School holidays in France

Hello, such a long time that I haven't written something!

Summer holiday comes. Do you know how school holidays are organised?

Let's go to the past!

When school became compulsory to everybody, The government took account about farmers who  needed their children to help them to work in the fields. So the government decided to give several days to children. Step by step, holidays in summer became longer to be maintened up to 2 months.

Nowadays

Between the beginning of the academic year and the summer holidays, children has half term and term holidays. Although the laicity is very present, holidays matches with religious (christian) events. Terms and half terms last about 15 days. On winter time, some French people go to ski. Some community centres organise ski travel from 1 day to several days. In half term holidays, pupils have not the same periods. Academic zones are divided in 3 zones. When zone 1 is on holidays, one week later will be zone 2 then a week later will be zone 3 for example.

In the eighties, holidays still last 2 months. In the 2000, summer holidays began on July 2nd. Now academic year finish at the end the first week on July. The National Education is thinking about to shorten summer holidays to 6 weeks.

What do people do?

Most of people in France goes to holidays. Some choose to go to the sea side or to have a stay at the mountains. But some choose another destination like Paris or other touristic destination within France or in other countries.

Busy parents or not! send their children to summer camps. It is often with the agreement of children. Or they send them to relatives: grandparents, aunts and uncles or cousins.

Unfortunatly some can't afford to go somewhere. Municipalities organise clubs for children through Communities centers or directly by them. Children do sport, art, cooking activities or they travel one day or several days.
Some charity organisations like "secours Populaire" offers holidays to families having benefits, so that everybody enjoys their summer holidays.

Children and teenagers come back to school on September.

You travel to a French speaking country? Try this book to learn French!

Four rules about the adjectives of colours

The agreement of the adjectives of colour

They are 3 categories adjectives of colour. So there are 3 rules of agreement.

Simple adjectives	Compound adjectives	Nouns as adjective
Vert	Vert amande	Marron
Bleu	Bleu fluo	Café
Jaune	Jaune orange	Saumon
Violet	Violet pastel	Emeraude
Rouge	Rouge clair	Orange
Noir	Noir de jais	Parme
Gris	Gris antracite	Turquoise
Blanc	Blanc cassé	Aubergine
Brun	Brun foncé	Noisette

A.When the adjective is simple, it agrees with the name it qualifies.

Example: pantalon vert -> pantalon vert, robes vertes

Le concombre est   (T V R E).

Le poussin est   (E N J U A).

La mer est   ( LU E E B) .

La veste est   (E T L V O I E T).

La poule est   (R S EG I).

B. When the adjective is a noun (marron, citron, turquoise, gold, kaki, olive, marine ...), it is invariable.

Examples: une jupe marron -> jupes marron

Exceptions: rose, fauve and mauve take a plural "s" (robes roses).

1. Les enfants aiment les flamands (rose) _________________ dans le zoo.

2. Ses joues sont devenues toutes____________________ .

3. Elle a posé des coussins (rouge) ____________________ (pourpre) sur le canapé.

4. L'eau est devenue (marron)  ______________________.

5. Mon mari m'a offert ces perles (violet)  _____________________ .

6. Les façades de ces maisons sont (lilas) ______________ et (bleu) ___________  .

7. Les fleurs dans ce vase sont (mauve) ________________ .

8. Et des rouge à lèvres (framboise) ______________ .

9. La nuit, tous les chats sont (gris) _______________ .

10. Ses chaussures (crème) _________________ se sont élargies.      

C. When the adjective is composed, it is invariable.

Examples : une robe jaune foncé -> robes jaune foncé / pantalons bleu clair -> pantalons bleu clair

1. J'ai acheté des bagues                                    (rose clair) assorties à mes boucles d'oreilles.

2. Non, j'ai des yeux                                                (vert foncé). 

3. Marie porte des chaussures                                                                           (jaune canari). 

4. Sarah s'est fait des mèches                                         (bleu roi). 

5. Une ceinture                                        (bleu marine).

D. The meaning one wishes to give to the sentence may modify the spelling of qualifying adjectives.

Example: chiens noirs et blancs (each dog is black and white) -> chiens noirs et blancs (there are both black dogs and white dogs).

7 actions to speak like a native French speaker

Speaking a language is not something that you can get with a snap of the fingers. It requires times  and motivation.

You live in France (or a french speaking country), or you live in another country, these are possibilities to learn French language.


➽ Community centre (maison de quartier)
If you live in France, in cities, you can find a community centre in almost all areas. Some teachers give French courses. To start learning French, is a good idea. Inquire in your community center. If it does not offer this kind of activity, go to other community centres. Normaly, it is free. If it is not, you won't pay a lot of money.

➽ Taking part of an activity
By participating in workshops such as handicrafts or acting in a local theater company (there must be a certain level), ... or sports activities. You will be obliged to interact with people, so it is required to listen to instuctions. It is a good opportunities to talk to the member of the club you are.

