French with Flo

Here is, with my apologies for the delay, the rest of the class activities we did during the Summer 2021 online class. I. Grammar: the verb "manquer" I couldn't very well end the Summer session without at least one grammar lesson! A student asked me about the verb "manquer", so I seized this opportunity to take a deep dive into the various meanings and constructions of this weird French verb.  Here's the lesson and exercises (+answers) .  If you want more examples and explanations, here are a few resources I found: https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/manquer-de-thing-to-miss-lack-something https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/i-miss-you-in-french/ https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/manquer-lesson/    (Note: this last webpage is pretty good, but be careful, there's one mistake! The author translates "manquer de + verb" into "to fail to do something". Not quite! It actually means "to almost do something". ...

 France is a very diverse country. Each region has its own geography, landmarks, culture, characteristic landscapes, and even its own language in some cases. To complicate things, the administrative entities known as régions were re-arranged in 2016. The new map is supposed to be simpler, but personally, I'm still getting a bit confused! I guess it will take some time getting used to it... Here are a few activities to discover French geography and famous landmarks. Geography exercise :  La France, tu connais?  (document created by  FranRC91  at ISLCollective). In this exercise, you'll have to identify France's main rivers and mountain ranges, and associate cities, regions and pictures. Here's the answer key . [Beginner] French landmarks and regional features , based on the map from the exercise above. We started in class to identify and explain the numerous illustrations appearing on the map. This is an ongoing, collective effort. Here's the list (in progress)...

Here is everything we studied in connection with Chapter 16 of our textbook, French Made Simple .           1. The Second Group Verbs (-IR) This is a set of regular verbs whose conjugation follows the verb FINIR . Remember, not all verbs ending in -IR belong to the second group. There are also some verbs, such as partir or venir , that belong to the third group and are irregular. See my previous blogs on the first + second groups and the third group for more information. Besides the grammar notes in the textbook, here is what we studied in class on this topic: Lesson on the 2nd Group Verbs  at Podcast Français Facile , with their handout .  This lesson includes a useful list of 2nd group verbs that are derived from adjectives, with the corresponding adjectives. (Be careful, there is a typo in their handout. the verb épaissir means "rendre  épais ", not "rendre paix". ) Also from Podcast Français Facile: a  dialogue (wit...

Unsurprisingly, the last class of the year had a seasonal theme! Thank you so much to you all for your cards, gifts and kind words. They mean a lot to me and I'm so happy to have such wonderful students. Thank you also for the amazing food. I'm sure we have the best potlucks in the Senior Center! 😋 This year, I had three Christmas-related handouts: Christmas Eve - Image Description (created by silvialefevre at ISLCollective.com) Christmas Vocabulary  (created by jannabanna at ISLCollective.com) Text - Fill in the Blanks  (created by cranberry2 at ISLCollective.com) Finally, here's a beautiful Christmas song about children and world peace. I hope you'll enjoy it. And here's the karaoke version:

In connection with Chapter 15 of French Made Simple , we had an overview of the French object pronouns. This is not an easy topic and we'll re-visit it later, but for now I hope this series of lessons was helpful and didn't confuse you all too badly... I. Class Handouts  Direct Object (COD) and Indirect Object (COI) Pronouns . This handout combines two documents created by osfr  at ISLCollective.com : a quick lesson on the two types of object pronouns and a page of exercises . I also added an answer sheet to the document - hopefully it will come in handy. The pronoun Y - lesson and exercise : this handout comes from the Podcast Français Facile website. You'll find the same exercise with answers in interactive form  on their webpage . The pronoun EN - lesson and exercises : this handout is adapted from a document created by lolha  at ISLCollective.com . We didn't do all the exercises in class but I included an answer sheet at the end of the pdf....

Where have the last two months gone?? With my apologies for the lateness, here are handouts and links for topics we've covered in October and November 2019.           1. Movie: Demi-paire Demi-paire is a court-métrage (short film) by Yannick Pecherand-Molliex. The movie itself is silent, but we used it in class as a way to practice descriptions. I've adapted my class handout from the document created by the Institut Français . (Their document includes an answer sheet and some information about the film's author. It's designed for the teacher, though, so it's not easy to understand.)           2. Joyeuse Halloween ! Halloween was almost unknown in France fifteen years ago, but now it's everywhere. Cultural enrichment or commercial exploitation? You decide... Here are the activities we did in class: Halloween Vocabulary (created by mafaldita47 at  ISLCollective ), followed by Halloween Crosswords (also by mafal...

Between Chapter 14 and Chapter 15 of French Made Simple , there is a review section covering chapters 10 to 14. We completed the book with a few other exercices, mostly about numbers. At the Train Station [BEGINNER] This is an easy listening exercice to review numbers and hours. Click on the sound file to listen to a short dialogue between a customer and an employee at the train station's ticket window, then answer the questions by using the information on the right of the screen. At the Farmer's Market This is another exercice about numbers and prices. Listen to each sound bite and complete the chart, using the information at the top of the screen. For each line, you need to indicate what fruit or veggie is sold, what is the price and what is the quantity for that price. Understanding a Phone Message Answering the phone is one of the hardest things to do in a foreign language. Understanding a phone message is slightly easier because you can hit the repeat but...

