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Speaking French like Jodie Foster

The American actress, Jodie Foster, is in a new French movie, acting in French (link below). She attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles as a teenager and speaks perfect French. 


 

I, myself, can attest to that, having heard her inquire about guidebooks in W.H. Smith Paris, where I worked several summers when I was a student many moons ago. She stood out from most American customers, who only spoke in English with the staff, but also wanted to pay in dollars!

 

Why am I talking about Jodie Foster, you might wonder, beyond the fact that she speaks my mother tongue so well? 

 

Well, if she had been French and acting in an American movie, no one would have mentioned it. When it comes to English, it is expected that anyone not born in an English-speaking country will speak it. Many European actors (Marion Cotillard, Alexander Skarsgard, Diane Kruger, Javier Bardem, etc.) feature in English-speaking movies and it's never talked about.

 

What is rarely acknowledged about languages, is how so many of us do our jobs, using a language that is not our mother tongue. I have run an independent publishing company, held several jobs with high-profile organisations, and I have been teaching other languages than my own, using English. 

 

When thinking of languages, it's easy enough to picture holidays and leisure or conversations with your relatives. But for a great many of us across the globe, languages are work tools. So if you'd like to know more about how that works, get in touch!

 

 

 
 
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