crowd. No one is better or worse. But understanding these differences meant I had to adapt my teaching style and strategies so that I could connect with my students in France.
I always say, we have a unique relationship with each language, and for me, Spanish is really a language that I like to reflect and think in. I guess, it’s part of Argentinian culture to reflect on topics related to psychology and philosophy.
K**nowing languages is rich because it allows you to have access to a wide variety of sources of information. A language is also a window on culture; by knowing a language, you're more able to understand how people think. It gives you perspective on the world in general. But what are the downsides? I’ve talked about that in previous episodes, but I want to specifically talk about, I guess what I could call the opportunity cost of being a polyglot.
Th title in Spanish is: ¿Ser políglota, es doloroso? - Is it painful to be a polyglot?**
I want to do a series of episodes on schools such as how do foreign children adapt to French schools, but first I want dedicate this episode to describing the French school system.
My typical student at the moment is a foreigner in a relationship with a French person and moved to France with their partner. Some of them have children who obviously end up joining the French school system.
I’ve noticed something, it’s that they can almost never tell me in what grade their kid is. I always end up explaining how the French school system works because they find it confusing.
So today’s episode is a bit different from the others, because I simply want to describe the French school system and compare it with the British school system. I selected 15 facts about our school system that are different from British schools and maybe from the schools in your country.
Today’s episode is in French, I’m going to talk about how I learnt my second language: English.
Remember, you can access all the transcriptions on my website Connect2languages.com
French people often ask me how I learnt English. They are generally quite surprised to hear my accent which is funny when I think of it, because, trust me, it wasn’t an easy-going journey. I don’t have any particular talent for languages.
Note, that I’m going to list the 8 things that were the most significant in my learning journey of English. This is personal; I’m sharing my experience. I can’t share every single strategy obviously, because there are hundreds of them. Again, I’m gonna list the 8 most significant events or strategies for me.
**For more episodes on how to learn a language, I recommend Episodes 14: 5 things to consider when learning a language and Episode 11: Afraid to lose your second language when you move back home?
In short, my 8 points are:
- Watch movies in original version (original version)
- I forced myself to think in English
- At first when I came to Ireland I said whatever went through my head
- I surrounded myself with English speakers
- I learned English "sur l'oreiller" (literally "on the pillow" meaning through a romantic relationship
- I worked on my writing
- I studied pronunciation**
Today's episode is in French !
Learning a language is no easy task and many describe it, rightfully I think, as stepping out of their comfort zone.
Having to speak in a foreign language can be very intimidating, and especially when you’re a beginner. What is it we actually feel when we step out of our comfort zone?
I haven’t been in the position of learning a new language from scratch for a while, so I’m going to use my recent experience of stepping way far out of my comfort zone when I started practising Wing Chun last September. Wing Chun is a martial art and I joined a Self-defense system Wing Chun club.
The emotions I encountered were very similar to what I felt when learning languages, so today’s episode is in French and we’ll talk about: 5 uncomfortable emotions we feel when we step out of our comfort zone.
Now today’s episode is in English and I want to speak about a topic that is not easy to talk about. The reasons why it’s not easy to talk about it are because I’m going to share personal experience, and also because it’s not politically correct. At least, it’s a topic that I don’t feel comfortable talking about.
I want to talk about being “posh”. My question is: Am I posh only in my native language?
I explore how learning foreign languages and dating foreigners allowed me to escape from some social pressure. I also talk about how much more inclined I am in French to have prejudice as I'm more able to perceive the language subtleties related to social backgrounds.
Julie is French, but you’ll see through this episode that her background is a rich mix of cultures. Julie was born in Colombia and was adopted as a baby by a couple who lived in France. As you know, I’m very interested in the notion of identity linked to nationalities, origins, the land where we’ve lived and languages. In this podcast, you’ll get to listen to a conversation where Julie shares her experience of being adopted in France and she’ll talk about her connection with the country Colombia and its language, Spanish.
The search for identity is at the heart of the question of adoption and I was always interested in the question, however Julie and I had never spoken about, so you’ll get to hear our spontaneous conversation. The transcription can be helpful, so go to my website to access it.
A final note about Julie that we didn’t mention, on top of being to talk about her personal experience, she is a psychologist and therefore she brings a lot of value to the conversation from a psychological standpoint.
