lundi 30 novembre 2015

Not sure what to do? Here are some suggestions!

Bonjour mes enfants!  In class, I sometimes see students sitting at their desks and they are NOT working on French!  There is always something that you can be working on, whether you have a device or not.  Here is a list of suggestions:

  • Listen to native French speakers (from any francophone country or region)
  • Watch French language videos
  • Add words to your dicofréque
  • Write/rehearse a speaking goal with one or several classmates
  • Write a reading/listening reflection and post it on your blog
  • Write a personal portfolio and post it on your blog
  • Work on your final project!
  • Read a French magazine/book/newspaper/article
  • Speak to Madame in French - be sure to have a topic ready!
  • Practice grammar with Duolingo, Bescherelle, Quizlet, Memrise, any of the textbooks in the classroom

Please ask me for ANYTHING that you need. I am here to help!



Students in Haiti

mardi 24 novembre 2015

Answers: le présent

Mes enfants! Here are the correct sentences for the present tense worksheet I gave you last week. Please correct your worksheets as necessary and let me know if you have any questions!

Le présent
1. Je vois une araignée dans ma chambre !
2. Les hippocampes nagent lentement dans la mer.
3. Est-ce que tu veux un peu de fromage ?
4. Elle choisit une robe bleue.
5. Nous attendons nos amis ici devant l’école.
6. Vous faites le désordre partout !
7. Je vais au café bientôt.
8. Tu finis tes devoirs avant le diner.
9. Il sait que deux et deux font quatre.
10. Nous venons de quitter la maison.
11. Vous cherchez quelque chose à manger ?
12. Elles se brossent les cheveux chaque matin.
13. Je dois ranger ma salle de classe.
14. Tu portes des lunettes pour mieux voir le tableau.
15. Il siffle bien la chanson « Alors on danse » de Stromae.
16. Nous nous préparons à 7h pour l’école.
17. Vous aimez regarder la télé ?
18. Les drapeaux flottent au vent.
19. J’ai beaucoup de travail à faire.
20. Je suis plus grand/e que mes amies.
21. La baleine avale des milliers de krill.
22. Les oies voyagent des centaines de kilomètres chaque hiver.
23. Nous travaillons très bien dans la classe de français !
24. Nous désirons manger des beignets tous les jours.

Les phrases
1. Je mets mon chapeau et mon manteau.
2. Fais-tu / Est-ce que tu fais le dessert pour Thanksgiving ?
3. Il sait parler français mais il ne sait pas parler allemand.
4. Nous voulons rester à la maison ce week-end.
5. Tu regardes Doctor Who. Encore.
6. Ils peuvent voir beaucoup de tableaux/toiles/peintures célèbres au Louvre.
7. Je ne veux pas faire le linge.
8. Nous devons étudier le français tous les soirs !
9. Ma fille a 13 ans et j’ai 42 ans.
10. J’envoie des SMS à tous mes amis.
11. Je prends tous les biscuits et tu ne peux pas m’arrêter.
12. Il y a un insecte puant dans le salon et je ne vais pas le tuer. Il s’appelle Sven.

Answers: le passé composé

Mes enfants! Here are the correct responses to the passé composé worksheet that I gave you last week. Please correct your answers if need be and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask!

Le passé composé
1. J’ai pensé à mon projet final.
2. Tu es allé/e à la fête de Loïc, n’est-ce pas ?
3. Elle a fait un gâteau pour son ami.
4. Nous avons raconté une histoire aux petits enfants.
5. Vous avez passé une bonne journée chez votre grand-mère.
6. Elles sont parties pour la boîte à 22h.
7. J’ai appris parler anglais quand j’étais enfant.
8. Est-ce que tu as fait tes devoirs ?
9. Il a admiré de belles toiles dans le musée.
10. Nous avons mis nos cartes sur la table.
11. Est-ce que vous êtes sortis au concert le week-end passé ?
12. Ils ont mangé tous les biscuits !
13. Je suis né/e le 7 aout 1974.
14. Tu as vu tes amis dans la cantine.
15. Le papillon a volé vers la fleur blanche.
16. Nous sommes descendus du métro à la station St-Germain-des-Prés.
17. Vous avez compris la leçon.
18. Elles ont promis d’étudier pour l’examen.
19. J’ai entendu un bruit dans ma chambre.
20. J’ai écouté la musique classique hier.
21. Le pape a couronné Charlemagne le jour de Noël 800.
22. Le Dauphin est devenu roi grâce à Jeanne d’Arc.
23. Ils sont montés au sommet de la montagne.
24. Elles ont brûlé le diner !

Les phrases
1. Nous avons regardé ensemble un film chez Regina.
2. Je suis allé/e au supermarché où j’ai acheté des légumes.
3. Elle a dansé quand elle a entendu la musique.
4. Il a obtenu son permis de conduire hier.
5. J’ai fait une pizza que les filles ont mangée vite !
6. Ma famille a visité l’Allemagne et l’Angleterre en 1985.
7. Moïses et Adrienne ont joué aux cartes pendant la classe.
8. Elle est sortie avec ses amis le week-end passé.  Ils sont allés à un concert de Twenty-One Pilots.
9. Nous avons attendu le bus pendant 30 minutes.
10. Ma fille a donné un cadeau à moi.
11. Nous sommes restés chez notre ami pendant quinze jours en été.
12. Les arbres sont tombés à cause de la neige lourde.

vendredi 20 novembre 2015

Assignment: French III!

