A shortened url for this page is: rebrand.ly/uopiwlpb22
Resources and links for easy access will appear here.
City of Portsmouth College Adult Education Blog Autumn 2022 is a blog written for Adult Beginners in French at City of Portsmouth College. This will have a lot of similar content to the course you are learning here.
Collins Dictionary Online will give you simple translations of words and specific well-known phrases. You would be advised to actually buy a print version too, and get used to how it works, just for the process of looking up words and getting the solution. This often helps you remember the answer rather than the instant answers from the internet.
Linguee is an online corpus of billions of translated websites that gives translations of phrases and words in context. You can check the database of translations for a context similar to the one you want.
This blog page will help you find out how to get all those accents on your various devices.
Find some Francophone music that 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. That blog page will probably always be unfinished, as I could keep adding to it.
Some of the materials I will use will be from the course book Entre Nous 1, aimed at the European Language Standards A1 (beginners)
Saison 1 is available in the library to borrow (but not many copies) you would; if you really want to learn French, be advised to buy a copy of the coursebook. Older version also available
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année - A la prochaine fois en 2023 - peut-être!
See the link above for socials organised in the city for French Speakers.
mercredi, 14 décembre
In-class assessment end of Stage 1 - Once this is complete...
Noël et Saint Sylvestre.
Il est né le divin enfant (a song for children to sing - a bit like their version of "Away in a Manger")
A more serious version from an actual hit singer (well, someone us oldies have heard of at least)
Key Vocabulary linked to Christmastime
Glossary from an Italian Language School
Food and Drink
French Traditions at Christmastime
mercredi, 7 décembre
Revisions tout le module...
What have we covered?
Using the PCs make a Word Document or similar for you about you!!
Les Salutations
Les lettres de l'Alphabet
Se présenter
Les couleurs
Les chiffres de 1 à 100
Les pays et les nationalités
Ce qu'il ya dans mon sac
Quelques professions
Les habitations
Les autres personnes - la déscription et la personnalité
If we have any time, we will look at some of «chants de noël» from above, as next week is the assessment for part of the lecture/seminar.
Most of the useful verbs in French are strong or irregular verbs.
Here they are conjugated in the present tense.
'avoir' to have 'être' - to be 'faire' - to make/to do
j'ai I have je suis I am je fais I do
tu as you have tu es you are tu fais you do
il a he has il est he is il fait he does
elle a she has elle est she is elle fait she does
on a one has on est one is on fait one does
nous avons we have nous sommes we are nous faisons we do
vous avez you have vous êtes you are vous faites you do
ils ont they have ils sont they are ils font they do
elles ont they have elles sont they are elles font they
'aller' - to go
je vais
tu vas
il va
elle va
on va
nous allons
vous allez
ils vont
elles vont
Can you work out what the different parts of the verb 'aller' are in English?
From my other blog post Present Tense - 'er' verbs
Using the verb to play (jouer) from the 'er' family of verbs. It is a regular verb and many of the family will follow the rule.
To form the 'stem' of the verb, you need to remove its family ending so in the case of 'jouer' you remove the'-er' and you are left with the stem 'jou-'
To form the present tense of the verb 'jouer' you put the following endings on to the stem for each person you are referring to... (The grammatical term for the person you are referring to is in brackets at the end of this tense for future reference.)
Je joue I play/I am playing/ I do play (1st pers sing)
Tu joues You play/you are playing/you do play (2nd pers sing/inf)
Il joue He plays/he is playing/he does play (3rd pers sing masc)
Elle joue She plays/she is playing/she does play (3rd pers sing fem
On joue One plays/one is playing/one does play (3rd pers sing gen)
Nous jouons We play/we are playing/we do play (1st pers pl)
Vous jouez You play/you are playing/you do play (2nd pers pl/form)
Ils jouent They play/they are playing/they do play (3rd pers pl masc*)
Elles jouent They play/they are playing/they do play (3rd pers fem)
* Ils is used for a group of male people or things and also for a mixed group of male and female people or masculine and feminine items.
Elles is used exclusively for a group of female people or feminine items.
New language formulation by popular demand...
There are currently many new word for transgender where we would use 'they/them/their' in English... French grammar cannot work like that.
The most commonly used new pronoun "iel" (or "ielle") is a french genderneutral neopronoun. it's a contraction of "il" (the male pronoun) and "elle" (the female pronoun). plural: "iels"...
Can you know conjugate the verb 'donner' = to give, in all its present tense forms? (it follows the regular pattern)
Present Tense - 'ir' verbs
The next largest family of verbs in French is the '-ir' family. They are a mixture family the majority of their members follow similar rules of grammar and are known as 'regular verbs' - this time there are more 'naughty' ones among them who do not follow all the rules, called 'irregular verbs' some of the 'irregular' ones have formed their own ideas and have stolen from the 'er' family their plural verb endings!
