But, first – let’s chat about my context

I am a high school French teacher in British Columbia, Canada. In my department, we’ve decided that we are going to teach our French music unit to our Grade 10s.

Students begin high school in Grade 8 in our district. Therefore, by the time they get to grade 10, they’ve had two full years of Core French class.

These students are therefore intermediates.

Why a French music unit? What’s the purpose?

Well, why not a French music unit?

First of all, the way to a French student’s heart surely has to be music right?

Okay but jokes aside, Francophone musicians and French songs are a really important part of my pedagogy. We RARELY (read:never) ever do fill-in-the-lyric type of activities.

That said, we do make music videos, talk about our opinions, compare and contrast French music artists and French songs, AND more!

Humans have very personal relationships with music. We associate certain songs with happy or sad times of our lives. Sometimes we hear a song a decade or two later, we don’t remember the song name or artist but somehow the lyrics start pouring out of us.

What am I trying to say?

I’m saying that I do my very best to cultivate a love and passion for French music and French songs among my Core French students. I won’t lie – I think I am great at it!

If you are looking for a teen-approved playlist of songs for French class? Do be sure to read my blog post on super catchy French songs for beginners.

Before we begin, check out these Francophone singer posters!

This past summer, I made posters on many of my personal favourite French musicians! I have these up in my classroom and my students LOVE to look at them! Classroom decor + culture + music all in one poster!

Who is this particular Core French Music unit ideal for?

This particular unit is perfect for Intermediate French students in the high school setting.

It’s totally up to you to see if it would work for your students!

Unit objectives

I introduce these objectives to my Core French students at the very start of my French music unti :

• Je peux décrire mes propres préférences musicales
• Je peux parler des origines des genres musicaux au sein de la communauté noire aux États-Unis
• Je peux exprimer mon opinion en français
• Je peux décrire les chansons, les musiciens francophones et les clips. Mes descriptions ne seront pas parfaites et c’est tout à fait d’accord

Structure & format for the perfect French music unit

French music related Question du jour

I begin every lesson with a “question du jour” in all of my classes. During our French music unit, I switch to music-related questions!

The goal is quite simple – I am trying to get my students to chat about their music preferences in French!

Many times, I will have that question guide my lesson. This means that I end up answering the question as well and then I do a little lesson en français about my answer.

Qui est le chanteur préfére de votre prof?

This is the perfect example of what I just described above. The very first French-music themed question du jour is a super simple one.

After most of these question du jours, I lead a mini-lesson sharing my own answer with images and targetted language.

Essential French music terms

The very next thing I do, is introduce my students to really important French music terms and French verb structures they need in order to communicate in French.

Qui est Stromae?

I love introducing my students to Stromae at the very start of the French music unit. Students have most definitely come across his songs and many even have Papaoutai memorized!

In our slides, I introduce students to Stromae’s story, his most iconic songs and we watch some of his interview videos.

Here is one we watch together!

Les origines des genres musicaux

One of my absolute favourite activities is this reading comprehension activity where we learn about the origins of music genres.

What we learn is that Black communities in the United States are responsible for creating some of the most-loved musical genres AND many other music genres come from these genres.

This reading comprehension activity comes with pre-reading and post-reading activities. If you are new to really structured French reading comprehension articles, do be sure to read my blog post where I break down my strategies.

Quel est le genre musical?

Next I introduce my students to a variety of French songs of different genres. The purpose of this activity is to guess what the musical genre of the song is!

I try to pick reggae, country, some Céline Dion from the 1990s and other unique genres that I know my students have not been exposed to.

Un clin d’oeil sur Lous and the Yakuza

We absolutely CANNOT do a French music unit without learning all about Lous and the Yakuza. She has an incredible story and we spent a lesson or two reading about her and then watching one of her interviews on her YouTube channel.

This interview below is one of my all-time favourites because it is in this video that I realized what a true gem Lous is. In this video, Lous and the interviewer (Dolores Bakéla) weaves talk about la négritude, important figures like Paulette Nardal, feminism, colourism, la fierité noire / Black pride, and so much more!

