I’m Rachel and I've been teaching for 18 years! I first taught English (TEFL) in Japan and Madrid and then taught French and Spanish in Surrey. I subsequently worked in a UK curriculum school in sunny Dubai. I have now relocated to the UK and have a gorgeous baby daughter!
I have a learning-centred approach and encourage my students to be active and reflective learners. I really enjoy the creative process of making PowerPoints and worksheets and hope you enjoy using them!
I’m Rachel and I've been teaching for 18 years! I first taught English (TEFL) in Japan and Madrid and then taught French and Spanish in Surrey. I subsequently worked in a UK curriculum school in sunny Dubai. I have now relocated to the UK and have a gorgeous baby daughter!
I have a learning-centred approach and encourage my students to be active and reflective learners. I really enjoy the creative process of making PowerPoints and worksheets and hope you enjoy using them!
As there are many cognates in transport vocabulary and this is aimed at slightly older students I have included a range of tenses.
Expressions taught:
Je vais à la piscine à vélo.
Il va au syndicat d’initiative en voiture.
Nous allons au club des jeunes en taxi.
Vous allez chez des copains à pied.
Ils vont à l’hôtel de ville à moto.
Je suis allé(e) à la librairie en avion.
J’irai aux Etats Unis en aéroglisseur.
Quand j’étais jeune je voyageais en bateau.
J’aimerais voyager en car.
Nous sommes allés à la bibliothèque à mobylette.
Il faut que j’aille à l’école en TGV.
The first slide encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings. It is differentiated as follows:
All:Translate 7
Most: Translate 10
Some: Translate 11. When do we use à and en? PPC!
(PPC = Perfect Pronunciation Challenge).
The next slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
The 14th slide has pictures of all the phrases. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love! The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If its the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
Then there are "what's missing?" slides.
I use this differentiated worksheet to revise and build upon key school vocabulary. It features a 16 minute extract from the gorgeous French film Être et avoir, which we watch with subtitles.
Être et avoir.
1.04.30 – 1.07.24 : Ami/ amie : Chapitre 12.
The first section tells students to:
Cochez les choses que vous voyez :
Le coucher du soleil l’aube une vache un cheval un fleuve
un champs un livre un tableau un élève une règle
une trousse un professeur/ un instituteur une photocopieuse
un stylo un crayon un cahier une chaise une poubelle
une gomme un taille-crayon
There are 5 Extra questions for stronger students such as:
1. Comment dit-on « un volet » en anglais ?
2. Comment dit-on « grince » en anglais ?
4. Marie et Jojo font…
a. du café b. de l’équitation c. des photocopies
The next extract: 1.07.24 – 1.16 minutes has 16 Vrai ou faux ? questions such as:
1. Ils apprennent comment dire « friend. »
2. Jojo dit « maman et son ami Jojo. »
3. Létitia fait une erreur.
4. Johann parle de son ami.
5. La photocopieuse est en panne.
6. Le collège est plus grand que l’école primaire.
There are 7 Extra questions for stronger students such as :
1. Quel animal est sur le sweat de Laetitia ?
2. Comment s’appelle le collège ?
3. Ils parlent de deux types de vaches. Lesquels ?
4. Comment dit-on « Year 7 » en français ?
The answers are on the first 2 sheets. The student question sheet is the third sheet.
I use this PowerPoint to introduce the Subjunctive:
It starts with 3 slides of examples where I elicit the English.
Then it explains that:
The subjunctive is not a tense, but an alternative form of the verb which has to be used in certain circumstances.
The next slide states:
Grammar books usually refer to it as the subjunctive mood as it often conveys a particular mood e.g. sadness, joy, anger, doubt, uncertainty.
The following slide elicits the formation for regular verbs and the final slide introduces the je form of key irregular verbs. The students must match up the infinitive and the je form.
Metacognition/ Learning To Learn PowerPoint Description
I led a School Improvement Group looking at Metacognition, or put more simply Learning To learn. I was concerned that my language classes were not developing efficient and effective ways to memorise new vocabulary and grammatical structures. As a consequence I created this PowerPoint presentation, which I have used with all my classes from years 7- 13 (UK)/ grades 6 to 12. I find it particularly powerful to show before assessments and show it regularly throughout the academic year!
It starts with the powerful statement: Intelligence is not fixed or unchanging. We can build intelligence. I then ask the students to discuss how they learn vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Then there are some examples of mnemonics in Lingala, Chinese and French, followed by a French grammar analogy. Finally there are 2 slides of ideas for the students to try (which you may wish to print out) such as:
Practice testing * You MUST DO THIS! Test and be tested by a friend/family member/ yourself.