L’adoption et l’identité: « ma connexion à la langue et à la terre »
Extraits:
"Alors, oui, Julie, j’ai 38 ans. J'ai été adoptée à l'âge de 3 - 4 mois, donc j'étais tout bébé. J'étais adopté à Bogota, en Colombie, par des parents français et encore pas tout à fait français, qui sont eux aussi des étrangers parce que ma mère est Suisse, bon, c'est pas très loin, mais ce n'est pas la France et mon père est d'origine arménienne. Il est né en France, mais ses parents, eux, viennent de Turquie. "
"So, yes, Julie, I'm 38 years old. I was adopted at the age of 3 - 4 months, so I was a baby. I was adopted in Bogota, Colombia, by French parents but not quite French, they were foreigners because my mother is Swiss, well, it's not very far, but it's not France and my father is of Armenian origin. He was born in France, but his parents came from Turkey.
"J'ai une relation conflictuelle avec l'espagnol depuis toujours. Gros blocage qui existe toujours et en fait, maintenant, ça m'énerve. Pendant longtemps et encore maintenant, il y a, il y a. Il faut que je parle comme si c'était ma langue. Mais non. Intellectuellement, je sais que c'est normal que je ne puisse pas être fluent."
I have always had a conflicted relationship with Spanish. A blockage that still exists and in fact, now, it annoys me. For a long time and still now, it's here. I feel I have to speak like it's my language. But no. Intellectually, I know it's normal that I 'm not fluent.
"Mais en tout cas, ça génère de la colère qui fait que... Et comme la colère, le siège de la colère, c'est la gorge. Ça bloque tout et ça sort pas."
But in any case, it generates anger which ... And, as anger... the anger is located in the throat. It blocks everything and it does not come out."
"Je me mets pas la pression par rapport à la langue, parce que c'est ce qui te permet de communiquer avec le monde. Et donc, je me dis quelque part si je me bloque, c'est parce que... Enfin, comment dire ... j'ai peur de décevoir mes parents et de choisir un camp, finalement, et de dire finalement, je ne veux plus vous j'abandonne le français comme si c'était en noir ou blanc! Tu vois, il faut que ce soit, soit le français, soit l'espagnol. Je peux pas avoir les deux."
I 'm the one who puts pressure on myself with the language, because that's what allows you to communicate with the world. And so, I say to myself in a way if I get blocked, it's because ... Anyway , how can I put it ... I'm afraid to disappoint my (adoptive) parents and to choose a side, in the end, and to say in the end, I do not want you any more, I give up French . It's as if it was in black or white! You see, it has to be either French or Spanish. I can't have both.
Today’s episode is about a day spent in an airport.
If you travel a lot, or if you live abroad and often go back home, then airports are familiar places to you. I, personally, have no idea how many hours I spent in airports over the course of my life, but definitely hundreds.
I prepared this episode a while ago, I actually wrote some notes during a flight connection in August. I spent about 12 hours in Barcelona, well at the airport of Barcelona when I was traveling from Nantes to Rome.
I feel flight connections are like brackets in time and in space I guess, you’re not officially anywhere, you’re in an enclosed space and if you’re traveling on your own, then you’re surrounded by strangers that are completely foreign to you.
This episode is in Spanish and it’s really about what it feels like to be in that bubble of space and time on your own.
"Una escala larga, yo la veo como un regalo de tiempo. Solía pensar eso de los vuelos también. Cuando estaba cansada del trabajo en Buenos Aires, pensaba en el vuelo que tomaría para Francia durante el cual mi celular permanecería apagado, nada que hacer, me entusiasmaba viajar por esa ventana de tiempo en el que no se siente presión para hacer cosas. Podés simplemente no hacer nada."
A long connection, I see it as a gift of time. I used to think that about flights too. When I was tired from work in Buenos Aires, I thought about the flight I would take to France during which my cell phone would remain off, nothing to do ,I was excited to travel through that window of time where you don't feel pressure to do anything. You can just do nothing.
"En una semana, estaré acá, en el mismo lugar, pero esta vez llena de recuerdos de las vacaciones. "
In a week, I will be here, in the same place, but this time full of memories of the holidays.
