Level B1 - CLAIRE - French Writing, Speaking, and Listening Activity
Rencontrez Claire!
French Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening Activity: RENCONTREZ CLAIRE!
The personal description of the personnage in this activity can either be used a speaking or writing prompt. Reading and listening comprehension included.
Sometimes it’s difficult to come up with good ideas for creative story-telling or imaginative writing. Very often, we’re so focused on producing correct grammar that we forget how much fun it can be to tell stories! If you’ve been looking for creative prompts to get the ball rolling, I know you’ll have fun with this resource. It includes a story for you to listen to and read along, then you can complete a listening comprehension activity.
Here's what you need to know about CLAIRE:
- C'est une femme de 29 ans
- Elle a récemment quitté son fiancé
- Elle a un chien nommé Félix
- Elle travaille comme coiffeuse
- Elle habite dans un village de 500 habitants
- Elle a une nouvelle petite voiture
INCLUDED:
- Detailed background information about CLAIRE
- Si clause writing activity - 1st conditional - Futur simple + present tense
- Story about Claire based on her background information - Approximately 500 words
- MP4 audio recording - Listen to the story read aloud
- Listening comprehension cloze activity
USE THIS RESOURCE FOR CREATIVE WRITING OR STORY-TELLING, AND TO IMPROVE READING AND LISTENING SKILLS:
STEP 1: Read the personal details about CLAIRE, an interesting personnage.
STEP 2: Once you know CLAIRE'S background, complete the si clause prompts provided. They all begin in the futur simple, and you should finish them in the present tense. This step will help you build up to writing a story!
STEP 3: Listen to a story about CLAIRE. Don't read the text yet. Just listen, and see how much you can understand.
STEP 4: Complete the cloze activity to test your listening comprehension before you read the actual text. Fill in 20 blanks with words you hear in the MP4 recording. A word bank is provided.
STEP 5: Check your work as you read the full text for the first time. Take some time to read the English translation provided to compare sentence structure. Be sure to note new vocabulary words and expressions.
STEP 6: It's time to try your hand at creative writing in French! The story you listened to will give you an idea of what kind of story you can write, but be sure to use your imagination! The background information and the si clauses you wrote will give you something to work with. The more you read and write in French, the better your understanding of sentence structure will be. You'll also be amazed at how much vocabulary you will learn! Use as many verb tenses, pronouns, and other grammatical structures as possible in your story.
HOW CAN YOU WRITE A STORY WITH A FRIEND?
If you’re writing, you can even do this exercise via email or messaging. You send a line, and your friend writes back with the next one. It will be so much fun to see what kind of crazy stories you come up with. The possibilities are endless.
HOW CAN YOU TELL A STORY WITH A FRIEND?
If you want to use this resource as a speaking activity, just take turns telling the next line of the story. You will laugh as you see how quickly the storyline can turn.
This resource is included in my money saving FRENCH PROGRAM FOR SELF-LEARNERS.
Your Instructor
Jennifer is originally from Louisiana, and has been teaching French for over 20 years. She has been living in France with her husband and children since 2013, and continues to teach French both online and locally. She completed a BA in French and English, and taught French and moved to France for a year before completing an MA degree in French literature and language. While living in the US, she taught French for 15 years at Saint Louis University High School, a Jesuit college preparatory school for young men.