Lyon City Blog 

Author: Mr. Ray

There are several strong reasons why most learned people in this world are eager to learn multiple languages. French language tops in the list as the most popular second language. Besides the native speakers of French, other people who are learning French have a particular purpose behind learning the language. 

This audio file about the French pension system is for the intermediate learners of French.

1.Listen to the document

2. Write down the keywords

3. Listen to the questions and answer




 

Located in the very heart of Lyon, the Alliance française of Lyon is an international school of French language and culture that offers high-quality teaching of French language as a foreign language in a unique place.

The Alliance française of Lyon welcomes every year over 2,000 international students who are offered many housing facilities depending on their requirements and financial resources. People under age 28 are considered as students when they register for the intensive general French courses of the Alliance française for over a 3-month period. In France the students benefit from the social assistance: they can register into the French Health System, have a part-time job, get the help of the social workers of the CROUS…

The students learn oral and written French language after taking an oral and written test to assess their level of French. The Alliance française of Lyon also provides a wide range of courses adapted to the needs of the students: general French courses, complementary courses focusing on phonetics, grammar or communication skills, thematically oriented courses, exams and tests trainings in the official Proficiency center of the Alliance française of Lyon,  professional French courses in business, medicine and law but also private lessons.

What is more, many cultural activities are organized in order to help the students learn the French language in context since Lyon, the capital of the French cuisine, is also the second largest international city of France.

At the Alliance française of Lyon the students benefit from high quality language teaching in a very comfortable and modern school where they can improve their language skills in high-tech classrooms equipped  with the air-conditioning.

The Alliance française of Lyon
11, rue Pierre Bourdan
69003 Lyon
Tél. : 33 (0)4 78 95 24 72
http://www.aflyon.org

The Institut lyonnais is a public high school that offers French courses for foreign students and professionals in the center of Lyon. 

The students can attend short or long sessions of general French  courses, university programs and evening courses for all languages. They can prepare all the different certificates and examinations in French as a second language as well as business and professional diplomas in French since the Institut Lyonnais is an official examination center.


What is more, the Institut Lyonnais provides courses and internship for the students who want to have a 1-month to 6-month training period in a French company while they are studying French at the high school. Cooking and pastry training periods and French language are also offered for all the students who are food lovers.

The Institut Lyonnais helps the students with the French administration services and the accommodation. As Lyon is the second largest French city, the Institut Lyonnais organizes cultural events and trips to help the students integrate the French culture and way of life.

The Institut Lyonnais
9, avenue Leclerc, 69007 Lyon
Phone +33 (0)4 78 69 25 04 • Fax +33 (0)4 78 69 14 30
http://www.institut-lyonnais.com

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood is a brilliant ghost story (histoire de fantôme) that is homage to the Victorian tradition of the ghost story.
 
Gerard Freeman’s life is going to change as he discovered the secret manuscript of his great grandmother, Viola Hartley, a ghost story writer in the 1890s.
From that moment, his quest to reveal all the mysteries of his family background leads him to the haunted house (maison hantée) of his tormented aunt Ann in London. 

Why should his reading of the ghost stories interfere with his own life and put him in a terrifying danger?

Harwood is a talented writer who constructs his story with mysteries and nightmares.


Here is the French translation of the first chapter of The Ghost Writer (l'écrivain fantôme):

C’était dans la chambre de ma mère, une après-midi chaude de janvier, que je vis la photographie pour la première fois. Elle dormait, d‘après moi, dans la véranda à l'autre bout de la maison. Je me faufilai à l’intérieur de la pièce par l’entrebâillement de la porte: j’éprouvai alors une sensation de plaisir à transgresser ce lieu, je respirai les senteurs des parfums, des poudres, des rouges à lèvres et des autres odeurs d‘adultes, des boules de naphtaline contre les poissons d'argent et de l’insecticide contre les moustiques que nos moustiquaires n’arrivaient jamais vraiment à repousser. Les rideaux étaient tirés, le store à moitié baissé. On ne voyait rien par la fenêtre mis à part le mur de briques nu de la maison d’à côté occupée par la vieille Mrs Noonan.

When you translate an English book, you should always consider the context. As the scene takes place in Australia, we do not translate Mrs Noonan.

How to write a motivation letter in French? 
Your letter of motivation should be clear and unique so that you are sure to answer your future employer's expectations?

Give clear, simple but precise information about you
Write in clear-cut paragraphs with arguments: each paragraph shoud add new information

1. say what you are doing at the moment
2. give the reason why you apply for the job
3. talk about your experience with examples
4. describe your skills and your qualities for the job
5. show that you know the company where you would like to work
6. add your curriculum vitae