Write a challenging quiz e.g Millionaire, zondle, Kahoot, Tiny Taps…
Teach someone or something (teddy bear will do!). We remember 90% of what we teach others.
You may wish to print out some slides for display or perhaps share ideas with parents.
Enjoy!
Expressions:
J’ai chaud, j’ai froid, j’ai faim, j’ai soif, j’ai envie de vomir, j’ai envie de dormir, j’ai de la fièvre, j’ai un rhume, j’ai la grippe, j’ai le rhume des foins.
The first slide encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings. They then discuss the pronunciation and question each other before the teacher checks with the whole class.
The next slides have the phrase and a picture for the first 6 expressions. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
The next section of slides have multiple choice questions. Then there are "what's missing?" slides.
Then the process is repeated for the remaining expressions.
The final slide has pictures of all the phrases. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love!
The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If its the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
The first slide encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings. They then discuss the pronunciation and question each other before the teacher checks with the whole class.
All: Translate the films below.
Most: Identify the tenses.
Some: Perfect Pronunciation Challenge & QFQs!
Je regarde un film d’aventure.
Je vais regarder un dessin animé.
J’ai regardé un film policier.
J’adore regarder les films de science-fiction.
Je n’aime pas les films d’horreur.
Je regarde un western.
Je vais regarder une comédie.
Nous avons regardé un film romantique.
The next slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
The next section of slides have multiple choice questions.
Then there are "what's missing?" slides.
The final slide has pictures of all the phrases. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love! The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If its the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
I have planned this lesson not only to teach vocabulary and facts about football, France and Euro 2016, but also to help the students to respond creatively to their learning and hopefully share their passion for football! The PowerPoint uses matching cards, colourful pictures and animations and YouTube extracts set to music to inspire the students. It is planned to use with students from Years 6-9 (the final task is very open-ended).
Slide 2 states the objective:
Objectif: To learn about Le Football & Euro 2016 and to respond creatively to your learning.
Slide 3 has a YouTube link to follow to use with the attached worksheet. This uses the official UEFA promotional video (3 mins 57 secs) and the worksheet builds vocabulary, cultural and factual knowledge such as the locations of the stadiums, their capacities, cultural images and numbers of matches, volunteers, teams etc. The worksheet is differentiated with an Extra! challenge section. The answers are on the first page of the worksheet.
Slide 5 introduces key vocabulary and can be used with the matching cards. The students should work in pairs/ groups to match the vocabulary and the picture using their previous knowledge, cognates and a process of elimination.
Vocabulary:
Le joueur de foot
Le gardien de but
L’arbitre
Le stade
Le ballon de foot
La coupe
Un drapeau
Une équipe
Un carton jaune
Le terrain de foot
Un maillot de foot
Des chaussures de foot
The activity is differentiated as follows:
All: Match Up!
Most: Perfect Pronunciation Challenge!
Some: Quick Fire Questions! (Here the students quiz each other: French to English, English to French, spellings, accents…..).
Slides 6 to 17 show each word and the matching picture and colourful animations.
Slide 18 has all the pictures for a quick recap.
Then there is graded questioning:
Slides 19 to 30 have A, B, C multiple choice questions.
Slides 31 to 44 are “What’s missing?” slides.
Then slide 45 has a YouTube link to the official song and video (3 mins 49 secs) and students should note down new nouns and adjectives expressing the emotions they see and feel (if they don’t know the French they can grab a dictionary later!)
The creative challenges are presented on slides 45 and 46, this is to either create an acrostic, a calligramme or a poem (there is a poem template provided). This information is also on the accompanying worksheets.
Slide 47 provides the opportunity for reflection.
I really hope you and your students enjoy these resources!
This PowerPoint focuses on what one used to do at primary school.
Qu’est-ce que tu faisais à l’école primaire?
Expressions taught:
Je dessinais.
Je chantais.
J’apprenais à lire/ écrire/ compter.
Je faisais du ski.
Je jouais au foot.
J’écoutais des histoires.
Je parlais avec des copains.
The first slide encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings. They then discuss the pronunciation (PPC = Perfect pronunciation Challenge). Stronger students then match the endings to the subject pronouns.
The next slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill. The next section of slides are vrai- faux questions. Then there are "what's missing?" slides. The final slide has pictures of all the phrases. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love! The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If its the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
Having familiarised the students with these key phrases slides 28 and 29 focus on eliciting the formation and the endings for all subject pronouns. Slide 31 looks at the irregular verb être and the final slide covers all the information taught. This can be printed out and stuck into student's books.
The use the role play.