➽ French-speaking cafés (les cafés francophones)
It is in any café that you can speak French with other persons. You will find French native speakers and people who come from other countries. Apart from paying for one's drink, it is free and moreover, useful and pleasant! No need to live in France or in another french speaking country), there are French speaking cafés in cities over the world.

➽ Tuition 
Another way to learn French. You can have lessons from a tutor who is skillful in this language. The tuition can be online or physical. To get a tutor, some websites propose different subjects. If you don't want to pay the register, there is another solutions: to post an add on website or at the baker's.

➽ Volunteering job
Volunteering job is a good way to improve the language. Charities needs people to help them. You will be usefull and gain more skills in French and in the role that you occupy.

➽ Apps
 They could help to learn French. There are so many apps but it's up to you to download the one which suits you.

➽ Watching films
It is a good way if you love french films. You can provide DVD's (click here) and sit down comfortably in your sofa. Let's go for a good moment. I selected films for you.

- les intouchables: very funny and be insure you that you will have a good time.

- Chorus: Les Choristes is a musical film and a French drama. A good film.

- Belle and Sebastian: a beautiful story between a child and a dog. An emotionally charged story. For family.

- Petit Nicolas: It is a family film. Very funny.

- Amélie: A French romantic comedy film. The scene takes place in Paris. It is a story about a helpfull girl. a mix of humour and intrigue.

You want to watch the trailer?


➽ Reading books
Some books to learn French are available for all levels (beginners, intermediate and advanced). In some books are inserted a CD telling the story of the novel. You can find out a range of books there.

      

How old is the Eiffel tower?

On March 31st, the Eiffel tower celebrated its 130 years old. Do you know that it is the most visited in France?

Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exhibition from January 28th 1887 to March 31st 1889. It was built only for the time of the exhibition. It was build by Gustave Eiffel and his contributors: Stephen Sauvestre, Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier.
As it was useful to broadcast radio and television programs, the tower has remained.

Description

The height: 324m with the antenn (without 300 m).
The weight: 10,100 tons which 7300 tons of metallic structure.
18,038 metal parts and 2,500,000 rivets, without mentionning the cost of the maintenance that involves each year.
It cost the equivalent of 32 millions of euros.
10000 bulbs light the Eiffel tower every night.

It has 3 floors.
First floor: shops.
Second floor: a restaurant (125 meters from the ground).
Third floor: panoramic view of Paris

To go upstairs, the Eiffel Tower is equipped with 1665 stairs (From the ground to the top) and 6 lifts. Most of them come down and up between the ground floor to the second floor. They are set in each pilar of the tower. One is reserved to access to the restaurant. They made of glasses.


Localisation

Eiffel Tower is located in Paris (France), near the Champ de Mars and Trocadero.

Visitors

This monument is the most visisted in the world and in the country. There would be 249,976,000 visitors per year.
The advantages for visitors are, it opens at daytime and it closes late in the night. You can visit it safely because they are 530 monitoring locations and is equipped with numerous automatic fire extinguishers and more than 200 fire extinguishers.


Events

For events in Paris, Paris city hall chooses the Eiffel tower to launch fireworks. You can see them on January 1st and on Bastille day.

The place of the Eiffel Tower around the world

It has been an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. It is very famous around the world and when you speak with someone from abroad, when they visit Paris, s/he visited this big lady, at least, once in her/his life. When they think France or Paris, they have in their mind the Eiffel tower.

The Eiffel tower is so famous that some cities have their own Eiffel towers. They have been reproduced identically. I counted them and I found the number of 25 across the world.


Gifts

The Eiffel Tower is represented on various supports. T-shirts, mugs, phone cases, purses .... If you, or one of your loved ones, are fans of Paris or the Eiffel Tower, you can order below to please you or make him happy.

- Shirt
- Mug
- Bag, Bag, Purse
- Phone case
- Other accessories

French certificates

Studying or working in France attracts people from abroad. However, universities or employers in France require a special certificate in order to prove the level of your french. Let's have a look at the various certificates.




DILF, DELF and DALF

They are made to certificate the level of French. They are awarded only by the French Ministry of National Education. They are recognised everywhere. You can follow your studies in France or in another french speaking country or you can get a job. Some universities or some schools require these certificates to be admitted. 

DILF is stand for Diplôme Initial en Langue Française. (Initial Diploma in French Language). This certificate will be awarded to beginners. It is the first step to get DELF and DALF diploma. The level is  A1.1.

DELF is stand for Diplôme d'Etude en Langue Française (Diploma in French Language Studies). Candidates from 7 years old can take this exam. It exists differents options according your needs and your level (A1 to C2). But it declines in several section according your needs:

• DELF PRIM: is for children in primary school (from 7 to 11 years old). This certificate is mostly to encourage children to learn French. It may give to them confidence and self-esteem as well. There are 3 levels: A.1.1 - A.1 - A.2.
• DELF JUNIOR and DELF SCOLAIRE: These are for teenagers, from 12 to 18 years old, who attends schools. There are 4 levels: A1 - A2 - B1 and B2.
• DELF PRO: It is for people who wants to get a job in France or in a french speaking country. 4 levels: A1 - A2 - B1 - B2.

