As French teachers, we know that learning a new language out loud can feel intimidating, especially for our Core French or French Immersion students. A strong foundation for French class is essential if we want our students to feel safe, supportive, and willing to take risks to speak French. One simple, but powerful routine you can introduce is community circles in French class. Circles are a great way to building a classroom community where every student has a voice.

What are Community Circles?

Circles are a structured routine where students and staff sit together in a circle and share and listen. This practice originates in Indigenous communities in North America where circles have long been used for relationship-building, decision-making, and healing. They are a practice now widely used in restorative practices and restorative justice in schools as an alternative to traditional, punitive discipline.

Circles for Restorative Practices

Circles can have many different purposes. For example, administrators and teachers can use circles to resolve conflicts.

It’s important to note here that facilitating circles for restorative justice requires training to avoid unintentionally causing harm. Another key point is that participation in this type of circle must always be consensual due to the sensitive nature.

Circles to Support Teaching & Learning

Beyond conflict resolution, French and French Immersion teachers can also use circles to support instruction. For example, circles can be really informative in Social Studies and History classes to reinforce critical thinking, perspective-taking, or even analyzing cause and consequence in relationship to a specific historical event.

In French class, a circle routine can help reinforce vocabulary and provide opportunities for oral communication in a safe and low-pressure way.

Circles to Build Classroom Community

Lastly, circles are a powerful way to build community in the classroom. They create space for students to share their thoughts, connect with one another, and develop trust. For French teachers, this is especially valuable as students are more likely to speak French and take risks when they feel a sense of belonging.

If you are familiar with my work, you will know that I am super passionate about routines in the French classroom. One of my favourite routines is Question du Jour. I think that Question du Jour and circles would work really well together since both routines give students the opportunity to share their voice, practice speaking French in a low-stakes way, and strengthen classroom community.

What grade levels are community circles ideal for?

Community circles can be used across grade levels, from elementary to high school Core French or French Immersion classes. Since I teach high school, this blog post will focus on how circles can support students from Grades 8-12. However, the routine can be easily adapted for younger students as well.

Watch the brief & informative chat with my amazing colleague Maryline to see how she implements community circles in her French Immersion classroom!

Maryline is a superstar! We have been neighbours for the last eight years. For several years now, I have noticed Maryline and her class doing circles at the back of her classroom. It has always intrigued me.

Today I am bringing in Maryline to tell you all about circles in her French Immersion classroom.

Helpful tools

If you’re looking for more support and guidance before you facilitate your first circle, here are some helpful tools.

• This is a phenomenal tool from CASEL that explains what circles are, their purpose, and even helps you plan your first one.
• This is a really helpful video on the origins of circles and how not to culturally appropriate unintentionally.

The post How to Use Community Circles in French Class to Build Community appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

If you’re a Core French teacher looking to incorporate a brand new weekly routine, Francophone Fact of the Week is for you! Let’s explore why this French classroom routine is one of the best ones out there.

What is Francophone Fact of the Week?

Francophone Fact of the Week is a weekly French routine that combines intercultural awareness, reading, and responding to questions in French.

If you’ve been following me, you know that I love teaching Core French with a range of daily and weekly routines. It’s super effective for me and my students love it as well! To learn more about how and why I integrate diverse routines in my teaching, click here.

What are the benefits of incorporating Francophone Fact of the Week into your French routines?

Building Intercultural awareness into your routines

Early in my career, I made it a goal to be very intentional about teaching French through an anti-oppressive lens. I wanted my students to understand that the French are not the only ones who speak French!

Now that I am almost a decade into my career, I can target intercultural awareness in a million ways. However, having a routine that teaches about the diversity of the French world every single week at every level is still very useful!

If you’re like me, you sometimes struggle with how to do this in a novice-level French class. I have created facts for absolute beginners, so it’s a no-brainer to ensure that we hit this competency every week!

Teaching about diverse Francophone cultures through “fait francophone de la semaine” strengthens the understanding of “why we learn French.”

We don’t learn French to memorize grammar and vocabulary.

We learn French because it serves as our entry point to discovering the diverse cultures, identities, and lived experiences of French speakers.

Integrating Francophone Fact of the Week into your routines ultimately supports this intention behind teaching and learning French.

Novice Francophone Fact of the Week

These Novice Francophone Fact of the Week slides were created for beginners learning the French language.

My own students love these. I love seeing the spark of curiosity in their eyes and the confidence that they actually understand what the fact means!

They’re engaging, accessible, and eye-opening.

Intermediate Francophone Fact of the Week

Next up, the Intermediate Francophone Fact of the Week resource targets all of the same skills as the novice version.

They’re just a little more complex than the novice versions.

Advanced Francophone Fact of the Week

Lastly, the advanced Fait francophone de la semaine is my favourite!

