Best French Series Streaming in 2021

Arsène Lupin

Currently streaming on Netflix, Arsène Lupin “Gentleman cambrioleur” is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc

Played by French actor Omar Sy in the role of Assane Diop – he sets out to avenge his father for an injustice inflicted by a wealthy family.

Think of him as the anti-Sherlock Holmes, in that he made it his mission to manifest crimes rather than solve them.

A must watch show!!!

The New Normal with COVID-19

Covid’19 Pandemic has inflicted a sudden and frightening havoc within the human mankind and behavior. This is global and requires a coordinated support from each, leaving behind the notion of developed and under-developed nations.

Talk of the surroundings, Lifestyle, Business, industry everything has been victims in equal measure. Loss of jobs, transportation disruption, poultry and dairy wastage had to suffer heavy losses., for instance.

Ushering in the new normal, the pandemic has surely been different but not something new. It has urged people all over, to push their boundaries and as a result, step out of their comfort zones for a much needed change.

Six months of lockdown and still continuing, travel restrictions, sanitisation, wearing of masks have been the saviors. We have been exhausted but Covid-19 is here to stay.

Lets have a brief look at some of the aspects of our new lives.

1. Hygiene

At times it was difficult to educate the population of basic hygiene and sanitisation but now the demands for the same has increased. Special vigilance is being carried out by social workers, even the galis and the mohallas. Consciousness and alert for health has reached to a new rate.

2. Technology

Setting new standards, the pandemic has fueled the use of technology in each sector from business to education to agriculture and every other phase. Digitization that was unknown to 90% of the population has now been set on everyone’s palms.

3. Health

Fresh home cooked, health routines, exercises and spending time with family has been of prime concerns. It has changed the time sphere well-efficiently.

4. Government Inertia

As a result, Quick decision making and action implementation by our Government has to be appreciated. Quick lockdown, much needed healthcare upgrade are some of the new ways of life gifted by the pandemic.

5. Social obligations

One of the most satisfying of the lot has to be the lavish spending on the marriage and several other social occasions. These were merely to exaggerate one’s status and for obligations. No other law could have made this possible, but fortunately a virus was all successful and in the shortest span of time.

Covid has surely bought a new normal but it is not something that is difficult and can’t be inculcated in our lives. Teaching us technology, discipline, healthy habits and care for others in life. “Washing hands well”, “Eating healthy, fresh, home-cooked” are not something new to us but we lost them somewhere on our way towards light and prosperity. The global spread has for sure, taught us new life and work, without glitches and pitfalls.

IT: Flourishing Affair of the French Economy

Maintaining a flourishing relation and dominant worldwide is the quite popular, French Economy. As a result the Chemical industry, Fashion industry, Tourism industry, Technology hub are the contended relatives of this diversified economy. With dominance of mixed economy, it follows norms of freedom with economic planning and government regulations.

IT Market is one of the developed industries of the French economy. For instance, France with Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, Belgium, Spain has broadened the IT horizon in telecommunications, pharma, banking and insurance. With the new digital era, innovation clusters are in the process for smart cities as a result, paving a smooth path for the IT Hub.

Starting a new IT or a professional for an existing, hardwork and skills is the demand of each and every. Because new technologies has demanded skilled IT labors all across Europe. Internet and good Business ethics has been a prime concern to companies.

Lets dive into the essentials and let you folks, know of the technicalities for the same.

1. Skills

Java, C#, SAP, Oracle, Data, Analytics, AI, PHP, Linux , Perl and the list exists without a ‘full stop’. In the same vein, the hottest skills are in for the system analysts, data analysts, financial analysts, programmers and developers. Subsequently, soft skills also have an important assessment.

2. Work Culture

The work culture is well in accordance with that of the countries, but every is unique in its own. Firstly, Businesses and Industries operating in France are known for their organisational skills and managerial mannerism. They tend to follow rules and administrative polices without fail. Secondly, the business hierarchy is quite strong. Bosses tend to be dominant in their behavior.

