I hope you find the following pages helpful, informative and fun!
To get you started, here is some of the fun:
Why study French, you say? These students seem to have the right idea:
Of course, Joey from the TV series "Friends" tried to learn French.
And then, the Minions. Did you know that they spoke French? Joyeux Anniversaire!
If you'd prefer something a bit more serious, here are
10 good reasons to learn French
(Courtesy of the Consulate General of France)
1. A world language
More than 200 million people speak French across each of the continents. The Francophonie, the international organisation of French-speaking countries, comprises 68 states and governments. French is the second most widely learned foreign language after English, and the ninth most widely spoken language in the world. French is also the only language, alongside English, that is taught in every country in the world. France operates the biggest international network of cultural institutes, which run French-language courses for more than 750,000 learners.
2. A language for the job market
An ability to speak French and English is an advantage on the international job market. A knowledge of French opens the doors of French companies in France and other French-speaking parts of the world (Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, and North and sub-Saharan Africa). As the world’s fifth biggest economy and number-three destination for foreign investment, France is a key economic partner.
3. The language of culture
French is the international language of cooking, fashion, theatre, the visual arts, dance and architecture. A knowledge of French offers access to great works of literature, as well as films and songs, in the original French. French is the language of Victor Hugo, Molière, Léopold Sendar Senghor, Edith Piaf, Jean-Paul Sartre, Alain Delon and Zinedine Zidane.
4. A language for travel
France is the world’s number-one tourist destination and attracts more than 70 million visitors a year. A little French makes it so much more enjoyable to visit Paris and all the regions of France (from the mild climes of the Cote d’Azur to to the snow-capped peaks of the Alps to the rugged coastline of Brittany). Knowing French allows you to converse with the people of France and offers insights into the French culture and way of life. French also comes in handy when traveling to Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Monaco, the Seychelles and other places.
5. A language for higher education
Speaking French opens up study opportunities at renowned French universities and business schools, ranked among the top higher education institutions in Europe and the world. Students with a good level of French are eligible for French government scholarships to enroll in postgraduate courses in France in any discipline and qualify for internationally recognized French degrees.
6. The other language of international relations
French is both a working language and an official language of the United Nations, the European Union, UNESCO, NATO, the International Olympic Committee, the International Red Cross and international courts. French is the language of the three cities where the EU institutions are headquartered: Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg.
7. A language that opens up the world
After English and German, French is the third most used language on the Internet, ahead of Spanish. An ability to understand French offers an alternative view of the world through communication with French speakers from all the continents and news from the leading French-language international media (TV5, France 24 and Radio France Internationale).
8. A language that is fun to learn
French is an easy language to learn. Unlike Asian or Semitic languages, French uses the same writing system as English. It does not take long to reach a level where you can communicate in French. There are also many products on the market that make learning French enjoyable for children and adults alike.
9. A language for learning other languages
French is a good base for learning other languages, especially Romance languages (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian). It also strengthens English vocabulary, since fifty per cent of English vocabulary is derived from French.
10. The language of love and reason
First and foremost, learning French is the pleasure of learning a beautiful, rich, melodious language, often called the language of love. French is also an analytical language that structures thought and develops critical thinking, a valuable skill in many domains.
Finally, here is the useful:
Larousse dictionaries
(English-French, French-English, French-Spanish, French-French etc....)
To insert accented characters
To insert special characters with the Mac keyboard:
Accent Key Strokes Available Characters
Grave ` option ` + the character À È Ì Ò Ù à è ì ò ù
Aigu ´ option e + the character Á É Í Ó Ú á é í ó ú
Circonflexe ^ option i + the character Â Ê Î Ô Û â ê î ô û
Tréma ¨ option u + the character Ä Ë Ï Ö Ü Ÿ ä ë ï ö ü ÿ
Cédille option c or option shift C Ç ç
To insert special characters using Microsoft Word
For keyboard shortcuts in which you press two or more keys simultaneously, the keys to press are separated by a plus sign (+) in Word Help.
For keyboard shortcuts in which you press one key immediately followed by another key, the keys to press are separated by a comma (,).
To type a lowercase character by using a key combination that includes the SHIFT key, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT+symbol keys simultaneously, and then release them before you type the letter
TO INSERT THIS PRESS THIS
à, è, ì, ò, ù,
À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù CTRL+` (ACCENT GRAVE), the letter
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý
Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý CTRL+' (APOSTROPHE), the letter
â, ê, î, ô, û
Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û CTRL+SHIFT+^ (CARET), the letter
ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ,
Ä, Ë, Ï, Ö, Ü, Ÿ CTRL+SHIFT+: (COLON), the letter
ç, Ç CTRL+, (COMMA), c or C
å, Å CTRL+SHIFT+@ a or A
æ, Æ CTRL+SHIFT+&, a or A
œ, Œ CTRL+SHIFT+&, o or O
ã, ñ, õ
Ã, Ñ, Õ CTRL+SHIFT+~ (TILDE), the letter
The Unicode character
for the specified Unicode
(hexadecimal) character code The character code, ALT+X
For example, to insert the euro currency symbol , press 20AC, and then hold down the ALT key and press X.
The ANSI character
for the specified ANSI
(decimal) character code ALT+the character code (on the numeric keypad)
NOTE Make sure that NUM LOCK is on before you type the character code.
For example, to insert the euro currency symbol, hold down the ALT key and press 0128 on the numeric keypad.
NOTE If you type extensively in another language, you may prefer to switch to a different keyboard instead.
For keyboard shortcuts in which you press one key immediately followed by another key, the keys to press are separated by a comma (,).
To type a lowercase character by using a key combination that includes the SHIFT key, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT+symbol keys simultaneously, and then release them before you type the letter
TO INSERT THIS PRESS THIS
à, è, ì, ò, ù,
À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù CTRL+` (ACCENT GRAVE), the letter
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý
Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý CTRL+' (APOSTROPHE), the letter
â, ê, î, ô, û
Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û CTRL+SHIFT+^ (CARET), the letter
ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ,
Ä, Ë, Ï, Ö, Ü, Ÿ CTRL+SHIFT+: (COLON), the letter
ç, Ç CTRL+, (COMMA), c or C
å, Å CTRL+SHIFT+@ a or A
æ, Æ CTRL+SHIFT+&, a or A
œ, Œ CTRL+SHIFT+&, o or O
ã, ñ, õ
Ã, Ñ, Õ CTRL+SHIFT+~ (TILDE), the letter
The Unicode character
for the specified Unicode
(hexadecimal) character code The character code, ALT+X
For example, to insert the euro currency symbol , press 20AC, and then hold down the ALT key and press X.
The ANSI character
for the specified ANSI
(decimal) character code ALT+the character code (on the numeric keypad)
NOTE Make sure that NUM LOCK is on before you type the character code.
For example, to insert the euro currency symbol, hold down the ALT key and press 0128 on the numeric keypad.
NOTE If you type extensively in another language, you may prefer to switch to a different keyboard instead.
To insert special characters using Chromebooks
First, watch this video to change your keyboard settings:
Then, use the correct combination of keystrokes.
Remember, you must use the "ALT" key on the RIGHT SIDE of the keyboard,
and
the appropriate key
(characters in BLUE on the diagram below)
AT THE SAME TIME.
Remember, you must use the "ALT" key on the RIGHT SIDE of the keyboard,
and
the appropriate key
(characters in BLUE on the diagram below)
AT THE SAME TIME.