The initiative, led by researcher Lisa Morano, responds to the challenges advanced students face in understanding 'real' French, especially outside the classroom. According to the researchers, it is almost impossible to get the listening level of a native speaker if you do not live in the country of the language. "I often see advanced students disappointed when they talk to French people outside class, while they understand everything on the radio or TV, " says Morano, herself a French teacher for non-native speakers.
By making the website accessible to everyone, the researchers hope to help these people move forward. The website is intended for anyone who already has a good level of French (B2) and who feels that French people speak too quickly. The listening exercises, which often feature French students from Paris, are suitable for adults from different language backgrounds, so you don't necessarily have to speak Dutch.
Research experiment
The exercises on the website stem from an experiment Morano conducted for a research project about learning so-called reductions in French. Reductions are where people do not quite pronounce a word fully, even when they know how to, such as missing emphasis on specific letters. In English, one might say "shoulda" instead of "should have" or "gimme" instead of "give me". The results of the study showed that predictable reductions, in particular, can be learned through explicit explanation and that practicing with reductions helps with listening comprehension. The reduction exercises performed by the participants in the experiment are now available for everyone to use on the Learning Casual French website. Have fun with them!