Notes from the second meeting (9 Mars 2010)

I am really a blogging novice and despite that I'm trying to catch up on posts that should have taken place in the past. The following are the notes from the second meeting of Café Français that took place on 9th of March 2010. The theme was occupations, directions and locations. I do endeavor to be free from errors but if you notice any glaring ones, please let me know. Enjoy.

Welcome/Bienvenue

Thank you for attending the second meeting of Café Français.

The objective is to provide an opportunity for parents of French immersion students to practice their conversational French. A set topic will be discussed every week. The experience level will be from basic to advanced. The next meeting will be held on April 13^th.

· General rules

o Don’t worry about making mistakes. We all make mistakes sometimes.

o Try to speak mostly in French unless you get stuck, then use English or equivalent.

o Practice

o Be patient with yourself and other participants

· General information

o Free French websites (please refer to Café Francais-Feb 16)

o French Camps (please refer to Café Francais-Feb 16)

· Some basic French Verbs (the following are commonly used verbs and their conjugation in the present tense; see table)

o Être (to be)

o Avoir (to have)

o Aller (to go)

· This week’s topic: People & Places

o Objective to find places and recognize common questions.

	Être	(to be)	Avoir	(to have)	Aller	(to go)
Je (I)	suis	am	(j’ai)	have	vais	go
Tu (You)	es	are	As	have	vas	go
Il/Elle/On (He/She/We[1])	est	is	A	has	va	go
Nous (We)	sommes	are	avons	have	allons	go
Vous[2] (You/They/Them)	êtes	are	Avez	have	allez	go
Ils/Elles (They/Them[3])	sont	are	Ont	have	vont	go

Q: Qu’est-ce que c’est ton occupation\métier\profession?	What is your occupation\job\profession?
A : Je suis un\une[4]…	I am a…
Professeur	Teacher
Médecin,Docteur\Doctoresse	Doctor
Avocat\Avocate	Lawyer
Directeur de,Chef de	Manager of
Fermier\Fermière	Farmer
Scientifique (m\f)	Scientist
Infirmière (f)	Nurse
Mécanicien (m)	Mechanic
Programmeur\Programmeuse	Programmer
Assistant\Assistante (Vendeur\Vendeuse)	Assistant (Shop Assistant)
Artiste (m\f)	Artist
Cuisinier\Cuisinière	Cook
Dessinateur\Dessinatrice	Designer
Q : Où est ton travail?	Where do you work? (place of work)
A : Je travail dans …	I work in …
L’école	School
L’université	University
Le college	College
L’usine	Factory
Le bureau	Office
L’hôpital	Hospital
La banque	Bank
La bibliothèque	Library
La piscine	Pool
Le restaurant	Restaurant
Centre commercial	Shopping Center
Le magasin	Store
Q : Où est-ce qu’il y a le/la …?	Where is the …?
Q : Pouvez-vous m’indiquer sur la carte … ?	Can you show me on the map …?
Q : Où puis-je acheter …?	Where can I buy … ?
Q: Je cherche ... ?	I’m looking for … ?
Le coiffeur	Barber shop
Le coiffeur	Hair Salon
Le supermarché	Supermarket
Le dépanneur	Convienence Store
La boulangerie-pâtisserie	Bakery
Le boucherie	Butcher
La cour de récréation	Playground
La patinoire	Skating Rink
Le lave-auto	Car wash
La station d’essence	Gas Station
Q: C’est loin?	How far is it?
En bus	By bus
À pied	On foot
En auto	By car
En train	By train
C’est …	It’s …
À droite	Right
À gauche	Left
À cote de	Beside
À l’est	East
À l’ouest	West
Au nord	North
Au sud	South
Derrière	Behind
Devant	In Front of
Ici	Here
Là	There
Loin d’ici	Far away
Au coin	On the corner
Près d’ici	Near here
Tout droit	Straight ahead

· The end/Fin

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[1] The use of “on” in French is equivalent to “we” or everyone in English. For example, everyone goes to school (in English), On va á l’ecole (in French)

[2] The use of “vous” in French is also used to in place of “you” in English in a formal context instead of “tu” for “you” which is less formal.

[3] The use of “ils” or “elles” in French refers to groups of people and distinguishes their gender. For example, groups of males for “ils” or groups of females for “elles”.

[4] CORRECTION: When specifying your own occupation or profession “un/une” are not used. For example: Je suis professeur.