There are so many unique, empowering, and resilience-demonstrating stories out there. It was such an honour to write about some of these stories for advanced French students!

Foster intercultural awareness and strong reading skills with the Fait francophone de la semaine routine for French class

Grab your copy now

Grab your copy now

Grab your copy now

The post Francophone Fact of the Week: The Must-Have Routine for Culturally-Rich French Lessons appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

So you’re a French teacher looking to teach French slang in the language classroom. Maybe you’re looking to spice up your French classes. Or perhaps you’re trying to get your teenage French students to see that French can be cool too. I am going to teach you exactly how to do that! Today we are going to learn about teaching French slang to Core French and/or French Immersion students.

Step 1 – what slang terms do French youth use?

To begin, what slang expressions do French youth employ in their day-to-day lives?

Like most French students, I did not learn these expressions at school. I created my own list of French slang expressions after watching tons and tons of popular French TV shows and movies.

It took me months to create a solid list of relevant expressions.

Step 2 – understanding the social, political, and historical origins of French slang vocabulary

As French teachers, I think we would be doing our French students a massive disservice if we didn’t also teach about the social, political, and historical origins of French vocabulary.

Verlan is one particular type of French slang. It was created by French youth of religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. These children didn’t quite fit into French culture entirely (they were of a different racial and religious background) and they also did not fit into their parents’ cultures perfectly.

Therefore, they created a third space for themselves. This third space is Verlan. Verlan serves as a bridge between their parents’ culture and French culture. Therefore, Verlan is empowering for these youth.

Verlan words are formed by inversing syllables in a word. Sometimes syllables are removed to make the word easier to pronounce. Other times syllables are added for the same purpose.

There is also a ton of French colloquial expressions that are not Verlan.

Teaching two French slang terms a week

I used to teach French vocabulary by simply handing out a list to my students. I would then ask them to translate that list.

No, no, no.

I am much more intentional now as a seventh-year teacher.

I teach two French slang expressions per week. The idea is that by focusing on two week, we can actually employ them immediately.

During these weekly lessons, I have my students compare the standard and colloquial forms of the expression.

I also teach about the origins of the expression.

Teaching French slang should be fun. My students love these weekly lessons.

Students record the weekly French slang expressions on a recording sheet.

Each week I also the new expressions to our word wall so that students can refer to them that week and the following week.

After we have learned all 40 expressions, students create a poster where they illustrate the French slang expression,

Don’t be afraid to teach about the social, political, and historical origins of French slang

With my Grade 10s (third-year Core French), I do a whole unit on the origins of French slang.

My Core French students learn about les banlieues & the lives of French youth of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.

At the very end of this unit, they create a One-pager project on everything they have learnt during the unit.

I have a whole blog post dedicated to how I plan and teach this unit. You should definitely go read it.

If you are interested in teaching French slang and you want ready-to-go resources, I have got them for you!

The post Embracing French Slang in the Language Classroom appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

Are you a French teacher searching for listening activities for French students to improve their French listening skills? Today I am sharing with you five fun and informative French podcast episodes from the French Duolingo podcast. These are personally some of my favourite podcasts for intermediate-level French listening practice. These are ideal for high school French classrooms.

The French Duolingo podcast episodes are super accessible for intermediate French language learners due to a few very specific reasons. First of all, the narrator takes the time to teach new vocabulary in context. Second of all, the podcast is bilingual. So it changes between French and English every thirty seconds to a minute.

The topics chosen are also super engaging!

Most of these French Duolingo podcast episodes below employ the passé composé and imparfait past tense structures.

Before we go any further, I made worksheets to accompany each of the podcast episodes. Go ahead and download them to use with your French classes.

I really wanted colouring sheets and comprehension sheets to use with my own students. I am sharing the set with you as well!

1. Paris – Les catacombes interdites

The first French Duolingo podcast episode is all about les Catacombes à Paris. The episode is called les Catacombes interdites. The story is narrated mainly in the past tense – so your students do need to have a strong foundation in passé composé and imparfait.

In this episode, we learn about the life and mission of photographer Gaspard Duval and his love of the Paris Catacombs. This is a fantastic French listening activity if you are looking to teach your students about the history of the Catacombs and how they came to be. We also learn a little about the history of Paris as well.

It is a very engaging listen! One of the reasons why I love the French Duolingo podcasts so much is that I feel like I am in Paris with the narrator and the photographer.

This French podcast episode would fit in perfectly with Paris or historical monument units or even for l’Halloween!

If you’re looking for another activity to pair with this podcast episode, here is a French reading comprehension article on les Catacombes written specifically for intermediate French students.

2. La chocolatière

The next French Duolingo podcast episode explores the story of Euphrasie Mbamba. Mbamba was born in Cameroun and spent most of her childhood at her family’s cacao plantation.

