shcool

[devon]

Hi it's devon[:)]

  i am 13 years old, I will be moving to the vienne ( dept. 86) soon.

I'm worried about talking to other people in france and speaking french because i am very nervous that i will say something wrong.

can you give me some advice.

Are there any children my age living near vouleme and if so are there any after school activites

 

                                                                                             Thank you bye!!!

[HLG]

Hi Devon,

What is the town/city closest to your village? Like: Poitiers (big city with a university), Chauvigny (small town)...?

Since you are 13 you'd probably be put in the class called "Cinquième". Depending on the school you'd attend, they may have a "CLA" (or class for students who come from non-French-speaking countries) or you may get some tutoring - your parents can ask anyway. If they don't offer it, see if you can get "cours particuliers" (you stick a paper at the boulanger's, but you've got to use the same boulanger consistently!) or through a private company like Keepschool or Acadomia.

School will probably end at 4.30 or 5pm, then time for "gouter" (Nutella and French bread or if you're 'raisonable', apples and yoghurt) and homework. :)

You'll have all of Wednesday afternoon and Saturday for your favorites activities though.

Good luck and don't hesitate to PM me if you need help.

[chris pp]

Hi Devon,   There are quite a lot of other British youngsters around your age in the Vouleme area and I am sure that you will soon get to know them. The entire region around Civray and Ruffec is very popular with people from the UK and I am sure that after 6 months your French will be much, much better than mine. Sports as far as I know are the most popular out of school activities and if you like wildlife you could come on some of the "expeditions" and poke around in ponds or join the local Brits bird club.

Relax, it will be great,  Chris

 

[HLG]

PS:

I've been told the schools in the Civray township are the envy of the entire region because there's some kind of company that generates millions and thus  they have to pay taxes on the money they make, most of which goes into the schools. There's also a superb pool complex if you like swimming, with a deep-diving tank.

To practice your French, you can try and see if you can watch French TV - look for your favorite shows but watch them in French. Friends in French is funny-weird! They also have "Even Stevens" and other Nick shows.

[devon]

hiya

          thanks for all the advice it really helped i am now not so worried about going and can't wait to go to school

 

 

                                                                                                   thanks again

                                                                                                         devon xx 

[Tresco]

Devon, have you been having French lessons?

I hope so, and if you have, you will probably have been taught to speak 'proper' French.

Think of it this way; the way you speak with your friends is different to the way you speak with older people isn't it? 

When you first arrive it will take you a little while to pick up the way teenagers speak to each other, but you will probably be a hit with the parents and teachers[:D]

Your new French friends will have learnt 'proper' English, so you can have a bit of a laugh at them too, (quietly) but you will be able to help them, and they you.

I think you're bound to make a few mistakes, or even a lot of them, but just laugh them off.[:)]

PS, I found this and thought it was funny. I hope you do too!

[IMG]http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/twinm/shcool.jpg[/IMG]

[HLG]

Did I mention the "MJC" and bibliotheque municipale? Those have activities for teens.

Some French that you may use with peers

* "trop" is used like "totally". Like, "trop bien" is "totally cool". "It sucks" = "c'est trop nul". C'est de la balle = it's da bomb. (ie., still used but a bit dated).

* To emphasize something, the subject is repeated twice "La prof de maths, elle est trop nulle".

* You can also shorten it to "trop nulle, la prof de maths". "trop mignon ce mec" would be in proper English "this boy looks good". :-) And in proper French: Ce garçon est assez beau.

* a guy, a bloke = un mec, un keum, un type, un gars, un bouffon (a "bouffon" is generally a nerd, although is literally means "bufoon".) A bully is "un ca-id", pronounced kah-yeed. These don't usually pick on girls though and they are few and far between in the area you're going to.

* to get someone away from you: Dégage crétin/ bouffon/ patate ("buzz off" + pick your insult based on the one you can pronounce with a straight face.) Slutty girls (or who are implied to be) are insulted with "taspé" or "pétasse", not that I'd recommend the practice as it can easily backfire. "Pauvre tache", pronounced povtash, means literally "you dirty stain" and indicates lots of contempt. ;-)

* This said, French schools tend to be much more pacified, overall and especially in Vienne, than English schools. :-) ;-) :-)

Added bonuses:

* NO UNIFORM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* NO ASSEMBLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* NO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ENTIRELY FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

[Berlioz]

Great Ideas HLG, I'll show my daughter tomorrow when we get back from having her elbow set at the fracture clinic (long story).

We have a student giving us french lessons and she also said it was very important to watch French TV etc.  We watch DVDs in the french language option (last one was HOCKUS POCKUS(sp?) we try and stick to ones we have seen before in Englaish so know the story, it really helps!  We also have the MIchael Thomas cds in the car, even my GCSE daughter is picking up tips.

 

[Missy]

The entire collection of 'Friends' on DVD as my daughter is doing to help the French part of her degree at University (UK). She watches an episode in English, then puts the french version on with english subtitles and tries to repeat it aloud to herself... Strange noises coming from her bedroom when she is home... However her French has come on leaps and bounds. More of a question to be able to laugh at herself when she makes a mistake. The proof of the pudding is to converse with her French grandparents... can't think that they would know much about Phoebe's et al... antics ...

[HLG]

I've been trying to think of shows that are popular with teens.

Pop music is always a good topic  when you don't know the person (except that they're 10-14.) You can see what's popular in France right now - there should be a lot of overlap with what's playing in the UK. Plus you can become a much-sought-after classmate for being able to actually write down the words to popular songs - and even tell them what they're about!!!!

Popular programs: "A la recherche de la nouvelle star" on M6 and "Star Academy" (called "la star ac", subject of many teen conversations about favorite would-be pop singers.)

http://nouvellestar.m6.fr/html/emissions/nouvelle_star/index.shtml

http://www.m6music.com/html/musique/hitmachine/index.shtml

TV: Shows on TV that teens may be able to watch (ie., in the 4-7pm range, afterschool programs) include: Law and Order; JAG; Lost; Rubi (a telenovella with lots of love triangles); Un, dos, tres (a kind of Spanish "Fame" - teens in a dance/singing school). Summerland, "les freres Scott' (aka One tree hill) They may also watch a French soap called "plus belle la vie" which is on F3 and takes place in Marseille - it's developed quite a following, including a website, chats, etc, etc!

http://plus-belle-la-vie.france3.fr/index.php3

http://www.m6.fr/html/series/rubi/index.shtml

http://www.m6kid.fr/

The most popular cartoon among 10-14 year olds is "Totally Spies". Also popular: "les zinzins de l'espace", "foot 2 rue", "recess".... Some parents may be able to give you more info on whether 13-year olds actually watch those... and how cool it is to admit you do. :-)

 

 

[Norman]

I`m far, far away from being a teen...... but I love "Kaamelott" on M6, I think it`s very funny.

Lucky Luke on 3 is pretty good too.

Norman.