Here is everything we've seen in connection with chapter 14 of French Made Simple .           1. The Numbers (part 3) Although our study of numbers technically ended with chapter 13 , we kept practicing with progressively larger numbers. Here is what we did in class. All the exercises come from the Podcast Français Facile website. A Few Dates : This is a listening exercise about well-known (and less known) dates in French history and culture. Click on the " Exercise " icon to access the handout. Numbers from 1,000 to 9,999 - List A : Another listening exercise, with slightly bigger numbers. Click on " Imprimer le document " to print the handout. Car Prices (numbers between 10,000 and 99,999) : The first audio link is an easy "listen and repeat" exercise that you can do at home. The Car Price exercise we did in class is the second audio link. There was no handout on the website, but I had fun creating this one . 😊       ...

Here is everything we studied in connection with Chapter 13 of French Made Simple . 1. Shopping for clothes Our study of numbers took us on a detour down the clothing aisle of our favorite department store. We started with the following exercise from Podcast Français Facile : Listen to the price  (numbers from 1 to 400): t his text describes a customer's shopping trip to a boutique. Listen to the audio file from the link above and fill in the prices in  the class handout . I adapted my handout from   this original pdf , which includes the answers.  Buying Clothes   (created by tkdana at ISLCollective ): w e took the shopping theme a little further with these two short dialogues between a customer and a clothing store attendant. In class, we used these as templates to improvise little dialogues.  [BEGINNER] Clothing vocabulary : t his is a useful vocabulary list, also created by Podcast Français Facile . You can hear an audio vers...

Last week, we did two unrelated exercises. To begin, we practiced again our food, color and clothing vocabulary with this image description exercise : Un bon petit déjeuner (created by s ilvialefevre on ISLCollective ). We then studied how to say the date in French with this handout (adapted from a document by osfr on ISLCollective ). [BEGINNER] You can also visit this page on Podcast Français Facile for another overview of the date and seasons in French.

In chapter 12 of French Made Simple , we are continuing our study of numbers and we're having a look at two other verbs in the present tense.           1. Faire and croire Both verbs belong to the 3rd group, so they are irregular and their conjugations need to be memorized. Generally speaking, the verb faire corresponds to the English verbs to do or to make , but there are some idiomatic uses. For example: faire faire quelque chose : to have somebody do something, to have something done. ex.: Je fais réparer ma voiture = I'm having my car repaired faire de... (+ sport or leisure activity): to do / practice an activity, to play a sport... I handed out in class this exercise (created by Paugaliza on ISLCollective ) to practice using the verb faire with names of sports or activities. You can also practice conjugating the verb faire with the following exercises: http://www.didieraccord.com/exercices/index.php?ex=2.2.10 https://fog.ccsf.e...

I'm going to gather in this post everything we've studied in connection to  chapter 11 of the French Made Simple textbook.           1. Vouloir, pouvoir, etc. The grammar point in chapter 11 is the conjugation of the verbs  vouloir  and  pouvoir  in the present tense. To get a little more practice, I handed out  this exercise  (created by  silvialefevre  on ISLCollective), in order to review the verbs vouloir, pouvoir, as well as savoir et devoir. You may also be interested in  this online quiz  on the same topic.          2. The numbers (part 1) In chapter 11, we're also learning the numbers from 1 to 69. Here are some extra ressources, including the exercises done in class: Numbers from 1 to 20 on Podcast Français Facile. [BEGINNER] We did the first addition exercise in class. If you'd like extra practice, you can do the second one on your own! 😉 I also...

During last class, we celebrated (a bit late) International Women's Day. Here is the exercise sheet accompanying the video, with a fill-in-the-blank exercise and comprehension questions. On the last page of this document, you'll find the video transcript with English translation . You might also like these web-based exercises, proposed by TV5Monde: - Women in the workplace (a series of 4 exercices, beginner to intermediate level) - Droits des Femmes: à quand l'égalité?  (other series of 4 exercices, intermediate to advanced level) - Quiz: la Journée de la Femme (also advanced level, but no listening involved so it seems easier 😉)

Here we are with two (hopefully) fun classes dedicated to food in France (a topic of national importance), and more specifically to the different meals of the day. "Un  repas de noces à Yport" (détail), Albert Fourié, 1886 Our first link is a text with audio version from Podcast Français Facile: Les repas . The class handout  (created by  BEZOYA15  at  ISLcollective ) includes an exercise based on the audio document above, as well as the transcript and questions that can be found on the Podcast Français Facile page. The next handout  (created by mariaf at ISLcollective ) is a series of crosswords and exercises aimed at practicing vocabulary around food and learning how to describe what you eat as well as your likes and dislikes. It's also a good opportunity to review the use of the definite/indefinite/partitive articles when talking about food. (Document created by arliette at  ISLcollective .) And finally, here's a video ab...

