Early Start French 2
2.14 Quelle est ta matière préférée? What’s your favourite lesson?
This section continues the theme of likes and dislikes - this time with school subjects. We have included five basic subjects that are taught in primary schools in many countries. (See this chapter’s “talking point” for more about the curriculum in France.) Some pupils will progress to add more names of subjects to their French vocabulary (see “extra words and phrases”). Since pupils can already tell the time and say the days in French, they can also go on to talk in French about their school timetable as part of their day-to-day routine.
NEW WORDS AND PHRASES le sport la technologie l’anglais (m) le français les maths (f) les mathématiques (f) la matière
- games (sport) - technology - English - French - maths - mathematics - subject or lesson
Films to see
A1 - School subjects A2 - What we like at school A3 - My timetable
Planning your lessons
Before showing film 14-A1 to introduce the new vocabulary, use a warm-up activity to remind children of the language they know for expressing likes/dislikes, and for places in school (from Ch.2.04, “A l’école” ). When children are confident with the new words for school subjects, you can extend it to talking about their preferences (j’aime/ je n’aime pas, etc), and also to the school timetable - a chance to re-visit telling the time from Ch.2.06, and days of the week from Early Start French 1 in a new context.
Activities
Warm up 1
You could start the lesson by playing a game from previous sections using“j’aime/ je n’aime pas” as preparation for learning the words for more “likes and dislikes”; also look at your previous work on places in school (Ch.2.04).
Quelle est ta matière préféré? What’s your favourite lesson?
Watch film A1: School subjects
Ma matière préféré, c’est ... My favourite lesson is ...
❑ Watch film A1: “School subjects” to introduce the new words. We see five lessons in French primary schools: Games: children playing hand-ball in a school sports hall - “le sport”. Technology: children make gears with a construction set; work on computers; and test electrical circuits - “la technologie”. English: teacher introduces “parts of the body” in English: children first echo the words, then point-and-say; then sing “Heads, shoulders , knees and toes” song- “l’anglais”. French: children talk about a poem: “Du ciel partout” by Alexis Haulot - “le français”. Maths: children using calculators - “les maths”
Que’est-ce que tu aimes faire à l’école? What do you like doing at school?
REMINDERS
J’adore ... (le français) I love ... (French) Je déteste ... (les maths) I hate ... (maths)
J’aime... I like ... Je n’aime pas... I don’t like ... see Talking Dictionary
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2.14 Quelle est ta matière préférée? Watch film A2: What we like...
“L’anglais”-’Heads, shoulders, knees and toes’: film A1
Get used to the sounds 1
❑ Echoing: Select the e-flashcards1; show each picture with first sound, then text (or use the activity sheet). Pupils echo the words, e.g. “les maths”. Take care with “key sounds”(see box). Pupils echo the phrase.
Alternatively, make paper flashcards
from the pictures on the activity sheet. KEY SOUNDS
Listen and enjoy copying these typical sounds: where have you heard them before?
as in technologie
Heard before in:
bonjour rouge
as in
anglais, français
as in
préférée, déteste
as in
maths, matière bibliothèque, Thomas
Heard before in: mère, très, Calais
❑ Watch film 14 B1 to show children how to apply what they already know about expressing preferences in French can be applied to school subjects. Likes and dislikes: Children give their opinions of different school subjects: Girl: “J’aime le sport”. Boy 1: “Je n’aime pas le sport”, Boy 2: “Ma matière préférée, c’est le sport”. Boy: “J’aime la technologie”. Girl 1: “Je n’aime pas la technologie” . Girl 2: “Ma matière préfére, c’est la technologie”. Girl 1: “J’aime l’anglais”. Boy: “Je n’aime pas l’anglais”. Girl 1: “I like English”. Boy: “I don’t like English”. Girl 2: “Ma matière préférée, c’est l’anglais”. Girl reads French poem aloud. Girl 1: “J’aime le français”. Boy: “Je n’aime pas le français”. Girl 2: “J’adore le français”. Girl 1: “J’aime les maths”. Girl 2: “Je n’aime pas les maths”. Boy 1: “J’adore les maths”. Boy 2: “J déteste les maths” . Questions and answers: Children respond to the question, “Quelle est ta matière préférée?”
Get used to the sounds 2
❑ Echoing: Show e-flashcards 2: Likes and dislikes. Click on the question mark to hear the question “Quelle est ta matière préférée?”; choose either the yellow “like” symbol or the blue “don’t like” symbol to hear the response. Pupils echo the words, e.g. “J’aime les maths”; “Je n’aime pas le sport”. Now display the text; pupils echo the words with each of the pictures.
