Conversation Class Lesson Summary
Language Resident Name:
Clémence LEFEVRES
Day and Date:
Thursday, November 13th
Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):
French advanced
Class theme/topics discussed:
French Geography
Goal of the class:
– To check their knowledge of the French geography
– To teach them some fun facts about the French geography
– To talk about the stereotypes between the different regions of France
How did you structure the class?
I tell the class that we are going to do a little contest. I divide them in pairs (plus one group of 3)
After every test, a group corrects the work of another and counts the points. We do the correction orally and I add some cultural information or fun facts.
Test 1: I give them a blank map of France. They have to place and name the main mountains and rivers.
Test 2: Quiz; they must answer eight questions about the regions/cities/departments/geographical position of France in Europe.
Test 3: they have a blank map of the regions of France and a list of those regions. They must find where each region is located.
Test 4: Each group has a “map of stereotypes”. They have to prepare a short presentation of what are those stereotypes and guess where do they come from.
I also show them the trailer of “Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis” about the North/South stereotypes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY5cWL4SUmw
To relax in the end, I show them a funny PowerPoint about the Google suggestions about the regions of France and all the stereotypes that it implies.
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They all learnt about the French geography in previous classes (in high school, college) but forgot a lot. That was a good reminder. I am always surprised to see that they are confused between cities and regions. It was the occasion to clean things up.
It was also an opportunity to talk about the new law about the “découpage territorial”: France division will change from 22 to 13 regions soon.
Les cartes et leurs corrigés :