CoPC - French Improvers Autumn 2025
- Andrew Starr
- Oct 20
- 6 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
This blog post is for the French Improvers' Evening Class at the City of Portsmouth College, Highbury Campus.
A shortened link to this blog page is rebrand.ly/cfri25a
Alternative link for blog index page: ajstarr.short.gy/blog
The classes are due to run on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 9 pm on:
Tuesday, September 30th
Tuesday, October 7th
Tuesday, October 14th
Tuesday, October 21st
Tuesday, October 28th (half-term college is closed)
Tuesday, November 4th
Tuesday, November 11th
Tuesday, November 18th
Tuesday, November 25th
Tuesday, December 2nd
Tuesday, December 9th
Outside of class
Friends in France - Some people maily from Caen looking for 'correspondants'
To improve your listening and speaking skills in a social setting, why not come to the evening or afternoon events I organise in the city?
We have a twin city in Caen. I am the Chair of the Twinning Association for France and Germany. To find out more about our twin cities, visit this website
Tips for tuning your ear to French
Listen to French Music.
Watch French TV series and films (or at least videos/news in French)
There is a lot of stuff online for learning the French language (not all of it, correct!)
You can find some resources online to help you study French by yourself on a Padlet here
Find some Francophone music you like - there's an extraordinary amount out there, and all can be seen on YouTube whenever you like. I have written much more about French music here.
I will use some materials from the course book Entre Nous 1, aimed at the European Language Standards A1 (beginners). You may find it helpful to get a copy for home use and self-study.
It is also possible I will use the book Entre Nous 2, depending on how we get on.
This blog page will help you learn how to get all those accents on your various devices.
To check verb conjugation - particularly while you are learning all those irregular verbs - this tool could be of use to you.
During this course, we shall also be looking at grammar, particularly verb formation.
I have a blog here that will take you step by step through verb formation.
If you are serious about mastering French Grammar a good place to start is the verb formation and this book will certainly help. (see here for an older version)
If you're looking for a 'penpal' in Caen, here are some interested parties - mainly in their early 20s, studying at the University of Caen... One is a business and Economics teacher at the Lycée Malherbe in Caen. One lives in Belgium and is 77.
Please let me know if any are of interest, and I will provide you with their email addresses.
We have an exchange visit from Caen in June. There is also likely to be a day trip coming to visit Arundel on Saturday, 6th December, you would be welcome to join us and meet the French!
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mardi, 4 novembre
Le jour de l'armistice/Le jour du souvenir (CAN)
Les bizzarreries de la langue française
Vous avez quelque chose à nous dire au sujet de Halloween ou Toussaint cette année?
Vous aimez les feux d'artifice? Car ce soir c'est la fête de Guy Fawkes...
mardi, 22 octobre Present Tense Quizzes
Has anyone prepared a presentation on their favourite book, film. tv series, sci-fi etc?
Tonight, we will look at the regular formation of the French imperfect tense with the three families of verbs. '-er', '-ir', & '-re'.
How do you form the imperfect tense?
Anything not follow this pattern?
Check the verb formation blog, for the formation of French verbs in the imperfect tense.
So far we have looked at the formation of verbs in the present and perfect tnses and now today the imperfect tense.
This song features the use of both the perfect and imperfect tenses. Can you pick them out and correctly spell them ?
We will look into the theme of the upcoming holiday in France. Halloween is not very French, but la Toussaint is.
Vocabulaire d'Halloween
La Toussaint
Halloween
Extra:
Que signifie Halloween pour vous? Vous l'avez fêté dans le passé comme enfant ou le fêtez-vou encore?
mardi, 14 octobre Present Tense Quizzes
GSR - Saturday, 18th and Sunday 19th October Perfect Tense Quizzes
Tonight, we will look at the regular formation of the French perfect tense with the three families of verbs. '-er', '-ir', & '-re'.
How do you form the past participle of '-er' verbs?
How do you form the past participle of '-ir' verbs?
How do you form the past participle of '-re' verbs?
Check the verb formation blog, for the formation of French verbs in the perfect tense.
Note the formation of some of the main irregular verbs, these must be learned there's no easy formula, although some do seem to have a pattern you may pick up over time.
Last week I asked you to present about your favourite movie or tv show. Have you managed to prepare anything?
What about a specific genre? - Is there a book you could recommend that has not been made into a film or series?
La fantastique famille Madrigal - Nous ne _______ pas de Bruno
mardi, 7 octobre Present Tense Quizzes
GSR - Saturday, 18th and Sunday 19th October
Tonight, we will look at the regular formation of the French present tense with the three families of verbs. '-er', '-ir', & '-re'.
How do you form the Present tense of '-er' verbs?
How do you form the Present tense of '-ir' verbs?
How do you form the Present tense of '-re' verbs?
Check the verb formation blog, for the formation of French verbs in the present tense.
Note the formation of some of the main irregular verbs, these must be learned there's no easy formula, although some do seem to have a pattern you may pick up over time.
For a really in-depth write up click here. Top 10 irregular verbs Overview - irregular
When you review films and TV series in French, we often use the present tense. So we will look at two animated movies from Disney in review in French. Coco & Le Roi Lion.
Quel est votre film préféré ?
Quel est votre série télévisé favori ?
Pour moi je suis fan du film Titanic avec Kate Winslet et Leonardo di Caprio, ainsi que les films du série Jurassic Park. Je suis fan de dinosaures depuis mon enfance.
Can you prepare a short review of a film or tv series you have enjoyed in French, use the sheets to help you prepare. If you want to show an image or a slideshow email it to me.
Could you describe the main people in the film/series, talk about their physical appearance and their character? Can you explain a bit of the plot. Be bold!
We can use a specific scene from the same TV series or movie to be a setting for the next tense we look at.
Révision - Formation of the Present Tense in French.
Bande Annonce - Jurassic Park
Bande Annonce - Titanic
mardi, 30 septembre
Tonight is the first lesson. We will look at what motivates you to improve your French, why you have signed up, and what you want to get from the class (so I can best prepare for the next nine weeks). It is also how we can get to know each other (for any people who were not in this class before). Do let me know if there is a theme you really need to cover...
Voici quelques questions pour vous faire parler aujourd'hui:
Qui êtes vous?
Pourquoi voulez-vous améliorer votre français?
Parlez-nous d'une visite en France ou dans un pays francophone... (see below for information )
Que faites-vous dans la vie?
Quels sont vos passe-temps préférés?
Parlez nous de votre famille...
Parlez nous de votre ville...
... et vos passe-temps qu'est-ce que vous faites dans la vie?
So, tonight is for me to gauge whereabouts to pitch the level of the class. If there are specific themes you would like to cover, do not hesitate to mention them, and if they are in my skill set, I can certainly cover them.
La prononciation... What do you know about these words...
La Francophonie - What do you know about La Francophonie?
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