Respond with understanding
❑ Make copies of the activity sheet pictures. Invite seven confident pupils to come to the front of the class. Give five of them one of the pictures of school subjects and the remaining pupils the “j’aime” and “je n’aime pas” symbols from the activity sheet for Ch. 2.10. When you say, e.g. “j’aime le sport”, the pupil with the picture of children doing sport holds
Heard before in: déjeuner, récréation Heard before in: (Listen to the native speakers - try to copy their typically French sounds.) see Talking Dictionary
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Early Start French 2 it up for everyone to see, and the child with the “j’aime” symbol holds up his/her picture. The rest of the class echoes the phrase. ❑ Play “true or false?” Show each of the pictures in turn either using the e-flashcards or paper versions. With each picture, also show either the “happy” symbol which represents “j’aime”, or the “sad/grumpy” symbol (“je n’aime pas”). (Symbols on activity sheet for Ch. 2.10). As you show each picture and symbol, say either the correct phrase, e.g. “j’aime les maths”, or a different phrase. If what you say is correct, pupils echo the words; if it is incorrect, they remain silent. Sometimes you could show the correct “j’aime/ je n’aime pas” symbol with the wrong activity picture; at other times you could show the correct picture and the wrong symbol. ❑ Play “mime the activity” Agree a specific action to represent each of the five school subjects seen in the video, eg: les maths - mime tapping the keys of a calculator le sport - jump up and down on the spot le français - pick up a book, pretend to read it la technologie - mime typing on a keyboard l’anglais - mime “Heads and shoulders” song.
“J’aime le sport!”
When you call out “J’aime ...”, pupils perform the agreed action in a “happy” way. But when you call out a phrase using “je n’aime pas”, they act as if they really don’t like doing it! ❑ Play “j’aime” with the class puppet Show the games-lesson picture as a paper flashcard or display it on the whiteboard.
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“Je n’aime pas le français”.
Use your class puppet to demonstrate the following question and answer sequence: Ask the puppet, “Tu aimes le sport?” Puppet replies: “Oui, j’aime le sport”. Now show the picture of Technology. Puppet asks you, “Tu aimes la technologie?” You reply: “Non, je n’aime pas la technologie”. Repeat this question and answer sequence with the pupils. Either you or the puppet can ask the questions. The children reply, “Oui, j’aime ...” or “Non, je n’aime pas ...” At this early stage, it is a good idea to show the appropriate pictures. ❑ Activity sheet: Give everyone a copy of the “J’aime / je n’aime pas” activity sheet. For each picture, you say, for example, “ j’aime les maths” or “je n’aime pas le roller”. Pupils draw the appropriate happy or sad face in the correct circle.
❑ Make multiple copies of the school subject pictures. Each child in the class selects ONE picture of a subject s/he likes doing. Demonstrate what to do with the puppet: you and the puppet each choose a picture -which (for the game) will be the only subject you like. If yours is the maths picture, say to the puppet, “Moi, j’aime les maths - et toi?” If the puppet has chosen a different picture, e.g. English, he says, “Non, j’aime l’anglais.” If he has chosen the same picture, he says, “Oui, j’aime les maths.” Now ask everyone to move round the room and repeat the question-and-answer dialogue with as many people as possible. It is a good idea if you and the puppet join in.
2.14 Quelle est ta matière préférée? Working in pairs
❑ Give each pair multiple copies of the pictures of both school subjects and sports/ pastimes, also the “j’aime”/“je n’aime pas” symbols. They make two piles, one of activities and one of symbols. They take it in turns to select a symbol and a picture and to say the combination. ❑ Play “snap” Pupils can cut out the school activity pictures and add them to their sporting pictures. They pool their sets and use them to play “snap”. The game should include saying the activity as the card is played. To make the game fun, they will need several sets of pictures. ❑ Play “pairs” Each pair of pupils has a complete set of pictures of school subjects and sports and pastimes. They shuffle them and arrange them out face down on the table.
They take it in turns to turn up two cards. If a pupil reveals two identical pictures, s/he must say what the activity is to keep the cards, e.g. if two of the maths pictures are turned up, the pupil says “J’aime les maths” (or, simply, “les maths”). If the pictures do not match, they should be turned down again in the same place and it is the next pupil’s turn.
Look again at sounds
❑ Play “It’s that sound again!” Now that the new words and sounds are familiar, pick out a "key sound" from this chapter's new words. Ask the children to suggest all the French words they know that also contain that sound. Repeat with one or two other sounds.
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When everyone is familiar with the new vocabulary, you can introduce a wider range of school subjects (see “extra words and phrases” and eflashcards)
Extension activities
Each of these activities involves re-visiting language from previous topics, and re-using it in this new context:
Warm up 2
You could play one or two games from Early Start French 1, 1.14 to remind pupils of the days of the week; from Early Start French 2 2.4 (places in school) and 2.6 for another look at telling the time round the clock.
