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!
This worksheet has 3 sections, the first is a word match for English and Spanish greetings.
Vocabulary:
1. Hola.
2. Buenos días.
3. Buenas tardes.
4. Buenas noches.
5. ¿Qué tal?
6. ¡Fenomenal!
7. Muy bien, gracias.
8. Bien, gracias.
9. Bien.
10. Fatal.
The next section is a complete the sentence challenge where certain letters have been removed. Make this more difficult by telling the students to cover up the Spanish words listed above.
The next (extra) section involves unjumbling a group of words to find the correct greetings. Again, make this more difficult by telling the students to cover up the Spanish words listed above.
Then there is an extension task to create their own crossword.
Battleships:
Vocabulary:
1. Hola.
2. Buenos días.
3. Buenas tardes.
4. Buenas noches.
5. ¿Qué tal?
6. ¡fenomenal!
7. Muy bien, gracias.
8. Bien, gracias.
9. Bien.
10. Fatal
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 Spanish version and then try to play the game saying the Spanish phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the Spanish version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the Spanish version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the Spanish 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 use this simple presentation to present the 12 hour clock in Spanish. Eliciting the English and drilling the phrases.
A fun activity to do is to then say a time which the students make with their bodies (one arm for the big hand, one arm for the small hand).
Battleships:
Expressions:
Es la una
Son las dos
Son las cuatro
Son las seis
Son las siete
Son las once
y cuarto.
y media.
menos cuarto.
y diez.
y veinte.
menos cinco.
menos veinticinco.
Plenary/ warmer:
I use this 1 slide warmer activity/ pleanary having taught the time (12 hour clock).
Give the students a mini-whiteboard each.
Click on the presentation and a time will appear e.g. Es la una. The students must draw a clock (analogue or digital) with the correct time.
Click again for the extension activity which is a jumbled up time: e.g. y son siete media las. The students must write this in the correct order e.g. Son las siete y media and then draw the clock.
An additional extension could be to then change this to the 24 hour clock.
There are 4 times to draw and unjumble. This should take approximately 15 minutes.
Times covered include:
Son las ocho menos cuarto
Son las tres y cuarto
Son las once menos veinticinco.
Son las nueve menos veinte
Son las cuatro menos cuarto
Spanish PowerPoint: the Imperfect tense for for descriptions and the time. This focuses on building phrases rather than grammatical rules.
Phrases presented:
Era la una.
Eran las dos.
Hacía buen tiempo.
No hacía frío.
Había mucho trafico.
¡Era increíble!
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.
The final slide has pictures of all the new vocabulary and asks "¿Qué es?. This can also 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!
Spanish PowerPoint introducing vocabulary:
Juego al fútbol.
Juego al tenis.
Juego al rugby.
Juego al baloncesto.
Juego al cricket.
Juego al squash.
Juego al voleibol.
Juego al bádminton.
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 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!
Battleships:
Juego
Juegas
Juega
Jugamos
Jugáis
Juegan
al baloncesto.
al voleibol.
al fútbol.
al tenis.
al bádminton.
al cricket/ críquet.
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 Spanish version and then try to play the game saying the Spanish phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the Spanish version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the Spanish version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the Spanish 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!
This colourful and fun PowerPoint presentation presents various hair colour and hair styles.
Phrases:
Tengo el pelo rubio.
Tengo el pelo castaño.
Tengo el pelo pelirrojo.
Tengo el pelo largo.
Tengo el pelo corto.
Tengo el pelo ondulado/ rizado.
Tengo el pelo liso.
Llevo barba.
Llevo bigote.
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. PPC stands for Perfect Pronunciation Challenge!
The following slides allow the teacher to go through each phrase, check the translation, the pronunciation and drill.
Slide 12 can be used for a game of Beat The teacher: 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!
Then there are graded questioning slides followed by What's missing? slides.
Battleships Game
Vocabulary covered:
Tengo el pelo rubio y
Tengo el pelo castaño yTengo el pelo corto y
Tengo el pelo largo y
Tengo el pelo pelirrojo y
Tengo el pelo rizado y
tengo los ojos azules.
tengo los ojos verdes.
tengo los ojos marrones.
llevo gafas.
llevo barba.
llevo bigote.
Instructions
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.
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 Spanish version and then try to play the game saying the Spanish phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the Spanish version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the Spanish version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the Spanish version as little as possible.
This PowerPoint presentation presents adjectives (mainly colours) to describe pets.
Vocabulary presented:
amarillo/a, atigrado/a, azul, blanco/a, dorado/a,gris, marrón, negro/a, rojo/a, verde, grande & pequeño/a.
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. The final slide has pictures of all the new vocabulary where you can pounce on unsuspecting students and ask ¿Qué es?
This slide can also be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love! (as can slide 14)
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!
Enjoy!
