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Exploiting an easy dialogue

I sometimes think that dialogues are under-exploted in textbooks in England and by MFL teachers in general. If I'm right, this is a little surprising since dialogue is the basis of most spoken and aural language we engage with in everyday life.

The lesson plan below, another from my book 50 Lesson Plans for French Teachers, is aimed at post-beginner/ low-intermediate (level A2) — roughly Year 9 in England — and is based on a dialogue between two friends.

Rationale

So the starting point for the lesson is a dialogue on the topic of plans for next weekend. The dialogue contains examples of the near future and is the basis for some listening, reading and speaking practice. Work hard on the choral reading aloud before you let students loose on the pair work. If they have been well trained in phonics and reading aloud this should be fine.

In a way, this lesson is a variation on the sentence builder approach, where students slot in alternative words and chunks to vary meaning.

Step by step

1.       Give a print-out of the dialogue to all students (see below). Read aloud the dialogue a first time.

2.       If the class would benefit, do an instant translation of the text into English, as it’s important that the language is understood for the rest of the lesson. Comprehensible input, remember?!

3.       Read the text a second time, but with some changes made. Use the alternative suggestions handout, which the class has not yet seen. Students underline points in the dialogue where there are differences. Get feedback on this exercise.

4.       Do some choral repetition of part of the text, chunk by chunk, in preparation for the class to read aloud in pairs. Anticipate problem words such as intéressant, accompagner, équipe, pied.

5.       Pairs now take turns reading aloud each role. Check back with the class for any bits not understood.

6.       Hand out a second sheet with the alternative words and chunks (see below). Pick out a few words which may be problematic for pronunciation: théâtre, thaïlandais, chinois, chaussures and dessin are possible candidates. In pairs, the students re-read the dialogue, replacing any items in bold with ones from the new sheet. They should do the same with roles reversed. Make sure each pair does a few run-throughs to ensure plenty of repetition.

7.       Choose a couple of pairs to model a good example of a new dialogue.

8.       Make up a description of your own, recycling the language of the original dialogue as the class make notes in English.

Dialogue : le weekend prochain

 

A         Tu vas passer un week-end intéressant?

B         Oui. Vendredi soir je vais aller au restaurant avec mon

           amie Charlotte.

A         Où ça ?

B         Au restaurant italien près de la gare. Sur Google, on dit qu’on y mange bien.

A         Ah bon ? Nous, on va rester chez nous. Je suis trop fatiguée pour sortir.

           J’ai eu tellement de travail la semaine dernière.

B         Tu vas sortir samedi ?

A         Oui, je vais aller en ville. Je vais acheter une jupe pour une fête.

B         Tu vas chercher où ?

A         Je vais aller chez Primark en ville.

B         C’est quand, la fête ?

A         Le 15 juin.

B         Moi, je vais accompagner mon ami à son match de football.

A         Il joue pour quelle équipe ?

B         Le club de son village, St Georges.

A         Tu as terminé tes devoirs pour l’école ?

B         Pas encore. Je vais travailler dimanche matin un peu, mais on a des invités pour déjeuner.

A         Ah bon ? Qui ?

B         Des amis de mes parents.

A         Mais c’est bien, ça !

B         Oui, oui, on va manger et puis on va se promener à pied l’après-midi.

A         Nous aussi. On va faire un tour à pied dans la forêt de Benon.

B         Ah, j’adore cette forêt !

A         Nous aussi.

 

 

Alternative language for the dialogue

 

 

aller                            au cinéma

                                    au théâtre

                                    au concert

                                    au pub

 

restaurant                 indien                         près de la gare        près du cinéma

                                    espagnol                                                       en face de la poste 

                                    français                                                          à côté du Crédit Agricole

                                    thaïlandais                                                    derrière le théâtre

                                    chinois                                                           au centre commercial

                                    grec                                                                sur la place

                                    japonais                                                         dans la rue de l’Horloge

 

acheter                      une robe                    un match                  de hockey

                                    une jupe                                                        de tennis

                                    une veste                                                       de cricket

                                    un collier                                                        de basket

                                    des chaussures                                           de foot

                                    un foulard                                                      de badminton

 

tes devoirs               ta dissertation           à pied                         en voiture

                                    ton projet                                                        à vélo

                                    ton dessin

                                                                       

destination               au parc

                                    au bord de la rivière

                                    sur la plage

                                    en ville

 

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