Watch film B1: My timetable
❑ Watch film B1: “My timetable". This film presents a typical timetable of a child’s school day and weekend activities. Make word-cards for the subjects on your timetable, and use either a clock-face with movable hands, or another set of flashcards showing the times for the start of each lesson through the day. ❑ play “random timetable” game Display two cards: a time, and a subject. (or one subject card and the time set on a clock). Ask children to say what the lesson is and when, e.g. “On a technologie à 11h 00.” When pupils are confident, you can include round-the-clock times e.g. à dix heures et demie. ❑ play “guess the timetable” game Conceal 10 cards face-down: 5 subjects and 5 times. Give the class a limited number of goes to guess the timetable for the day. ❑ play “human timetable” Place a selection of paper flashcards representing the days of the week, subjects and times of day on the table (these could be picture or word cards). Invite different children to come and pick the appropriate card when you call out a day, a subject and a time. They stand at the front each displaying their card. Ask the class to “read” the timetable, e.g. “le lundi on a sport a neuf heures”.
Early Start French 2 CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
❑ Play “which room?” Make sure pupils now know all the subjects and room names in their timetable for this game, which reinforces what they learned previously about rooms in school (Ch.2.4) and places in town (Ch.2.2). We suggest playing it in the hall where you have plenty of space. Place flashcards representing each of the places in which the children have a lesson in different parts of the hall, e.g. la piscine, la salle de technologie, la bibliothèque, la cantine, la salle de classe, la cour de récréation. When you call out, for example, “le sport”, pupils run to the appropriate “room” (i.e. the flashcard representing la cour de récréation). When pupils arrive in the correct place, you could say, “Oui, on a sport dans la cour de récréation.” Some other possible combinations: la natation - on a natation dans la piscine. les maths - on a maths dans la salle de classe. le français - on a français dans la salle de classe. To practise telling the time and days of the week too, you could call, for example, “C’est lundi; on a technologie à dix heures”. Pupils run to the technology room: “Oui, on a technologie à dix heures dans la salle de technologie”.
1
❑ Survey - ICT: Pupils can find out from each other what school subjects they like and don’t like. See “extra words and phrases” for more words for subjects. You could also help children find words they want in a bilingual dictionary. Some pupils may be ready to talk about reasons for their preferences, as they did in Ch.2.13 for their pastimes. See that chapter’s “extra words and phrases”; also Ch.2.10 for more about conducting a survey in French. Children can record the results of their survey on a spreadsheet and display it as a graph. You could ask a French school to do a similar survey, swap results, and talk about and compare the two sets of results. ❑ Daily class routines - the timetable: Every day, you can talk with children in French about what lessons are on the day’s timetable. ❑ Classroom routines - preferences: In any lesson, you can ask individuals whether they like that subject: “Tu aimes le sport?” etc. ❑ Art and design: Pupils can add pictures of themselves doing their favourite school activities to their sporting frieze. This could be labelled in French - “J’aime le français” etc. .
HOW FRENCH WORKS 1: SCHOOL TIMETABLES - when is the lesson?
Talking about the day’s sequence of lessons is a good opportunity to use lots of children’s French vocabulary: school subjects, days of the week, and telling the time.
EXTRA WORDS AND PHRASES
On a ...(sport*) à quelle heure? What time do we have ...(PE)?
■ Talking about “we”: There are two words that French speakers use to mean “we”: “nous” and “on”. Both could be used to talk about a timetable, but the more informal “on” is more common in this context, e.g. “On a sport à onze heures” which literally translates as, “We have sport at eleven o’clock”. ■ Talking about subjects in a timetable The phrases opposite reflect current everyday usage. You could follow the textbook phrasing, “on a le français/ ... la musique/ ...les sciences”, but French children and teachers do commonly omit the article in this context.
...avant ou après le déjeuner? ...before or after lunch? ...à deux heures? ...à 2 heures et demie?
...at 2 o’clock? ...at half-past two? On a...(technologie*) à 11 h aujourd’hui.
(Technology)... is at 11 o’clock today. Le mardi, on a ...(sciences*).
We have ... (science) on Tuesdays. see Talking Dictionary
14.5
2.14 Quelle est ta matière préférée?
Talking point
EVERYDAY LIFE IN FRANCE The primary curriculum
National control Each school in France teaches within a framework set by the government. In past generations, it was said that the Minister of Education in Paris could look at the clock and know exactly what was being taught in every classroom in France. Now there is more local flexibility, but still a national curriculum: for each year of their schooling, children have a syllabus called “le programme”. Age School year
Preparatory Y2-P3* CP Elementary 7-8 Y3-P4 CE1 8-9 Y4-P5 CE2 Intermediate 9-10 Y5-P6 CM1 10-11 Y6-P7 CM2 6-7
Programme
Cours préparatoire Cours élémentaire Cours moyen
* The equivalent year in England & Wales and in Scotland.