3. Job Applications

Like all the member countries of the EU, the application process requires a CV and a Cover letter. It is vital to tailor your skills and work experience, as an impressive piece for the recruiter. For instance, the IT opportunities are hosted online and needs an online application form along with other documents.

4. Living in France

Interestingly, residents of the European Union have freedom from restrictions to work and live in France and are exempted from work permit rules. Because of a major tourist destination,France has seen a considerable rise in the living standards. Normal prices range from 500 euros to about 2000 euros for a month, for instance and these are purely on location, quality and facilities. IT specialists will be in Paris, which is quite an expensive affair. Above all, Good things always has a price.

France has about 100 IT companies and 31 of the largest in the world, and collectively they generate a revenue of about $7.4 billion for the nation.

From one of the largest consulting firm ‘Capegemini’ to a major leader in cybersecurity ‘ATOS’, from ERP Integration giant ‘Sopra Steria’ to software solution provider ‘GFI Informatique’, from PLM expert ‘Dassault Systems’ to entrepreneur ‘Cegid Group, from healthcare leader ‘Cegedim’ to financial market analysts ‘Murex’ – brilliantly experimenting with technology for their valuable gains and developments.

France is on the path of technological innovation and advanced leadership, for long live success and power.

A Virtual Taste of French Cuisine – Bon Appetit!

French known for its finesse and grace – the French culture, the French population and the French Cuisine.

Speaking well of flavors and cooking, French Cuisine caters to your heart and soul, with extreme beauty and grace. Travel and expansions over the years, the French Cuisine has added the traditions from Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. To stabilize this heritage of the world of cuisine, UNESCO listed the ‘French Gastronomy’ to the prestigious list of the ‘World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage’.

As an art in France, the cuisine is also about Culture, Family and Socializing. Ranging from simple serves like cheese, ham and cheap drinks to exquisite meals of more than a dozen to beverage bottles that speak variety and royalty.

Speaking of which France and its varied regions serve treats, to your mouth and to your souls. Top quality sea food from the rich coastline, fresh and ripe fruits from the Loire valley, the special sparkling beverage drinks, Cheese from Rhone-Alpes and many to get your mouth watering for the taste.

Followed quite religiously, a simple yet ruled structure dominates the French Cuisine:

1. Breakfast

More as the French cuisine has it, ‘Le petit dejeuner’ is simple and light. French bread topped with honey, butter or jam along with cafe creme or coffee and hot chocolate for the kids. Weekend treats are real, with servings of croissants, chocolatine or pain aux raisins. Adding up to the heroic character – Savoury foods, the famous ‘petit dejeuner fermier’ where long slices of bread are topped with cheese, ham and served with fresh fruit juices, or a hot drink.

2. Lunch

Not much celebrated is a Lunch or ‘Le dejeuner’, and only Sunday Lunches are a celebration of family hood. Majority population pertains to be students or working, and resort to cafeterias, canteens for the same. Be it the constraint or pricing or timing, lunches are mostly a sandwich followed by a dessert, time and budget friendly.

3. Dinner

Ending the day, ‘Le diner’ or a dinner is a proper three course meal with appetizers or ‘entree’ , main course or ‘plat principal’ and a dessert or a, cheese course. For a taste transition, the dessert is even a yogurt and even, a fresh and sweet fruit.

Talk of French Cuisine, and Beverages, drinks ought to make their space. ‘Digestifs’ or stronger drinks decorate the post meal plan.

Keeping their traditions alive, French Cuisine tries hard to have the fast food rituals at a distance. Success has prevailed and gripping over this has been promising.

Passion for French skills and dining kept intact, it is one of the most beautifully preserved cuisine worldwide. The cuisine is all worth for taste, cooking and presentation.

5 Things I love about Paris

The city of love, lights and beauty! A visit to Paris is like a dream come true. It has an old world charm with all modern amenities. One visit will make you feel like you could settle there and live a beautiful comfortable life. Here are the five things I loved while I toured Paris.

