making french lessons

Making French lessons memorable

Stéphane Derône

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French is one of the easiest language to learn for English speakers

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DanishDutchFrenchItalian

NorwegianPortugueseRomanianSpanishSwedish

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French: 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours)

Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean:88 weeks (2200 hours)

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How long does it take an average English child to learn to spell well?

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12 years

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How long does it take an average French child to learn to spell well?

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3 years

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Learning to read and write English is exceptionally difficult because it has

185 spellings for 44 sounds.

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I take it you already knowOf tough and bough and cough and dough?

Others may stumble, but not you,On hiccough, thorough, lough and through?

Beware of heard, a dreadful wordThat looks like beard and sounds like bird,And dead: it's said like bed, not bead -For goodness sake don't call it deed!

Watch out for meat and great and threat(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).

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French as a foreign language is the second most frequently taught language

in the world after English.

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French is spoken as an official language in 43 countries around the world

and is the only language other than English spoken on all five continents.

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French, along with English, is the official language of

the United Nations, the International Olympic Committee,

the Council of Europe and the European Union.

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French is consistently the preferred foreign language required by the greater number

of job adverts.

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French is the second language on the Internet.

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France is the world’s most popular tourist destination (with 90 million tourists a year).

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relevant

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relevantYear 7

Describe yourself/family

Talk about your pets

Talk about the weather

What sports do you like?

Describe your home

Talk about your timetable

How do you travel?

Year 11

Give opinions about school

Describe uniform/school day

Talk about school issues

Talk about pocket money

Talk about work experience

What do you plan to study?

Discuss future jobs

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What motivated YOUto learn a language?

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From day ONE

authentic

Il s’appelle Jean-Michel Jarre.

Son prénom est Jean-Michel.Son nom de famille est Jarre.

Il est français.Il est de Lyon en France.Il est compositeur et musicien.Son album s’appelle Rendez-Vous.

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Teaching “Les animaux”

authentic

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On trouve un/une/des ____

dans le logo de ____.

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creative

Ce chat a l’air… Cette autruche a l’air… Cet alligator a l’air…

Cet éléphant a l’air… Cette panthère a l’air… Cette girafe a l’air…

charmant/câlin amusante/adorable agressif/affamé

énervé/énorme paresseuse/paisible gourmande/gentille

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anecdotal

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Se faire appeler Arthur


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Break a leg


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Making French lessons memorableMaking French lessons memorable

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“As long as there’s one person to believe it,

there's no story that can't be true.”

(Paul Auster)

anecdotal

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Bad translations

J'ai acheté des formateurs blancs.

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Google Translate Sings

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anecdotal

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A machine or Google can’t replace a human

when it comes to languages.

human

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“You can make a mathematical equation more meaningful to students

if you acknowledge the hopes, fears, or passions of the person who first discovered or used it.”

human

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enigmatic les frites

les haricots verts

le pain perdu

la porte-fenêtre

la baguette

la vinaigrette

le caniche

la double porte

la moutarde

la femme de chambre

la crêpe

la cafetière

What do these words have in common?• French fries

• French beans

• French toast

• French window

• French stick

• French dressing

• French poodle

• French door

• French mustard

• French maid

• French pancake

• French press

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current• Hier soir, j'ai regardé le match France-Angleterre. • Le match a duré 90 minutes.• La France a marqué deux buts.• L'Angleterre n'a pas marqué de but. • La France a gagné le match.• L'Angleterre a perdu le match.• Et vous, vous avez vu le match ?

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Genuine questions students have asked me:

“What’s the French for croissant?”“Sir, do you know what meringue is?”

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“The problem with the French is that they don't have

a word for entrepreneur.”George W. Bush

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How many French words do you know?

Can you think of French words we use in English?

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youtu.be/daGfylg3W2Y

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English words you didn’t know were French

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oboe= haut-bois

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tennis= tenez !

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« L’anglais, ce n’est jamais que du français

mal prononcé. » Georges Clemenceau

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Did you know?Between 40 and 60 percent

of English words come from French

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Over 20,000 English words have their origins

in the French language.

