French for Beginners: Lesson 1 - Does Roast Beef mean "I'm ready to settle down?"

French for Beginners

This episode introduces the 'Language Theater' concept, a dramatic approach to learning French. Through a scripted lesson between a teacher

Key takeaways

• The verb 'être' (to be) is an irregular verb in the present tense.
• French distinguishes between 'tu' (informal) and 'vous' (formal/plural) for the word 'you'.

Main topics

• French grammar: Verb être
• Formal vs. Informal address

Notable quotes

Je suis Jacques.

Conclusion

A foundational lesson that uses narrative storytelling to make basic F

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Bienvenue. Welcome to the Language Theatre. Come in, come in. Take your seat and get ready for a unique experience. My name is Jean-Paul and I will take you through this masterful play. I hope you will enjoy the performance and learn to understand and even speak French by the end of the play. Oh, and by the way, it's a long play. From one act to the next, you will learn the language, discover nuances of French culture, and experience the thrill of a theatrical performance in the language you are learning. Oui, oui. We start with just a few words of French in Act 1, but by the end of our play, most of the acts will be performed in French. Oh, what a thrill it is to enjoy a play in French! Now, a few words about the format of the show, or course, if you will. A French teacher, Valérie, gives one-on-one lessons. The students who come for the lessons have very little knowledge of French, almost none. From the first lesson to the last, they will learn to the extent that each one of them will be able to understand and speak French well. You are cordially invited to enjoy the language theater and learn French with our students. Well, let's begin act one. Valérie, our French teacher, is waiting for her student, Jack. This is the first time Valérie and Jack meet in person. Speaker 1 (1:55) Bonjour. Êtes-vous Jacques? Speaker 3 (1:58) Excuse me? Speaker 1 (2:00) Hello. Are you Jacques? Oh, right. Bonjour. Oui, oui. Je suis Jacques. Très bien. Please, come on in. It is very nice to meet you. And I'm glad that you want to learn French. Speaker 3 (2:17) Thank you, Valerie. Speaker 1 (2:18) Well, let's start our first lesson. Thank you so much for taking me as a student. You are most welcome, Jacques. But before we start, tell me a little about yourself. You have studied French before, right? Speaker 3 (2:37) In school, if it counts. I just remember a few words like Bonjour, je m'appelle Jacques. S'il vous plaît, merci, au revoir. Very good. But I'm Speaker 1 (2:49) very serious about Speaker 3 (2:50) studying. Speaker 1 (2:51) Excellent. May I ask you why you have decided to go back to studying French? I would like to know what your goals are, so that I can successfully design a course for you. Speaker 3 (3:06) Sure. You see, I have this idea. It's a business idea, and I'll need a good knowledge of French. And I may add French culture. Oh, it's Speaker 1 (3:18) intriguing. What is that? Is that a secret? It's a French restaurant. Speaker 3 (3:25) I want to open a French restaurant. Speaker 1 (3:28) Ah bon? Speaker 3 (3:29) Really? I have so many ideas about this restaurant, so it's going to be great. But I really need to be able to speak French, and I need to know cultural nuances to