Bonjour à tous,
There’s no episode today, I wanted to share with you a gem I found a few days ago. I don’t know about you but I really like to give gifts to people I like, whether it’s their birthday or not. I was browsing the internet a few days ago and stumbled upon a page listing diaries that were a bit different from our childhood journal. There was one in particular that caught my attention. I’ve always liked the idea of journaling but despite many attempts I always lacked either time or things to say. I’ve always felt that what I was writing was too childish. For these reasons, I haven’t kept any diaries.
The one I saw that particular day is a bit different. It doesn’t ask you to write a full page nor does it ask you to come up with your own ideas. Each day, you have a new question and you just need to answer it in two lines.
You may wonder why I’m talking about this. Well, simply because I thought this book would be a perfect gift for my Swedish friend Daniel who likes to write and who learns French. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for him to practice his French in a genuine context: his own life.
Practicing writing in French is really efficient to improve both your vocabulary and your grammar. You have to make a real conscious effort to produce something but most of the time it takes forever to write. I know, I have the same exercises to do in Polish. I really like them but I simply don’t have a lot of time between you guys and my personal life.
Second thing we could object to this type of exercises is that usually the topics are a bit artificial. They are meant to get you to work on the vocabulary and grammar you studied during the lesson. They are disconnected from your everyday life.
That’s where the two books (yes, there are two) I have spotted help regarding this matter. I thought it would be a brilliant idea for you to improve your French in just two sentences a day. These books aren’t aimed at language learners, they’re for French people who likes diaries, that’s exactly why I liked them, they’re genuine and real French material for you to improve easily your French, especially if you don’t have time.
The first one is the French edition of the Q&A a Day: 5-Year Journal by Potter Style. You will find light questions like your best last reading or more philosophical ones like “what shouldn’t change?”. I really recommend it if you’re at least A2. A perfect opportunity to practice the past tenses and conditional and to learn new words at the same time. If you feel inspired, these questions can also be used as prompts for longer texts. Because it’s a daily journal, you will be able to see your progress in the way you write and your mastery of the tenses and vocabulary. Share what you wrote with your teacher or your French friend to spot your mistakes and improve even quicker.
5 ans de réflexion
Pic credits: http://www.ruerivard.com
5 ans de réflexion
Pic credits: http://www.itsalichon.com/
The second book is, this time for people who are at least B1+. It’s even less time consuming than the previous one but the vocabulary in this one is more difficult and you will learn a lot of new words. It’s also a French adaptation from the American Keel’s Simple Diary.
VA-KEEL SIMPLE DIARY I RED
Pic credits: http://www.le-monde-est-a-nous.net/
VA-KEEL SIMPLE DIARY I RED
Pic credits: http://faust-in.com/
This diary isn’t really a daily one, you write in it when you feel like it. Not only will you have a few lines to write about your day but also multiple choice questions about your life. It sometimes also comes as pictures to choose. I recommend this one if you want to practice mostly your vocabulary.
If like me, you like writing but don’t want to spend forever on it and if you want to improve your French quickly, these diaries are for you. I’ve put a link below each picture. For total transparency, these are affiliate links. If you buy there, you will also support the blog 🙂
What are the exercises you do and like to practice your French? Do you like keeping diaries? Please tell me in the comment section!
Have a great Sunday,
Caroline