This short 4 slide PowerPoint can be used to elicit the formation of the Future Perfect tense. You may wish to follow this with my Battleships Game to re-enforce the learning.
Battleships Expressions:
Quand j’aurai fait mes devoirs
Lorsque nous aurons joué au tennis
Dès que vous serez retourné(e)(s) de vacances
Aussitôt que tu auras écrit la lettre
Une fois que j’aurai bu mon café
je me coucherai.
j’aurai faim.
mon frère fera du VTT.
nous irons en ville.
ils feront les magasins.
je serai fatigué(e).
Battleships Game
Instructions
The students love this competitive and fun game!
I use this battleships game (which can also be used as a lotto grid) to help students to practise their pronunciation and to reinforce new vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions.
The students then focus on pronunciation and decide the two easiest and two most difficult words to pronounce.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation. This is followed by whole class drilling of pronunciation mistakes.
Enjoy!
The PowerPoint should be used with the English - French matching cards to elicit the formation and use of the present participle.
Examples of expressions on cards:
Il faut réagir énergétiquement en évitant de se battre.
You have to react energetically while avoiding a fight.
Tu ne perdras jamais de kilos en mangeant tant de plats sucrés.
Will will never ________________ whilst you eat so many ___________.
To help my A Level students to consider French stereotypes I show them the fabulous Cliché! by Cédric Villain on YouTube and ask them to complete the worksheet. I have been pretty sneaky in the wording of the questions to test a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures!
Examples of questions.
1.
a. La plupart des Français ne portent que des rayures, un foulard rouge, un béret et une baguette.
b. Tous les Français portent des rayures, un foulard rouge, un béret et une baguette.
c. Les Français portent souvent des rayures, un foulard rouge, un béret et une baguette.
2.
a. Les Français n’habitent qu’à Paris ou sur la Côte d’Azur.
b. La moitié des Français vivent à Paris.
c. Beaucoup des Français demeurent à Paris ou sur la Côte d’Azur.
3.
a. Quelques Français ont une vue de la Tour Eiffel.
b. La majorité des Français ont vu la Tour Eiffel.
c. Tous les Français peuvent voir La Tour Eiffel de chez eux.
This PowerPoint presents the following expressions with avoir and regular past participles:
J’ai joué au foot.
J’ai regardé la télé.
J’ai écouté de la musique.
J’ai mangé un gâteau.
J’ai fini mes devoirs.
J’ai vendu ma voiture.
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
The next section of slides have multiple choice questions. Then there are "what's missing?" slides. The final slide has pictures of all the phrases. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love! The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If its the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
Slide 21 asks:
J’ai joué au foot.
This sentence is made up of 2 key ingrediants. What are they?
Elicit from the students:
J’ai = the form of avoir.
joué = the past participle.
Slide 22 elicits the conjugation of avoir.
Finally use slide 23 to elicit the formation of the past participles (I write the rules on the board).
Battleships Expressions:
J’ai
Tu as
Il a
Elle a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils ont
Elles ont
joué au foot.
regardé la télé.
écouté de la musique.
mangé des gâteaux.
fini les devoirs.
vendu la voiture.
Battleships Game
Instructions
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions and discuss pronunciation.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation.
Enjoy!
The first slide quickly revises regular past participles using the following examples:
J’ai joué au foot.
J’ai fini mes devoirs.
J’ai vendu ma voiture.
Elicit from the students how to change the infinitive into the regular past participle.
Slide 3 explains:
If we take the verb faire and apply the rules for re verbs we get the following:
Faire – re = fai
+ u = faiu!
French doesn’t like this so the verb faire has the irregular past participle fait (which doesn’t follow any rules).
Slide 4 encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings. They then discuss the pronunciation (PPC = Perfect Pronunciation Challenge) and question each other (QFQs = Quick Fire Questions) before the teacher checks with the whole class.
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
Then there are multiple choice slides followed by Qu’est-ce que c’est? slides.
The final slide has pictures of all the phrases. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love! The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If its the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
Expressions presented:
J’ai fait du ski. (faire)
J’ai bu un coca. (boire)
J’ai vu la Tour Eiffel. (voir)
J’ai lu un livre. (lire)
J’ai pris une photo. (prendre)
J’ai écrit une lettre. (écrire)
J’ai dit bonjour! (dire)
Cards: These matching cards can be used either to elicit key irregular past participles or to revise previous learning.
Expressions covered:
J’ai fait du ski.
Faire = to do/make
J’ai bu un coca.
Boire = to drink
J’ai vu la Tour Eiffel.
Voir = to see
J’ai lu un livre.
Lire = to read
J’ai pris une photo.
