Cuisinez-vous le français? That’s the abiding question driving the newest (and perhaps most engaging) language program online today.

Though it’s been over ten years since I last pursued French studies in an academic capacity, I never stop learning. Each conversation with a shopkeeper, a new French friend, colleagues or even my accountant, keeps me on my toes and invariably teaches me a word or idiom that hadn’t yet wiggled its way into my linguistic toolbox. My work writing about food and, on occasion, design has exposed me to a broader vocabulary but I didn’t always have that opportunity.

When I was in graduate school, instructed in English, I was intent on building my vocabulary. Though my time was limited, I imposed a French-only rule for leisure reading and kept a pocket notebook on hand to mark down the words I struggled to retain or weave into conversation. To be sure, the act of writing the words and their definitions helped make them stick a bit better but I never fully developed the reflex to review the notebook more than once a week. Blame a hectic academic schedule or a lack of patience but religiously jotting down words was where the exercise in rigor began and ended.

Once I started working, attending meetings and conducting presentations in French, I had no choice but to fill any lacuna in my vocabulary. And that’s when I realized that my expectations for myself had been too high. Learning by necessity or through action, however, produced results.

While I no longer need to focus on improving my language skills (though that doesn’t mean I don’t learn new things every day!), I like to stay on top of new programs or tools that may help friends or you, dear reader, to beef up your French. The founders of Cuisinez-vous le français? took that insight and built a program that appeals not only to those interested in improving their French but who enjoy learning new recipes. Each week, subscribers (52 euros per year) receive a 3-minute recipe video, hosted entirely in French by a trained language instructor and chef, in addition to a downloadable version of the recipe (recipes vary by season). The videos can be viewed at three different speeds according to proficiency and each focuses on a different grammatical point, with an emphasis on mastering prononciation.

Nearly all of the videos are filmed at the Château de la Mazure in the North West where the property’s owners have been hosting language and cultural immersion programs under the name Langue et Nature for over thirty years.

Etes-vous prêts à vous lancer? Cuisinez-vous le Français is offering Lost in Cheeseland readers 2 months free when you subscribe through the offers sections of their website using the coupon code lostinfrench.

 

Learn more about the program: www.cuisinezvouslefrancais.com and let me know what you think!

Bon courage!