Using the verb to finish (finir) from the 'ir' family of verbs. It is a regular verb and a fair number of the family will follow the rule.
To form the 'stem' of the verb, you need to remove its family ending so in the case of 'finir' you remove the'-ir' and you are left with the stem 'fin-'
Je finis I finish/I am finishing/ I do finish (1st pers sing)
Tu finis You finish/you are finishing/you do finish (2nd pers sing/inf)
Il finit He finishes/he is finishing/he does finish (3rd pers sing masc)
Elle finit She finishes/she is finishing/she does finish (3rd pers sing fem)
On finit One finishes/one is finishing/one does finish (3rd pers sing gen)
Nous finissons We finish/we are finishing/we do finish (1st pers pl)
Vous finissez You finish/you are finishing/you do finish (2nd pers pl/form)
Ils finissent They finish/they are finishing/they do finish (3rd pers pl masc)
Elles finissent They finish/they are finishing/they do finish (3rd pers fem)
Can you know conjugate the verb 'choisir' = to choose, in all its present tense forms? (it follows the regular pattern)
Present Tense - 're' verbs
The smallest family (thankfully) of verbs in French is the '-re' family. They are a delinquent family some of their members follow similar rules of grammar and are known as 'regular verbs' - this time there are many naughty ones among them who have ASBOs, called 'irregular verbs'.
Irregular verbs from all families just have to be learned!
Using the verb to sell (vendre) from the 're' family of verbs. It is a regular verb and some of the family will follow the rule.
To form the 'stem' of the verb, you need to remove its family ending so in the case of 'vendre' you remove the '-re' and you are left with the stem 'vend-'
Je vends I sell/I am selling/ I do sell (1st pers sing)
Tu vends You sell/you are selling/you do sell (2nd pers sing/inf)
Il vend He sells/he is selling/he does sell (3rd pers sing masc)
Elle vend She sells/she is selling/she does sell (3rd pers sing fem)
On vend One sells/one is selling/one does sell (3rd pers sing gen)
Nous vendons We sell/we are selling/we do sell (1st pers pl)
Vous vendez You sell/you are selling/you do sell (2nd pers pl/form)
Ils vendent They sell/they are selling/they do sell (3rd pers pl masc)
Elles vendent They sell/they are selling/they do sell (3rd pers fem)
Can you know conjugate the verb 'rendre' = to return (an item), in all its present tense forms? (it follows the regular pattern)
Reflexive Verbs
Another group of verbs that must be observed are known as 'reflexive' verbs. These verbs are often used where we might use the verb 'to get...' in English...
Regular verbs from these groups also belong to the same families of verbs ('-er', '-ir', and '-re'), except they have an extra pronoun. These pronouns are always the same and if you switch them it does change the meaning.
Remember the conjugation of regular verbs follows the same as those above...
Let's use the verb 'se laver' - 'to wash oneself' (to get washed)
Je me lave I wash myself/I am washing.../ I do wash...
Tu te laves You wash yourself/you are washing.../you do wash...
Il se lave He washes himself/he is washing.../he does wash ...
Elle se lave She washes herself/she is washing.../she does wash...
On se lave One washes oneself/one is washing.../one does wash...
Nous nous lavons We wash ourselves/we are washing.../we do wash...
Vous vous lavez You wash yourself/yourselves/you are washing.../you do wash...
Ils se lavent They wash themselves/they are washing.../they do wash...
Elles se lavent They wash themselves/they are washing.../they do wash...
Can you now conjugate: se relaxer, se réunir and se rendre ? (to relax oneself, to meet up with one another, to take yourself off to)
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mercredi, 30 novembre
La Saint Nicolas
«Nicolas avait pour voisin un homme qui, ruiné, ne pouvait marier ses trois filles faute de dot. Ce dernier envisageait de les prostituer afin de récolter l'argent nécessaire à leurs subsistances. Nicolas décida, en secret, de donner trois bourses pleines d'or à ces jeunes femmes.
Cette légende chrétienne est rapportée dans le livre la Légende Dorée de Jacques de Voragine»
It is very much only in Eastern France, in particular areas nearest to Belgium and Germany, that St Nicolas' Day is celebrated. On the night of December 5th, children will put their shoes, boots, or slippers out for St Nicolas to leave treats. If they are naughty children, «le père fouettard», a dark figure who accompanies St Nicolas, leaves sticks, coal, or perhaps quiche for them to find on the morning of December 6th.
Mock Assessment in class to prepare for the final assessment in Week 13.
mercredi, 23 novembre
Have you written your paragraph about someone you know or about your home and some furniture therein?
Today, we will begin to prepare for your final assessment of the module next week. In the meantime...
We will look at pastimes and hobbies. PPT
Why not prepare a few words about your hobbies and pastimes in French?
