French in Action

Yesterday was the last day that our relatives from Calais were visiting. My niece, Manon, likes to run up to me, throw her arms around me and call me tonton Curtis, a sweet way of saying "uncle Curtis". It's very strange hearing that because I first heard the word tonton for «tonton Guillaume», the name for the favorite uncle in French in Action, a teaching course used to teach French to English speakers. The course is 52 half hour television episodes, accompanied by reading and writing materials. It's developed a bit of a cult following amongst those who learned French this way and they even had a 25 year reunion of the actors. Going from watching an educational TV series about French to hearing myself called tonton Curtis was a rather strange, but pleasant feeling. 

If you have a chance to learn French via this program (check your local university as many use it), I highly recommend it.