Coming up with French listening activities for novice French students can be such a struggle. Most “authentic” listening resources are far too difficult for our beginner French students. Today I am sharing some of my favourite French listening activities for novice French students.

If you are looking for French listening activities for intermediate French students, please read my blog post on my top French Duolingo podcast episode picks. I even have free printables to go along with my favourite 5 episodes.

You! You are one of the BEST French listening activities for your students!

I think that Core French teachers often forget that they are the most powerful listening activity resource. You can turn any photo, video, quote, or resource into a French listening activity for your students.

Let’s say that my lesson today is all about breakfast. My main tool is going to be a photo of a typical Punjabi breakfast. I am going to use this photo to talk about :

a) what I had for breakfast

b) to begin to discuss what francophones around the world may have for breakfast

c) survey my students on what they had for breakfast.

When I am planning this activity, I like to write down what kinds of questions I want to ask my Core French students in order to guide the discussion around my lesson goals. I also brainstormed some French vocabulary I will need to teach as it becomes relevant during our lesson.

These kinds of French listening activities have been the most successful for me. They are very simple, yet engaging.

Map talks for novice French students

Map talks are one of my favourite French listening activities in the Core French classroom.

Please note that I learned ALL about this strategy via the incredible Benjamin Tinsley of Afro Franco. I recommend that you stop what you’re doing and check out how Ben does map talks with his own students.

Because I teach a semester without prep time and I am always pressed for time, I have purchased quite a few of Ben’s map talk scripts and they have been an invaluable resource.

For my novice French class, I actually love doing a map talk of our own neighbourhood. It’s a great way to introduce everyday vocabulary to students.

YouTube videos with no speaking

One of my favourite French listening activities for novice French students is YouTube videos with no speaking.

Here’s an example!

I like to pause the video everytime the next changes and read the text out loud and facilitate a classroom discussion with my students.

Easy French videos on YouTube

Have you ever watched an Easy French video with your novice French students?

I LOVE this YouTube channel for so many reasons.

Here are all of the reasons why I love this YouTube channel :

• the hosts interview Francophones in the videos.
• students are exposed to a variety of accents in their videos
• the topics are often cultural so the hosts aren’t just explaining French grammar topics
• their videos have French AND English subtitles
• the hosts use simple French and enunciate clearly as they are conscious of their audience’s level of French

Do you have recommendations for engaging French listening activities for novice French students?

Let’s keep the chat going! Drop a comment below if you have ideas for relevant and engaging French listening activities for novice French students!

The post 4 French listening activities for novice French classes appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

If you teach novice French classes, you know the struggle of finding relevant and engaging French reading comprehension texts. There is no in-between. You either find engaging texts that are waaay too difficult or boring texts that are at the right level. I am here to tell you that we can have both, fellow French teachers! Here are novice French reading comprehension articles on engaging and relevant cultural topics.

Who are these articles for?

These French reading comprehension articles are ideal for beginner French students. I have written these for my own novice Core French students in Grade 8.

But what are effective French reading comprehension strategies for beginner French students?

“but….Madame, I don’t speak French. I can’t read this!” was something I used to hear often the first few years of my career!

That and my students looking down at my reading comprehension text and not understanding a SINGLE word. Does this happen to you, fellow French teacher?

Chances are that you are making some crucial mistakes when structuring your reading comprehension activities with your students!

With my beginner French students, I teach a very specific set of French reading comprehension strategies. I have written a blog post where I break down each strategy.

All five of the articles mentioned below follow the structure and strategies mentioned in that blog post.

Looking for posters with helpful reading comprehension strategies?

I have created a set of posters that I have up on my whiteboard at the front of the classroom. They are so handy! They also go hand-in-hand with all of the novice French reading comprehension articles mentioned in this blog post.

When students forget their strategies, I simply remind them to look at the board.

Click here for this helpful visual tool

Why are these French reading comprehension worksheets ideal for novice French students?

For all 5 of the articles, I have chosen high-frequency structures and vocabulary that beginner French students learn in class. I have also purposefully chosen tons of cognates to further facilitate comprehension.

French reading comprehension topic #1 – Kylian Mbappé

So many of my novice French students not only love soccer, but they also love Kylian Mbappé. I felt that it only made sense to learn about Mbappé’s background.

High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: French sports vocabulary, French nationality/ethnicity adjectives, French ER verbs, family vocabulary

French reading comprehension topic #2 – Le Louvre

The next novice French reading comprehension article is on the famous Parisian museum – le Louvre.

In this article, students are exposed to some past tense structures such as “était”.

We learn a little about the history of the Louvre and we also read about some interesting facts about the museum.

High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: French adjectives, French art vocabulary

French reading comprehension topic #3 – Marseille

The third French reading comprehension article is all about the French city of Marseille!

In this article, French students will learn basic information about the city and people of Marseille.

High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: French travel vocabulary, weather, French adjectives, il y a, être

French reading comprehension topic #4 – les Antilles

I strongly believe that you shouldn’t have to wait until your French students are at an intermediate level to expose them to la Francophonie.

This one in particular is filled with cognates. You can expose your Core French students to les Antilles françaises at a high novice level with the help of this article!

High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: travel vocabulary, French adjectives, il y a, French irregular verbs

Reading comprehension topic #5 – le petit-déjeuner

Last but not least we’ve got one of my favourites! Le petit-déjeuner autour du monde.

In this article, students will learn about what kinds of breakfast dishes are eaten around the world.

High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: French food vocabulary, country names in French, ER verbs

Grab these engaging beginner French reading comprehension texts

Each of these articles comes with structured pre-reading activities and strategies and reading comprehension questions in English and in French!

Grab your copy of these cultural reading comprehension articles

The post 5 novice French Reading Comprehension Articles for Beginner French appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.