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connect“Dieu et mon droit”(God and my right)

“Honi soit qui mal y pense”(May he be shamed

who thinks badly of it)

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Get a head start with words you already know

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Can you guess the meaning of those cognates?

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• hippopotame• électricité• acteur• téléphone

• personne• moderne• voyage• langue

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The following are often cognates:

click• professions• concepts• scientific words• medical words• legal words

e.g. pilotee.g. beautée.g. algèbree.g. opératione.g. tribunal

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How many words ending in -tion can you think of?

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Words ending in… are likely to be cognates:

click-tion: admiration, association, tradition-tude: altitude, attitude, multitude-ist: optimiste, économiste, dentiste-ance/-ence: présence, arrogance, persévérance-ty: université, complexité, vanité-age: message, village, garage

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-tion: 6,535 words-tude: 103 words-ist: 2,814 words-ance/-ence: 1,421 words-ty: 4,250 words-age: 1,086 words

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It means English speakers know at least 16,209 French words!

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Lyrics of God Save the Queen

God save our gracious QueenLong live our noble Queen - God save the Queen

Send her victorious - Happy and GloriousLong reign over us – God save the Queen

7 out of 13 words are of French origin

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Words that are formal in English are more likely to be similar in French

country/nation = la nationfreedom/liberty = la libertésmart/intelligent = intelligent

hard/difficult = difficiletired/fatigued = fatigué

wedding/marriage = le mariage

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Spot as any cognates as you can

in the following slide…

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Words with â, ê, î, ô, û:hôpital côtehôtel intérêtforêt hâtepâte croûteîle quête

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Hello

in French: “Good day”/”I salute you”

in Korean: 안녕하세요 = “Are you peaceful?”

in Mandarin: 吃了吗? = “Have you eaten?”

in Georgian: გამარჯობა = “Are you winning?”

cultural

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A language is not just about vocabulary!

Is ‘bread’ the same as ‘pain’, ‘pan’ or ‘Brot’?


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Classez les pains suivants du plus gros au plus petit:

A. BaguetteB. FicelleC. Flute

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Flute (400 grammes)Baguette (250 grammes)

Ficelle (125 grammes)

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« Quel est le prix d’une baguette de pain ? »

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un bâtard • une fougasse • une boule •un pain de mie • un épi • une couronne •

un pain au son • un pain viennois •un pain de campagne • un pain rond •un pain au céréales • un pain boulot •un pain de seigle • un pain au levain •un pain polka • une miche • un pain bis

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Chaque boulangerie a ses spécialités.

Chaque français a sa boulangerie favorite.

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Symbolique révolutionnaireLouis XVI = le Boulanger

Marie-Antoinette = la Boulangèrele Dauphin = le Petit Mitron

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Ha!

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Culturally evocative vocabularyle PACS / se pacser

bourgeoisles sans-papiers

un HLMla banlieue / un banlieusard

un amuse-bouchele crémantle terroirl’apéritif

la rentrée

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culturalWith which country does France share the longest border?

Spain Italy

Germany Brazil

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Damon and Jo - youtube.com/DamonAndJo

cool

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Shorten it!

coolrestaurant = restocinéma = cinétélévision = téléfootball = footprofesseur = profaprès-midi = aprèm

laboratoire = laboappartement = appartvocabulaire = vocabbaccalauréat = bacdictionnaire = dicoadolescent = ado

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Teach idiomatic expressions

e.g. du coup = therefore

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Photos of trips you’ve made, of your house,

of your pets…

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Share with your students…your hobbiesyour passions

your anecdotesyour quirks

your imperfectionshow you feel

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Be yourself!“Think long and hard about things that characterize you,

that make you who you are. What do you do in your free time? Are you a vegan, animal rights activist, musician, painter, TV junkie, comic book collector? Whatever it is that you do, whatever you are,

don’t keep it from your students. Bring it into the classroom. If you’re a very musical person, why not add some music to your lessons? If you’re artistic, do the same. And if you’re BIG on theatrics, channel the actor/actress in you and add some “characters” to your

activities.” (Claudia Pesce)

personal

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Learn vocabulary faster with memory hooks

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stickThe word for ‘house’ is ‘la maison’

> Think of ‘mansion’.

The word for ‘tooth’ is ‘la dent’> Think of ‘dentist’.