NOTE: This post was originally published on 12/12/18. Since I have new material to add, I'm re-posting it today with the latest updates.  —————— The grammar lesson today was about the liaison, which is not an easy topic. It is an important one to master, though, because it occurs in virtually every sentence. I've compiled several sources I've found into this class handout: liaison.pdf . (*NEWLY UPDATED*) Writing this document was very useful for me, too. It definitely helped clarify things in my mind! The problem I ran into is that the list of necessary and forbidden liaisons is a bit different in all sources I consulted. I tried to summarize what I've learned. I hope the result is more useful than confusing. The third page of this document compiles exercises I've found on several web pages, including those linked below. 3/6/19 UPDATE: The link above is a new version of the class handout. I've taken into account the feedback I received in class (t...

On February 2nd, the French celebrate  la Chandeleur (Candlemas in English). For Catholics, this Holiday commemorates Jesus' presentation at the temple, but it also corresponds to very old folk rites celebrating the beginning of Winter sowing and the lengthening of daylight. But first of all, for everyone in France, la Chandeleur is Crepes Day ! This video, produced by FrenchPod101.com , explains what you need to know about this Holiday, with both French and English subtitles. We also practiced listening with the next video, aimed at young French speakers. The class handout  that goes with this second video includes Chandeleur-related vocabulary, as well as a fill-in-the-blank exercise and comprehension questions. Finally, after talking about crepes so much, you may feel a bit hungry.  If that's the case, here's the Crepes Recipe ! With pictures and in French, of course... (document created by crisbarto at ISLCollective .)

French Made Simple - Chapter 2, part 2  And now we can start speaking French! In this section, you will learn some simple, useful phrases. Here is the vocabulary: 🔊  FMS 02.05 Exercise p.10-11: Combien coûte...? 🔊  FMS 02-06 Exercise p.11: Pardon Monsieur. Où est...? 🔊  FMS 02-07 (Note: in France, the word "toilette" - restroom - is usually used in plural form: les toilettes. The verb "être" needs to be plural, too: Où sont les toilettes?) Exercise p.11: Je voudrais... 🔊  FMS 02-08 Image: Eulalie Lopez at slideplayer.fr/slide/173343/ Numbers from 1 to 21: 🔊  FMS 02-09 (Note: as an example, I also added the words "dollar" and "euro" after the numbers. Note the liaison before the word "euro".) In class, I also handed out this sheet that expands on the vocabulary and exercises of this section, as well as the Color Adjective List (document created by  Nathalie74160 on ISLCollective.com .)

The grammar point for FMS chapter 10 is the demonstrative adjectives. To make things more complicated , err, more comprehensive, I've also added some explanation about the demonstrative pronouns in the class handout. Hopefully, the explanations make sense. Here is my  Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns handout, as well as the Exercise Sheet (adapted from a document created by Silac on ISLCollective .) To practice the demonstratives in a fun way, we can also make up little skits using the Bureau des Object Trouvés drawing, created by Tkdana on ISLCollective . Have a look at the Vocabulary/Example sheet for inspiration, and have fun!

As we've seen, feasting takes a prominent place in Christmas and end-of-year celebrations in France. So, after all these excesses, in early January, what do French people do? They eat cake! 😂 The "fête des Rois", or Épiphanie, is a popular holiday for French people, no matter their religion (or absence thereof.) The video shown in class, from FrenchPod101.com, gives a very good overview of the subject. Our first handout this week was a crossword puzzle with accompanying vocabulary (adapted from this webpage .) We also worked on a fill-in-the-blanks exercise . You can find here the audio document the exercise above is based on. Scroll up and click on the first video to hear the text. Just under the video is a multiple-choice exercise you may find entertaining, and a little below is the full transcript of the text. And, by the way, how do you make this famous galette des Rois? Well, apparently, it's child's play. Enjoy! 😋

As we end 2018, here are some handouts and links that, for some reason (such as me being absolutely terrible with anything having to do with the Internet) never made it to the blog after I taught the corresponding class. This is material we studied between June and September 2018. Hopefully, posting this, even late, will be useful for returning and new students alike.       Texts / Dialogues La fête des voisins: Neighbors Day      1. Text and exercises:  Voisins, voisines      2. Learn more about France's Neighbors Day  here Booking a Table      1. Dialogue:  Réserver une table au restaurant      2.  Dialogue in pictures  (both documents created by  carolebim  at  Tes )       Exercises Crosswords to Practice the Present Tense      1. Mots Croisés:  présent des vacances  (created by  dodeuil  at ISLC...