This colourful and fun PowerPoint presentation presents various countries.
Vocabulary presented:
Soy de Australia.
Soy de España.
Soy de Estados Unidos.
Soy de Inglaterra.
Soy de Escocia.
Soy de Gales.
Soy de Irlanda.
Soy de Jamaica.
Soy de México.
Soy de Nigeria.
Soy de Paquistán.
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
The next slide can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love!
Instructions:
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!
Then there are "what's missing?" slides.
The final slide has pictures of all the new vocabulary for a re-cap.
This word document is a Spanish Pet Survey activity to practise talking about pets.
Students ask the question:
¿Tienes animales en casa?
To which their classmates reply:
Sí, tengo ___________________________
No, no tengo un animal.
There is a box to remind students how to use plurals:
Plurals!
Normally we add an s e.g. un perro, dos perros.
If the noun ends in a consonant we add es e.g. un ratón, dos ratones.
Remember:
Un pez, but dos peces.
There is also a suggested extension box:
Extension:
Include names:
Se llama = he/she/it is called.
Se llaman = they are called.
To ensure that the students are using the target language I sometimes secretly choose my "secret policemen" who report students heard speaking in English. At the end of the game they have to perform a forfeit e.g. to sing the names of the animals in the style of an opera singer!
This colourful and fun PowerPoint presentation teaches adjectives to describe school subjects and teachers.
Vocabulary:
Es aburrido/a.
Es bueno/a.
Es divertido/a.
Es difícil.
Es fácil.
Es útil.
Es inteligente.
Es interesante.
Es relajante.
Es simpático/a.
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
It includes a beat the teacher game and a ¿Qué es?slide to check learning.
Beat the teacher is played by the teacher pointing to a picture and saying 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!
Battleships Instructions
The students love this competitive and fun game!
Vocabulary:
El inglés es aburrido y
Los profesores son buenos y
La informática es útil y
La música es fácil y
El español es divertido y
El profesor es inteligente y
el instituto es bueno.
la geografía es difícil.
las matemáticas son aburridas.
la tecnología es relajante.
los alumnos son simpáticos.
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 Spanish version and then try to play the game saying the Spanish phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the Spanish version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the Spanish version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the Spanish 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!
Enjoy!
This is a PowerPoint presentation that describes the weather in Spanish. The first slides have a picture and the weather phrase. The teacher should elicit the English and drill the phrase, perhaps including a gesture (great for a game of "Simon Says" later!). There is then graded questioning: choosing the correct phrase followed by what's missing.
The last slide can be used to play a "beat the teacher" game, the students love this! 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!
Battleships Expressions:
En primavera
En verano
En otoño
En invierno
En Madrid En Barcelona
hace calor y hace sol.
hace mal tiempo y llueve.
hace viento.
nieva.
hay niebla.
hay tormenta y hace frío.
Matching cards expressions (English & Spanish):
Phrases:
En primavera hace viento.
En verano hace calor.
En otoño llueve.
En invierno nieva.
En primavera en el norte de España hace mal tiempo.
En Madrid en verano hace sol.
Hay niebla en otoño.
Hay tormenta y hace frío en invierno.
I hope your students enjoy this colourful Halloween PowerPoint which I have created using some eye-catching animations!
Expressions:
Un fantôme.
Une citrouille.
Une chauve-souris.
Un monstre.
Un vampire.
Un squelette.
Un extra-terrestre.
Une sorcière.
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 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!
2 sets of Halloween Matching Cards. French and pictures.
Set 1 vocabulary:
Un fantôme.
Une sorcière.
Un extra-terrestre.
Un squelette.
Un vampire.
Un monstre.
Une chauve-souris.
Une citrouille.
Set 2 vocabulary:
J’ai peur des fantômes!
J’ai vu une sorcière!
Je n’ai jamais vu d’extra-terrestre!
J’ai besoin d’un squelette!
Les vampires sont effrayants!
Mon petit frère est un petit monstre!
J’aimerais voir une chauve-souris!
J’ai mangé beaucoup de citrouilles.
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = match the cards (picture and French) and discuss the pronunciation.
Level 2 = match the cards 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 = 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 picture 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!
PowerPoint:
I use this resource to present Christmas vocabulary.
Vocabulary presented:
la crèche
un sapin de Noël.
le Père Noël
un cadeau de Noël
un ange
une dinde
un chant de Noël
un renne
un bonhomme de neige
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill. The next slide 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 multiple choice questions. Then there are "what's missing?" slides.
Jingle Bells:
I use this for a bit of a sing-song in my French Christmas lesson. The slide has the following lyrics from Vive Le Vent (Jingle Bells):
Vive le vent, vive le vent,
vive le vent d'hiver;
qui s'en va sifflant, soufflant
dans les grands sapins verts.
Oh!
