Six étudiants de différents pays se rencontrent. Qu’ont-ils en commun ? Ils sont tous venus passer un semestre dans une université américaine. Pendant ce séjour, ils vont améliorer leur niveau d’anglais, découvrir un peu plus la culture américaine et approfondir leurs connaissances dans leur domaine d’étude. Cette série de conversations en anglais est consacrée à ces six étudiants et à leur quotidien pendant ces quelques mois aux États-Unis. Elle a été conçue pour les apprenants ayant un niveau d’anglais intermédiaire ou avancé.
Cliquez sur le lien audio et écoutez la conversation tout en la lisant ci-dessous. Les mots importants sont expliqués à la fin, en anglais, de façon à vous immerger totalement dans la langue. Ils sont suivis d’une brève traduction ou explication en français. Et si vous voulez suivre la leçon tout en anglais, de l’introduction à la conclusion, cliquez ici.
Dans la conversation d’aujourd’hui, un étudiant (Peter) raconte comment Noël se passe dans sa famille.
Peter: Lee, what are your plans for the winter break?
Lee: Ajay and I were invited to Alan’s house for the break. How about you? You’re going to volunteer at a school, right?
Peter: That’s right. But first I’m going to go home and spend Christmas with my family. It’s an important holiday for my family. We have lots of Christmas traditions.
Lee: Interesting. Like what?
Peter: Well, one of our traditions is also a tradition for some families in the U.S. — the Advent calendar.
Lee: What’s that?
Peter: It’s like a large card, with a picture on it. There’s also a small opening with a door for each day in December, up until Christmas. And each day, you open one of the doors. The best part is that behind the door is a piece of chocolate.
Lee: It’s a calendar with chocolate? That’s the best kind of calendar.
Peter: Some of them only have pictures, but my family gets the ones with chocolate. Another tradition is the Christmas market. In the local squares, there’s a market that sells food, drinks and local crafts.
Lee: That sounds great. I think there are some places in the U.S. that have Christmas markets too.
Peter: One different tradition is that we open presents on Christmas Eve. In the U.S., people usually open presents on Christmas.
Un peu de vocabulaire
A winter break is a period of vacation between semesters of college or other schools that includes the winter holidays, such as New Year’s Day. (Des vacances d’hiver)
To volunteer means to offer to do something without being paid to do it or without being asked. (Faire du bénévolat ou du volontariat)
Christmas (also Christmas Day) is a holiday of Christian origin that is recognized by many people in the United States, as well as in other parts of the world. It is celebrated on December 25. Some traditions of Christmas include decorating a Christmas tree, giving and receiving gifts, and spending time with family and friends. (Noël)
A tradition is a belief, custom or way of doing something that has been used by a particular group of people for a long time.
An Advent calendar is a large decorated card used to count down the days until Christmas. For each day in December, up until Christmas, there is a small opening with a door. Children open one door each day. Behind each door is a picture or piece of chocolate. (Un calendrier de l’Avent)
A Christmas market is a street market where food, drink and products are bought and sold. These markets sell traditional food and drink for Christmas as well as local crafts. They are set up and open during the Christmas season. (Un marché de Noël)
In the conversation, a square means an open area in a town or city, often in the shape of a square (a shape with four equal sides). (Dans ce dialogue, il s’agit d’un square ou d’un parc. Mais dans un autre contexte, square peut aussi vouloir dire carré.)
Local: belonging to or relating to a particular area or place.
Crafts are objects that are skillfully made by hand. (De l’artisanat)
Christmas Eve is December 24, the day before Christmas Day. (La veille de Noël)
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Le site American English* propose toute sortes de ressources gratuites pour les profs d’anglais et les apprenants. Sur la page Facebook Facebook d’American English*, retrouvez chaque jour du matériel d’apprentissage en anglais.
Les conversations en anglais sont produites par Heidi Howland, des programmes d’anglais du Bureau des affaires éducatives et culturelles du département d’État.
*en anglais
