French phrase of the week routine

French phrase of the week routine

‘Une phrase par semaine’ or ‘French phrase of the week’ is a weekly routine for French language classrooms.  Learning new phrases can your students gain confidence when speaking French and increase fluency. You can collect some of your favourite phrases to use or use these fun posters! Below I share some tips on how you can include this  routine in your FSL class today!

1. Introducing the phrase of the week –Display your poster for the phrase and practice pronunciation with your students. Have them listen to you a few times and then repeat the phrase. Provide a few examples for use of the phrase. Be sure to try to use the phrase throughout the week in conversation with your class. Challenge your class to try to use the phrase correctly during the week. Consider providing recognition or a small reward to students that use the phrase correctly.

2. Create a display – Print out each poster and place on a bulletin board or wall in the classroom. It is best to have a space specifically designated to this activity to create consistency (your students will know where to look for the phrase). Print your posters in colour or in black and white on coloured paper for an attractive display.

3. Mini-cards – Small versions of the larger poster have been included to use with your students. Some ideas for these cards include: providing a printed set for students to glue in their notebooks or to use as flashcards. Also, you can play ‘SLAP’ with the mini cards. To play, place all of the cards face-up on a table. Have two students on either side of a table. Call out one of the phrases, the first to ‘slap’ the correct phrase card wins a point. 

4. Skits – Using your set of printed mini-cards, hand out a set to small groups of students (2 or 3 per group). Have students work together to create a skit or brief dialogue that incorporates the phrases that they have been assigned.

EXTEND- You can extend this activity by assigning each student a phrase and having them provide their own illustration to convey the meaning/usage of the phrase.