DALF is stand for Diplôme Approfondi en Langue Française (Advanced Diploma in French Language). it's the same concept as the Delf. That is different is for candidates who have C1 and C2 level.

And DALFLE is a certification to those who want to teach French abroad or as MFL teacher.


You can prepare them in these places:

• in a Centre Language appliquée (CLA) in some French cities,
• in some institutes in UK such as Institutes where they give French lessons,
•  with a private tutor. This option allows you to personalize courses. 

Le DCL - Diplôme de Compétence en Langue (Language Skills Certificate)

Is awarded by the French Ministry of National Education. This is a professional diploma for adults. If someone wants to make recognised their skill in French language, to get a job or to evolve in his career, this diploma is made for these employment prospects. There are 2 options:

• DCL FLE for French everyday language, from A2 to C1
• DCL FP for French professional, from A1- A2.

Level tests

• TCF - Test de Connaissance du Français (French knowledge test) is awarded by le Centre International d'Etudes Pédagogique. This test is for everyone who wants to validate their knowledge in French fastly and a simply way.

• TEF - Test d'Evaluation de Français (French Assessment Test). It is awarded by la Chambre du Commerce et d'Industrie Paris Ile de France. This test is also recognised by the National Education. Students who would like to follow their studies in an university in France for the first key stage, can take this certificate.

Diploma of universities

Students who wish to gain French skills or to improve it, some certicates are offered to them at the University Paris-Sorbonne. Five certificates are proposed and students can achieve all these five certificates in one year if they wish.

Certifications de langue, introduction à la littérature

• Certificat Intermédiaire de langue française (Intermediate Certificate of French Language) level B1.

• Certificat de pratique de langue française "Comphréhension et expression" (French language practical certificate "Understanding and Expression") Level  B2.

This certificate is a module. Level B2. This diploma assesses skills in four areas: written and oral comprehension and written and oral expression.

The student can also take either the module "Literature" or the module "French on academic objectives" (FOU) [Humanities and Social Sciences].

Certifications de langue, littérature et civilisation françaises

• Certificat pratique de langue française (Practical certificate of French language) The level is C1. This certificate with the option "Literature" or with the option FOU "Humanities and Social Sciences" is highly recommended to continue your studies in master and PhD.

• Diplôme de langue et littérature française (Diploma of French language and literature), level C2. To have access to this diploma, candidates must have previously obtained the C1 level.

• Diplôme supérieur d'études françaises (Higher Diploma in French Studies), level C3. This diploma is only offered by Sorbonne University. This degree requires the same methodological skills expected of a French student. The admission is conditional.

More informations? 

Université Paris-Sorbonne

The professional French diplomas of the CCIP* 

Courses are offered to people who whish to reinforce their French communication skills. It is in the professional setting. 

TEF ETUDES (TEF studies): is approved by the French ministry of National Education. The candidate is assessed to evaluate his/her French skill. This certificate is for students from abroad who want to study in the first cycle studies of an university in France. The assessment is composed of 4 parts: written comprehension, oral comprehension, written expression and lexicon/structure.

TEF Naturalisation (Tef naturalization) is approved by the Ministry of the Interior of  France. For foreigners wishing to naturalize, it isrequired to obtain this certificate. Candidates will be assessed on both written and oral comprehension. The tests for obtaining this certificate also can be passed to other centres in France approved by the French State. 

Certifications of French approved by the Ministry of the Interior:

TCF - Test de Connaissance du Français (French knowledge test) awarded by le Centre International d'Etudes Pédagogiques (International Center for Pedagogical Studies) and by other centres accross the France: TCF award center

TEF - Test d'Evaluation de Français (French Assessment Test) awarded by la Chambre du Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris et Ile de France (Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

TEF de carte de résident (TEF resident card): For foreigners wishing to obtain the resident's card, this certificate attests the level A2 of oral and written comprehension as well as the level of oral and written expression of the French language. The tests for obtaining this certificate can be passed to other centers in France approved by the French State.

Books to prepare and be successful your certificate: 

• Le DELF 100% de réussite Livre A1 & CD MP3
• Le DELF 100% reussite: Livre B1 & Cd MP3
• Réussir le DELF 2010 edition: Livre B2 & CD audio
• Reussir le DELF/DALF 2005 edition: C1-C2 & CD audio (2)
• Dalf C2: Tests complets corrigés: 1 (French) Paperback
• Teaching Excellence in Higher Education: Lessons from the TEF
• See this image TEF - 250 activités. Livre de l'élève: Test d'évaluation du français (German) 
• PaperbackReussir le TCF - pour l'acces a la nationalite francaise + CD/

*Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry: in French, it is  Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie Paris.