At the age of 10 Mbamba moves to Belgium and tries chocolate for the first time. She falls in love with the delicious treat. This is when Euphrasie decides she wants to become a chocolatière.

However, she notices that the chocolate industry in Belgium does not have any Black people and definitely no Black women.

The French podcast explores Euphrasie’s remarkable journey as a chocolatière and entrepreneur.

This is a great French listening activity to accompany a French class food unit!

3. La mélodie de la Martinique

In this intermediate French podcast episode, we meet Christophe. Christophe’s family is from Martinique, but they moved to la France métropolitaine when he was a child.

Christophe’s dad is passionate about music and passes on his love of music to his children.

Christophe and his siblings tragically lose their parents in a plane crash. Christophe decides to go to Martinique after their death to produce a musical album inspired by his parents’ ancestral home.

This is literally the PERFECT French listening activity for a thematic French music unit. It such a beautiful way to bring in Francophone culture and les Antilles into a very typical Core French unit.

4. Surfer au Sénégal

This is an inspiring story about Khadjou Sambe. Khadjou lives in Senegal and she wants to be a surfer. However, it is frowned upon for girls and women to surf in her small village.

This podcast episode explores Khadjou’s story and her journey to becoming a pro surfer!

This French podcast episode would fit in well to any Core French sports unit.

5. Le nom caché

Ugh – I will warn you – this one may end in tears.

On a more serious note, this podcast episode features the story of Damien who discovers that his deceased grandparents were Jewish.

This discovery results in Damien trying to find answers about what happened to his great-grandparents and his grandfather.

At the end of the podcast, Damien learns that his lack of relationship with his grandfather likely was due to his grandfather’s trauma from his childhood.

Please be careful to ensure that you have properly warned your students of the podcast content. If they have Jewish heritage, they may find parts of the podcast to be triggering.

I have to admit – this one was my favourite out of all of the French Duolingo podcast episodes I’ve shared today. It had me captivated from the very beginning.

The post 5 intermediate French Duolingo Podcast episodes for French class appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

So you’re a middle or high school Core French or French Immersion teacher and you want to teach French idiomatic expressions? How do you go about teaching French idioms to your class in a way that is meaningful and effective? Dear fellow French teacher – I’ve got the solution for you! Here are all of the deets on teaching French idiomatic expressions!

How not to teach French idiomatic expressions

In the first few years of my career, I taught exactly how my French teachers taught me.

So I gave my students a list of French idiomatic expressions. Not only were the expressions were far too difficult, I also had them translate the list of expressions into English.

They learned nothing, except how to translate French sentences using a phone.

I no longer do that. I no longer :

• hand out a list of French idioms
• teach expressions that are too difficult for my students’ level of French
• ask them to translate expressions into English

Step 1 : Pick what French idiomatic expressions you want to teach at each level

I teach beginner to advanced Core French (13-17-year-olds). I have spent the last three summers searching the Internet for a wide variety of French idioms for language learners.

Now that we’ve scoured the Internet for relevant expressions, here are some fun ways to teach ways to teach French idioms.

Beginner French idiomatic expressions

For beginner French students, I pick very easy, simple expressions. A lot of these expressions are things I learned from living in an immersive environment.

Possible expressions could be “toc toc”, “à tes souhaits” and “miam miam”.

I like keeping them simple because I want my beginner French students to use the expressions right away.

Click here to learn more about this basic expressions resource.

Intermediate idiomatic expressions

For intermediate students, I choose expressions with “c’est” and expressions with verbs such as avoir, être, faire, aimer, etc.

Click here to learn about this intermediate expressions resource.

French slang terms for intermediate to advanced Core French students

I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to teach French slang to intermediate students.

These are all expressions I have picked up from watching French TV shows and movies. They are so fun!

When I taught these to my grade 10s, my students were so excited to be learning “real and cool French”.

The best part was that they actually used the French slang in class when conversing with me and one another!

Click here to learn more about French slang resource

Expressions for advanced students

These expressions are definitely the most challenging. Therefore, I teach these to my Grade 11 students.

They’re still really fun!

Click here to learn more about this advanced expressions resource.

Step 2 : Teach 1-2 French idioms per week to your students and no more than that

This is the key! I teach no more than TWO French idiomatic expressions a week to my classes.

When I teach 2 a week, they actually focus on the expression and put it to use right away. I also make sure that I use the two expressions during my lessons naturally.

This is a very effective way to teach French idioms to language learners.

I also give out prizes to students who use the French idioms in the correct context and fit it naturally into whatever we’re going or talking about.

Step 3 : create your slides for each expression

This is the part that took me a few summers. If you do not want to spend your summers creating slides, you can purchase the ones I have created.

Slide #1 : what do you think this French expression means?

With slide, I have my French class guess what the expression could possibly mean.

Sometimes they guess correctly and other times they have no idea whatsoever.

