This is the page where resources and ideas are collected for the Thursday evening French Improvers Class at the City of Portsmouth College (Tangier Road Campus)
The short link is tinyurl.com/tpc22si
Our Google Classroom link is:
This is the page where you would need to enter your college i.d. and password. To access further resources and the live lessons in case of the class being moved online.
Although it will vary the main level of this class will be working towards the European Language Levels of A1 to B1. This is the equivalent of the minimum level required to apply for French citizenship (B1).
The main resources and ideas will be linked here.
>> Socials for French (to practise random speaking in a social environment) both online and in person happen in Portsmouth click here to see when <<
To help improve your listening and tune your ear to the sound of the language, you can use the many resources provided on the internet. There are a lot of free to air radio stations out there and this website helps you tune in to the free stations...
It is not expected that you should be totally familiar with and have mastered the ins and outs of French Grammar (We will spend a lot of time in the Improvers Class on this very thing).
We will look at some grammar as and when it comes up as an issue in this class, but Tense formation is something that will be a common feature.
For help with French tense formation, (and as a reference if you are not sure about these verb endings), do look at the blog page created that takes you through, step by step French verb formation.
This blog page will help you find out how to get all those accents on your various devices.
Courses will begin again in September. They will be on the college's Highbury Campus and we should be on the ground floor just near reception if all goes well.
By my calculations, the lessons will be on Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm. On September 22nd, 29th, October 6th, 13th, 20th. November 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th and December 1st.
You can see the full catalogue and find an application form in it for the classes here
Thursday, 30 June
Festivals in France throughout the year - Décibel 2 and of course, their major event <<La fête nationale>>
Thursday, 23 June
There were some exercises you may have completed (if so hand then in for me to check over).
Using a chapter from a book called Décibel 2 we will look at food/drink and buying food and drink at the shops among much in this field it goes on to look at ideas for picnics. Followed by the main festivals in France and associated foods. (Possibly next week)
Chanson - Zaz - Tous les cris les S.O.S.
Dictons
Thursday, 16 June
We looked at some facts from Le Monde des Ados about Queen Elizabeth II and then on to looking at tips for using music/tv series and films for helping with French pronunciation.
Thursday, 9 June
Using a chapter from a book called Décibel 2 we will look at food/drink and ordering food and drink at a restaurant among much in this field it goes on to look at links with literature and cinema and writing about an author.
Thursday, 26 May
You may have had a go at a small presentation based on the book Alter Ego 2 ready for today. If so we can hear those.
We worked on some grammar exercises from the Alter Ego course.
We then did a section of the GCSE current specification course aimed at grades 9-7 (A*-B)
The theme was le travail bénévole.
There were lots of things that could have been done for homework over the half-term holiday and handed in for me to check over should you wish after half term on June 9th
Thursday, 19 May
You may have had a go at a small presentation based on the book Alter Ego 2 ready for today. If so we can hear those.
We should look at the formation of the Perfect Tense in French - Although not exciting this book French Verb Drills is very good to practise and hammer home how French verbs work. It would be of benefit to you to work on the chapters which cover the same tenses we have looked at in class.
e.g. The Present Tense (last week) is covered, with exercises on pages 1 - 11.
The Perfect Tense (today's wonder of grammar) is pages 19-25. The book varies in price from £6- £10 usually.
Alter Ego 2 Leçon 1 - Décrire la carctère d'une personne (piste 003)
Décibel Unité 0
Dictons
À cheval donné on ne regarde pas les dents
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
One does not look at a given horse’s teeth
Ça ne casse pas des briques It has nothing to write home about It doesn’t break bricks
Coûter la peau du cul To cost dearly/to cost an arm and a leg
To cost the skin of the arse
Thursday, 12 May
You may have had a go at a small presentation for today. If so we can hear those.
We should begin to check your grammar knowledge and look at verbs in French, beginning with regular verbs in the present tense.
Do you have any themes or topics you feel you would like to learn about.
Alter Ego 2 Leçon 1 - Parler d'une relation amicale (piste 002) - On va essayer un peu de ce cours Niveau A2.
French Culture
Dictons
Connaître sur le bout des doigts To know something inside out To know something like the tip of your fingers
Revenons à nos moutons To get back on topic, to return to the question at hand
Let us return to our sheep
Sauter du coq à l’âne Jump from one thing to another
To jump from the rooster to the donkey
La reine Elisabeth (from below)
Thursday, 7 May
We will do a small placement exercise to see if you are working at level A2 - If you generally do well I will be able to better plan for the rest of the classes being A2-B1. If you generally do not do so well then I will aim for A1-A2 level work in the main.
In the first lesson, we will look at what motivates you to improve your French, why you have signed up and what you are looking to get from the class (so I can best prepare the next 7 weeks!) It is also the way we can get to know each other (for any people who were not in this class before).
It would be useful if you can think of a few general themes and topics you would like to study. In particular any grammatical features you feel you need to improve on. I will otherwise choose various topics and items I find in my perusal of the Francophone internet and news and possibly from one or two course books I have at my disposal.
The course book Voilà - beginners French is pretty much everything you should have already under your belt before you join this class (so if you find it a bit too difficult it will certainly help fill in gaps you might have)
Voici quelques questions pour vous faire parler aujourd'hui:
Pourquoi voulez-vous améliorer votre français?
Parlez-nous de la dernière fois que vous êtes allé(e)s en France...
Que faites-vous dans la vie?
Actualités
Que pensez-vous de la situation en Ukraine?
Politique Le Président de la République - Qu'est-ce que c'est?
L'anniversaire de la reine Elisabeth II d'Angleterre - Que pensez-vous de la famille royale britannique?
A part un jour férié - Que pensez vous de la jubilé platine de la reine?
Culture
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<< EXTRA >>
La musique francophone
I have begun a blog page all about French language music with which I am familiar.
I will use some songs from time to time in class to help improve your listening, writing and spelling skills (depending on the task set). Listening to music in French certainly helps tune your ear to the way the French language is pronounced and the rhythm within the spoken language too.