  1. The Beauty of the City

    Paris is exquisite. The architecture and the monuments in the city are bewitching. You would enjoy strolling around in the Parisian gardens while appreciating the amazing weather and people around. The design of the city is very well planned and symmetric. The metro takes you everywhere quite literally. So you just need to map out where you want to go and you are there easily. Easy yet stunning!

  2. The Shopping Experience

    There is everything from luxury to malls to even street shopping. The malls are artistically designed and look like royal buildings. If you like to shop and eat high end, Galleries Lafayette is your best bet. Forum de Halles is more for the casual shoppers however it has a vast variety of shops ranging from stationery to groceries to fashion. Do check out the Avenue des Champs Elysees for an out of the world experience.

  3. The Cafes

    The cafes in Paris will sweep the wind beneath your wings. Most of them are outdoors with the most perfect view. You get served delectable French cuisine of almost all genres. Try out the Croque Madame sandwich and a can of orange juice for breakfast and your day is sorted like the French. 

  4. The Lifestyle

    Parisians have an easy and fulfilling lifestyle. They enjoy their festivals and their weekends with full vigor. The city is bustling with activity on the weekends and you can see people visiting the tourist spots, museums and malls. Even the cafes are jostling with energy and action. Their penchant for spending quality time with friends and family is admirable. 

  5. The Wine

Wine is as cheap as water or even less expensive. When you walk around the city all you will see is people sitting with family or friends with their glasses of Rose and admiring the view and company. Hit the local supermarket for an inexpensive version or the malls for the luxurious high end ones.   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparajitatiwari/

Paris has been one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life and the city stays close to my heart and at the top of my revisit list always. 

What are you waiting for? Join Speak World to start learning French the smart way, and become a true global citizen!

Which languages are easiest — and most difficult – for native English speakers to learn?

by John Malathronas, CNN 

With so much time on our hands during lockdown, many of us have entertained the idea of expanding our horizons.

Learning a foreign language is an obvious option.

It’s one that I would personally endorse: My individual circumstances were such that, by the age of 12, I could speak German, Greek and English, so languages became my passion and my hobby.

My advice is that you should learn a language because you’re also interested in the culture and the country.

If you like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, learn Russian. If you’re going to live in Bangkok, learn Thai. If your partner is Mexican, learn Spanish.

And remember: Although you can get by as a tourist in, possibly, weeks, mastering a language is a long-term commitment taking years, not months.

Language and diplomacy

After World War II, the United States expanded its influence around the world by training its embassy staff in the local languages of the countries they were in.

Thankfully for language learners today, the US Foreign Service Institute’s language books and tapes can be found online.

These are the best free courses available, though you can still detect a touch of the Cold War in the syllabus (“Where is the state clothing shop?”).

Best of all, the FSI has done us a great service by classifying languages in degrees of difficulty for English speakers.

Here are a few examples, ranked in order of the number of hours it takes the average learner to master them from lowest to highest:

Easiest (about 600 hours of study)

After just 600 hours of study, you’ll have no trouble fitting in on the streets of Paris.
PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/AFP via Getty Images

Along with Dutch and Norwegian, the popular Latin languages — Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese — require about 600 hours of study to achieve “general professional proficiency” in speaking and reading.

Of these, Spanish and Italian are the easiest for native English speakers to learn, followed by Portuguese and finally French.

They share many words with English, but it’s that common vocabulary that creates “false friends” — words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly as meanings have drifted with time. For instance, in Spanish an “embarazada” woman is pregnant, while a French “préservatif” is not something you add to your food, but a condom.

While French and Italian are pretty standardized, you must choose whether to learn Latin American Spanish or “castellano,” which is spoken in Spain; they differ as much as US English and British English.

The choice is even more striking with Portuguese; long ago I opted for Brazilian and to this day I still can’t properly understand speakers from Portugal.

German (750 hours)

Interested in reading Karl May’s “Wild West” series in its original language? You’ll need to spend 750 hours mastering German first.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

One of my German teachers used to joke that it takes you a year to say, “I’m traveling on the bus,” but once you’re on that bus, it’s plain sailing.

