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SavannahYear 8
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LanguagesListening in French28 min★★★ difficulty

Understanding native speakers

Real French speakers do not slow down for learners. The trick is catching the shape of what is said, not every single word.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Listening: Listen to authentic spoken language, including native speakers at near-normal speed, and identify main points and detail

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Listen to authentic spoken language, including native speakers at near-normal speed, and identify main points and detail

Key learning points

  • • Chunking speech
  • • Main point versus detail
  • • Coping with unfamiliar words

This lesson at a glance

  • 28 minutes
  • 14 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

listenauthenticspokenlanguagenative

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 14 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 14

Watch first

Understanding native speakers

An English teaching video on this topic from We Teach MFL. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Listen to authentic spoken language, including native speakers at near-normal speed, and identify main points and detail

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 14

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Chunking speech

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

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 14

Learn

Chunking speech

Native speech runs words together in phrases rather than single words. Train yourself to recognise whole chunks like 'je voudrais' (I would like) or 'il y a' (there is/are) as single units, rather than decoding word by word.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 14

Learn

Main point versus detail

First listen for the topic: is it about a holiday, a school day, a problem? Then listen again for specific detail — names, numbers, opinions. 'J'ai adoré le film, surtout les acteurs' gives the main point (loved the film) and a detail (the actors).

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 14

Quick check

What does 'je voudrais' mean?

6

Reset break

Part 6 of 14

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
7

Quick check

Part 7 of 14

Quick check

In 'J'ai adoré le film, surtout les acteurs', what is the detail?

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 14

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Coping with unfamiliar words

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

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 14

Learn

Coping with unfamiliar words

You will not know every word a native speaker uses. Use context: if talking about food and you hear 'délicieux', you can guess it means 'delicious' even before checking, because of the surrounding topic and its similarity to English.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 14

Quick check

Recognising phrases like 'il y a' as one chunk helps you...

11

Challenge round

Part 11 of 14

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

12

Challenge round

Part 12 of 14

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

____ speech runs words together in phrases rather than single words.

First ____ for the topic: is it about a holiday, a school day, a problem?

13

Mastery quiz

Part 13 of 14

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Understanding native speakers

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

  1. 1. Fast native speech is hardest at word boundaries because French speakers...

  2. 2. What does 'je voudrais' mean?

  3. 3. In 'J'ai adoré le film, surtout les acteurs', what is the detail?

  4. 4. Recognising phrases like 'il y a' as one chunk helps you...

14

Lesson round-up

Part 14 of 14

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 3 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 14 · Watch & discover

How this is going

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    Listen to authentic spoken language, including native speakers at near-normal speed, and identify main points and detail

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