I'm an A1 beginner: is this podcast for me?

— I'm sure it is. Cultivate Your French is the podcast for you to pick up words you already know and to get used to the pronunciation.

I'm at A2/B1 level (elementary): is this podcast for me?

— Cultivate Your French is a good start for improving your comprehension skills because the same text is said twice. It is said slowly once and then a t normal speed. It's great training for comprehension.

I already have a good level of French (B2/C1/C2): is this podcast for me?

— One Thing In A French Day is for you. It's the perfect podcast for developing or maintaining your understanding of French. I speak naturally and at my true speed.

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One Thing In A French Day or Cultivate Your French (Slow French) are very useful tools to work on your French listening comprehension and to understand spoken French, but they have more positive effects !

Let me tell you why.

Those two podcasts are different than podcasts focused on learning a language. They are not built as lessons, they are based on my daily life and the encounters I make, but their effects on your French might be as good as lessons !

The first positive effect is, of course, listening comprehension.

When you learn French or need to keep up with your French, at one point, your first goal is to master listening, because listening is the key to the 3 other basics Language learning skills : speaking, reading and writing.

At first, I think it can be quite difficult if you're not used to listening to French. But little by little, naturally, your ear will get used to the way I speak. Your brain's first reflex will be to try to understand what I'm saying. To do this, I make sure that the episodes are not too long, especially for Cultivate Your French (Slow French), because I know that requires a lot of concentration. At the very beginning, you'll manage to catch a few words, then from episode to episode a few sentences, then understand a good part of what I'm telling you.

And then it's really great, because you'll be listening to the episodes more for what I'm saying than to understand what I'm saying. It's a nice nuance, isn't it?

This oral comprehension will come naturally because you'll get used to the way I speak, both my pronunciation, but also the words I use and the sentences I construct.
 

 

 

 

 

 

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Yes, I have proof that it works because the podcast One Thing In A French Day has been around since 2006, Cultivate Your French (Slow French) has been around for many years too and I've had lots of testimonials from listeners who've written to me.
In one survey, 98% of listeners who responded felt that their understanding had improved since listening to the podcast.

❝I have been listening to this podcast for four years. When I began listening, I didn't understand very much though I enjoyed hearing the french. I had to read the podcast in order to understand it. Four years later, I find that I understand most of the podcasts the first time I hear it.❞ CLL73 , 01/20/2021

❝Once my French improves enough so that I could actually grasp a bit of what Laetitia was saying, I began to really love this podcast. I still try to listen twice without the transcript, then listen while reading the transcript to figure out all the words I’ve never seen/heard before (of which there as so many!), and finally listen again to try to hear and understand it all at normal French conversational speed. SO helpful!❞ SlowReaderLiz , 02/25/2020
 

Discovering French life and vocabulary in context
On the podcast, I share with you everyday adventures, but really.

For example, if one day I decide to make crêpes, if I meet an unfriendly lady in the bakery, when I talk to my husband Pietro or my daughters (Micaela, Felicia and Lisa) about school, student life, literature and Parisian transport.

 

But I also talk to you about cultural things: the exhibitions I'm visiting in Paris, the places I'm going, the good places I've discovered.
For example, with my friend Anne-Laure, we did several episodes to discover the Montparnasse of artists in November 2023.
 

Finally, there are the interviews I conduct with professionals who tell us about their trade or their passion. In 2023, for example, there was an interview with pastry chef Emilie Gerardi and bookshop owner Nathalie Iris, who presented books to listeners.

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So the podcast covers many aspects of life in France, but always in the context of real life or real encounters. The podcast is not artificial. So it's an opportunity for you to discover vocabulary and expressions in context, not just in a lesson.

It's also important for me to tell you what made me laugh, so humour will always be present on the podcast. 

But will you be able to understand other French people ?
Yes, of course, because once your brain is used to the way I speak, it will very easily adapt to other people way of speaking.
You will easily check this when there are other people speaking on the podcast.
This way, you will be able to start understanding and enjoying more media and have more nice conversations with teachers or friends.

❝It was my first trip to France since listening to your podcasts and I was delighted (and quite surprised myself) how more confident I was at speaking French.❞ Charlotte, UK.
 

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The transcript and its many undeniable advantages (comprehension, sounds, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar)
Whether it's Cultivate Your French (Slow French) or One Thing In A French Day, you can use them without the transcript. This will be very effective in improving your comprehension naturally.
But you can also choose to take your French to the next level and receive the transcript by subscribing.
There are advantages that we don't always realise, but they are real.

Let's make a list.

- First of all, you have the transcript: you receive it by email, you can copy it to a file, print it, etc. . So you can use it several times, come back to it, use it in different ways.
- You have the text as it was written, thought out and cut out. So you have the sentences with the breaks in the right places and the punctuation I chose.
- You also have the text with the correct spelling and verbal agreements, and that's no mean feat!
- You can choose to listen without reading and then read. So you start by putting yourself in a situation of pure listening, just like in real life.
- You can listen with pen in hand and take notes.
- You can vary the way you work, depending on your objective or level, and so reduce the stress of listening: read first, listen later, listen first and read later.
- Text is also a huge advantage for pronunciation. You literally see how French is pronounced. When you master the sounds, you get a better pronunciation, and when you get a better accent you boost your confidence!
- You can repeat certain passages of the text or the whole text on your own.  
- You may also decide to relate the text to certain grammar lessons. The text itself is a prodigious resource of simple and complex sentences.

More about the transcript

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transport yourself to France
Last but not least, as you understand what is being said, you get the amazing sensation of being transported to France. The photos that you get with the transcript (Cultivate Your French and One Thing In A French Day with notes) will enhance this amazing feeling.

Alors, à très vite, chers auditeurs !

Laetitia ♡