Bonjour tout le monde!
Hang in there, you are almost done! I just wanted to post one last blog of the semester to remind you all of the stuff we have covered. In fact, just to show you, here is a list of all the topics we have covered in a semester…
French webmail
Mixxer
Online French dictionaries
PCTV
Online newspapers
Wordchamp.com
Tell Me More
French Radio Online
LLC French Culture Links
The Louvre website
Del.icio.us
French audio links
Wikipedia in French
Toussaint
YouTube – French videos
French Word-a-day
Best French movies at the library
Doreen, the language librarian
French recipes
Podcasts
Le Grenelle de l’environnement
I know, it’s quite the extensive list. Actually there is one thing not on the list that we covered and that I want to plug again. The Willamette World News! If you missed what I posted about it before, then here it is again.
To get to the page you can go to the LLC web page and click on the link on the left side of the page or go there directly (http://blog.willamette.edu/centers/llc/worldnews/). Florence, the French language teaching assistant, is handling the news from France and she has posted a great introduction to her hometown. Also, for first and second year students who are hesitating to read lots of French, the blog is in English, so don’t be afraid. This is a great way to get culture from the French point of view!!!
Lastly, I know you all have loads of time on your hands, so here are some links about French Christmas to help you procrastinate studying for finals.
Vitrines de Noel
The first one is about one of my favorite French Christmas traditions. The big department stores in Paris set up big beautiful light displays and moving puppet shows to attract shoppers at Christmas. It is a treat for kids to get to go see them (and I definitely went while I was there!).
This link will take you to a site that explains them (in French)
This is the Printemps site, where you can see a little video of there vitrines
FGR recommended a couple more French traditions you could check out:
Les Trois Messes Basses is a traditional French Christmas tale. You can read an online version here.
Les Santons — The Provencal version of nativity scenes are widely collected and cherished. The French version, however, includes the whole village, not just the baby and family. Read about les Santons here.
And of course Christmas carols! My favorite is Il est ne le divin enfant, which is probably the most classic French Christmas carol. See the lyrics and hear it sung here.
This site also has a whole list to choose from.
Thats all for the semester guys! Keep up the good work and be thinking of things you want to see next semester. As always, I am open and waiting for suggestions.
Jessa Fox