This is a fun way to teach French idioms because sometimes the predictions are so wild and sometimes so accurate. It’s just a fun way to play with language.

Slide #2 : see the French idiomatic expression in action

The purpose of this slide is to see the expression in action in writing and with visual support.

So they see a written example with the French idiom in use. If they do not understand some of the words, they can also use the image to help decode the example sentence.

Slide #3 : learn new vocabulary

The purpose of these types of slides is to break down new vocabulary that students may not be familiar with.

Some of the resources have 1-type of this slide and others have two!

Slide #4 (French slang only) : compare standard and slang forms of the same expression

The purpose of these types of slides is to break down new vocabulary that students may not be familiar with.

Slide #5 (French slang only): learn about the origins of the expression

Learn about the unique origins of the different French slang on this slide.

Slide #5 : write your own sentence using the expression

Now it’s time for students to write their own sentences with the expression.

At the start of the semester, we do this as a whole class. After a few weeks, I either get to write a sentence with their table groups, with a partner, or independently.

The post How to teach French idiomatic expressions to French students appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

I have been teaching Core French for six years now. In the first few years of my teaching career, Google Translate was a HUGE problem in my French classroom. While I didn’t have a community of teachers to reflect with, I certainly lost a lot of sleep reflecting on how to solve the issue. Today I am going to share with you how I address Google Translate in my French classroom.

Why do French students use Google Translate in the first place?

I’m in about a dozen Facebook groups for French teachers. At least once a week I see French teachers ask the groups about what to do about Google Translate.

Very rarely do I see French teachers reflect on WHY students use Google Translate in the French classroom.

P.S. in this space, we do not blame students for fun. We understand that MOST students want to be successful. However, their brains have not yet developed and will not develop until they are 25. Therefore, they do not make the best choices.

The question though – is why do our bright, hardworking, and talented students use Google Translate instead of actually doing their work? This blog post is specifically addressing our good-intentioned students and classes who end up using Google Translate despite very clearly having the ability to do the work themselves.

You’re not going to like the answer.

It’s because they don’t know how to do the work.

That’s right. In my opinion, Google Translate continues to be an issue in French classrooms where students memorize vocabulary lists and explicitly learn French grammar.

Memorizing vocabulary lists and French grammar is not learning a language. The problem with these two things is that students tend to replicate vocabulary and grammar in the exact context in which they learned the concepts. As soon as you move on to the next unit, students are unable to transfer their knowledge to the new context.

So you give your students this mega writing task. It requires them to use the vocab list they memorized and use irregular and regular verbs in the present tense. However, despite in-class “practice” your students feel that they are unable to complete this task. They don’t know where to start and they just don’t know what to do with those VERBS.

So they panic. They want an A, they don’t want to disappoint you, and so they use Google Translate.

Before you get your French students to write, you need to be expose them to A LOT of listening and reading

This pedagogy is called Comprehensible Input. It has not only changed my students’ confidence, their ability to speak, read, write, and listen in French, but it has also increased my joy when it comes to teaching French.

The idea is simple.

Before we ask our students to write anything in French, we need to expose them to a ton of listening and reading.

This is the INPUT part of learning French. You see, without input, how can we expect our students to OUTPUT (write and speak)?

To be honest, I am not an expert on Comprehensible Input. I am still learning about it. Check out the teachers below to learn more about CI in the French classroom.

• Elodie Channa from Comprehensible Input On
• Devon from La Libre Language Learning
• Benjamin Tinsley from Afro Franco

The absolute best part is that when you expose your students to tons of reading and listening, without ever explicitly teaching grammar, they will learn SO much. This is the way to go when it comes to teaching French!

Avoid Google Translate in the French classroom by ensuring that your activities are level-appropriate

We tend to “lose” our students when the task that we have given our students is too difficult. The “task” is often a writing assignment or writing project in our context. However, sometimes we may also find this to be the case with French reading comprehension.

The best way that I have avoided Google Translate with reading comprehension is to teach my students very specific strategies.

I have a lengthy blog post dedicated to these strategies.

All of the strategies I teach my students are also in this poster set. They include all of the strategies you see in this image.

If you are interested in French reading comprehension articles for beginners that teach these exact strategies, here’s a prep-free set for you.

Embrace imperfection – embrace mistakes

Students tend to use Google Translate in the French classroom when they know that their grammar is going to be evaluated.

Again, this seems to occur in classes that focus on grammar acquisition.

Dear teacher – tell your students that it is normal to make mistakes in French. When students are fixated on writing perfect sentences, they are not taking risks with the language. They are stressed about getting a good mark. And that is the problem.

Please do note that it’s not that I never evaluate grammar or that I never teach grammar explicitly. I do. There is a time and place for these things. However, it is not at the beginning!

