I am a native speaker of French, currently based in India. I am an IGCSE and IB French teacher and I have been teaching for 15 years. I am also Head of Secondary at my school and a former IBDP Coordinator.
I am a co-author of the IBDP Kognity French B textbook and a senior IBDP examiner.
I am a native speaker of French, currently based in India. I am an IGCSE and IB French teacher and I have been teaching for 15 years. I am also Head of Secondary at my school and a former IBDP Coordinator.
I am a co-author of the IBDP Kognity French B textbook and a senior IBDP examiner.
This worksheet contains a detailed explanation of how to use the pronoun 'en'. It looks at how to differentiate the pronoun 'en' from the direct object pronoun and gives a useful mind map for students to follow when they are trying to decide whether to use 'en' of the direct object pronoun.
There are scaffolded tasks meant to build up students' confidence in their use of both the direct object pronoun and the pronoun 'en'.
I created this resources for my Year 12 students who are doing IB French B at Standard Level. It can also be used with Higher Level students as a revision task or as a starting point for a more in-depth lesson on the use of pronouns.
Activity based on an article published in Le Monde in Sept 17 which explores the relationship between the rise in natural catastrophes and climate change in the aftermath of the series of deadly hurricanes which have hit the US and the Caribbean in the Summer of 2017.
This resource is an IB-style (Paper 1) reading comprehension for French B Higher Level students. It can also be used for A2 students, or students wanting to take the DELF B2/C1 exam.
I created this resource for my Year 12 ab initio class, after we learnt to tell the time in French.
The purpose of this activity is to get students used to recognising simple sentences/words in a text spoken at normal speed, as well as revising key vocabulary linked to activities and daily life. The video clip also helps students associate words with visuals.
At the end, there is a creative activity aimed at getting students to use the time in French, as well as what they learnt in the song, to produce a piece of creative writing.
Grand Corps Malade is a famous French slammer (slam is spoken poetry with music) and his diction is very clear, making his songs ideal to work on with students. My students really loved this song and went on to downloading it for themselves later on.
It could also be used with a GCSE/MYP group.
Crosswords to practise personality adjectives and adjective agreements.
Students have to complete the sentences using the correct adjective with the correct adjective agreements. This gives them an opportunity to see these adjectives used in context and in idiomatic turns of phrase, which they can later reuse for a speaking or a writing activity.
I used it at the beginning of Year 10 as an extension task while revising how to describe someone, but it could also be used in KS3 with a more advanced group.
This worksheet looks at 2 very different songs, both on the topic of Friendship: Les copains d'abord (Georges Brassens) and L'Itinéraire (Bénabar).
It is an excellent opportunity to develop the use of French slang (argot) and colloquialism, while looking at two different approaches to the concept of friendship.
The first song may require some level of explanation as there are many cultural references that can be quite obscure to students but it is an absolute classic.
Originally created for my year 12 French B Standard and Higher Level class, but can be adapted to AS/A levels, possibly even advanced (I)GCSE.
I have included a suggested markscheme for the questions at the end of the document.
This is a fantastic way to get kids to practise directions and places in town in a foreign language. Find a town where Google street is operational and make a list of instructions for kids to navigate, as if they were actually navigating in that town.
It's a little time consuming to make, but kids really enjoy it and it's the next best thing to actually visiting the place in person!
The follow-up activity is to get kids to plan one of their own in a town of their choice, to get them to practise places in town, using directions, and using the imperative.
I have used it with my Year 8 group, as well as my Year 12 ab initio group, but it can be adapted to any year group by changing the level of difficulty of the questions.
I made this lesson as an introduction to my unit on the media and the press.
The text is about the press in France and the difference between newspapers and magazines, dailies, and weeklies, etc.
It is an excellent opportunity to revise or introduce some key vocabulary related to this topic (hebdomadaire, mensuel, la Une, la police, les faits divers, etc.).
There is a vocabulary exercise, as well as a comprehension task, and a gap-fill summar of the text at the end.
This article looks at how certain French schools have started to allow students to smoke on the premises after the November terrorist attacks in Paris and the state of emergency, alleging that students would be safer smoking at school than outside.
Ideal as a preparation for French B SL Paper 1 when covering the topic of health and smoking, or looking at current affairs. It could also match the difficulty of Text A in an HL paper.
The questions are modelled exactly on the comprehension questions in the exam.
Can be used for a mock exam or an end of unit assignment. Can also be used in class.
I have included a markscheme at the end.
Takeaway homework gives student the opportunity to choose how they want to reinforce their learning and when. It puts the onus on them, rather than being an imposition from the teacher.
Hand out this menu to your class and set out clear expectations: they will hand in one homework a week, or 4 homeworks each month (as per your requirements). Students will then choose a task that will appeal most to them and enable them to focus on their own needs or develop their own strengths and creativity.
This homework menu has 3 levels of difficulty so the homework is immediately differentiated and there are 14 different tasks. The tasks are generic enough to be applied to any topic you are currently studying. A few of them give students the opportunity to do some independent learning.
This grammar worksheet starts with a brief revision of the imperfect, the future simplet and the conditional tenses/modes, which students often tend to confuse.
