Les Bons Mots: A Podcast about Language Learning

Quelle est l'importance de la prononciation pour les personnes qui apprennent une langue, particulièrement au Canada et dans des contextes professionnels? Avec leur invitée, Alexe Brosseau, Johnson et Britta discutent de :  L'importance de la prononciation  Les éléments de prononciation les plus importants à privilégier lorsqu'on apprend le français  Le lien entre la compréhension orale et la prononciation  Mots d’encouragement pour les apprenant·es adultes  Les Bons Mots est produit par ACA-Prolang, le leader canadien de formation linguistique en entreprise. Contactez-nous à lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca pour découvrir de quelle façon nous pouvons aider votre équipe à développer leurs compétences langagières. 

Do you google information that you need to know? Are you still rewinding shows in the streaming era? Technology has always shaped our language, now more than ever.  Britta and Johnson discuss the impact of technology on how we communicate, the words we choose, the way we write, and how AI is impacting all of the above.  Les Bons Mots is produced by ACA-Prolang, Canada’s leading corporate language training company. Contact us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca to see how we can help your team grow! Reach out to us if you are interested in learning more about our language training programs, or if you want to talk to us about ways you can improve your skills. 

The English description follows   Si vous apprenez le français, les capsules audios d'aujourd'hui sont faites pour vous! Vous allez entendre différentes personnes se présenter dans des contextes professionnels.   Kimberly Lamontagne et Alexe Brosseau ont créé et enregistré ces capsules audios pour les personnes qui apprennent le français et dans le souci de contribuer à représenter le français laurentien dans les ressources de FLS. Les capsules audios sont enregistrées avec un débit de parole normal afin de vous exposer au type de français canadien que vous allez entendre dans la vraie vie.  Vous pouvez les écouter autant de fois que vous le voulez. N'hésitez pas d'aller dans les réglages du balado pour ralentir la vitesse à x0.75.   Les Bons Mots est produit par ACA-Prolang, le leader canadien pour la formation linguistique en entreprise. Contactez-nous à lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca pour découvrir comment nous pouvons aider votre équipe à gagner en confiance et en compétences en langue seconde.  If you are learning French, today's audio capsules are made for you! You are going to hear different people introducing themselves in professional contexts.   Kimberly Lamontagne and Alexe Brosseau have created and recorded thes audio capsules for people who are learning French and to contribute to the representation of Laurentien French in resources for French as a second language. They have been recorded at a normal speaking speed in order to expose you to the type of Canadian Franch that you'll hear in real life.   You can listen to the capsules as many times as you wish. Don't hesitate to change the podcast settings to slow the speed to x0.75.   Les Bons Mots is produced by ACA-Prolang, Canada’s leading corporate language training company. Contact us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca to see how we can help boost your team's language skills and confidence!  Voici une activité pour vérifier votre compréhension!    Segment 1 - Vrai ou faux :   Sarah a deux enfants : deux garçons.   Caroline habite à Laval.  Caroline aime les projets et faire du vélo de montagne.   Segment 2 - Vrai ou faux :   Geneviève et Mathilde doivent organiser ensemble un dîner reconnaissance.  Geneviève et Mathilde se connaissent depuis longtemps.  Mathilde est disponible pour travailler la fin de semaine.  Segment 3 - Vrai ou faux :   Marie-Hélène et sa conjointe ont deux enfants qui s’appellent Astérix et Obélix.  Marie-Hélène vient de Sherbrooke.  Amélie a un baccalauréat en bureautique.    Réponses  Segment 1 :   Sarah a deux enfants : deux garçons. Faux. Elle a un garçon et une fille.  Caroline habite à Laval. Vrai.  Caroline aime les projets et faire du vélo de montagne. Vrai.  Segment 2 :   Geneviève et Mathilde doivent organiser ensemble un dîner reconnaissance. Vrai  Geneviève et Mathilde se connaissent depuis longtemps. Faux – elles se rencontrent pour la première fois.  Mathilde est disponible pour travailler la fin de semaine. Faux – Elle a des enfants et n’est pas disponible.  Segment 3 :   Faux. Marie-Hélène et sa conjointe ont 2 chiens qui s’appellent Astérix et Obélix.  Vrai  Faux. Amélie à un baccalauréat en communication. 