"Después de varias horas, me di cuenta de que no era tan grande, pero conocía los lugares a donde podía ir. Me hizo pensar en Tom Hanks en la película en la que es un hombre refugiado que le toca vivir en un aeropuerto porque no tiene derecho a salir. Como tengo tiempo hoy, averigüé online, y descubrí que el hombre en el que se basó la peli se llama Mehran Karimi Nasseri, era iraní, y escuchen esto, vivió en la sala de partida de la Terminal 1 del aeropuerto Charles de Gaulle del año 1988 hasta el año 2006. 18 años se tuvo que quedar a vivir ahí.
Yo me tengo que quedar muy pocas horas así que no me quejo e intento disfrutar. "
After several hours, I realized that it was not that big, but I knew the places where I could go. It made me think of Tom Hanks in the movie in which he is a refugee who has to live in an airport because he is not allowed to leave. Since I have time today, I looked it up online, and I discovered that the man on whom the movie was based on is called Mehran Karimi Nasseri, he was Iranian, and listen to this, he lived in the departure hall of Terminal 1 of the Charles de Gaulle airport from 1988 until 2006. He had to stay there for 18 years.
I have to stay here for a few hours so I don't complain and I try to enjoy myself.
Two weeks ago I went to have dinner at a friend's and someone asked me: How do you get rid of your foreign accent? He’s Peruvian and he wanted to know what he needed to do to speak French like a French native.
How do you get a clear and native-like pronunciation?
Can it be done? Can everybody do it? How can you achieve it?
I first replied, are you sure you want me to answer. Nerd alert ! My answer is not gonna be short. I was surrounded by foreigners and we were mainly speaking French, they were all interested in the question, so I said ok, I’m gonna answer.
And now, I think that’s a good podcast topic.
So, let’s do that today!
How do you get a clear and native-like pronunciation?
Your foreign accent: keep it or lose it? What’s your take?
Now, I’m going to tell you how to lose your foreign accent. I’m not telling you to lose it. I am not telling you, you should get rid of your foreign accent, that is absolutely not the point. The point is I’m telling you what to do if you want to lose it.
Actually, let’s rephrase, I’m gonna tell you what I think is crucial to consider when you want to have an accent that sounds more like a native.
Today’s episode is so very special because our guest is one of my favourite people on earth. He is by far one of the most incredible people I know, and I don’t say this just because he’s my nephew. He’s 12, he is clever, funny, kind and he’s bilingual.
He listens to my podcast which keeps me on my toes, and it’s during a conversation we had about one my episodes that I suggested he should be a guest.
We are going to talk about languages and cultural identity in French.
You can find the full transcription on my website: https://www.nolwenn-languages.com/post/ep22-fr-la-double-nationalit%C3%A9
Extracts:
- Francesco: [00:04:23] Ils m'ont jamais demandé, mais il y a toujours des gens qui disent: "oh, il a le, comme on dit en italien "la erre moscia". Donc le R qui n'est pas roulé n'est pas italien. Donc j'ai un R français quand je parle un italien et l'inverse en français. Quand j'étais petit, j'avais été excellent accent italien et français et ensuite que j’ai inverti les rôles.
*They never asked me, but there are always people who say: "oh, he has the, as we say in Italian" la erre moscia ". So the R which is not rolled , which is not Italian. So I have a French R when I speak Italian and the reverse in French. When I was little, I had excellent Italian and French accent and then I inverted the roles.
**Nolwenn: [00:06:00] Aau niveau de ton identité, est-ce qu'il y a une nationalité qui prime, qui est plus importante?
Francesco: Alors oui, c'est l'italien. 1) Parce que, comme j'ai dit avant, je le parle mieux, donc c'est plus simple. Et ensuite, parce que je dois dire que comme j'ai dit au début début début, j'aime bien la pizza et en France ils ne la font pas, je sais qu’en France ils la font, mais pas comme en Italie. Et donc, moi je suis Italien parce qu'il y a la pizza. ** Nolwenn: [00:06:00] In terms of your identity, is there a nationality that takes precedence, which is more important?
Francesco: So yes, it's Italian. First, because, like I said before, I speak it better, so it's easier. And then, because I have to say that like I said at the beginning, beginning of the beginning, I like pizza and in France they don't make it, I know that in France they make it, but not like in Italy. And so, I am Italian because there is pizza.*
This episode is about traveling alone. Is it something you do? Is it something you would never do or feel scared to do?
Traveling alone is definitely pushing me out of my comfort zone, but then again, I love challenges.
