C’est parti ! Coffee Break French Travel Diaries Episode 1

Welcome to this brand new series from Coffee Break French for intermediate learners. While it’s not so easy to travel right now, why not do some virtual travelling with us? Join Lara and her boyfriend Noah as they travel by train through the south of France. In this first episode they’re getting ready to depart from Montparnasse station in Paris, and we’ll hear about their plans for their trip.

Travel Diaries will be published in one season of ten episodes weekly from 4th June. If you’d like to access lesson notes and a video version which features pauses after each sentence to allow you to practise your pronunciation, check out the full course on the Coffee Break Academy.

At Coffee Break French we provide content for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners, along with regular mini lessons on social media. Visit coffeebreakfrench.com for all the information you need to build your confidence in French, whatever your level.

CBS To Go 2.01 | Para ti, ¿es importante viajar? – Is travelling important to you?

In this episode of Coffee Break Spanish To Go, Marina asks the question, Para ti, ¿es importante viajar? (informal) or Para usted, ¿es importante viajar? (formal). You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you answer this question in Spanish.

In the first part of the video, watch the interviews without subtitles and try to understand. In the second part of the video, we’ve provided subtitles in Spanish at the top of the screen. You can choose to turn on subtitles in English using the Subtitles / CC button.

In this second series of Coffee Break Spanish To Go, Marina is in the city of Salamanca in Spain, and in each episode she’ll ask passers-by one question. Of course, that one question will result in many answers, and it’s through these answers that you can practise your Spanish and build your vocabulary.

Coffee Break Spanish To Go will be published every two weeks here on YouTube, and each Season will be filmed in a different part of the Spanish-speaking world.

If you’d prefer not to wait for all 10 lessons of Season 2 to be published, you can access downloadable versions of the videos along with audio versions and lesson notes / transcripts in the Coffee Break Academy.

Coffee Break Spanish To Go is based on the popular podcast series and online course Coffee Break Spanish. For access to the free podcasts, please click here.

To purchase our full online courses on the Coffee Break Academy, click here.

Meet the team: Anabel

Hello! My name is Anabel and I am a Spanish Curriculum Developer for Radio Lingua. I have been part of the team since 2019 and I have enjoyed every minute so far!

What is your role in Coffee Break?

My role involves a variety of tasks related to Coffee Break Spanish, such as creating content for the podcasts, providing feedback in the CBS Masterclass or filming for the CBTV Club.

What experience have you had speaking and learning other languages?

My first experience was learning English in primary school. I wasn’t an excellent student but I had to do it because it was part of the curriculum. In high school I started learning French due to the curriculum again, and although my English was better, I wasn’t able to learn one single word in French. It was a tragedy. However, one day everything made sense and all those hours I spent trying to learn and comprehend grammar were worth the effort. I then decided to learn Latin and Greek. These were followed by Chinese and more French, languages I am still learning.

What are your favourite memories of working with Coffee Break?

One of my favourite memories is the first episode I recorded with Mark. It was my first time in a studio and I was really nervous. Luckily we were talking about two of my favourite topics -Spanish and Salamanca-, so I easily forgot we were recording.

Where would your ideal coffee break be and with whom?

If it were possible, my ideal coffee break would be spent with my grandfather in our finca in Salamanca, just taking a break after feeding the animals.

What’s your best language learning tip?

As you could see, I wasn’t good at languages but I didn’t give up. Patience and practise are essential in life when learning anything. Take advantage of any chance to practise and of course, do not give up. Never.

Quick-fire round

• Favourite language: Spanish! However I love Mandarin, I enjoy my time learning the Chinese characters, it reminds me of my drawing classes!
• Favourite word/phrase in the language: 跑 or any character that has 包. I have lots of fun writing this kind of Chinese character.
• Favourite TV series: Modern family.
• Favourite band: Paramore and City of the Sun.
• Favourite destination: Home with family.

Do you have a message for the Coffee Break Community?

Learning a language may be one of the most frustrating experiences, but it’s also one of the most rewarding ones. And it is going to take time (years, in fact), but every single minute you spend learning will be worth it when you have your first conversation in that language. Keep practising and keep learning!