Vive le temps, vive le temps,
vive le temps d'hiver.
Boules de neige et jour de l'an
et bonne année grand-mère.
I talk the students through the lyrics, then drill them singing each line and put it together for a fun 10 minute activity. I usually get the boys to compete with the girls too! The slide can be printed out too.
Enjoy!
Lotto:
This is a simple lotto game practising the numbers 1-20. Students choose 4 numbers and then I go through the PowerPoint, counting the number of different festive items with the students in French. * Note I count the carol singers as 6!
Please note this doesn't cover all the numbers from 1-20, but when I've played it with my classes I've had a winner in all but 1 game!
I use these French cards to revise the differences between the present, perfect and near future tenses. Great for the beginning of term and throughout the school year.
Expressions on 3 tenses cards:
Je suis allé au cinéma.
Je vais au cinéma.
Je vais aller au cinéma.
J’ai fait mes devoirs.
Je fais mes devoirs.
Je vais faire mes devoirs.
J’ai regardé la télévision.
Je regarde la télévision.
Je vais regarder la télévision.
J’ai joué au football.
Je joue au football.
Je vais jouer au football.
J’ai mangé un sandwich.
Je mange un sandwich.
Je vais manger un sandwich.
J’ai acheté des vêtements.
J’achète des vêtements.
Je vais acheter des vêtements.
J’ai surfé sur Internet.
Je surfe sur Internet.
Je vais surfer sur Internet.
J’ai écouté de la musique.
J’écoute de la musique.
Je vais écouter de la musique.
Je me suis lavé(e).
Je me lave.
Je vais me laver.
Expressions on Aller cards (equivalents on the Jouer cards):
Je vais
Tu vas
Il/Elle/On va
Nous allons
Vous allez
Ils/Elles vont
Je suis allé(e)
Tu es allé(e)
Il/Elle/On est allé(e)
Nous sommes allé(e)s
Vous êtes allé(e)s
Ils/Elles sont allé(e)s
Je vais aller
Tu vas aller
Il/Elle/On va aller
Nous allons aller
Vous allez aller
Ils/Elles vont aller
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = put the cards into 3 columns: present, perfect and near future tense and discuss the translation and pronunciation.
Level 2 = As Level 1, 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.
Lotto Expressions:
j’ai joué au volley
je vais jouer au ping pong
je prends des céréales
je bois un Coca
je vais boire un thé
j’écris une lettre
j’ai fait de la natation
j’ai bu un café
je danse
j’ai regardé la télé
je vais manger une pomme
je joue au foot
je vais danser
je lis un livre
j’ai écrit une lette
j’ai lu un livre
je mange un hamburger
je vais faire de l’équitation
je regarde un film
je vais lire un magazine
je fais du jogging
j’ai dansé
j’ai pris un jus d’orange
j’ai mangé une glace
Enjoy!
Battleships Game/ Lotto Grid: Revision of a range of tenses:.Present, Perfect, Imperfect, Future, Near Future, Conditional, Subjunctive. It could be used as a revision activity at the beginning of of throughout the school year.
Expressions included:
Je suis sorti(e) et
Nous nous sommes amusés et
J’irai au syndicat d’initiative et
Nous irions à la patinoire et
Ils étaient très contents et
il a fait de la voile.
nous avons loué des vélos.
je vais chercher quelques dépliants.
il faisait très chaud.
je travaillerai comme chirurgien.
il faut que je fasse mes devoirs.
Battleships Game
Instructions
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 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. This is followed by whole class drilling of pronunciation mistakes.
Enjoy!
This warmer activity can be used to revise the Present, Perfect, Imperfect, Future and Conditional Tenses at the beginning of term or throughout the school year.
Each student has a mini-whiteboard to write their answer on; give them 20 seconds.
All: Find the odd-one-out.
Most: Identify the tenses.
Some: Change the odd-one-out to the same tense as the other two.
Example Expressions:
je joue au tennis B. je fais de la voile C. je jouerai de la guitare.
A. je bois un jus de pommes B. je mangerai C. j’irai au syndicat d’inititative
A. j’ai joué au foot B. je lis C. j’ai fait de la natation
I use these cards to elicit and revise the word order of object pronouns with verbs. I differentiate as follows:
All: Working in pairs match, then elicit where pronouns go in relation to the verbs.
Most : As above and order the pronouns into 5 columns,
Some: As above and question each other English to French and French to English.
Expressions:
Le secrétaire les leur a envoyés
Ils m’y ont vu.
Je vous en enverrai
La librairie va me l’envoyer demain
Est-ce que je pourrais t’y accompager?
J’espère les y retrouver.
Je le lui ai dit!
Il m'en a parlé plusieurs fois.
Me, te, se, nous, vous, se
Le, la, les
Lui, leur
y
en
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!