Subjects studied Each programme specifies a broad curriculum, with most time allocated to helping children towards literacy and numeracy - as in primary schools world-wide. Within each subject, the class teacher is expected to help children express themselves clearly in French. The government is worried that some children from the slum suburbs of big cities reach secondary school with literacy problems. CM1-2 - Weekly Time allocation (26h) French literature - 5h French grammar/ literacy - 2h A foreign or regional language - 1h 30 History and geography - 3h “Vie collective” - 0h 30 Maths - 5h 30 Science and technology - 2h 30 Art and music - 3h PE and sport - 3h Cross-curricular themes: Language, citizenship, ICT.
14.6
Film A1: “les maths” - for about 5 hours a week.
Foreign language learning All French children learn a foreign language in primary school, which is usually English. In border areas, they are encouraged to learn the neighbouring language (Spanish or German). Music and art Time is given for singing, listening to music, and experiencing a wide variety of arts from painting to multimedia. Citizenship There is a strong international dimension throughout the syllabus: pupils learn about the European Community and the euro in geography lessons; and in science about the environment as well as sex education. Religious education France is the only country in Europe where there is no religion taught in state schools, and no school assemblies that include a religious service - not even carols or a nativity play at Christmas. This dates back to the principles of the French Revolution, though free compulsory state primary schooling started much later. Originally this was a compromise with the Church: schools closed on Wednesdays so children of devout Catholic parents could spend a day in Church having religious instruction. For most children today, Wednesday is an opportunity for school outings and activities, e.g. classes go to the sailing club at Wimereux (seen in section 13: “Les passe-temps”). Sporting activities French schools have la gym and le sport, but there are no inter-school team matches or competitions. Children join local clubs instead. In the summer term, most schools have a
Early Start French 2 week-long trip for children to explore another environment: city children might go to a farm. ■ Ask your French partners for a copy of their timetable: compare with the subjects you teach, and how time is allocated. The primary school day To cover such a broad curriculum, French children have 26 hours of lessons a week, with possibly the longest primary school day in Europe: 9am to 4.30 or even 5pm! French secondary schools have even longer hours: some work from 8am to 6.30pm! La vie collective For half an hour each week, the class and their teacher talk about any problems in the class and between pupils; about how children should behave, about bullying and respecting others, accepting differences, and resolving problems without violence; why there are school rules. “Redoubler” If children do not reach the required standard at the end of the year, they might have to “redoubler” (stay down and repeat that year). ■ Does your school have a school council? Do pupils discuss bullying and behaviour in class? Do they think the threat of “redoubler” is a good incentive to work hard? Schools in other French-speaking countries In most of France’s former colonies, school lessons are still taught in French rather than the local language(s). Bright students from North and Sub-Saharan Africa still aim to go to universities in France, where many of their teachers are trained. There are over 1 million French people working abroad in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and America: some as teachers or aid workers. Their children can still be educated in French, follow the French syllabus and exams, by attending the French Schools established in London, New York, and many other cities. In Québec, French Canadians have a separate French-language school system and universities. Children from English-speaking homes are encouraged to learn French as a second language.
14.7
EXTRA WORDS AND PHRASES More SCHOOL SUBJECTS la gym(nastique) l’éducation physique (f) or l’EPS (f) l’art/ le dessin la citoyenneté la géo l’histoire (f) l’informatique (f) la musique l’éducation religieuse les sciences (f)
- gymnastics - PE - art/ drawing - citizenship - geography - history - ICT - music - RE - science
THE SCHOOL ROUTINE l’appel - the register la récréation - playtime le déjeuner - lunchtime Hear these phrases pronounced in the ‘Talking Dictionary’ Talking Dictionary
Cultural awareness ■ Pupils can swap information with their French partner school about their favourite school subjects. To avoid complicated language, use drawings, photographs or video of the activities taking place. ■ You could extend this and ask pupils to make a picture/photo /video diary to present a typical day at school and after. Exchange diaries with your French partner school. Ask pupils to try to write the captions carefully in simple English that their French counterparts can understand. ■ When the photo diaries produced by the French pupils arrive, pupils can enjoy the challenge of interpreting the French text - with your help, the aid of a bilingual dictionary, and with clues from the pictures.
Je m’appelle ............................. Quelle est ta matière préférée?
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