The Book — Speak Real French
The expressions intermediate learners miss. The register that makes the difference.
There is a version of French that classrooms never reach. Not slang. Not street language. Simply the words and phrases that French people use without thinking and that intermediate learners consistently miss, or use at the wrong moment, with the wrong person.
This book is about that version of French.
What it covers
Speak Real French is a practical guide to the expressions that B1 and B2 learners do not find in textbooks, not because they are rare, but because no one teaches them. J'ai la flemme. C'est chelou. Du coup, bah, en vrai. Every expression in this book was heard in real conversation. None of them was invented for illustration.
But knowing an expression is not enough. Relou is perfectly natural between friends. In a job interview, it would be a real mistake. For each expression, the book explains not just what it means, but when to use it, and when to leave it alone. That is what makes the difference between sounding natural and sounding almost natural.
This is the first in a series of practical guides to spoken French for intermediate learners.
Who it is for
Learners at B1 or B2 level who can hold a conversation but still feel the distance between their French and the French around them. Expats living in France. Professionals working in French. Anyone who wants to sound present in the language, not just correct.
About the author
I have spent fifty years working with languages, as a teacher, as the author of more than fifty books on vocabulary, expression, and everyday language use, and as the founder of two companies in language immersion and international education. This book comes directly from that experience and from the same gap I have seen in almost every intermediate learner I have worked with.
Speak Real French is a book you can read in an evening and use the next morning.