As soon as my students understand that I wasn’t looking for perfection, Google Translate became a non-issue. Embracing imperfection in conjunction with TONS of input has meant that my student are communicating stronger than ever (in writing and orally).

Make your French classroom a phone-free zone

Last but not least, my classroom is a phone-free zone. This includes me too. I am not on my phone when my students are with me.

I mean, I can’t even sit on my computer and read a quick email. When my students are in front of me, my full attention is on them. My expectation is the same for them.

My classroom is a space of mutual love and respect, and I have made it very clear to my students that phones do not belong in that space.

This (and being quick to communicate home) really helps with reducing Google Translate temptations in the French classroom.

The post How to Combat Google Translate in the French Classroom appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

You’ve probably heard the expression “the way to a human’s heart is through food”. Well, the way to a beginner French learner’s heart is through French music! Here are 10 super catchy French songs for beginners approved by my very own students!

And no, Papaoutai is NOT one of them.

Don’t forget to grab your music freebie!

What kinds of French songs do beginners like, especially teens?

First off, I can’t speak for all students, but I know that my teenage students LOVE upbeat, catchy French songs that make them want to dance.

Secondly, the French music you bring into your classroom should not only be current, but so should the French musicians. Students do NOT want to watch grainy music videos from 2002. It definitely should not feel like their teacher has not updated their French music playlist in a few decades.

Also, your music playlist should be diverse. I have been in French teacher Facebook groups for years and I have noticed that French music playlists tend to feature mainly white singers from the early 2000s! This is SUCH a shame and a missed opportunity.

Include singers of different races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and religions! Remember that representation matters!

Here’s a set of posters I made of francophone singers. French music and francophone singers are so, so important to me. Representation in this particular area was essential, so I decided to take matters into my own hands!

Click here to grab a set of these posters for your own French classroom.

How and when to play catchy French music for beginners

I always play French music during the first-ever French class as students walk in. I believe strongly in first impressions and set the tone for my course. It’s also funny how many of my students remember exactly which song I had playing the first day of class!

Moreover, I play French music at the start of class sometimes and when students are working. As a matter of fact, French music is actually a crucial part of my classroom management strategy. It is how I keep my students calm and simultaneously create a culture of love for French and for French music.

Additionally, with my beginners French students, I do manie musicale which they LOVE!

We also make music videos in Grade 9 and do a music unit in grade 10.

What is the value of French songs for beginner learners?

First of all, there is a reason why music is so popular in the first place – we love it! French music is also a great way to introduce your beginner students to a variety of francophone cultures and perspectives. This can be a meaningful introduction to topics like racism, injustices, and other social issues.

1. Dernier métro by Kendji Girac and Maître Gims

First up is the song I had on repeat the entire school year of 2020-2021. Seriously, that is how much my students loved this French song. Not only did they love this song, but they were completely obsessed and even entranced by the music video.

In fact, we watched it over and over to figure out how the ending (not going to spoil) could have happened!

Themes connected to French class : passé composé & imparfait, moving on

2. Parle à ta tête by Indila

I am sure you have heard of Indila and her very popular French songs! This one is her latest release to date. It’s a super catchy French song and the music video is very entertaining.

Themes connected to French class : present tense, ER verbs, common French irregular verbs in present tense (aller, vouloir)

3. La pluie by Orelsan and Stromae

This next one is an absolute masterpiece by Orelsan and Stromae. It also happens to be a perfect French song for beginner students as the theme is weather! The chorus repeats “chez moi il fait beau” and there are many other weather expressions and vocabulary mentioned in the lyrics.

I also just love Stromae’s dance moves and my students loved the saxophone.

Themes connected to French class : weather, present tense

4. Ça va ça vient by Vitaa and Slimane

This is one of the most popular songs from the duo Vitaa and Slimane!

Themes connected to French class : moving on/forward, the verbs venir & dire in present tense

5. T’épauler by Barack Adama and Gims

Here is another really catchy French song for beginners that your students will LOVE! This one begins with a flight to Senegal and takes place at a party for the most part. The main storyline shows the ups and downs of the main characters’ relationship. My students found the storyline to be really fascinating and it spurred a lot of discussions.

Themes connected to French class : Senegal, relationships, breakups/heartbreak

6. Magic in the air by MAGIC SYSTEM ft. Chawki

If you are about to teach your students the verb ‘aller’ or even ‘impératif’, you have to got to play this song for them! This was one was recommended to me by my sister and many of my students said it was their absolute favourite of the school year!

Themes connected to French class : soccer, Africa, aller in present tense, impératif

7. Coton ouaté by bleu jeans bleu

This next French song and music video is the PERFECT embodiment of Quebec. The dance moves and plot are so entertaining (and bizarre) that my students LOVED it.

