ADVANCED BEGINNER FRENCH INTERMEDIATE FRENCH ADVANCED FRENCH CONVERSATION STARTERS two sets of 100 French conversation starters @ $5.00 each in the bundle Set 1 French Conversation starters features 100 starters in question format, suitable for advanced beginner French to intermediate French students. Set 2 French Conversation starters also features 100 starters in question format, suitable for intermediate French to advanced French students. Speaking is a language skill that learners tend to find very challenging, regardless of level, and increased engagement with language that requires them to both reproduce accurately language they are already familiar with, and to be creative with that language in order to produce new language is integral to successful language learning. In Set 1, the questions focus largely on the present tense, with some examples of the present perfect tense. I include tenses we may not have formally covered, as the activity is not solely about practising language, but also about actively learning it. I encourage students to look for cues and clues in the questions themselves, and this certainly enables them to engage with new or unknown language successfully, and to progress in their learning. In Set 2, the questions feature a range of tenses and moods, such as the present tense, present subjunctive, perfect, imperfect, and conditional perfect. There are several questions focusing on si + imperfect + conditional clauses, and a significant amount of implicit input on a range of grammatical concepts, such as agreement with preceding direct object, use of the subjunctive and so on. I try to include as broad a range of language as I can in the questions, regardless of student learning level, to facilitate learner progress. I encourage students to look for cues and clues in the questions themselves, and this certainly enables them to engage with new or unknown language successfully, and to progress in their learning, which is just as important for more advanced learners. Questions formats are varied, to ensure maximum opportunity to work with the different ways to ask questions in French. Some questions seek to elicit very similar information, but are asked in different language: this avoids learners simply parroting learned responses to fixed prompts. Each card has an image: some of these are specific visual prompts to help students infer meaning; some are more generic images. I do use images as much as possible with this kind of activity, not only to provide the prompt, but also to add to the visual appeal of it, which is a real motivator for learning. I remind students that it is not necessary to tell the truth - the purpose is to create and produce accurate and realistic language. Students can prepare their responses in as much detail as possible on the accompanying planning sheet, remembering that these are conversation starters, so that once they have responded, they should then say something to continue the conversation going. Frequent and regular engagement with the activity brings the best results: with the planning sheet, students can create and prepare increasingly detailed and more complex responses, reflecting their learning progress. I definitely find it useful to read through the questions together as a whole-group, with students offering initial suggested responses. This ensures everyone can actually access the language, and they also benefit a lot from each others’ ideas. As a whole-group activity, distribute the cards amongst your students, one or several. Ideally, they should walk around the classroom, asking questions, and swapping cards. For pair or small-group work, students can work in a designated area. This really helps them focus closely on the language, and helps learners who are slightly less confident working with a larger group. The cards work particularly well as ice-breakers at the beginning of the school year. They’re also great as both entrance and exit tickets, and also for five-minute refreshers, which I use quite frequently during the school year. In the preparation phase, having access to bilingual dictionaries and / or the internet, this can be really helpful. These tools can help them prepare detailed responses to questions in ways that do not necessarily always focus on their own life and experiences. The starters in Set 1 broadly address the following themes: personal information family & routines at home hobbies & free time likes & dislikes local environment food & drink school & studies sport & healthy living countries & languages weather & seasons The starters in Set 2 broadly address the following themes: music, film & television literature & culture personal life, information & preferences leisure & free time health & well-being history & society recent & current events travel, tourism & holidays technology & social media likes & dislikes local environment environmental & social issues education & studies Try this freebie to see if this kind of activity would work well for your students: 10 FRENCH CONVERSATION STARTERS FREEBIE https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/french-conversation-starters-freebie-12903491 Have a browse in my store for more French independent learning activities, and a wide range of other French teaching and learning materials, with French resource boxes, special offer bundles, and lots of freebies - I’ve included a couple here for you to try. 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