It then introduces the 3 different types of "si" clauses:
- Si + present + future --> Si nous continuons de gaspiller l’énergie, nous aurons de gros problèmes.
- Si + imperfect + conditional --> Si nous continuions de gaspiller l’énergie, nous aurions de gros problèmes.
- Si + pluperfect + conditional past --> Si nous avions continué de gaspiller l’énergie, nous aurions eu de gros problèmes.
The explanation is followed by 2 fairly difficult exercises on the topic of the environment.
I have created and used this worksheet with my French Higher Level group in Year 13. It could also be used for a French SL able group or for differentiation purposes (see worksheet on 'si' clauses for Standard Level)
This worksheets offers students the opportunity to revise the formation of the imperfect, the simple future and the conditional, which they often confuse.
It then explains 3 structures with 'si':
- Si + present + future: Si le gouvernement ne met rien en place, les températures vont continuer d’augmenter.
- Si + imperfect + conditional: Si le gouvernement ne mettait rien en place, les températures continueraient d’augmenter.
- Et si + imparfait? : Et si les températures continuaient d'augmenter?
There are 2 practise exercises (gapfill and fairly substantial translation exercise) for students to practise.
Examples and exercises are all based on the topic of the environment and therefore provide students with the opportunity to revise the basic vocabulary on this topic.
It can be used along with the same worksheet I have uploaded for Higher Level if you wish to differentiate the lesson.
I used this song as part of my unit on relationships and love with my IB first year group (French B SL).
There is a listening activity, as well as vocabulary and comprehension exercises. I have also included a short revision task on possessive adjectives.
This song could also be used to introduce a topic on French slang.
Grand Corps Malade is always well liked by students as his music is relevant and engaging. As a slammer, his pronunciation is also very clear, making his songs very useful teaching resources.
I created this resource as part of a unit on education. It explores the strengths and weaknesses of different school systems around the world and gets students to think about how they learn and how different school systems attempt to provide the best answer to today's challenges around education.
All sources are authentic (1 radio programme and 3 videos) and the links are on the worksheet.
It is also an opportunity for students to learn and practise new vocabulary, as well as revise/learn about conjunctions that call for the subjunctive (bien que, pour que, sans que, etc.).
This activity represents 1200 minutes of class work.
This activity is ideal for A2 students, IB Higher level students or B2 level students.
I created this reading comprehension for my advanced IGCSE group when we covered the topic of school and daily routines.
The text is authentic and the questions mirror the type of questions asked in a French B Paper 1, so this text can also be used for a French B/AS level group.
Ideal as a preparation for French B SL Paper 1 when covering the topic of health and smoking. It could also match the difficulty of Text A in an HL paper.
The questions are modelled exactly on the comprehension questions in the exam.
Can be used for a mock exam or an end of unit assignment. Can also be used in class.
This activity was created for IB French B HL for the topic ‘health’ and specifically smoking.
The aim of this resource is look at how the tobacco industry build up brand images through advertising, cigarette packets, and other means.
This activity contains some discussion points as well as resources, a reading comprehension (in the style of Paper 1) and a writing activity that encourages students to look at connectives and ways to express goal, consequence, cause, etc. in preparation for section B of Paper 2.
This resource represents 2-3 lessons and contains a markscheme.
I created this resource for 3 of my year 10s who are much more advanced than the rest of the class. It is designed so that students can work independently and introduces new vocabulary and grammar, but also includes a reading comprehension task and some opportunities for speaking. This should represent about 7 or 8 hours of work for a student, providing they take the time to learn the vocabulary, take notes and practise the grammar. This is also ideal to set as cover and it can be given to students up to year 12 as thorough revision. I have also included an answer sheet for all the activities.
This resource booklet is perfect for students to conduct revision just before the exam. This booklet is designed for students to be able to work independently, but could also be used as cover work or directed revisions.
It contains:
- vocabulary exercises (physical descriptions, character descriptions, pets, nationalities & chores)
- 2 grammar reminders and tasks (possessive adjectives and modal verbs 'pouvoir', 'devoir' and 'vouloir')
- 1 listening exercises, modelled, as far as possible, on the IGCSE listening paper, but with authentic recordings (link to the recordings is on the sheet itself)
- 1 reading exercise, modelled exactly on Paper 2 (Section 2 - easier text)
- 1 writing task, modelled exactly on Paper 4 (short one)
- a series of questions with model answers for students to practise the speaking exam.
I created this resource for my year 12 student. It introduces the subjunctive in French, step by step and is linked to the topic of healthy eating. I have also added comparisons to Italian, as my student is Italian, but if that is not relevant to you, just delete that bit. Let me know what you think!
This booklet covers:
- Parts of the body
- Illnesses and injuries
- Food and drinks
- Healthy eating
- Smoking and addictions
- The partitive article
- Past tense of reflexive verbs
- The present participle/The gerund
- The pronoun 'en'
- The subjunctive in context
- Modal verbs and modal expressions
I have created this booklets for 3 of my year 10 students who are working at an advanced level. It covers advanced vocabulary and grammar and includes reading and writing exercises. It is designed so that students can work independently, with limited teacher support. It can also be used for IB/AS level or as cover work.