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SavannahYear 8
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LanguagesMa ville et les transports25 min★★ difficulty

Demander son chemin

Asking for directions is easy. Understanding the answer — given fast, by a stranger, with a word you have never met — is the real skill. You handle it with repair phrases.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Speaking: Initiate and develop conversations, coping with unfamiliar language and unexpected responses

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Initiate and develop conversations, coping with unfamiliar language and unexpected responses

Key learning points

  • • Asking
  • • Understanding the answer
  • • Repair phrases when you are lost

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

initiateconversationscopingunfamiliarlanguage

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 15 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 15

Watch first

Demander son chemin

An English teaching video on this topic from beamafalda FRANCÉS. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Initiate and develop conversations, coping with unfamiliar language and unexpected responses

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 15

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Asking

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

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 15

Learn

Asking

Pardon, madame, où est la gare, s'il vous plaît ? Pour aller au musée, s'il vous plaît ? Est-ce qu'il y a une pharmacie près d'ici ? Always open with pardon or excusez-moi and close with s'il vous plaît.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 15

Learn

Understanding the answer

Allez tout droit (go straight on), tournez à gauche / à droite (turn left / right), prenez la première rue (take the first street), continuez jusqu'aux feux (carry on to the lights), c'est en face de / à côté de / entre (opposite / next to / between).

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 15

Quick check

'Tournez à gauche' means turn...

6

Quick check

Part 6 of 15

Quick check

Which phrase asks someone to slow down?

7

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
8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 15

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Repair phrases when you are lost

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

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 15

Learn

Repair phrases when you are lost

Pardon, je n'ai pas compris. Vous pouvez répéter, s'il vous plaît ? Plus lentement, s'il vous plaît. C'est loin ? These four phrases mean an unexpected answer never ends the conversation — it just slows it down.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 15

Quick check

'C'est en face de la mairie' means it is...

11

Quick check

Part 11 of 15

Quick check

'Prenez la première rue' means take the ___ street.

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 15

Worked example

Model role play

A: Pardon, monsieur, pour aller à la gare ? B: Allez tout droit, puis prenez la deuxième rue à droite. A: Pardon, vous pouvez répéter plus lentement ? B: Tout droit, puis la deuxième à droite. C'est à côté du parc. A: Merci beaucoup !

13

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

14

Mastery quiz

Part 14 of 15

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Demander son chemin

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

  1. 1. A stranger answers your question with a word you do not know. The best repair phrase is...

  2. 2. 'Tournez à gauche' means turn...

  3. 3. Which phrase asks someone to slow down?

  4. 4. 'C'est en face de la mairie' means it is...

15

Lesson round-up

Part 15 of 15

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

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

  1. In English, say what the writer does in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
  2. Find the phrases that give an opinion and a reason, and copy them out.
  3. 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

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 15 · Watch & discover

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    Initiate and develop conversations, coping with unfamiliar language and unexpected responses

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