Do you want to boost your language learning with technology? Online learning options and digital tools can be excellent resources. Join Johnson and Britta as they discuss:  How technology can enhance language training in and out of class   How AI can help customize instructor-led training and independent practice  How language learners can use technology to improve their writing, pronunciation and vocabulary at work and beyond.   Les Bons Mots is produced by ACA-Prolang, Canada’s leading corporate language training company. Contact us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca to see how we can help your team grow! 

Le drapeau franco-ontarien célèbre son 50e anniversaire en 2025! Emmanuelle Farmer rejoint Britta pour une discussion au sujet du drapeau et sa signification pour la communauté franco-ontarienne. Elles discutent :   De l’évolution de l’éducation en français en Ontario et de comment cette histoire est personnelle pour Emmanuelle  Du drapeau et de son importance pour les franco-ontarien·e·s  Après les crédits, la discussion continue avec une mini-minisode! Emmanuelle et Britta jasent à propos des artistes, de la culture et de la langue franco-ontarienne.   Les Bons Mots est produit par ACA-Prolang, le leader canadien pour la formation linguistique en entreprise. Contactez-nous à lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca pour découvrir comment nous pouvons aider votre équipe à se développer. 

The English description follows  Si vous apprenez le français, les capsules audios d'aujourd'hui sont faites pour vous! Vous allez entendre différentes personnes parler de leurs semaines de travail.  Kimberly Lamontagne et Alexe Brosseau ont créé et enregistré ces capsules audio pour les personnes qui apprennent le français et dans le soucis de contribuer à représenter le français laurentien dans les ressources de FLS. Les capsules audios sont enregistrées avec un débit de parole normal afin de vous exposer au type de français canadien que vous allez entendre dans la vraie vie. Vous pouvez les écouter autant de fois que vous le voulez. N'hésitez pas d'aller dans les réglages du balado pour ralentir la vitesse à x0.75. ​ Les Bons Mots est produit par ACA-Prolang, le leader canadien pour la formation linguistique en entreprise. Contactez-nous à lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca pour découvrir comment nous pouvons aider votre équipe à développer ses compétences.   If you are learning French, today's audio capsules are made for you! You are going to hear different people talking about their work weeks.  Kimberly Lamontagne and Alexe Brosseau have created and recorded thes audio capsules for people who are learning French and to contribute to the representation of Laurentien French in resources for French as a second language. They have been recorded at a normal speaking speed in order to expose you to the type of Canadian Franch that you'll hear in real life.  You can listen to the capsules as many times as you wish. Don't hesitate to change the podcast settings to slow the speed to x0.75.  Les Bons Mots is produced by ACA-Prolang, Canada’s leading corporate language training company. Contact us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca to see how we can help your team grow!  Voici une activité pour vérifier votre compréhension!   Pour les descriptions plus simples :  Liette mange au restaurant les mercredis midi.  Anahée travaille dans une épicerie.  ​ Anahée ne travaille pas les dimanches. ​ Julianne commence le travail à 17 h.  Pour les descriptions plus détaillées :  Marise a un 5 à 7 avec ses collègues une semaine sur deux.   Le gestionnaire d’Inès s’appelle Marc-Antoine.  Yasmine est en train de mettre en place une campagne publicitaire pour son client.  Alejandra parle français et portugais.    Réponses:  Pour les descriptions plus simples : Faux. Elle mange au restaurant les vendredis. ​ Vrai. Vrai.  Faux. Elle commence le travail à 5 h 30 le matin.  Pour les descriptions plus détaillées :  Vrai. ​ Faux. Sa gestionnaire s'appelle Anne-Sophie.  ​ Vrai. ​ Faux. Elle parle français et espagnol. 

In celebration of Official Languages Day in Canada, let’s talk about using both official languages at work! Join Johnson and Britta to learn more about:  How companies and employees benefit from embracing bilingualism    How organizations can promote the use of both official languages in the workplace  What managers and employees can do to use English and French in their professional context   Les Bons Mots is produced by ACA-Prolang, Canada’s leading corporate language training company. Contact us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca to see how we can help your team grow!  