Bonjour mes enfants!

I will be monitoring your goals more closely during the second marking period.  Here is your assignment for Thanksgiving break. I will begin to bring you up to discuss on Monday, November 30th.

  • Choose four of your own blog posts to discuss.
  • We will be discussing them together - I will want to know what you feel are your strengths and weaknesses. We will decide upon a grade for each blog post together. 

  • Choose two French news videos or French news reports (audio only).
  • Send the links to these videos/audio to scushmore@souderton.us
  • Listen to and/or watch these videos/audio clips MULTIPLE TIMES
  • Be sure you UNDERSTAND these videos/audio clips
  • We will be discussing these in either French or English
  • We will decide upon a grade based on your comprehension of the video/audio
Here are some sources for videos/audio clips:
  • TV5 Monde - click on Langue française and then click on Apprendre le français. I like this site best because they have transcriptions of what is being said.
  • France 24
  • Geek Junior - click on Vidéos on the right.
  • RFI - this is Radio France International (audio only)
  • YouTube
You are NOT limited to the websites I have listed!  Don't be afraid to search and explore!

If you have any questions at all, PLEASE ask me.

Merci!


lundi 16 novembre 2015

Nous sommes tous Paris

Love. Not hate.
Tolerance. Not intolerance.
Understanding. Not ignorance.
Compassion. 







“There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it. But this is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy.” 

-Ernest Hemingway

jeudi 5 novembre 2015

Leave a comment - What do you want to learn or review?

Bonjour mes enfants! We are halfway through the semester - whoa! By this time, you should know what you are good at and the things with which you struggle. Leave a comment below and tell me what you want to learn. Is there specific vocabulary you want to learn? What grammar is giving you trouble? Do you want to go over how to make questions, how to negate statements?  What about adjectives?  Verb tenses?  Tell me how I can help you!  Leave a message below.

Merci!


mercredi 4 novembre 2015

WHY IS FRENCH SO DARN HARD?

Bonjour mes enfants! Over the past few weeks, I've really seen a lot of people struggling with all aspects of learning French: speaking, reading, listening, and writing. Spelling is really hard too! The accent seems impossible to master. Why is French so hard?

Let's think about language. We all grew up hearing a language from the moment we were born; for most of us, it was English. We heard nothing but this language from our parents and others around us, and we didn't even have to try to speak it for at least a year - that's one year of nothing but LISTENING. 

Then we began to try to speak. Did we begin speaking in complete, correct sentences?  No. We began with single words, like 'cup' and 'go' and 'blankie'. Concrete things. We progressed with time; it took us years as children to learn to speak in complete, comprehensible sentences, but we don't remember this. We are now at a point in our lives where we speak without thinking - something occurs to us and we simply say it, just as I am typing this without a dictionary and thesaurus in front of me.

Learning French, or any language, is hard for many reasons. One, in America we should really begin language instruction before the age of 10 - the younger we are, the more plastic and malleable our brains our, especially when it comes to language. There is a special region of our brain dedicated to language! Second, when we begin to learn French, we have to remind ourselves that the spelling is different, the word order is different, and the pronunciation is really hard. We have to train ourselves to make new sounds that don't exist in English. 

Speaking English (or whatever your mother tongue is) is automatic and natural.  It is easy because you've been hearing and speaking it since you were literally born. Learning another language is really hard. You know what you want to say, but you can't say it. It feels like you have to look up every single word, every single conjugation. You think you know what you want to say to someone, and then you try to speak and you realize you can't remember half the words you want to say.

YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP TRYING. YOU HAVE TO KEEP WORKING. LEARNING FRENCH IS WORK.

There is no other way.  Keep studying.  Keep reading.  Keep listening. Keep writing. If you do a little bit every day, even 15 minutes, you realize after a while that some things are getting easier. Suddenly you don't have to look up how to say "it was". You remember how to talk about the weather. You can write about your favorite book. You can read a magazine article and get the gist of it. You can watch a TV show in French, and you understand a good amount of it.  And if you keep working hard, it will eventually get a little easier.  And a little easier. 

You will always have to work at it. But with practice and dedication, it will get easier. I promise. I still have to look up words. I still question how to say things. I still can't understand all of the news on the TV. But I'm working because I love it and it is exciting.

So just keep swimming.  ;-)



dimanche 1 novembre 2015

Reminder: End of Marking Period 1

Bonjour mes enfants! Just a reminder that Marking Period 1 ends this Friday, November 6th. Please try to post whatever you can on your blog by WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH. Many of you are doing a good job keeping up and posting both reading/listening reflections and your personal portfolio blog posts. 

Don't forget about your speaking goals! Remember, there are several ways to get credit for a speaking goal: you can do a skit with friends; you can come up and speak to me in French! (be sure to have a topic ready); you can watch/listen to a video in French and talk to me about it in either French or English.  You have many options! Be sure to read over the papers I gave you that outline what you can do to practice and get credit.

As always, if you need help with anything, please do not hesitate to come to me for help!