Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Marina Simonnet

Day and Date: Thursday, April 19 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate 

Class theme/topics discussed: French Slangs

Goal of the class: Discover about French slangs and idiomatic expressions. This is supposed to be a light class about how to sound more French with vocabulary they can only use in an informal context.

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up: we watch a video about the “verlan” in French
  2. Slangs, and more specifically “verlan”: by pair, students have to match the slang with their definition (see below).
  3. French idiomatic expressions: We watch a video: students have to catch up the idiomatic expressions. I give a handout as a summary of a video: students have to match the idiomatic expression with the meaning (see below)
  4. Students by pair have to improvise dialogues using slangs and idiomatic expressions.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVXbYFoIg5E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjsG8sH_9Xs 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

This is an advanced class I decided to try with my Intermediate class. Actually, it works great and it only needs more time with the third activity.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

For the fourth activity, I asked every student to write on pieces of paper one character or celebrity, one place and one action. Then by pairs, students draw two characters, one action and one place. They had to improvise a dialogue and each of them had use at least two “verlan” and two idiomatic expressions. The students who were listening needed to count them (so they would be involved in the exercise as well).

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). 

2018-04-19 INT Slangs & Idioms