A guided listening and oral storytelling task based on a picture. The image, from pixabay.com, is of an elderly couple, one of whom is in a wheelchair. The goal is for students, with help from the teacher, to come up with their life story. Suggestions for starter questions are given. This would typically be a 20-30 minute activity, with new vocab going on the board as and when useful. CEFR B1/2.

A starter for near-beginners. 5 slides, each one with a picture of people and ten sentences. Students must note if each sentence is true or false. You could take the slides further. Suggestions given. CEFR A1.

Video listening. A short report from TF1 about the baguette being added to UNESCO's list of world heritage traditions ('patrimoine immatériel'). Sentences to complete + conversation about other possible additions. Good for y12, or easy Y13. CEFR B1.

Another 'Faulty transcript' task for Y10-11. This one is about plans for next weekend. Students must find and mark in differences between the teacher script and the one they have in front of them. I used Bing Chat to create the text this time. CEFR A2.

Video listening. This is a 3m 30 account of the D-Day landings, with archive footage and a clear commentary. There are optional generated captions (not always accurate). The exercise is a gap-fill, so I would not show the captions. Definitely a Y13 task, very good for both listening practice, reading and historical knowledge. You can edit, of course, to make it easier or harder. CEFR B2.

Video listening. A 2m 33 interview with Kylian Mbappé. The interview is captioned in English. The task is to translate sentences from English into French based on what the students hear, as well as using their existing knowledge. Good for Y10 or 11. CEFR A2.

A beginner sentence builder: C'est quand, ton anniversaire ? Ideas suggested for exploitation, including a milling around activity to find out the birthdays of classmates. CEFR A1. I mention that French-speaking children often say "Je vais avoir..." when you ask them how old they are, i.e. they say what their age will be on their next birthday. Fun fact!

Another 'faulty transcript' task, this one about the Tour de France. Students hear the text read aloud and correct differences in the script they have in front of them. I shall add audio files for these using Text to Speech. CEFR A2.

A 'Correct the transcript' task called 'Mon régime alimentaire'. Usual format: teacher reads aloud the script provided. pupils have their own script with differences. This one is a little easier than the others - good for Y10, a typical Y11 or even a brilliant Y9. CEFR A2.

A 'match and complete' starter for beginners. 5 slides: weather, classroom, pets, food and verbs. Answers given. Edit as you please. CEFR A1.