This page is for the Adult Education Class at The City of Portsmouth College for more advanced French learners, summer term 2024.
The shortened link for this class is rebrand.ly/copcfra24s
N.B.
Links in blue will work for you, but if they are red, then they will only work for me while in class.
This post is for the French Advanced Improvers Class at the City of Portsmouth College (Highbury Campus) on Wednesday evenings from April to June 2024. Sometimes, we will make use of the course Entre Nous 3 Amazon Link
The classes are due to run from 19:00 to 21:00 on Wednesdays.
17th, and 24th April
1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd May - (28th is half term)
5th, and 12th, June
Dates for 2024/2025 are now available, and enrolment will begin (hopefully) in June.
Outside of Class
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?
Would anyone like to meet the French visitors from Caen with a view to returning to Caen (if you join the FoPT) in 2025, the year of Caen's 1000th Birthday?
Their programme can be seen here (subject to change, of course the page will be updated).
The French Exchange visit from Caen coming here in June 2024. (14th to 17th).
Find out more about Portsmouth's twin cities here
Tips for refreshing and reinforcing your French
Pronunciation Practice 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 the French language and learning (not all of it, correct!) The sites below are usually accessible for free and have French-language content.
Free sources for TV
All 4 (Walter Presents on Channel 4 has some French Series among the many foreign series)
France 24 (online news 24/7 in French)
TV5 Monde (an online bank of Francophone TV and Film)
BBC iPlayer (often under BBC 4 programming)
France Info has a live stream on YouTube below...
Free Sources for Radio
Radio.Garden (Sadly, since October 2022, the UK government has blocked this website for working outside the UK). However, click on the ellipsis (...). You can see the option to visit the website - click there, and you can go to the website - click on 'écouter la radio', and it gives all the France Bleu regional stations in France... then you can listen (this option will work on most radio stations based on 'Radio.Garden').
Uni Instructions (substitute the Uni credentials for the PCC/HCC Credentials)
mercredi, 12 juin
Françoise Hardy - Elle est morte le 11 juin 2024 à l'âge de 80 ans.
La Révolution Française - le 14 juillet. Les points forts de la période révolutionnaire
Les plus belles phrases françaises Pour Rire (TTs au fond)
mercredi, 5 juin
Pour en parler...
mercredi, 29 mai - half term - no class
mercredi, 22 mai
Pour en parler...
This theme is very popular among French drama and fantasy films and series. (Les revenants)
We may move on to examine 'cause and consequence' using the examples of Assange and Snowden from Entre Nous 3.
OR in 2025, Caen will be 1000 Years old, and this event will commemorate its 1000th Anniversary.
Idiomatic Phrases... (one to watch in your own time)...
This song does use a few idiomatic phrases Pdf Mots Manqués
mercredi, 15 mai
Pour en parler...
Qu'en pensez-vous des tatouages? - En valent-ils la peine?
Et le resultat du councours de l'Eurovision? C'était truqué?
Insolite - Ce que vous ne saviez pas sur la bière!
Idiomatic phrases - This is a huge resource in French about French Idioms
The course « Entre Nous 3 » uses the passive voice to describe what has happened and the conditional to describe information that is unverified or unproven.
We will look at this story above. It has been 'resolved', and in 2020, he was re-elected Mayor. However, his project never came to pass, as there was no funding. There now is a British Memorial along the coast at Ver-Sur-Mer.
The course book includes an article about living on Mars, another about a burglary, and one from Boring News. We will look at those.
Having last won in 1977, they are entering with this song this year... Paroles
He has had hits in France before, but what are his chances?
Qu'en pensez-vous des tatouages - ici c'est vraiment le comble n'est-ce pas?
mercredi, 1er mai
Do you have anything to say about « les événements incontournables » from last week?
You might wish to either write a resumé in French of about 50 words on « La fête du muguet /travail» or prepare a little spoken presentation in French on the festival.
(Info ou Infaux/Infox/Intox) Les 12 Intox qui ont marqué 2022 (We will look at a few of these fake news stories from France 24).