Themes connected to French class : Québec, clothing, joual

8. Hola señorita (Maria) by Gims & Maluma

Next up, this French and Spanish song was such a hit with my students. My FSL students loved the scenery, the dancing, the fire-eating lady, and of course, they really enjoyed the beat. I even had one student say to me “Madame, I would totally listen to this song on my own time” — WIN!

Themes connected to French class : present tense, irregular verbs, regular verbs

9. Jusqu’au bout by Amel Bent x Imen Es

Up next, this is a recent release from Amal Bent and Imen Es. This beautiful French song is all about positivity, hope and perseverance. The lyrics are all about listening to oneself and going after ones’ dreams. The lyrics are mainly in passé composé and they are rich in French vocabulary.

This French song is perfect for intermediate French students to analyze and explore. It is also filled with idiomatic expressions.

Extension activities :

• create a poster showing the meaning of one of the idiomatic expressions used

Themes connected to French class : passé composé, French idiomatic expressions

10. Lionne by Dadju

Finally, this last French song for beginners is all about female empowerment! What I absolutely love about this song is all of the diversity that is present!

This song is also filled with tons of really rich French vocabulary. The lyrics consist of French verbs in the present tense and tons of nouns. It would be a really great song for students to analyze and dig into the meaning of all of the French vocabulary.

Extenstion activity ideas

• have students draw a ‘lionne’ in their life
• get students to draw a figure based off of the song lyrics

Themes connected to French class : female empowerment, diversity, present tense

Looking for a French music unit to to complement your lessons on French music?

Click here to check out my French music unit on TPT

Do you have a French song for beginners you’d like to recommend?

Share with us a French song your French students are loving!

The post Catchy & popular French songs for beginners appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

Picture this – you’re looking for interesting, engaging texts for your students to read in French class and you spend hours looking for the perfect text. Then, you find what you think is a good text, hand it out to your class and that ONE student looks at it and says “um I don’t speak French??”. Here are my tried and tested French reading comprehension strategies to prevent this from occurring!

Drop the 🙋🏽‍♀️ emoji below if the above situation has happened to you!

This was totally me in my first two years of teaching! I was finding either texts that were made for FSL students that made ME fall asleep OR extremely difficult authentic texts.

What problems do teachers frequently encounter when teaching reading comprehension in French?

• The text is extremely boring for our students
• It is too difficult for students’ level of French
• The article is too simple and bébé lala
• There is a lack of representation and diversity in reading comprehension texts
• Strategies are not taught to students beforehand to break down the text so it feels incredibly overwhelming

Today I am going to be sharing with you how I structure reading comprehension in my classroom. These reading comprehension strategies have been incredibly successful in my beginner French classes.

What kinds of reading comprehension articles should we pick?

I know that many teachers reach for reading comprehension articles when they think of what kind of text to read in class. However, please note that picture books also make fantastic texts. Parfois je suis un renard by Danielle Daniel is one that I love to read with my own beginner French students!

Most importantly, reading comprehension texts must represent the diversity in our classrooms and within the francophonie. It is no longer acceptable to only have texts with white characters. Your texts should represent a wide range of ethnicities, cultures, religions, and lived experiences.

Not only is this morally and ethically important, but this is also very engaging for ALL of our students.

Additionally, reading comprehension texts are an excellent way to teach all about francophone cultures, celebrations and traditions.

French Reading Comprehension Strategy #1 – Pré-lecture

The pré-lecture is perhaps the most important strategy when structuring reading comprehension in French.

1. Analyze the title & images

Have your students read the title and make predictions about what the text is going to be about. Have your students describe the images in the reading comprehension article or text with simple vocabulary they know.

2. Look up key vocabulary & highlight it in the text

Before introducing the text to students, I choose 10-12 vocabulary words that I know my students will not know.

Next, I have them look up what they mean in English. Then, I have my students highlight those words in the text itself with a specific colour.

I have these French posters available with all of these French reading comprehension strategies handy.

3. Highlight mots amis and mots familiers

Then, I get my students to highlight mots amis and mots familiers in the text in different shades.

The purpose of mots amis/mots familiers is to build your students’ confidence and make the text more manageable.

French Reading Comprehension Strategy #2 – la lecture

1. Read Aloud #1 – out loud

The first time your students fully read the text, have them read it loud in partners or groups of 3. The purpose of this initial read aloud is practicing pronunciation and just getting a general sense of what is being said.

2. Read Aloud #2 – breaking down the meaning in the reading comprehension article

During the second read aloud, have your students pause at the end of every small paragraph (3 sentences or so) and ask them to orally summarize the significance. This activity should be done based off of what they understand.

Reassure your students that this part is meant to be difficult. Remind them that they do NOT need to know every single world in order to understand the meaning.

Do we understand every single word in English medieval literature? Nope! I also tell students that this used to happen to me with articles I read in university in the English language — articles written recently!