The word for ‘king’ is ‘le roi’> Think of ‘royal’.

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The word for ‘easy’ is ‘facile’> Think of ‘facilitate’= to make it easy

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Think of words that sound similar:white = თეთრი (thethri) - Tetrisblack = შავი (shavi) – shave / savvyred = წითელი (c’itheli) - sit (in front of the) tellyorange = ნარინჯისფერი (narinjispheri) -naranja = orange / sphere

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Think of memory hooks for colours in French:

blanc noir roserouge marron vert

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stickMemory hooks for days:lundimardimercredijeudivendrediSamedi

Lune = MoonMarsMercure = MercuryJupiterVenusSaturne = Saturn

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Mots identiques ou similaires en français et en anglais:-al (animal, final, central)-ance (distance, romance, importance…)-ary (anniversaire, contraire, dictionnaire)-ist (touriste, dentiste, artiste)-ble (adorable, flexible, possible)-tion (information, attention, relation)-ct (correct, contact, exact) -ent (client, différent, agent)

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differentTypical misconception:

We have to use material students are familiar with.

The reality:

Helping them discover new things make lessons far more engaging.

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Why are words masculine or feminine?

No apparent logic:la masculinitéle féminisme

logical

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In Old English, words weremasculine, feminine or neuter(German roots)

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Today the feminine can be used when talking about a ship or a nation state.

e.g. in God Bless America: "Stand beside her, and guide her

through the night with a light from above."

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Masculine or feminine?

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It’s the spelling, in particular a word’s endingthat determines its gender.

If a words ends in a consonant, it’s likely to be masculine: le lac, le concert, le bras

If a words ends in -e, it’s likely to be feminine: la culture, la différence, la classe

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Word endings:You can tell a word is masculine

when it ends in:

logical

-age e.g. le fromage-ège e.g. le collège-isme e.g. le tourisme-ment e.g. le traitement

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Word endings:You can tell a word is feminine

when it ends in:

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-ité e.g. la fidelité-ance e.g. la tendance-ence e.g. la patience-tion e.g. la solution

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Words of English origin are likely to be masculine:

le campingle football

le week-endle cottage

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Learn verbs and actions first

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Use technology – but ONLY if it enhances learning.

Being engaged does notmean they are learning.

interactive

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Reevaluate the concept ofmotivation.

Concentrating on short-term motivation can be detrimental on

long-term motivation.

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Technology is not a gimmick.

It is part of students’ reality.

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Clever phrases you can use

again and again

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countEst-ce que je peux… > Ça vous dérange si…e.g. Ça vous dérange si j’ouvre la fenêtre ?

Ça vous dérange si j’écoute de la musique ?

Est-ce que tu veux… > Ça te dit (de)…e.g. Ça te dit une pizza ?

Ça te dit de visiter un musée ?

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Ditch boring phrases

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J’aime (beaucoup)...=> ... me plaît (beaucoup)

C’est + opinion=> Je trouve ça...

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J’aime l’histoire. C’est intéressant.=>

L’histoire me plaît beaucoup parceque je trouve ça intéressant.

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très => extrêmement / vraiment

Je suis très fatigué. => Je suis extrêmement fatigué. => Je suis vraiment fatigué.

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beaucoup (de) => tellement (de)

Le professeur de maths donnetellement de devoirs.

J’aime tellement le dessin.

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intriguing Trouve un titre

Décris ce que tu vois

Descriptions physiques

Les réactions (du garçon)

Les sentiments (en voyant cette photo)

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Are the resources you are using inclusive?

Think of ethnicities, disabilities, family situation, gender identities,

sexual orientations, social status…Be an ally and treat all students as ASSETS in your classroom.

inclusive

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inclusive

Source: https://libraryguides.mcgill.ca/ecritureinclusive/pronoms

https://libraryguides.mcgill.ca/ecritureinclusive/pronoms

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inclusive

https://shop.linguascope.com/products/l-ecriture-inclusive-worksheet

https://shop.linguascope.com/products/l-ecriture-inclusive-worksheet

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Never underestimate your students

challenging

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challenging

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Stéphane Derône

@stephanederone

/stephanederone

blog.linguascope.com


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