Revision and Reinforcement
This BBC TV for schools and colleges programme from the 90s is 15 Minutes+. It is good to allow you to revise what we have covered and add a few new words to your repertoire. (It also shows some cultural aspects).
This episode covers much of the vocabulary required to discuss hobbies and pastimes. (Taking you to some of the more exotic parts of the Francophone world too!)
mercredi, 16 novembre
Using your course book Saison 1, we will look at the descriptions of houses and homes. Then revise describing people (new neighbours). (P44-47) PPT
For next time:
Describe someone you know in a short paragraph.
Alternatively, describe your home and some furniture therein (or both) – email them to me or use the shared folder to share your text with me.
Revision and Reinforcement
This BBC TV for schools and colleges programme from the 90s is 15 Minutes+. It is good to allow you to revise what we have covered and add a few new words to your repertoire. (It also shows some cultural aspects).
This episode covers much of the vocabulary required to talk about homes and local surroundings. (Taking you to some of the more exotic parts of the Francophone world too!)
This episode revises much of what you covered before in the course...
This one covers family members...
mercredi, 9 novembre
Having had a consolidation week last week, can you ask and answer all these questions?
Comment tu t'appelles? Comment vous appelez-vous?
Quel âge as-tu? Quel âge avez-vous?
Tu viens d'où? Vous venez d'où?
Où habites-tu? Où habitez-vous?
Tu es de quelle nationalité? Vous êtes de quelle nationalité?
Tu as des frères ou des sœurs? Vous avez des frères ou des sœurs?
Tu as/Vous avez les yeux et les cheveux de quelle couleur?
Have you downloaded and prepared for your assessment?
We can then move on to look at the following:
Where people live...
Saison 1 p.42 et p.43 - Partager son lieu de vie and logements... PPT
Espace Culturel
L'Armisitice, le 11 novembre
Un Jour Un Actu (a website for French children to learn about their world by asking questions and having them answered in little video clips).
A little moment from the Armistice 100 Commemorations in Caen (Portsmouth's Twin Town) 11.11.2018
The cornflower is laid by the French, instead of the poppy lain by the British and their commonwealth cousins. Here is a brief history in English about the bleuet (as the cornflower is known in French).
A video in French about Le Bleuet de France...
mercredi, 26 octobre
You should be able to do a little presentation in French on your favourite Francophone. (p.33) If you've e-mailed this to me (or left me a copy in the seminar), I can give you feedback.
You will get your assessment live on Friday, 28th October on Moodle and must upload your work by Friday, November 11th, before noon. Next week you will need to find the time during consolidation week to prepare and record your assessment...
Today we will look at family and physical descriptions of people (hair colour and eye colour, etc.)
Extra:
Personality: This link lists the most commonly used positive and negative personality trait adjectives, along with the noun associated with the adjective (often in English, this is ~ness).
Culture - Halloween et la Toussaint
mercredi, 19 octobre
Today, we will look at nationalities and work more on the negation of phrases and some specific ways French uses pronunciation. You should have been looking over the essential vocabulary in the week.
Revision and reinforcement of prepositions stressed pronouns and higher French numbers.
Some of the many professions that exist in French. PPT
Les chiffres de 0 à 100
For next time:
Point Recap' Unité 1.
P.33-35 Prepare for the vote about your favourite Francophone.
Mika - Elle me dit
mercredi, 12 octobre
You will today be learning more about nationalities, introductory language, personal belongings, the indefinite article in grammar (a/one)
The difference between nouns, pronouns, and stressed pronouns.
For next time:
Revise the vocabulary you have learned today (there is a list of the essential vocabulary on Moodle)
Complete exercise #7 on p29 of your Saison 1 Course Book.
Don't forget that language needs regular practice if you wish to improve.
Extra Revision and reinforcement...
Comment vous appelez-vous?
A song for little children
Remember this from last week!
mercredi, 5 octobre
Last week was a basic introduction to the French language. As university students, you will be on an accelerated learning curve here with a lot of expectations that you are able to study by yourselves. This page can help you locate a few resources to help you out on your journey <<dans le monde francophone>>
You should be able to:
Introduce yourselves and spell your name (possibly the name of your street, city, or place of birth). Can you give your age? your nationality? What about your occupation?
What else ?
What can you tell someone about French Grammar?
Gender, adjectives... ??
Useful online sources of French Language Media (free access)
To help improve your listening and tune your ear to the sound of the language, you can use the internet. There are a lot of free-to-air radio stations out there; also, there are quite a lot of TV and films available in French online.
All 4 (Walter Presents has a fair few French TV Series)
France 24 is like BBC News 24 but in French
TV5 Monde is an online streaming platform for the Francophone World's TV, films, documentaries...
BBC iPlayer (look under BBC Four for some French Series or Films)
Free Sources for Radio
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