Nous célébrons la Journée des langues officielles du Canada en parlant de l'utilisation du français et de l’anglais au travail. Rejoignez Johnson et Britta pour en savoir plus sur :   les avantages du bilinguisme pour les entreprises et les employés     la manière dont les organisations peuvent promouvoir l'utilisation des deux langues officielles au travail  ce que les gestionnaires et les employés peuvent faire pour utiliser l'anglais et le français dans leur contexte professionnel  Les Bons Mots est produit par ACA-Prolang, le leader canadien pour la formation linguistique en entreprise. Contactez-nous à lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca pour découvrir comment nous pouvons aider votre équipe à se développer.  

Le balado Les bons mots est de retour! Cette saison, nous avons hâte de vous partager des épisodes et minisodes en français et en anglais! On offrira aussi des capsules audios pour les personnes qui apprennentle leader canadien pour la formation lingusique en enterprise le français et veulent se familiariser avec les particularités du francais laurentien / parlé au Canada! Johnson et Britta vous accueillent! Les Bons Mots est produit par ACA-Prolang, le leader canadien pour la formation linguistique en enterprise. Contactez-nous pour découvrir comment nous pouvons aider votre équipe à se développer.  Les Bons Mots is back! This season, we’ll be bringing you episodes and minisodes in French and in English, as well as audio capsules for French learners who want to train their ear with the French spoken in Canada and Quebec. Johnson and Britta welcome you!  Les Bons Mots is produced by ACA-Prolang, Canada’s largest language training company. Contact us to see how we can help your team grow.  

