CBF Masterclass Season 1 - Class of July 2020

Become a master of the French language

Course outline

The full curriculum of the course is listed below. The Masterclass is organised in monthly modules, and in each module you'll receive five audio lessons with accompanying notes and background reading. In addition, each month you'll take part in an activity to practise the language you've learned, and we'll send you a checklist and a review video to help you consolidate the language before you take the monthly test. Read on to find out more about what language is featured in each module.

Month 1: July 2020 - Learn about some of the trickiest verbs in the French language. Do you know the difference between savoir and connaître? What about amener and emmener? And can you use faire in all its senses and situations, including the tricky faire faire construction?

Month 2: August 2020 - How is your relationship with pronouns? Can you comfortably use direct and indirect object pronouns? Do you know when to use y and en? Do you despair with disjunctives? This module will help you build your confidence with French pronouns.

Month 3: September 2020 - Sometimes words in French look like words in English – and that’s when you need to be more careful! Words don’t always mean what they look like they mean. In this module on “false friends” you’ll encounter a series of words and expressions which often trick learners, and you’ll learn exactly what they mean, and how to say what you think they mean!

Month 4: October 2020 - Get on top of five of the most common tenses in French and know exactly when to use which one, how to conjugate regular and irregular verbs in each tense, and master the perfect, imperfect, future, conditional and pluperfect completely!

Month 5: November 2020 - In this module you'll be introduced to what learners often find to be one of the most tricky aspects of French: the subjunctive. You'll learn to recognise triggers, to form the subjunctive and use it in your own speaking and writing.

Month 6: December 2020 - The final module of our first season of the Coffee Break French Masterclass will help you to sound more French, using filler words, changing your questions and word order and lots more to help you sound more like a native speaker.

Your Instructor


The Coffee Break French Team
The Coffee Break French Team

The Coffee Break French team includes language teachers, native speakers and host learners, making your experience learning a language fun and enjoyable. You can be sure every course has been carefully written by experienced teachers to ensure you progress steadily through the lessons.


Class Outline


  Welcome
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  Pre-course review (Optional)
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  Live Launch Event: Wednesday 1st July, 8pm UK time
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  Module 1 - Questions
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  Module 1 - Activity
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  Module 2 - Questions
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  Module 2 - Activity
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  Module 2 - Review
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  Module 2 - Test
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  Module 3 - Questions
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  Module 3 - Activity
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  Module 3 - Review
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  Module 3 - Test
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  Module 4 - Questions
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  Module 4 - Activity
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  Module 4 - Review
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  Module 4 - Test
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  Module 5 - Questions
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  Module 5 - Activity
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  Module 5 - Review
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  Module 5 - Test
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  Module 6 - Questions
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  Module 6 - Activity
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  Module 6 - Review
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  Module 6 - Test
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  Course Completion
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  End of Masterclass Exam
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the Masterclass start?
We're opening up the Masterclass for access in June 2020, and the course begins on 1st July 2020, continuing until 31 December 2020. Of course, we understand that you may have commitments which mean that you may not be able to take each lesson on the day it's released. However, once they're released, the lessons will be available to you for as long as you need them. Please note that registration will close around 30 June and you will not be able to sign up again until the next time we open the course for registration.
Who is the Masterclass for?
We’ve developed the Masterclass specifically for learners who are at an intermediate level. If you’ve already completed Seasons 1 and 2 of Coffee Break French, then it will be the perfect way to develop your range of expression and build on what you’ve previously learned. The materials covered in each lesson will also be perfect if you’re currently working on Season 3. If you’ve already completed Season 4 it's possible that you will still find the Masterclass materials useful, but you should be aware that some students of Season 4 have found that the Masterclass materials may be a bit too easy.
How do I access the Masterclass?
The Masterclass is a bit different from our other courses because it is more like a 'coaching course', running for 6 months. You can access the audio lessons, the text documents and the video reviews for each module on the Coffee Break Academy. You can also download the materials to your own device or use a third party app such as Documents to organise and store the media files. Please note that there will not be a podcast feed for audio or video elements of the Masterclass.
Do I get access to all the materials at once?
No. The materials are "dripped out" over the course of the 6-month course. Lessons are published every few days, with five main lessons and additional activities, reviews, checklists and module tests over each month. Our experience is that this gradual release of the materials will help you keep on top of the course and avoid being overwhelmed.
How does the membership work?
There are two payment options for the Masterclass: either pay in six instalments over the six months of the course, or make a one-off payment at the start of the course. If you choose to go for the one-off payment we'll give you the equivalent of one month free. Regardless of how you pay, you'll be able to continue to access the audio files, text documents and video reviews in our Coffee Break Academy after your six months are ended. Please note that after March 2020 we will no longer be actively monitoring the comments and discussion areas in this course.
What happens after I pay?
That depends a bit on when you pay! During the registration period your first payment will be taken, and if you've decided to go for the monthly payment option, subsequent payments will be taken on the same day of the month for a further 5 months. As soon as you sign up you'll receive a confirmation email and this will include some further information about the course and a link to the Coffee Break Academy login page. We'll also send some further emails to help you prepare for the course starting on 1st July. On 23rd June we'll activate the Orientation Module for you in the Academy. The lessons will be made available on each publication day at the time you originally purchased the course. So, if you sign up at 2pm UK time, then the lessons will become available at 2pm on each publishing day.
Do I need to use Facebook for the Masterclass?
No. Previously we organised homework activities and discussions through a private Facebook group, but for the Class of July 2020 we are working entirely within the Coffee Break Academy. All homework activities and discussions will take place within the Coffee Break Academy, so you do not need to be a Facebook user. If you are a Facebook user, you're welcome to follow our main Coffee Break French Facebook page where we post regular content for learners, but this is not linked in any way to our Masterclass of July 2020.
Why does the signup button say "enrol" not "enroll"?
One of our most frequently asked questions! In British English "enrol" has one L, unlike in standard American English where it has two Ls! We're based in the UK, so we use British English on our site.

Testimonial - Ann

Ann is from Sydney, Australia and is a previous student of the Masterclass


"I have really enjoyed Masterclass so far. It has helped to stay focused on my study of the French language. Its format allows for different skills i.e. listening, reading and writing. I particularly value the video and checklist at the end of the module which is really useful for a quick recap of the main points without going through the entire module."

- Lesley Lamb, Masterclass Student

Testimonial - Stephen

Stephen from California enjoyed his experience learning with the Masterclass last year


"After completing CBF seasons 3 and 4 I decided to give the CBF Masterclass a try and have not regretted it. I find it amazingly enjoyable. The lessons are so well structured and presented and, in my opinion, would suit learners of French on any level from beginners to more advanced. The modules, being targeted on one certain aspect of language, allow one to concentrate and get to grips with the presented theme. At the same time there is excellent opportunity to glean a multitude of extra vocabulary and idioms from the spoken paragraphs. Here the fact that Mark and native French speakers present the paragraphs, read both at normal and also slower speed, gives the perfect opportunity for fine tuning one’s aural comprehension. These I find invaluable, also with respect to the fact that there is a progression in each module which utilises themes presented in earlier modules thus re-enforcing the learning experience. The forums and exercises I really do enjoy as they not only allow for consolidation but in addition the contributions from the other equally eager participants are most helpful and the fact that there are corrections, if we wish, is yet another bonus of enjoyment and learning."

- Aileen Murdoch-Larsen, Masterclass Student

Testimonial - Lorna

Lorna is from Scotland and is a previous student of the Masterclass


This course is not currently available.