Why do I do it? Is it lonely? Traveling alone has got its pros and cons. You’re free to do whatever you want whenever you want. I don’t like to plan my trips too much, and I often decide on the spot and I don’t have to argue and compromise with others. But, also, traveling alone is paradoxically a way to connect to others, to strangers and also to yourself.
I love traveling with others, with friends and family, but in this episode, I’ll tell you about some of my experiences of traveling alone, and it’s in Spanish 😉
Extracts:
It is then that I discovered that when you travel in a group, you enjoy yourself a lot, but often, you only stay with the group and do not talk to others. When you travel alone, you open up and meet people outside your life, your world, your daily life. It gives you the opportunity to meet different people.
"Es entonces que descubrí que cuando viajás en grupo, disfrutás mucho, pero a menudo, solo te quedás con el grupo y no hablás con los demás. Cuando viajás solo, te abrís y conocés gente fuera de tu vida, de tu mundo, de tu cotidianidad. Te da la oportunidad conocer gente distinta. "
When you travel alone, there are moments of loneliness. And it is those moments that allow you to reflect on life.
"Cuando viajás solo, momentos de soledad hay. Y son esos momentos los que te permiten reflexionar sobre la vida. "
Recently, my friend Lily from Peru said the following sentence: you are never alone because you always have yourself. It is a beautiful and true sentence. I don't mean to say that we don't need others, but lately I have become more and more aware of the importance of the relationship we have with ourselves.
"Recién, me dijo una frase mi amiga Lily, es peruana. Me dijo: nunca estás solo porque siempre te tienes a ti mismo. Es una frase hermosa y verdadera. No quiero decir que no necesitamos a los demás, pero últimamente me doy cada día más cuenta de la importancia de la relación que tenemos con nosotros mismos."
Sean Hopwood is one of us, by that I mean, he’s passionate about languages and could not even consider his life (or himself for that matter) without being in constant contact with other cultures. He is a translator, which is a profession that I admire, because as a polyglot, I understand how difficult and sometimes impossible it is to translate from one language to another.
In this episode, Sean talks about his passion for languages, where it comes from and how languages are part of his life.
Who is Sean Hopwood?
He is the CEO of Day Translations (website is www.daytranslations.com), It’s a translation and localization company operating in over 100+ languages worldwide. As a language expert and an entrepreneur, myself, I can only be very impressed because he built his company from scratch by going door to door asking people if they required translations, and today he has a fully remote team from all over the world & he is working and helping companies, but also individuals like me expand their operations abroad. He has worked with Fox News, TED, Bayer, Facebook, HBO, AT&T, and more.
But apart from all of that, what I appreciate about him is that he’s very down to earth and the conversation we had was genuine and really interesting. He said some of the things I thought as well, basically he worded my thoughts better that I can do myself, but he also sparked some new ideas that I’ll have to explore further and especially about how important it is to consider the social rules of a culture when you learn a language, and not only when you travel. So, let’s start the interview now….
Find the full transcription here: https://www.nolwenn-languages.com/post/ep-20-when-languages-define-us-with-sean-hopewood
Dubbing is the topic of this episode. In here I talk about dubbing in France. It is very common, but what does it feel like to see a movie that is dubbed?
I grew up with American series and movies that were dubbed. It was normal and I was completely used to it. Now, it's something I cannot stand. It seems so unnatural, yet it is still the most popular option here.
What are the advantages and the drawbacks? Let's talk about it.
In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about what multicultural relationships, and in particular about a mistake that I made in my first multicultural relationship.
The mistake often made is to approach and consider the other with our own cultural filter without considering the other one's cultural perspective and take on things.
It's in Spanish ;)
I don’t want to live in French, I said that to a friend the other day and she misunderstood me when I said: “I don’t want to live in French”, she thought that I wanted to say I don’t want to live in France, and that I’d made a mistake because English is my second language. But I didn’t, I did mean: I don’t want to live in French.
So, I’m happy to live in my native country. I can live in France, I’ve been living here for the past two years after living in Argentina for a long time and other countries before that. So, I can live in France but I cannot live in French. What do I mean by that? I'm answering this question in that episode.
What it feels like to be a citizen of the world?
Have you ever thought that you were a foreigner no matter where you were, even in your home country?
Well I have, so let’s talk about it today in French.
In this episode, I'll make a summary of Episode 12 that was in Spanish. With Julia, we had a conversation on what it feels like to live in what we called the Limbo. We called limbo this feeling we have of belonging nowhere and everywhere we lived.