Additionally, instruct them to look up any words that are important for them to understand the meaning. Questions I ask my students to guide this particular piece of the process :

How will you know which words you need to look up?

• Look up words that repeat several times – this indicates that they are important

3. Read Aloud #3 – read with the class

Finally, we read the text out loud together as a class. In my class, I have a student read one-two sentences and then they are responsible for explaining what it means to the class.

In fact, this part holds them responsible during the first two parts and ensures that they actually do the work!

French Reading Comprehension Strategy #3 – la post-lecture

Consequently, I like to end off the activity by having my students do a creative task or activity linked to their comprehension.

You can do these reading comprehension strategies with your own favourite texts. However, if you are looking for inspiration, check the texts I have written on la francophonie!

Have your French students learn about Francophone places

Explore the Francophone world with this bundle of French reading comprehension articles for low intermediate to advanced Core French or French Immersion students.

This bundle contains articles on the French overseas territories of Guadeloupe, Réunion, Martinique, Guyane française, and the country of Mauritius.

Your students will learn about where each Francophone region is located, basic facts about the region (capital, area, official language), the geography, climate, the people, and agriculture and economy.\

Click here to use this resource with your students.

Seasonal French Reading Comprehension – Noël, Mardi Gras, Jour du souvenir

Explore the Francophone world and topics on la Francophonie while improving your Core French and/or French Immersion students’ French reading comprehension skills with this bundle of French reading comprehension articles.

This bundle features FIVE seasonal French articles for intermediate to advanced French students.

Topics include les origines de l’Halloween, the contributions of les dissidents antillais to WWII, and the Christmas traditions of the bûche de Noël and the fanal from Haïti as well as an article on Mardi Gras.

Click here to use this resource with your students.

French Reading Comprehension Bundle on Francophone Cultures

Topics include Haitian Vodou, la tourtière québécoise, the origins of the Eiffel Tower, impressionism, and Parisian macarons.

Click here to use this resource with your students.

Les fêtes culturelles – French Reading Comprehension Articles

The theme of this specific bundle is the cultural and religious celebrations of many Canadians. Les fêtes culturelles that your students will learn about are Vaisakhi, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, and Caribana.

Click here to use this resource with your students.

Les fêtes Francophones – French Reading Comprehension Articles

Topics include on Francophone celebrations. This includes Carnaval d’hiver, Festima, Festival du voyageur, Festival du bois & Tintmarre.

Click here to use this resource with your students.

Francophone Monuments Reading Comprehension 

Citadelle La Ferrière and Palais Sans Souci in Haiti, la Grande Mosquée de Djenné in Mali, la Citadelle de Québec, Les Catacombes de Paris, and le Panthéon de Paris. Learning about historic monuments is a fun way to learn about la Francophonie.

Click here to use this resource with your students.

Francophone Colonial Injustices French Reading Comprehension

This is a French reading comprehension BUNDLE on colonial injustices that occurred during the French Empire. These articles aim to educate Core French and/or French Immersion students on a series of injustices that occurred in the 20th Century that continue to impact the lives of francophones around the world.

The five topics your students will learn about are : la crise de chlordécone, les enfants de la Creuse, le massacre des Algériens à Paris, Vietnamese rubber plantations, and nuclear testing in French Polynesia.

Click here to use this resource with your students.

The post How to teach French reading comprehension appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

In 2018, I learned about daily slides from Teacher Youtubers. The absolute new teacher that I was, I decided to give them a go. I have used French daily agenda templates every single year since then! This year I taught a whole semester with 0 prep time. The first semester I moved from classroom to classroom. Daily slides quite literally were a lifesaver.

Today, I am going to share with you HOW and WHY you should need this amazing routine for French class. Routines are an absolute must in French class. They serve so many purposes. This one, in particular, is all about convenience and efficiency.

What are French daily slides?

Daily slides are a digital way to display the day’s agenda (plan du jour), reminders, announcements, and other pertinent information to your students.

French daily slides are digital agendas.

Who should use French daily agenda templates?

Daily slides can be used by teachers of all subjects + grade 5+ students. They are a tool to help your students become more independent in their learning. French daily slides are especially ideal for teachers who :

• teach multiple preps
• have preps that repeat
• move from classroom to classroom and have a hard time keeping a paper planner
• like to have a record of previous classes handy
• are working on getting their students to be more independent
• teach students who are in high school

Why should you incorporate French daily slides into French class routines?

Save time with different preps

If you teach many preps, it takes a lot more time to erase the agenda from the board and write it for different classes.

Or maybe you don’t even share the agenda with your students. If that’s you, you probably have a lineup of students coming to you during the precious three minutes of transition asking, “So what are we doing today?”

Daily slides make for a smooth transition

I continue to use French daily slides year after year because they make transitions between classes so much easier. I get my students to prepare themselves mentally and physically for the tasks. For example, students take out the right materials or flip to the right page BEFORE class begins.