Prendre = to take
J’ai écrit une lettre.
Écrire = to write
J’ai dit bonjour!
Dire = to say
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = put the cards into 3 columns: the picture, the infinitive and the perfect tense phrase and discuss the pronunciation.
Level 2 = As above and then have quick fire questions from French to English, whereby 1 student closes their eyes and their partner reads out the French cards which the student must translate into English from memory.
Level 3 = As Level 2 but the quick fire questions are from English to
Following checking there are 2 fun games to play, either pelmenism or slap the card.
Expressions:
Avant de faire mes devoirs
Avant de quitter la maison
Avant de manger le déjeuner
Avant de me coucher
Avant de voyager autour du monde
je m’étais levé(e) tôt.
j’avais fait la vaisselle.
j’avais lu une bande dessinée.
j’avais vu les actualités.
je m’étais lavé(e).
Battleships Game
Instructions
The students love this competitive and fun game!
I use this battleships game (which can also be used as a lotto grid) to help students to practise their pronunciation and to reinforce new vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions.
The students then focus on pronunciation and decide the two easiest and two most difficult words to pronounce.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation. This is followed by whole class drilling of pronunciation mistakes.
Enjoy!
I made this flowchart to help my students form the perfect tense for regular past participles, irregular past participles, verbs that take être and negatives. The second slide also includes reflexives. I thought it would be great to create a Perfect Tense machine, hence the Perfectatron! I print out a colour copy for each student to stick in their books. You may wish to use this with my Perfectatron Challenge Worksheet.
The Perfectatron Challenge!
This sheet should be completed using the Perfectatron with avoir, être and negatives. Students work through the following challenges, then we check them together as a class.
All:
I entered (m)= ______________________________
I fell (f) = ______________________________
You (informal, m) arrived = ______________________________
He went = ______________________________
She went = ______________________________
We went out (mixed group) = ______________________________
They stayed (group of girls) = ______________________________
They entered (mixed group) = ______________________________
I read = ______________________________
He said = ______________________________
They drank = ______________________________
We learnt = ______________________________
She saw = ______________________________
I watched = ______________________________
You (formal/plural) finished = ______________________________
He played = ______________________________
She listened to = ______________________________
We chose (choisir) = ______________________________
Most:
Create complex sentences using:
MRS VAN DER TRAMP verbs: ______________________________¬¬¬¬-_________
Irregular verbs with avoir: ______________________________¬¬¬-_______________
Regular verbs with avoir: ______________________________________________
Some:
Create a complex, negative sentence for:
MRS VAN DER TRAMP verbs: ______________________________¬¬¬¬-_________
Irregular verbs with avoir: ______________________________¬¬¬-_______________
Regular verbs with avoir: ______________________________________________
Mega Challenge:
See some, but now using a range of tenses, adjectives and opinions.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Expressions:
Je m’entends bien avec lui.
Je ne m’entends pas bien avec elle.
Je fais mes devoirs chez moi.
Nous avons joué au tennis avec elles.
Je vais faire du VTT avec eux.
Je voudrais travailler avec toi.
Lui, il est égoïste!
Pierre est plus pénible que vous!
Il est allé en ville avec nous.
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = match the cards and discuss the pronunciation.
Level 2 = match the cards , discuss the pronunciation, identify the teses and then have quick fire questions from French to English, whereby 1 student closes their eyes and their partner reads out the French cards which the student must translate into English from memory.
Level 3 = As Level 2 but the quick fire questions are from English to French.
Following checking there are 2 fun games to play, either pelmenism or a game I learnt in Japan called Karuta. In Karuta the students put the English language cards to one side and spread out the French cards in front of them. I then say the English and the students compete to touch the correct French card first. Whoever touches it first wins the card. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. The students love this game!
These resources are designed to be a fun end of term lesson! The students learn vocabulary and facts associated to the Tomatina as well as revising food, clothing and colours. There are colourful slides with pictures and animations, differentiated activities, links to short YouTube extracts, a worksheet and a creative task to finish.
The first slide says: In celebration of the humble tomato! (at this point the students do not know that they are learning about La Tomatina!)
Slide 2 is the warmer:
All: Match the words and pictures.
Most: AND identify the food that involves tomatoes!
Some: AND name other tomato-based food/ dishes!
Vocabulary includes:
una pizza
una paella
un bocadillo
el gazpacho
* Having checked these recipes, ALL can contain tomatoes!
Slide 3 says: Of course, there are other things you can do with tomatoes….. Click on the YouTube link which takes you to a brilliant RayBans Tomatina advert (2 mins 47 secs).