Both of us feel anxious about settling down somewhere and we wondered why.
Extract translated from French:
Living in the limbo, for us, is like being a nomad. We move. We perceive the world without borders. But our thoughts as well have no frontiers. Because thinking in several languages is thinking in several dimensions. So, we move. But we wondered why. Because, honestly, I love traveling, discovering new cultures, meeting people, it's fascinating, but is that the real reason?
I feel it’s a very special episode. I really enjoyed making it. We’re going to talk about sensory memories.
When you move a lot, you get to experience different environments. And sometimes, it’s the little things that you miss: the temperature, the way the sun feels on your skin, the birds, the smells. In this episode, I’ll talk about this strange feeling of missing sensory experience that you used to have.
Extracts from the episode (translated from Spanish)
*Olfactory memories are intense. When you smell something that reminds you of something, it transports you. And sometimes in a moment, because of the temperature, the smell, a sound or something, you travel back in time and when it happens it is almost magical.
Imagine, if we could feel for a moment the feeling of a place where we used to live. Where would you go? What would you like to feel?
In this chapter, I am going to describe two feelings that I used to feel when living in Conakry and in Buenos Aires. These memories make me smile, or rather they make me melancholic.*
Now, we’re going to talk about the things to consider when learning a language. Whether you’re a beginner or you’ve got an intermediate level, there is more to consider than linguistics.
So in this episode, I will list the things to be considered when learning a language.
1° What are the Linguistics aspects?
2° Culture: what do we mean by Culture?
3° Reflecting on your relationship with the language, why is it important?
4° Know yourself to understand how you learn best. You want to adopt the right strategies for you.
5° Be smart about how you include the language into your daily life and be consistent.
Today, we’re going to talk about that terrible feeling of being blocked when you speak French. You know how to speak and yet, you’re not able to show who you are or to express what you really want to say. Let’s discover why in French.
Alors le profile typique de mes élèves : c’est une femme ou un homme anglophone qui est venu en France pour vivre avec son ou sa conjointe. Ils sont en couple avec un ou une Française. Mais, en fait pour la majorité d’entre eux, ils se sont rencontrés à l’étranger et ont commencé leur histoire en anglais. Donc, ils continuent à parler anglais alors qu’ils vivent en France. Et puis, c’est pas facile de trouver du travail en France quand on parle pas couramment français, alors beaucoup d’entre eux travaillent en anglais. Ils sont devenus prof d’anglais, ils travaillent en freelance, ils travaillent pour des boîtes françaises mais ils s’occupent de clients étrangers, etc.
Et il y a un mot qui revient souvent, c’est le mot : blocage.
Voici les phrases qu’ils me disent :
-
Je suis bloqué(e).
-
Je me sens pas moi-même quand je parle français.
-
On ne me comprend pas.
-
Les gens me parlent en anglais tout de suite.
-
Je sais parler français, mais je stresse et donc je réponds en anglais quand on me parle dans la rue.
Est-ce que vous vous reconnaissez ? Est-ce que vous avez aussi dit ces phrases ? Pourquoi vous vous sentez comme ça ?
La question de cet épisode c’est : d’où ça vient ce blocage ?
Ça a à voir avec la connexion émotionnelle
A Spanish episode today with a guest: Julia Bueno.
The first time I met Julia, we clicked instantly because we have something in common: we lived in multiple countries.
We even came up with a name of the place where we live: the limbo.
Living in the limbo means that you're a permanent foreigner, even in your own country.
In this episode, we explore what it feels like to move around and speaking various languages.
In today’s episode I’m going to talk about the feeling you may have of losing your second language when you move back to your home country after having lived abroad. I’ll share with you the strategies I use to maintain my level of Spanish.
For learners of English, you can find in the E-learning section of my website a video on the word "Lack". It’s a verb and a noun and I’ll show you how to use it in a sentence.
0:55 A feeling of Anxiety2:40 Emotional barriers and Language blocks
3:40 I used to be scared of losing English, but not anymore
6:45 I’m scared of losing Spanish
8:00 The strategies I use to maintain my level of Spanish
11:20 How to learn a language by yourself?
13:20 The 3 strategies I should adopt
This is Episode 10!!!
It's in French and I talk about the things I only do in my native language. I speak 3 languages on a daily basis, yet there are still things that I tend to do only in French.
