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Autumn Vibes
This week, we’re getting cosy and comfy to celebrate the beautiful season of l’automne 🍁
But did you know that Automne is also a girl’s name in France? Though pretty rare – there were 30 babies named Automne (also spelled Autone) in 2024 – this pretty name is of Germanic origin, derived from “ald” meaning “wealth”, and Automnes are celebrated on January 7th. I personally find this name so lovely, what about you? 😊
Alors, sans plus attendre, harvest the cornucopia of French Kwiziq content we’ve selected for you! 🍂
Quote me on this!
French Symbolist writer Remy de Gourmont (1858-1915)
Let’s start our celebration of l’automne with this beautiful description by French poet, novelist and critic Remy de Gourmont (1858-1915), taken from “Petits Crayons” (1921):
“L’automne est certainement la saison où la nature est la plus belle. Elle est diverse. Elle prend toutes les couleurs. Cela va du vert au rouge. Les dernières feuilles deviennent éclatantes comme des fleurs. L’automne est riche, il est plein de fruits. Il se répand en raisins, en pommes, en poires. [Le] raisin, c’est l’automne même, c’est le ciel et la terre unis en un dernier baiser”
(Fall is certainly the season when nature is at its most beautiful. It’s diverse. It takes on all the colours. It goes from green to red (hues). The last leaves become vibrant like flowers. Fall is rich, it’s full of fruit. It spills into grapes, apples, pears. Grapes are fall itself, they’re the sky and earth united in one last kiss.)
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À la française
French Expressions and Idioms Mini Podcast
In keeping with our Autumn theme, in this week’s installment of our French expressions podcast, you’ll learn that chestnuts may be more dangerous than they appear 😉🌰:
À la française Ep. 6: “Se prendre une châtaigne”
With each new expression, you get its meaning, some useful in-context examples and… a fun mini podcast to fully master it!
Attention aux châtaignes !
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Vive l’automne !
Reading and Listening practice – A1 Level
Finally, let’s fondly consider all the reasons to love this beautiful season with a lovely bilingual article full of autumnal delight:
Vive l’automne !
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Hurray for Weekend Workout Friday!
Special treat for Premium subscribers
Friday is Weekend Workout day – a special treat just for our Premium subscribers, with fresh dictations and writing challenges to boost your listening and writing skills.
This week’s theme is Autumn.
Here’s a little taster for free: Camping in the woods (level C1)
Not Premium yet? Now’s a great time to upgrade!
You’ll get these Weekend Workouts every week, plus unlimited kwizzes and multiple notebooks to help you stay organised and make progress faster.
Note: We send dictations and writing challenges by email, which you can opt into or out of. To check your email preferences, please follow this link and make sure there’s a check next to System Communications in order to receive exercises every week.
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And for more autumnal French content, remember to check out our social media – Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok – for more awesome content!
Bonne semaine à tous et à jeudi prochain !
Aurélie Drouard
Head of French
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