It took two hundred years to standardize French spelling before it could be taught in schools using a method called la dictée (dictation), in which a student writes out the words he or she hears. As a matter of fact, this is the exact same principle behind Yabla's Scribe game!

Patricia explains the importance of dictation exercises for learning French. Now an essential teaching tool in the classroom, dictation was originally a pastime for French nobility. The author Prosper Mérimée created a dictation exercise for Empress Eugénie that stumped even the brightest intellectuals. Think you can beat them? Try it yourself here.

Patricia explains the multiple benefits of dictation exercises. Having fallen out of favor in recent years, dictation is making a comeback after the French Ministry of Education realized that language skills were deteriorating. Why not take full advantage of Yabla's Scribe game to improve those skills?

Patricia delves into the festival of la Chandeleur, or Candlemas, which takes place on the second of February. In France, la Chandeleur is traditionally celebrated by eating crêpes.

Patricia continues her series on the feast of Candlemas, which in France is centered around the crêpe. Due to its round shape and golden color, the crêpe was a symbol of the sun in pagan times.

Patricia shares her family recipe for crêpes. All you'll need is some flour, eggs, milk, orange blossom, salt, and butter to make this classic French staple. Happy cooking!

The first of April is the day of hoaxes, pranks, and jokes. In France, the tradition is to hang paper fish on people's backs and shout, "Poisson d'avril!" (April Fish!).

Patricia explores the origin of the poisson d'avril (April Fools') tradition. There are numerous theories about this, some of them contradictory.

Using her favorite fruits as examples, Patricia demonstrates some different ways of saying you "like" or "love" something in French.

Patricia will teach you how to say that you don't like something in tactful ways and in more direct ways. There are many interesting expressions to convey dislike, even disgust, but you might want to save some of them for private conversations.

Enjoy the classic tale Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), as told by Patricia.

The original version of Le Petit Chaperon rouge, written by Charles Perrault, has a more gruesome ending than the one you might be familiar with. Patricia concludes the tale in this video.

Patricia introduces the famous French animated series Il était une fois (Once Upon a Time), which follows a time-traveling family through the high points of human civilization and into the future. We have several episodes available on Yabla, which you can find here, and more coming soon!

Patricia recites a famous poem by Jacques Prévert called "Barbara." The poem is set in Brest, a town that was devastated by German bombs in the Second World War.

Patricia explains the basic principles of French numbers and their usage, and shares a few grammatical points.