French learners, to keep on learning, you can go to the E-learning section on my website where you can find the full transcription and a video on the negative form with NE… QUE. An example of it is the title of this episode: “les choses que je ne fais qu’en français. The things I only do in French.
This episode is sponsored by éléran-languages if you want to learn Spanish, Swedish, French or English, then we’re a group of teachers who teach one-to-one. We design and tailor our classes to your needs and guide and support you through the language learning journey. Find us on www.eleran-languages.com
Sometimes, I feel like speaking 3 languages is a superpower. Yet, there are moments when I prefer remaining "Clark Kent" and I don't reveal my power. I'm not proud of it, but it happens.
Sometimes, I pretend I don't speak a particular language because I don't want to talk, or to get me out of a tricky situation. A friend of mine for example got away from a fine on the train in France pretending she didn't speak French.
In this episode, I tell you in Spanish about the day I pretended I didn't speak English.
You'll find in the E-learning section: the full transcription, and a video on the difference between "soñar" and "sonar".
el día que fingí no saber inglés
El título de este capítulo es: el día que fingí no saber inglés, pero yo le quería poner como título: “¡Popó, no! ¡Si no, nos matas a todos!” Y no me atreví.
Hablar idiomas es increíble. Requiere de muchos esfuerzos, hasta a veces se siente como un superpoder. Sin embargo, hay días en los que me conviene hacerme Clark Kent, es decir, hay momentos en los que no revelo mi poder. No me siento orgullosa al respecto, es muy cobarde de mi parte, pero a veces me permite salir de situaciones complicadas. A veces finjo no saber francés en las calles de Nantes porque no tengo ganas de hablar. O una amiga francesa se salvó de una multa en el tren hacía el aeropuerto de Francia fingiendo que era inglesa y que no entendía por qué su pasaje no era válido.
Hoy, les voy a contar una de las situaciones en las que fingí no saber inglés. Lo siento mucho, pero no me animé a interpretar ese día y les voy a contar por qué.
So, I'm French. I grew up in France, near Paris, but I also lived in different countries: in Guinea, in Ireland, in England and in Argentina. And I find it interesting to discover the rituals and habits around eating: from how the meals are structured, to how people host when they invite someone for dinner, but also everything related to eating out.
So many things surprised me abroad, and I actually talked about it in my last episode. But then I was wondering what aspects of the French Eating Culture surprise foreigners? So what do foreigners find surprising here in France when eating out or when eating with French people?
So, I did some research and asked foreign people what they find surprising. I want to thank everyone who helped me and in particular the Facebook Group Living in France because I’ve had almost a 100 people sharing ideas with me and telling me what surprised them. For today’s episode, I’m going to concentrate on the perspective of Americans, British and Irish living in France. And I’m going to give an overview of the main ideas.
And for the learners of English, you can find in the E-learning section of my website the full transcription and an explanatory video on the difference between the adjectives: “surprising” and “surprised”.
Introduction
02:38 Quote from Jean
04:45 Eating is a social event in France
06:00 There are several courses
09:00 Bread -and especially baguette
09:35 The wine
10:22 Table manners
11:00 Some extra quotes just for fun
This episode is in French :)
I want to talk about the funny, or even embarrassing moments that we find ourselves in when we're invited to dinner or to have a drink in a foreign country. We all have different unwritten rules when it comes to sharing a meal. We may not be aware of them because they're so embedded in our culture, but that is also why it's so surprising to be exposed to other way of having a meal or dining out.
In the E-learning section on my website, you'll find the full transcription and 6 expressions we use to express surprise.
A special thank you to my sponsors for this episode. Thanks to the campaign Ulule, this episode was sponsored by: Stéphanie, Audrenn, Gildas and Rachel.
Thank you for your support!
In this episode, I talk about the drawbacks of being a foreigner.
It's in Spanish!!!
I lived abroad almost half of my life. I can make a very long list of all the benefits of living in a foreign country. I'll probably do one someday in another episode. But today, I'm going to talk about the benefits, I'm going to talk about the cost of becoming a foreigner, of choosing to be a foreigner, and I'm going to be up-front.
In the learning section, I will talk about a typical sound from Buenos Aires. I will tell how to pronounce the double "ll" and the "y" in Porteño Spanish.
