Reading and Listening Stories for GCSE French
A creative original story split into 15 mini chapters per pack!
Excellent... the two speeds of listening are a really useful idea, since this is the MFL skill that all students find most difficult
Diverse characters and intriguing storylines tie in with topics of the new specification for fun and useful learning.
Written and recorded by native speakers – students will learn new vocabulary, grammar and expressions while developing their reading and listening comprehension, translation and pronunciation skills.
Students’ pack
Per chapter:- A text of 100–150 words (F), 150–200 words (H) or 200–250 words (G+T)
- A glossary of key difficult words to support reading and listening
- A notes box to write additional vocab, queries and opinions, and to keep track of expressions to reuse
Plus! G+T pack: additional ‘Did you know?’ boxes in the target language to boost knowledge
Teacher’s pack
- Three comprehension questions and a translation task per chapter to consolidate learning
- A versatile bank of ideas for additional differentiation, extension, debate and homework tasks
Ideal for classwork, extensions, homework or independent study!
Reading and Listening Stories for GCSE French:
| Foundation Les vacances des Lesgrand |
Clémentine deals with her parents’ divorce through friendship and music to find happiness. |
| Higher La moto bleue |
Enzo struggles with school and feeling an outsider but discovers his love for motorcycles and a future path. |
| Gifted and Talented Rahma retourne au collège |
Rahma confronts bullying and sexism to engage with feminist issues and embark on a new university degree. |
Also see Reading and Listening Stories for GCSE Spanish and GCSE German
What do teachers say about this resource? (9967)
Very well-thought-out and useful resource. The organisation of it is very clear and age appropriate. The story is fabulous - it is a realistic story for any teenager in France, and yet one which English students will also relate to. The areas of France mentioned give insight into aspects of culture. The natural use of higher level grammar which is used - examples of the subjunctive, the use of direct object pronouns - enhance the read because nothing is stilted or put in for the sake of the exam... it is such a natural and joyful read, that a student wouldn’t always be aware that they were reading an “advanced piece of grammar”. The situation is up to date ( re: the Maison Pour Tous) and the French teacher, in particular is presented as someone who wishes to help a student which is consistent with the empathy in the story.
Very good. I felt it addressed current issues and would appeal to the target age group. The language used was current and the topic engaging. I very much liked the tone of the text, its relevance to teenagers and the word banks provided in each chapter.
'I like the story and its positive messages and it is pitched correctly at higher level. The 15 chapters are manageable and each is neatly self-contained while still part of the whole story. I like the fact that the topic covered is labelled at the start of each chapter – it helps pupils to start tuning in to that vocab and will help their comprehension. I feel that by virtue of being a story, this resource will provide a welcome break from the usual reading comprehension tasks in course books and exams. As a practising teacher, I appreciate the inclusion of the answers as they save time having to do the answers myself.'
What do teachers say about this resource? (9969)
I love the idea of a longer reading text for gifted and talented pupils as even children’s books in French can be inaccessible. I like the fact that it links to all of the GCSE topics, as well as using different tenses. Text books often concentrate on just one or two tenses in their texts. Also, there are a lack of story resources available in the U.K. I have bought stories for language learners but they are quite dry or aimed at older students/adults. I particularly like the link to GCSE topics and that it is a continuous story, rather than a separate story for each topic. I have tried to plan a series of lessons that follow a story using particular grammar points but it’s really time consuming so I think there would be a market for this. I think the language is very high level. Considering the difficulty of the current higher specification I can see why the author has chosen such complex language. The education value for gifted and talented pupils will be the ability to offer them something different whilst others in the class are still working on more basic language. I also think the story format and fact files will make learning French more relevant for pupils and could increase motivation.
What do teachers say about this resource? (9966)
I love the idea of a longer reading text for pupils as even children’s books in French can be inaccessible. I like the fact that it links to all of the GCSE topics, as well as using different tenses. I particularly like the link to GCSE topics and that it is a continuous story, rather than a separate story for each topic. This is something that is definitely missing, so this resource could fill a gap in the market. The resource matches the specification in terms of topics and variety of language. I am confident that the resource would be able to support pupils with production of this language, as there are various sentences in the first person.
The vocabulary is fit for purpose and it is an interesting story that GCSE students will relate to. It's a different format to traditional textbooks. With recording at 2 speeds, it will be an extra resource for teachers to use to prepare students. The activities are also short and could be done independently (homework or extension work)
I generally thought the resource was excellent. The story is relevant to young people of 16, is feasible and meets the requirements of a piece of creative writing in format. I think the two speeds of listening are a really useful idea, since this is the MFL skill that all students find most difficult and the change of voices keeps the ear working to understand intonation and pronunciation in various tones which is natural to life. I like the layout of the chapter pages, and I also like the length of the chapters which are manageable and not offputting to weaker or nervous students.