With nouns that are masculine, feminine and neutral, verbs that conjugate heavily and an extremely strict syntax, German may appear insurmountable to start with.

On the other hand, pronunciation and spelling is straightforward and once you learn the — admittedly many — rules, that’s it.

You’ll also realize why Germans never interrupt you during a conversation: they’re waiting to hear the verb at the end to figure out what you were talking about.

Malay and Swahili (900 hours)

It’s not surprising that the two exotic languages that are simplest to learn employ the Latin alphabet.

Malay is the lingua franca of several Southeast Asia countries and has been simplified by its use as a second language by non-native speakers.

For example, the Malay plural is formed by repeating a word twice — buku means book and buku-buku means books.

Similarly, Swahili evolved as the trading language in East Africa and is described as having an Arab vocabulary upon an African grammar.

It’s given us the safari, all the characters in “The Lion King” (Simba, Timon, Pumba) and the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa.

Hungarian (1,100 hours)

If you like a challenge, try Hungarian. It’s like no other European language you’ve heard, except maybe Basque.

I remember a conversation I had once with a friend who insisted that “nouns are declined but verbs are conjugated”; except in Hungarian you both decline and conjugate nouns, sometimes together.

You denote possession (my garden, your garden, his garden and so on) by putting verb endings to the noun garden.

Think of the Shakespearean “thou takest” and “he taketh”. In that case “your garden” would be “gardenest” and “his garden” would be “gardeneth.”

You may well ask what happens to double possessives (my mother’s garden’s flowers) or the difference between my parent’s garden’s flowers (plural, singular, plural) and my parent’s gardens’ flowers (singular plural plural) — but that’s where I gave up.

Greek (1,100 hours)

Your next trip to Greece will be so much more meaningful if you take the time to study a bit of Greek.
Courtesy Greek National Tourism Organisation

Modern Greek is maybe the easiest language to learn that uses a different alphabet.

There’s a tongue-in-cheek book titled “Learn Greek in 25 years,” but you’ll be surprised at how straightforward it is to learn the alphabet: those alpha males, beta releases and gamma rays have seen to that.

Because, yes, Greek is also a language that’s contributed numerous words to English.

Indeed, in 1957 Xenophon Zolotas, the then governor of the Bank of Greece, gave two speeches to the IMF that contained just Greek loanwords apart from the inevitable basic English. (Example: “Our policies should be based more on economic and less on political criteria.”)

Russian (1,100 hours)

The big advantage of learning Russian is that, once you’re proficient, you can understand other Slav languages like Czech, Polish or Bulgarian.

It’s also spoken and understood in all former regions of the Soviet Union from Armenia to Kyrgyzstan.

Hidden behind a Cyrillic veil of mystery, it’s one of the harder languages to master, so much so that even many Russians speak it incorrectly.

But any literature, music and ballet buff or aspiring astronaut — Russian is a mandatory subject at NASA — should study a language with over 500,000 words (some up to 38 characters long), where the letter “e” sounds as e or o and nouns are “alive” or “dead.”

source: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/amp/learn-a-foreign-language-wellness/index.html

Freedom to learn

What is life without expression? And the best form of expression is language. With the world becoming a smaller place with each passing day, knowing one language is not enough. In order to travel more freely, know more cultures and fully be able to understand the vibe of each place, knowing the native language holds great important.

Love To Learn
Love To Learn

Speak World gives you the freedom to learn more than 10 languages and helps you communicate across cultures. Learning a new language could be your passion, a curriculum vitae build up, a travelling tool or just simply because you want to move to another country. Mastering a new language not only helps you pick up the country’s authenticity straight from the roots but also empowers you to grasp even more while there.

Most European countries and now even the United States emphasizes on the great value that knowing a new language holds. Speak World has world-class techniques and methods that will correctly guide you in the right direction. Their simplification of the art of learning a language with tools of storytelling and seminars is the best start for any beginner. Once you pick the language of choice, the course will chart your path from written language, verbal expression, pronunciation and fluency. 

