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!

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