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Video listening updates

One of the more popular additions to frenchteacher.net in the last couple of years has been the inclusion of listening exercises in the form of worksheets linking to online videos.They can be done in class, led by the teacher, in a computer room or on tablet or set for homework or preparation for the next lesson following the "flipped" model.

I am always on the look-out for material which is interesting, relevant and pitched at the right level. This is easiest for advanced level, far less so for near beginners. For younger learners courses come with a good range of listening material anyway, so the need for extra resources is less great. My experience at A-level was that listening material was limited, a bit dull and not very authentic sounding or looking.

Publishers are reluctant to invest much in high quality video material since the financial returns do not make it worthwhile, so linking to online sources makes a lot of sense.

My worksheets make use of a range of exercises types, nearly all focused on target language. I tend to go for gap fill, true/false/not mentioned, matching and questions in the TL. I try to find the best exercise for the material being exploited. The exercise types resemble those used by awarding bodies, so represent good exam preparation. Many exercises are preceded by a "pre-listening" oral task to raise initial interest, so the worksheets can form the basis of a really good lesson plan based on authentic material.The content is in most cases more interesting than what examiners can produce. You would have to be your own judge on that!

One last note: online links can go dead, so I do ask teachers to check they work before setting a task. I am also grateful to teachers who let me know when a link is no longer there. I can then remove the worksheet.

At the moment here are the resources I have:

Primary/Year 7 (beginner)
Year 8

 School – from Youtube
My school (easy + reading) – Florence Lyons/Youtube
Daily routine – from Youtube
Peppa pig fait les courses – from Youtube
Buying groceries – from Youtube

 Year 9 (low intermediate)
Y10-11 (intermediate)
A-level
Who decides which clothes are fashionable? – from Milanpresse/Vimeo
Frontières – song by Yannick Noah from Youtube
Selling mis-shapen fruit and veg – from Youtube
What is cana…is? – from Vimeo/Milan Presse
The Eiffel Tower – from Youtube/Tout Paris en Vidéo
Song – Bonne et heureuse année – from Youtube
Why learn French? – from Youtube
Dangers of e-cigarettes – from RTBR.be
Pros and cons of legalising a well known substance – fromFrance Soir/Youtube
Interviews about love and marriage – from Le Français Interactif (Texas Uni)
Talking about a sport from France Bienvenue
Talking about weight training from France Bienvenue
Speed dating from BBC Knowledge and Learning
Tablets and smartphones
Holiday in Corsica – from France Bienvenue
Cinema – extract from Etre et avoir – from Vodcaster
National stereotypes – from cédric-villain.info/Youtube
La Ligue contre le cancer – from La Ligue contre le cancer/Youtube
La terre est ronde (Song by Orelsan) from Youtube
Je ne regrette rien (Song by Edith Piaf) from Youtube
Interview with Stromae from Youtube
Derniers Baisers – holidays topic (Song by Laurent Voulzy) from Youtube
Holidays – young children talking from La maternelle officiel/Youtube
Describing a film – from i-catcher-online/EMC Publishing
Tattoos – from Nicematin.com
Internet safety – from Youtube
Savoir aimer (song by Florent Pagny) – from Youtube
Hors saison (song by Francis Cabrel) – from Youtube
Holiday plans – from France Bienvenue
Harder (A2)
Job interview advice – from Youtube
Forensic pathology – from Universcience.tv
Bullying at school – fromAgircontreleharcelementalecole.gouv.fr
Châtelet Les Halles – song by Florent Pagny – life in suburbs?
Beauty pageants for girls – from BFM TV/Youtube
Villes nouvelles – from BBC Learning Zone
La corrida (song by Francis Cabrel) – from Youtube – animal rights
Animal rights – from Canal+/Youtube
Fracking – from TV5Monde/Youtube
Humanoid robots – from Universcience.tv
Madame X – song about poverty by Francis Cabrel
Carbon capture and storage – from Universcience.tv
What is democracy? – from TVSite
Interview with former military school student? – from France Bienvenue/Youtube
Voluntary work – from France Bienvenue/Youtube
Genetic Modification – from F3/Youtube
Terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo – from Euronews/Youtube
Freedom of expression (after Charlie hebdo attack) – from 1jour1actu 
International Space Station – from AFP/Youtube
Song – Aux Arbres Citoyens by Yannick Noah – from Vevo/Youtube
Short film - passé composé – from Vimeo
Economic growth explained – from Vimeo/1jour1actu/France TV
Food waste – from Youtube/France TV
C’est quoi, être pauvre? – from Vimeo/1jour1actu/France TV
Homophobia – from GrandLille TV/Youtube
Massed brawls of football hooligans – from F2/Youtube
Deadly pollution in Italy- from AFP-Le Monde/Dailymotion

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