Une blague (sans doute traduite d'une version américaine)
Recently, in the news, there was a Total Eclipse in parts of Mexico, The USA and a tiny bit of Canada.
That, as always, brought people streaming the original version of this:
Si demain - Mots Manqués (any mention of an eclipse?)
mercredi, 24 avril
We will look at des événements incontournables from 2000-2008 according to EN3.
This section is about news today becoming history tomorrow (and the articles in the book are certainly historic now). EN3CH8
Some news articles : L'Indépendant Insolite pdf Ouest France - Dubaï
EN3 then talks about « les événements incontournables » - unmissable events (i.e. things everyone knows something about).
This video looks at the events that have marked 2023
You could prepare to speak in French about a world-changing news event you remember, where you were, and what you were doing when you heard the news.... (Princess Diana's death, Elvis' death, The Twin Towers, The Boxing Day Tsunami, The death of the Queen, etc.)
Les Tours Jumelles
« Le 11 septembre 2001, je me rappelle qu'il faisait beau avec du soleil et assez chaud. Je conduisais du collège où je travaillais c'était vers 16 h 00 et à la radio Ocean FM - les infos ont annoncé qu'une des tours jumelles s'est effondrée après un incident avec un avion à New York et l'autre aussi était en flammes. Je passais l'hôtel Brookfield à Emsworth. J'ai pensé que c'était un accident terrible parce qu'à cette heure-là on ne savait rien d'autre.
Donc, en rentrant chez moi j'ai mis la télé et j'ai tout suivi ce soir, là ainsi que le lendemain matin. Après quelques heures on a appris que c'était plus que des accidents au hasard et que c'était en fait des attentats terroristes des deux tours et aussi vers le Pentagone à Washington DC. Une des élèves du collège n'y était pas le lendemain et on ne la voyait plus. Après quelques jours on a appris qu'elle a perdu sa tante et son oncle lors des attaques et la famille s'est
démenagée... ».
Florent Pagny has a song about the printed press media... Mots Manqués
mercredi, 17 avril
This evening, we shall discuss our motivations for learning French, particularly if we have any new joiners.
Here are some questions to get you started...
Qui êtes vous?
Pourquoi voulez-vous améliorer votre français?
Parlez-nous d'une visite en France ou dans un pays francophone...
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 aimez faire dans votre temps libre?
Otherwise, we will begin the theme of News from Entre Nous 3.
PPT for Media Project
This website gives many online sources of such news articles...
Also try:
Comment recevoir l'information (EN3)
« À s'informer de tout on ne sait jamais rien » Trop d'info tue l'info!
France:Info
Quelques virelangues bizzares - pour la prononciation
Le ver vert va vers le verre du verre vert.
Un ver vert en vair va vers un verre vert, mais verra un verre vert à l’envers à travers ses verres vers vingt heures.
Mur pourrit, trou s'y fit, rat s'y mit, chat l'y prit.
Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cent six scies scient six cent six cyprès.
Ton thé t'a tôt ôté ta toux.
Les chausettes de l'archi-duchesse, sont-ils sèches, archi-sèches?
Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend.
Un poil de pois à poil se poile et poêle dans une poêle poilue
(The naked pea's hair is laughing and frying in a hairy frying pan!)
La Tour du Tour tourne autour de la Tour de Tours
(The tower tour goes around the Tours tower)
(The most difficult-to-pronounce French words!)
Quincaillerie
Ecureuil
Chirugien
Allô, La police?!
Oui?
Des voleurs m'ont attaqué.
Combien de voleurs?
Sept
Vous dites?
Je dis sept.
Dix-sept?
Mais non, sept sans dix?
Comment, sept cent dix?
Mais non, sept, sans dix: sept!
C'est trop. Sept cent dix-sept voleurs.
Non! Non! et Non! Je dis: sept, sans dix sept!
Oh-là-là! Dix-sept cent dix-sept voleurs! Au revoir!
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