French A1.8 Listening Practice: Countries And Origin
Listen to a A1 French dialogue about countries and origin, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
Podcast listening pages are in beta while chapter audio, transcripts, and discussion flows are still being completed.
Level
A1.8
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
16 segments
A short French listening chapter with transcript.
Unit 2: add origin to identity sentences with one useful movement verb chunk.
Read while you listen.
1. Teacher
Welcome to ChickyTutor. Today, we are learning how to say where you are from in French using the phrase 'je viens de'. Let's listen to a quick conversation.
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2. Native Speaker 1
Bonjour ! Je viens de France.
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3. Native Speaker 2
Salut ! Tu viens de France ?
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4. Native Speaker 1
Oui. Et toi ?
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5. Native Speaker 2
Je viens des Pays-Bas.
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6. Native Speaker 1
Ah, les Pays-Bas ! Super !
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7. Teacher
Great. Now let's break down the key sentences. First, we heard: 'Je viens de France.' This means 'I come from France.' The phrase 'je viens de' means 'I come from'.
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8. Student
Does 'de' always stay as 'de' before a country?
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9. Teacher
Not always. We use 'de' for feminine countries like France. If the country is plural, it changes. Let's look at the next sentence.
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10. Teacher
Next, we heard: 'Tu viens de France ?' This means 'Do you come from France?' here, 'tu viens' means 'you come'.
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11. Student
Is the question structure really that simple in French?
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12. Teacher
Yes! In casual French, you just say the statement and raise your voice at the end to make it a question. 'Tu viens de France ?'
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13. Teacher
Finally, we heard our challenge sentence: 'Je viens des Pays-Bas.' This means 'I come from the Netherlands.'
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14. Student
Why did 'de' change to 'des' here?
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15. Teacher
Because 'Pays-Bas', the Netherlands, is plural. For plural countries, 'de' combines with 'les' to become 'des'. So, 'Je viens des Pays-Bas.'
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16. Teacher
And that is our lesson for today! Keep practicing 'je viens de' and 'je viens des' with different countries. Happy learning!
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