La chanson française – Édith Piaf et Charles Aznavour

One of the very last activities we do lasts about three to four periods. Here’s how it works :

1. I divide my class into three groups
2. Each group studies either La bohème, Que c’est triste Venise or La vie en rose. La bohème is harder and La vie en rose easiest. So I am paying attention to my students’ strengths and who needs a challenge vs. who might need a confidence booster with the easier lyrics
3. Students spend 2 classes analyzing their song
4. Students present their song to the class!

Please note that this activity is entirely formative and there is no mark attached to any of it.

Assignments & projects

I have students talk about their music preferences on a CD! In this assignment, they use all of the vocab and structures that we have been using in class in speaking, listening, reading and writing activities.

The final project is actually a music video where students break down a French song of their choice. In the beginning, they talk about who the artist is and what the song is about. They then act out two minutes of the song! Finally, they end off with telling us what their opinion of the song is. They also create a brochure

Resources

If you’re looking for pre-made resources, I’ve got you!

This bundle has all of the slides and documents mentioned in this blog post!

The post The ultimate French music unit for Core French 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.

Are you looking to diversify your French music playlists for your French courses? Teaching with French music is one of my favourite teaching strategies – it is just so effective! Today I will be sharing with you 5 diverse French singers for French class.

Don’t forget to grab your music freebie!

Why is important to have diverse French singers on your playlists?

I am part of many French teacher communities on social media and in real life. I often see teachers ask for French singer recommendations. It absolutely pains me to see only white singers be recommended. Furthermore, what is worse is that a lot of the recommended singers are either dead or they are seniors right now!

Don’t get me wrong, I do think that there is value in these songs. As a matter of fact, my students have memorized the lyrics to many popular tunes from Compagnie Créole!

However, as teachers we need to engage our students and French pop culture is one such way to capture their attention. In addition, representation is also really important in music and pop culture as it is in books.

Therefore, I am sharing with you 5 singers that are super popular right now for very good reasons! Also, If you are looking for a super fun & engaging music unit, see my French music unit below.

Finally, you may have noticed that Stromae is not mentioned in this article. He was my first favourite French singer. That being said, he has not released new music in some time and I really wanted to give some love to more current artists!

1. Soprano

Soprano is the stage name of Saïd M’Roubaba. He is a French singer, songwriter and rapper. He was born in Marseille, France in 1979 and his parents are originally from Comores.

Soprano sings and raps about topics that are meaningful and relevant. His music is powerful because there is always an important message that he attempts to convey.

Soprano’s top 5 most viewed songs on YouTube are Clown, En feu, Le Coach, Mon Precieux and Roule!

2. Aya Nakamura

Aya Namko was born in Bamako, Mali and she moved with her family to France as a child. She comes from a family of griots which are West African storytellers/singers.

Nakamura is known for the genres Afropop & pop and she often sings about topics such as relationships and love.

Her music is really catchy and you will want to get up and dance!

Nakamura’s most viewed songs on YouTube are Djadja, Pookie, Copines, Comportement and La dot.

3. Maître Gims

Gims is the stage name of Gandhi Bilel Djuna. Maître or simply Gims is a French singer, rapper and songwriter. He was born in Kinsasha, Congo and moved to France as a toddler.

Maître Gims also created his own record label that is affiliated with Universal Music France.

His brother Dadju is also a famous singer & rapper.

Gims’ most viewed songs on YouTube are Sapés comme jamais, Bella, Est-ce que tu m’aimes?, J’me tire and Mi Gna

4. Indila

Indila is the stage name of Adila Sedraïa. She is of Algerian, Egyptian, Indian and Cambodian descent and was born in Paris.

She is a singer and songwriter and has written songs for many famous French artists such as M. Pokora.

Indila not only sings in French, but she has also done vocals in English, Spanish and Hindi!

Indila’s 5 most viewed songs on YouTube are Dernière danse, S.O.S, Tourner dans le vide, Love story and Parle à ta tête.

5. Slimane

Slimane Nebchi is an Algerian-French singer and songwriter. Slimane won season 5 of The Voici and gained fame and success soon after.

In 2019, he released an album with Vitaa that was incredibly successful. Their most viewed songs on YouTube are Ça va ça vient, Avant toi, VersuS, Fais comme ça and À fleur de toi.

Who are your favourite diverse French singers? Share with all of us in the comments below!

The post 5 diverse French singers for French Class appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.