The languages that Speak World offers courses in are- English, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Italian. You can also opt for cultural exchange programs, visa assistance, international exam preparation and translation services.

What are you waiting for? Join Speak World to start learning French the smart way, and become a true global citizen!

Why Learn French ?

Est-ce que tu parles français?

French – The Language of Romance, is one of the most beautiful languages in the world. With its Latin origin, French language is one of the key and most important international language.

Though, in today’s modern era of technology and advancements, English has evolved as the leader of languages but French still continues to dominate the market of speech and

communication. With increasing new world horizons and flourishing relations among several nations, not only in France, French is now spoken in several European countries widely throughout Africa, and also in several dependencies. It is also the unofficial second language of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and many other nations.

French Language has its wide acceptance and its the most accepted and studied Foreign Language.

Boosting your brain piwer for the better, the language also helps in providing an individual with several economic potentials across all spheres of International Human Life.

Besides some cliche reasons like French culture, French cuisine, French traditions, arts, music for learning French;

For each and every growing individual, Career growth in French is the first and foremost reason of studying this Internationally recognised language.

With growing opportunities and excitement in travel, French paves the path well for backpackers and globetrotters, too.

Even according to some trusted statistics, France is the most visited International Tourist Destination.

With several other inspiring reasons, one more inspiration is French Education. With some of the most renowned universities and their collaborations with Indian Universities, France is the hub of education. The degrees are accepted worldwide and even, companies seek you for such exemplary benefits.

In today’s fast paced world, though learning a new language is a tedious task but every pain has its gain. French Language is difficult but the seeds sown by this difficulty has the most sweetest fruits ever.

It may sound ordinary but the language is pleasing to the ear, beautifully beautiful, romantic, poetic, mellifluous, and a very musical language.

With boosting your IQ to brain power enhancement, bilingualism has its miracles and magic. So, instead of being a mere spectator, learn and polish your French expertise. The language has all the skills and strength to take you long way.

What are you waiting for? Join Speak World to start learning French the smart way, and become a true global citizen!

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Chart for French Levels to TEF Score/CLB’s

Intervalles des scores correspondant aux principaux Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) et niveaux du Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECR) pour chaque épreuve du Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada (TEF Canada).

With love from Speak World

Astuces pour réussir le TEF

Inspirez-vous ! L’inspiration est une denrée très personnelle : certains sujets, certaines formes de textes et certains moments de la journée pourront s’avérer bien plus bénéfiques en matière de créativité que d’autres. (Permettez-moi d’illustrer ce propos avec un exemple personnel : je suis plus du matin tôt ou du soir. Les sujets comme les réseaux sociaux et le Web design m’inspirent davantage que d’autres de par la nature de mon activité de community manager. Encore une fois, tout dépend de vos habitudes et de vos centres d’intérêts.)

La créativité et l’originalité doit être de mise, c’est a dire que vous devriez avoir une qualité de communication et de conviction supérieure.

Argumentez ! Discuter avec des tiers est un excellent moyen de faire travailler votre matière grise et de mieux construire votre argumentation. Echangez vos idées avec vos amis et collègues : vous en tirerez de précieuses conclusions quant à vos forces et faiblesse. Ces conclusions vous aideront par la suite à mieux organiser votre réflexion pour structurer vos textes. Notez que vous n’avez pas nécessairement besoin de confronter vos opinions : vous pouvez aussi bien les unir et « Brainstormer » sur un sujet spécifique.

Prenez des notes ! Votre plus précieux allié dans votre quête pour trouver l’inspiration et votre bloc-notes. Souvent, les idées nous viennent à des moments incongrus ou du moins inattendus, en marchant, en mangeant, voire en rêvant pour ne citer que les situations qui ne font pas rougir. Dès qu’une idée intéressante vous traverse l’esprit, ne la laissez pas s’envoler et immortalisez-la sur papier. Bien entendu, une partie seulement de vos notes vous sera à terme réellement utile, mais vous serez bien content de les avoir sous la main au moment de votre panne d’inspiration.

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