LanguagesAu collège25 min★★ difficulty

Fait ou opinion ?

When you listen to someone talk about school, half of what they say is information and half is what they think about it. Exam questions almost always ask you to separate the two.

Part of your national curriculum

Listening: Detect and understand the main points and gist of spoken passages, discerning between fact and opinion

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Detect and understand the main points and gist of spoken passages, discerning between fact and opinion

Key learning points

• Signals of a fact
• Signals of an opinion
• Positive, negative or both

This lesson at a glance

25 minutes
15 parts to scroll through
4 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

detectpointsspokenpassagesdiscerning

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Part 1 of 15 · Discover7%

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Part 1 of 15

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Fait ou opinion ?

An English teaching video on this topic from Pearson UK & International Schools. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Detect and understand the main points and gist of spoken passages, discerning between fact and opinion

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 15

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Signals of a fact

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 15

Learn

Signals of a fact

Facts come with numbers, times and plain verbs: 'J'ai six cours par jour.' 'Le collège commence à huit heures.' If you could check it on a timetable, it is a fact.

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 15

Learn

Signals of an opinion

Opinions come with opinion verbs and judgement adjectives: je pense que (I think that), à mon avis (in my opinion), je trouve que (I find that), c'est génial / nul / difficile. 'À mon avis, la journée est trop longue' is an opinion, even though it mentions the day.

Quick check

Part 5 of 15

Quick check

Which phrase signals an opinion?

Quick check

Part 6 of 15

Quick check

'Je trouve que c'est nul' is...

Reset break

Part 7 of 15

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 15

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Positive, negative or both

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 15

Learn

Positive, negative or both

Listen for the turn: mais, cependant (however), par contre (on the other hand). 'J'aime le collège, mais les devoirs sont trop longs' is both positive and negative — and a question asking for the speaker's overall view expects you to notice that.

Quick check

Part 10 of 15

Quick check

'Par contre' tells you that...

Quick check

Part 11 of 15

Quick check

Which of these is a fact?

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 15

Worked example

Transcript: 'Le collège commence à huit heures. À mon avis, c'est trop tôt, mais j'aime bien les profs.' Fact: school starts at 8. Opinion 1 (negative): too early. Opinion 2 (positive): likes the teachers. Overall: mixed.

Challenge round

Part 13 of 15

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Mastery quiz

Part 14 of 15

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Fait ou opinion ?

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. Which statement is an opinion rather than a fact?
2. Which phrase signals an opinion?
3. 'Je trouve que c'est nul' is...
4. 'Par contre' tells you that...

Lesson round-up

Part 15 of 15

Lesson round-up

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Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

Une journée à Lyon

Samedi matin, je me lève à sept heures et demie. Je prends le petit déjeuner avec ma sœur — du pain, du beurre et un chocolat chaud. Ensuite, nous prenons le bus jusqu'au centre-ville.

J'aime beaucoup Lyon parce qu'il y a un grand marché près du fleuve. Ma sœur préfère les magasins, mais moi, je préfère le marché : c'est moins cher et c'est plus intéressant. À midi, nous mangeons un sandwich au parc.

L'après-midi, il commence à pleuvoir, alors nous rentrons à la maison en tram. Le soir, je fais mes devoirs et je regarde un film avec mes parents.

Original text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

In English, say what the writer does in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
Find the phrases that give an opinion and a reason, and copy them out.
Write 8–10 sentences about your own Saturday, using at least three phrases from the text.

Written practice
Writing
Write the sentences out in the language, then translate them back into English.
8–10 sentences
Vocabulary page
Working out
Copy the new words, cover them, and test yourself. Note the ones you keep missing.
15 words

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Detect and understand the main points and gist of spoken passages, discerning between fact and opinion