This Who Wants To Be a Millionaire PowerPoint revises the Present, Perfect, Future and Conditional tenses. It can be used at the beginning of the year and throughout the year for revision.
I give the students a mini whiteboard. The task is differentiated as follows:
Tout le monde: Choisissez la bonne lettre.
La majorité: Traduisez une autre phrase et identifiez le temps.
Quelques personnes: Traduisez toutes les autres phrases et identifiez tous les temps.
Enjoy!
This fun warmer which can be used at the beginning of the school year and throughout the school year practices the following idiomatic expressions:
Set 1:
Être bourré comme un cochon
Faire d'une pierre deux coups
Faire la navette
Faire le poireau
Faire le pont
À l'heure du laitier
Occupe-toi de tes oignons
Passer un coup de fil
Passer une nuit blanche
Set 2:
L’argent ne se trouve pas sous le pas d’un cheval
Avoir du blé/de la maille/ de l'oseille/ de la thune
Avoir la chair de poule
Avoir la gueule de bois
Avoir la dent/ les crocs/ la dalle
Avoir un chat dans la gorge
Boire un coup
C’est du gâteau
Chacun son truc
Un coup de foudre
Proverbs:
All that glitters is not gold.
Tout ce qui brille n'est pas or.
Come what may.
Advienne que pourra.
Like father like son.
Tel père tel fils.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
A cheval donné, on ne regarde pas la bouche.
The end justifies the means.
La fin justifie les moyens.
There are plenty more fish in the sea.
Un de perdu, dix de retrouvé.
To err is human.
L'erreur est humain
When the cat's away the mice will play.
Quand le chat n'est pas là, les souris dansent.
You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.
On ne fait pas d'omelette sans casser les œufs.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Pierre qui roule n'amasse pas mousse.
An eye for an eye (and a tooth for a tooth).
Oeil pour œil (dent pour dent).
Every penny counts.
Un sou est un sou.
Never put off to tomorrow what can be done today.
Il ne faut pas remettre au lendemain ce qu'on peut faire le jour même.
No news is go
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.
I use this resource with similar ability teams of students to build sentences and increase the level of sophistication of written work. It could be used as a revision task and the beginning of term and throughout the school year. I use it with Years 8 and 9.
I print out the first sheet and the second template sheet and have the sheets colour photocopied and enlarged onto A3 size paper.
The teams start with the middle sentence and work their way through the different stages to develop the sentence and increase the level of sophistication. The starter sentence here is:
Starter sentence:
Le week-end je porte mon jean, mon tee-shirt, mes chaussettes et mes baskets.
Je joue au foot.
Je mange un sandwich.
Then the first development box invites them to:
1.Add opinions e.g. j’adore, j’aime, je n’aime pas, je déteste, je préfère.
2. Add adjectives e.g. colours, génial, intéressant, fatigant, amusant. * Check masc/fem/plural endings. Check word order. C’est = it is, ce n’est pas = it isn’t.
* You can also add a range of connectives e.g. et = and, mais = but, avec= with, donc = therefore, où = where, qui = who, parce que/car = because, tandis que = whereas, while, puis = then, ensuite = then, après = after, de plus = furthermore, par contre = on the other hand, en revanche = on the other hand.
Add in a range of adverbs: très = very, assez = quite, un peu = a little, plutôt = rather, extrêmement = extremely, incroyablement = unbelievably, souvent = often, rarement = rarely.
The following boxes add in the Perfect and near Future tenses plus a range of sophisticated structures for your higher ability students.
I would not expect all groups to work through all of the stages, perhaps the weakest group would aim to incorporate only the first suggestions and so on.
I have been really impressed by the work produced using this support. It can also be used by students individually.
These cards can be used as a warmer / starter activity to revise a range of vocabulary and tenses.
Expressions:
Bonjour. Comment tu t’appelles?
Je m’appelle Amélie.
Où habites-tu?
J’habite à Camberley, près du centre-ville.
Décris-moi ta famille.
J’ai une femme qui s’appelle Isabelle et deux fils qui s’appellent George et Thomas.
Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire pendant tes temps libres ?
J’adore faire du jardinage et je lis dans le jardin quand le temps est ensoleillé.
Qu’est-ce que tu as fait le week-end dernier ?
Je suis allée en ville où j’ai acheté beaucoup de vêtements.
Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire demain soir ?
Je vais sortir avec mes amis. Nous allons probablement voir un film.
Qu’est-ce que tu ferais si tu gagnais à la loterie ?
J’achèterais une grande maison à la campagne et une voiture très chère.
Qu’est-ce que tu feras pour tes vacances ?
J’irai en Espagne avec ma famille.
Qu’est-ce que tu fais comme métier ?
Je travaille comme secrétaire à temps partiel. Je l’adore !
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 a game I learnt in Japan called Karuta. In Karuta the students spread out the 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!