Are you learning French in a Canadian context? Do you work with clients or colleagues in Quebec? In this episode, Roxane and Britta  talk about how the French language is used in Quebec, including topics like politeness and formality, what to expect at a 5 à 7, and some unique Quebec vocabulary. Join us, and practice your French listening skills, because this episode is in French! This week, the guest host is Roxane St-Hilaire.  Roxane is pedagogical advisor at ACA, and she is also a French as a second language instructor. Roxane. She is finishing her masters degree in second language didactics and she’s interested in the use of technology in class, the development of intercultural competence and intergenerational relationships. In this episode, Britta and Roxane discuss an expression in French, se faire passer un sapin. Do you know what it means and how to use it? Listen to find out!  Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Are you learning a language? It is a rewarding project, and one that takes time and effort. How do you stay motivated through the learning process? In this episode, our guest Corinna Mitchell-Beaudin shares her own language learning journey, and offers great advice about how to stay focused and motivated through all parts of the language learning process.  Corinna Mitchell-Beaudin is an Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer at Farm Credit Canada. In this position, leads the team accountable for overseeing the management of enterprise, credit, market and operational risks at FCC. She has held a number of executive positions at FCC. Corinna has a bachelor of administration degree from the University of Regina, and she is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant and a CFA Charterholder. Our expression this week is staying the course. Do you know what it means and how to use it? Listen to find out! Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Are you working on making your English pronunciation sound more natural? When you listen to people speaking English, does it seem like they are speaking too quickly? If you answered yes to either of these questions, this episode is for you. Learn about how words in spoken English are connected. In this episode, Britta and Clémence discuss how some sounds change, appear, or even disappear when people speak English. They also share practical tips on how to understand spoken English, and how to use connected speech to improve your English pronunciation.  This episode’s guest host is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA, and has a bachelor’s degree in English literature along with a master's degree in English studies, and a master's degree in journalism. She’s taught ESL in France and Quebec, and has a deep understanding of the difficulties of mastering pronunciation in a second language.   Our expression this week is to speak out of turn. Listen to find out what this expression means, and some of the situations where you can use it.  Do you want to read more about connected speech? Here are a few articles for further information:  Connected Speech (teachingenglish.org)  5 Features of Connected Speech (eslbase.com)  Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Why are you  learning another language? Is it for fun? For love? For professional reasons? There are a lot of reasons people choose to learn a language, and a lot of benefits to be gained from the experience. In this episode, our guest is Pierre-William Plante, a Solutions Specialist at Coveo. If you want practical advice about how to improve your language skills, and why it is worth the effort, this episode is for you!  Pierre-William talks about his experience learning English, primarily as an adult, and some of the expected (and unexpected) benefits that come from working in your second language. He also shares practical advice for how to improve your second language in formal and informal ways, and even offers some tips about making small talk in English.  Our expression this week is the icing on the cake. Do you know what it means and how to use it? Listen and find out, and hear what the equivalent expression is in French!  Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Are you looking for a new position? Are you going to be interviewed either fully or partially in English? This week Jenni and Britta talk about what kind of questions you can expect to hear in an English-language job interview, and how to answer them. They share advice about answering wildcard questions, which verb tenses to use, key vocabulary to highlight your skills, and how to prepare for success before the interview even starts. This episode is essential listening for job seekers!  This week’s guest host is Jenni Campbell. Jenni has a Human Ecology degree from the University of Manitoba and a language certificate from the University of Laval. She has been with ACA for ten years, and has extensive experience doing curriculum development.  She also does hiring and recruiting for ACA here in Quebec and across Canada. Our phrasal verb of the week is take on - do you know how to use this phrasal verb to talk about employment? Listen and find out!  Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Welcome back to season three of Les Bons Mots! Have you ever lived in a second language environment or been immersed in one? Do you increasingly use your second language at work? This experience is the focus of the first episode of season 3 of Les Bons Mots.  In this episode, we are excited to speak to David Thibodeau, who is a radio producer for CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada’s national broadcaster. He talks about what it has been like for him and his family to move from Gatineau, Quebec to Vancouver, British Columbia - from a French-speaking environment to an English-speaking one.  David talks about how his confidence in using English has increased, how he has improved his language skills, and shares some advice for anyone who is considering a move to a second-language environment, or looking to use their second language more than before.  Our phrasal verb of the week is pick up - do you know how to use this phrasal verb to talk about learning? Listen and find out!  Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Is it there, their or they’re? Why is the verb tear pronounced differently than the tears we cry? Do I have to pronounce the ‘b’ in doubt? English and French are full of words that sound the same, but have different meanings, words that are written the same, but have different pronunciations, and silent letters! In this week’s episode, Britta and Clémence help you to understand some of the homophones, heteronyms and silent letters that can be challenging for language learners.  This week’s guest host is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA, and has a bachelor’s degree in english literature along with a master's degree in English studies, and a master's degree in journalism. She’s taught ESL in France and Quebec, and has a deep understanding of the difficulties of mastering pronunciation in a second language.   In this episode:  Clémence recommends a podcast called Word Bomb, which is a deep exploration of a different English word in each episode. The words they choose are important and timely, and they go beyond the dictionary to contextual them.  Britta recommends the highly entertaining book about the English language, The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way, by Bill Bryson. If you are curious about how English became the language it is today, a lot of the answers may be found in the history of the language, and this book is anything but dry. 

Did you know that the preferred term for policeman is police officer? A postman is now a mail carrier, and a stewardess is a flight attendant. If a fireman is now a firefighter, is a fisherman a fisherfighter? Join Britta and Johnson in the second episode on our series on the evolution of English. They discuss the naming of professions through the ages, and how the names for different jobs are evolving as the workforce changes and becomes more inclusive. This week, our guest host is Johnson Bresnick. Johnson is the Director of Learning & Development at ACA, and has worked at ACA since 2011. He has also taught ESL and had extensive experience in curriculum development. He has a  background in Linguistics and is researching acquisition of grammar in second language learners. In this episode:  Comedy is a great way to engage with the language you are learning, and this week, Johnson recommends the Baroness von Sketch show. It features four amazing women and comedy which approaches awkward, everyday situations with humour. Here’s a link to one of their sketches so you can give it a try!  Britta recommends the History Chicks podcast, where two women discuss the lives of important women throughout history in an engaging that is anything but dry. They provide a nuanced view of their subjects, correct misconceptions, and do it an entertaining way.  

Did you know there are three ways to pronounce the -ed ending in English? Does thinking about syllable stress and word stress make you feel...stressed? This week, Britta and Clémence demystify some of the mysteries of English and French pronunciation, and help you to make yourself understood when speaking these languages. This episode is essential listening for language learners!  This week’s guest host is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA, and has a bachelor’s degree in english literature along with a master's degree in English studies, and a master's degree in journalism. She’s taught ESL in France and Quebec, and has a deep understanding of the difficulties of mastering pronunciation in a second language.   In this week’s episode:  Clémence suggests searching out video of Steve Ballmer’s “Developers!” chant for a fun way to remember the syllable stress on that word! Also, Season 10, episode 13 of Friends features Joey "learning" to speak French, with comic results. For another fun example of syllable and word stress, check out the scene from My Fair Lady, where Eliza Dolittle masters the phrase, “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.”  This week, Clémence recommends The History of Swear Words, though only for adult listeners! It’s an interesting and well-researched program about the history of swear words in English.  Britta recommends two great language resources for people learning French in Canada. The Banque de dépannage linguistique and the Grand dictionnaire terminologique provide excellent definitions, explanations, and usage examples focused on how French is used in Quebec. 

Sharent, deepfake, slow-walk… are any of these words new to you?  One of the most enjoyable parts of learning a language is learning new vocabulary we can use in our daily lives, at work and at home. Every year, more new words are added to English language dictionaries as well! Join Britta and Johnson as they discuss these new words, which reflect world events, social movements, and what people are saying on social media or in the business world.  This week, our guest host is Johnson Bresnick. Johnson is the Director of Learning & Development at ACA, and has worked at ACA since 2011. He has also taught ESL and had extensive experience in curriculum development. He has a  background in Linguistics and is researching acquisition of grammar in second language learners. In this episode:  We discuss new words added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The BBC has an article on some of the additions to the OED as well.  Some of the new additions the the Merriam Webster Dictionary can be found here. Reader’s Digest magazine also covered some of the funnier words of the year.  When we talk about deepfakes, Johnson mentions a deepfake produced by Channel 4 in the UK to raise awareness of this phenomenon, and starring… the Queen?  Johnson recommends the Collins Cobuild Dictionary, a great dictionary for English language learners.  Britta recommends exploring social media in the language you are learning so that you can stay up to day with new words in the language you are learning. 

Whenever we learn something new like a language, making mistakes is part of the process. What is the difference between a mistake and an error in language learning? How do language teachers help learners correct their mistakes? Why don’t the people around us correct us when we make a mistake? Join Britta and Kelsey as they discuss these questions, and offer advice and suggestions to help us make the most out of our mistakes. Language teachers may also be interested to learn more about the effectiveness of different types of feedback in the language classroom.  This week, our guest host is Kelsey Ulrich-Verslycken.  Kelsey fell in love with teaching English in 2013 when she moved to South Korea to teach English as a Foreign Language. Since then, she has worked as a teacher, a curriculum developer, an editor for EFL textbooks, and an assistant professor of English at a university in Seoul, completed her MA in Applied Linguistics, and is currently working with ACA and pursuing her PhD in Applied Language and Discourse Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. In our weekly recommendations,  Kelsey recommends forgiving yourself for making mistakes in the language you are learning. Try not to listen to your inner critic.  Britta recommends setting your digital assistant to communicate in the language you are learning. This will help you check your comprehensibility and pronunciation. Hola Siri! Bonjour Alexa! Come check out our website, at lesbonsmots.ca. You can see our language learning videos, and read our blog posts on news, culture and language learning. We will also have our episode transcript available there. We’d love to hear from you at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca.  Here is some of the research we used in preparing the episode, if you want to read more about the research behind error correction:  Li, Shaofeng. (2010). The Effectiveness of Corrective Feedback in SLA: A Meta‐Analysis. Language Learning. 60. 309 - 365.  Lyster, R. and Saito, K. (2010) Interactional feedback as instructional input: A synthesis of classroom SLA research.  Language, Interaction and Acquisition, 1(2),  276 - 297 Mai, Zhou. (2009). Cooperative Principle in Oral English Teaching. International Education Studies. 2. Nassaji, H. Anniversary article Interactional feedback in second language teaching and learning: A synthesis and analysis of current research. Language Teaching Research 20(4) Sheen, Y. (2006). Exploring the relationship between characteristics of recasts and learner uptake. Language Teaching Research 10, 361–392.