If you listen to how I pronounce the ‘ll’ and ‘y’, you’ll hear the sound [ ʃ ] which you can hear in the English words “shallow” or “sugar” for example. It’s typical from Buenos Aires.
Pay attention to this sound in my podcast. For example, in this episode you can hear it in the first few sentences:
“Una de mis hermanas y yo tenemos algo en común.Decidimos irnos, vivir afuera. Nos volvimos extranjeras. Hace poco, charlamos, ella y yo, y no me acuerdo por qué, pero mencionó una frase que yo había dicho que le llamó la atención.”
You can also find the full transcription ;)
https://www.nolwenn-languages.com/post/nlcp-episode-6-c%C3%B3mo-se-pronuncia-la-doble-ll-y-la-y-en-buenos-aires
Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a bit of a language nerd. I love to find out about how languages shape the way we think. Languages allow us to express how we feel. But sometimes we lack words to express what we want to say, the words are missing, or maybe we’re not culturally comfortable to talk about a particular topic. This is the case for Races and Racism in general. It’s the case here in France, in the US and probably everywhere in the world.
Thanks to the movement Black Lives Matter, I feel that people are opening themselves to the idea of talking about Racism.
So, Let’s talk about races.
Today’s episode is different, because it is going to be a bilingual episode en français and in English and I’m going to have a conversation with my friend Véronique who’s from the US but has been living here in France for the past two years.
This episode is going to be longer than usual. My podcast aims at leaners of intermediate level, but here it’s a fluent conversation so go to my website to access the full transcription if needed. You’ll also find some help with the vocabulary to better understand our conversation whether it’s in English or in French.
2:55 FR Qui est Véronique?
3:45 FR Le stéréotype de la femme noire aux Etats-Unis
6:20 ENG The one-dimensional character
7:50 ENG Black are too often perceived as danger in the US
12:55 ENG Are we all racist?
17:20 ENG The definition or Racism
19:00 ENG The difference between being black in the US and in France
23:45 FR Parler de race c'est tabou
25:15 FR En français on dit noir, black ou renoi ?
29:00 ENG Do you say Afro-American or Black in English?
32:30 FR La dernière question : qu’est-ce que tu espères pour le futur ?
Full transcription: https://www.nolwenn-languages.com/post/nlcp-episode-5-let-s-talk-about-race-parlons-de-race-with-avec-v%C3%A9ronique-l-porter
In this episode, I'll talk to you about how to greet people in France, and especially workers such as shopkeepers, sales assistants, waiters and so on. The biggest mistake you can make is to ask someone you don’t know how they are/how they’re doing. You do not say “Hello! How are you?” to strangers in France. You just say “Hello!”
In the E-learning section on my website, I want to explain the difference between two similar verbs “se souvenir” et “(se) rappeler”. I’ll also make you pay attention to 5 words/expressions that are useful to know in French.
https://www.nolwenn-languages.com/post/nlcp-episode-4-salut-%C3%A7a-va
Hi there, this episode is in Spanish. I tell you about Nantes, the city I chose to live in.
Then go to the E-learning section of my website because I want you to pay attention to 6 expressions/grammatical structures that are useful to know in Spanish.
Spanish is my third language and even though it is similar to French in many ways, I struggled to learn it. Through this podcast, I want to help you learn Spanish by sharing tips and useful vocab and structures. I also hope to help you avoid making the mistakes I used to make.
https://www.nolwenn-languages.com/post/d%C3%B3nde-elegiste-vivir-nlcp-episode-3
Here is the second episode of my podcast. It's in English ;)
In this episode, I wonder if I should consider myself as a globe-trotter. You'll learn about the meaning of this word.
If you're learning English and that your level is intermediate, this podcast is a good opportunity to practise your listening comprehension.
Then, visit the E-learning section on my website to get the full transcription and access the notes where I teach you about 5 words/expressions that my students of intermediate level tend to use incorrectly.
https://www.nolwenn-languages.com/post/am-i-a-polyglot
Here is the first episode of my podcast. It's in French ;)
In this episode, I tell you about how people are often confused about my origin, that is French people tend to assume I'm a foreigner when I'm actually native. You'll learn about the adverb "vachement" which is quite commonly used.
Visit the E-learning section on my website to get the full transcription and access the notes where I teach you about how French native really use the negative form.
https://www.nolwenn-languages.com/post/tu-parles-vachement-bien-fran%C3%A7ais-nlcp-episode-1