Dissecting a lesson: 20 faits divers et Intéressants sur la France

An easy multi-skill task with some general knowledge thrown in. Try this lesson plan with a very good Y10/11 class or advanced group.

Pre-listening: try brainstorming any facts the class can produce about France. Give pairs 5 minutes for this, then elicit some answers, in French for advanced groups, English for intermediate level classes. Then explain that the class must watch and listen carefully to the video with the aim of recalling as many facts as possible.

1. Play the video through once (2m 25s)
2. Play the video a second time. After playing it, students must jot down in English, in pairs or individually, any facts they can recall.
3. Play the video a third time. After this viewing students add to their previous list with as many items as they can recall.
4. Do the same again a fourth time.
5. Allow individuals or pairs to share their notes with other individuals or pairs. Advanced groups could do this in French, intermediate groups in English.
6. Pairs or individuals then feed back as many items as they can to the teacher who writes up brief summaries in French.
7. Play the video one more time to check if any items were missed.

Post-listening: do an instant oral vocab recall test based on pre-known and new words from the video.

The value of the task is repeated listening practice supported by captions (and the teacher's voice in part (6) above), vocabulary building and spoken fluency (if the class is reporting back in French). In addition, students learn some interesting facts about France which could be the basis of further discussion in English or French.

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