I make it very clear to students at the beginning of the year that my expectation is that they will follow the directions on the slides without me instructing them.

How do daily slides make for smooth transitions?

• students hand in assignments as it’s written on the slide
• they take out the materials I’ve specified
• students begin the first task without me asking them to
• reminders for next week/the day are already on the board

A convenient and exact record of lessons for previous years

This year I taught a whole semester without 0 prep time. From time to time, I went back to my daily slides from the previous semester for an exact order of tasks. It was an exhausting semester, so it was convenient to have my previous daily slides to refer to.

Reduce student anxiety

My one year of teaching without daily slides, my students used to tell me how badly they needed to know the agenda because they were anxious. Students, especially teens, like knowing what tasks and activities they will be working on. Also, if you do fun things – it’s so motivating for them to know a fun activity is just 10 minutes away.

Teach students vocabulary and structures in context

I teach Core French to teens and my daily slides are all in French. For beginner students, we spend the first month going over the daily slide and learning what the words are. I also use pictures and images in my slides to show students what the vocabulary means.

Make it easy for absent students to keep up

When you teach 150+ students, it can be REALLY hard to keep up with absences. Add in a lack of prep time, and tracking everyone down is virtually impossible.

Three years ago, I shared a “view-only” link of my French daily slides in Teams. This has now become a routine in my classroom. Students go to Teams when they are sick, they click on the link shared at the start of the semester, and they catch up on work they missed during their absence.

I also colour code the text on my French daily agenda slides so that students can easily understand what occurred in class!

How do you use daily slides?

I recorded a tutorial to help with this task!

Ready to try out French daily agenda templates?

The post French daily slides – the one French class routine you need appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

If your students are anything like my students, they probably love coming to French class! That is one of the best parts about teaching an elective — our students want to be there! However, this can be a little tricky as well. You know, sometimes they’re a little too excited to come to French class, because they know we’re going to be having tons of fun!

Therefore, it can truly throw your classroom management off when students are entering the classroom all riled up and excited.

I teach Grades 8-10 and I especially find this to be true for the younger grades.

As a matter of fact, it can be rather challenging to bring teenagers back to a calm place when they run in all hyper!

Before you scroll – grab this music freebie!

Are your students too chatty or far too loud when working on activities?

Teenagers can be so social and in my second year of teaching, I was struggling with them socializing a little too loudly with their classmates.

To combat these two issues, I made one of my favourite classroom purchases in my teaching career!

I bought a bluetooth speaker! For the past two years, I have religiously used my bluetooth speaker during strategic moments.

Play calm French music as students are walking into class

In my three years of being a teacher, I have had the pleasure of teaching only TWO introverted classes out of 18 classes!

The rest of my classes have been anywhere from sometimes rambunctious to ALWAYS rambunctious.

I started playing calm French music at the start of class as students were walking in. When I do this, I also ensure that I have my daily slides projected on the whiteboard. My daily slides explain the shape of the day and which activities students should begin immediately.

If you struggle with the start of class transition, I highly recommend doing this. Students love listening to music, regardless of their grade, and it creates such a lovely ambiance.

My favourite calm artists are Louane, Coeur de Pirate, Charles Aznavour, Julien Doré and Matt Holubowski.

Play French music when students are working on assignments and projects

I frequently play French music as students are working on individual assignments or group projects.

Students are not allowed to wear their own listening devices in class, given that French class is all about collaboration. Due to that reason, my students beg me to play music as they are working.

I find that music can help my students focus on their task. They still socialize and work collaboratively with their peers, but they do not shout over the music as they would shout over one another.

My favourite is when I catch my teens asking their friends to speak quieter so that they can hear the music!

Ask your students to recommend calm French music to you as “homework”

It can be incredibly motivating for students when they see that you have acknowledged and included their interests.

Have students email you up to 5 calm, school-appropriate French songs “for homework”. I would then listen to each song to ensure that it is in fact a) calm and b) school-appropriate.

Create French music playlists for classroom management using Apple Music or Spotify

I decided to purchase a Bluetooth speaker and not use the projector speakers. I hated connecting my computer to the projector in order to listen to music.

Creating playlists on Apple Music on my iPhone has been incredibly convenient. I have all sorts of playlists — I have ones for the start of class, more upbeat songs for fun activities and games, and playlists of students’ recommendations. Here’s a playlist on YouTube of French music for the classroom.

Also, if you’re looking to diversify your playlist, check out my Instagram post by clicking this link!

Below is an image of the Bluetooth speaker I have at school and at home. Please note that the link below is an affiliate link.

If you find these tips to be helpful, comment below & share your favourite Francophone artists for the classroom!

The post Teaching with French music – tips & tricks appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.