Slide 5 then states the lesson objective:
Objetivo: To learn facts and vocabulary related to the La Tomatina.
All: Will learn 7 new facts and Spanish words.
Most: Will learn 9 ...
Some: Will learn 10+ ...
Slide 6 should be used in conjunction with the YouTube link and worksheet:
All: Watch the Tomatina advert and choose the correct answer!
Most: Tick the things you see and the words you hear.
Some: Write down other objects and words in Spanish that you see and hear.
The YouTube link (1 min 21 secs) advertises the Tomatina and is a short cartoon narrated in Spanish. You may wish to show this a couple of times.
Example question:
1. The Tomatina takes place in…
A. Valencia, España.
B. Sevilla, España.
C. Buñol, España.
Examples of vocabulary to tick:
el mundo el sol la luna una palmera un estadio una iglesia un piano
Slide 7 states: You are now going to design your own Tomatina outfit!
All: Match the Spanish and the picture!
Most: Perfect Pronunciation Challenge! What other items of clothing and accessories can you name?
Some: Quick Fire Questions! * Here the students quiz each other English – Spanish, Spanish – English, spellings…..
Vocabulary includes:
Una camiseta
Unos pantalones
Unos zapatos
Slide 8 :
All: Will draw your Tomatina outfit and label the clothing and accessories in Spanish.
Most: AND will write the colour: REMEMBER word order and adjective endings.
Some: AND include the material.
Use your imagination…. You could be a Tomatina superhero, a Tomatina ninja… You decide!
The students then grab dictionaries and design, label and finally present/ share their work.
The final slide is for reflection.
Enjoy!
Spanish PowerPoint presenting holiday destinations and transport.
Vocabulary:
¿Adónde vas de vacaciones normalmente?
Voy a la costa.
Voy a la sierra.
Voy al campo.
Voy a un pueblo.
¿Cómo vas?
Voy en coche.
Voy en avión.
Voy en tren.
Voy en autocar.
Voy en ferry.
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
Slide12 has pictures of all the new vocabulary. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love!
The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If it’s the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
The next section of slides have verdad o mentira questions. Then there is a ¿Qué es? slide.
This short presentation introduces the formation of the Near Future Tense.
The first slide encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary and grammar: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings. They then discuss the pronunciation (PPC = Perfect Pronunciation Challenge) and question each other (QFQ = Quick Fire Questions) before the teacher checks with the whole class.
The next slides have the phrases and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, English, the formation and to drill.
The next slide looks in detail at the formation and the final slide at the conjugation of aller.
You could then use one of my Near Future Tense battleships games/ lotto grids to reinforce the new structure.
Expressions:
Je vais
Tu vas
Il va Elle va
On va
Nous allons
Vous allez
Ils vont
Elles vont
voir un film de science-fiction.
aller au cinéma.
regarder la météo.
faire du cheval.
jouer avec des copains.
jouer à l’ordinateur.
Battleships Game
Instructions
The students love this competitive and fun game!
I use this battleships game (which can also be used as a lotto grid) to help students to practise their pronunciation and to reinforce new vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions.
The students then focus on pronunciation and decide the two easiest and two most difficult words to pronounce.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation. This is followed by whole class drilling of pronunciation mistakes.
Enjoy!
French - English Matching Cards: Rendez-vous!
Expressions:
Oui d’accord.
Je veux bien.
Ça dépend.
Je ne peux pas.
Je suis désolé(e) mais je sors avec ** samedi.
Je regrette mais je dois rester à la maison.
J’aimerais mieux aller à la patinoire.
OK ! On se retrouve où ?
Je ne suis pas libre.
Ça ne me dit rien
Yes, okay.
I’d really like to.
It depends.
I can’t.
Sorry, but I’m going out with *** on Saturday.
Sorry, but I have to stay at home.
I’d rather go to the ice rink.
Okay! Where shall we meet?
I’m not free.
I’m not interested.
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = match the cards and discuss the pronunciation.
Level 2 = match the cards , discuss the pronunciation and then have quick fire questions from French to English, whereby 1 student closes their eyes and their partner reads out the French cards which the student must translate into English from memory.
Level 3 = As Level 2 but the quick fire questions are from English to French.
Following checking there are 2 fun games to play, either pelmenism or slap the card.
Battleships Expressions:
Tu veux aller..
Ça te dirait d’ aller..
Tu as envie d’ aller..
On pourrait aller..
Si on allait..
au théâtre
demain soir?
au cinéma le week-end?
en boîte la semaine prochaine?
à la plage samedi?
aller au concert cet après-midi?
en ville le week-end prochain ?
Instructions
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions and discuss pronunciation.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory.