On Wednesday evening, President Macron gave a speech that outlined some of the new measures France will be implementing to stop the spread of the virus. Beginning Friday, Macron is instituting a new lockdown, or "confinement" to help battle the second wave of pandemic. He began with a discussion of how this new lockdown would be the same as the one France experienced in the spring: "comme au printemps" means "like in the spring." Establishments open to the public will b closed: "Fermeture de établisssements recevant du public." Also, the French government will be providing unemployment payments to individuals and employers who are affected by the closures. "Chômage" is the French word for "unemployment." Macron then discussed what would be different during this second lockdown: "Ce qui change." Nurseries and school "restent ouverts:" they will remain open. If you click on the link to the video above, you will be able to see Macron's interpreter. Remember what I told you about French Sign Language? American Sign Language, or ASL, evolved directly from French Sign Language, so they are very similar.
If you are like me, you have been curious about how other countries in the world have been dealing with the coronavirus. Every time we practice vocabulary and dialogues about going out into the world ("On va au café?"), I think about how, no, I'm not going to any cafe any time soon. Because there's a world-wide pandemic. Now that we're in Unit 2, so much of our vocabulary centers around "Les Passe-Temps," activities that we enjoy doing that perhaps we are unable to do. Here is a quote from Franceinfo, one of my favorite websites for French news. 46 millions de Français vont devoir vivre sous couvre-feu à partir de vendredi 23 octobre à minuit. In this quote, I hope you recognize the word "vendredi" from Tuesday. If you've forgotten that it means "Friday," you still might have been able to figure it out because of "23 octobre:" today's date. Here's my translation of the line: 46 million French must live under curfew beginning Friday, October 23 at midnight. Our word "curfew" comes from the French word "couvre-feu." In French, "couvre" means "to cover," and "feu" means "fire." (There's a really great French soup called "pot-au-feu:" "fire pot.") In the old, olden days, the Medieval days, a couvre-feu was a ringing bell that reminded citizens of a city to cover their fires. In old European cities, wooden buildings were crowded together and inside every single home fires were lit to cook, warm the home, take baths, everything. If one of those fires caught ahold of a wooden structure, it could soon rage across the entire city. This happened in London in 1666, in what we know as the Great Fire of London. In modern day France, the word "couvre-feu" has adapted just like our word "curfew" to mean people must be in their homes by a certain hour, in this case, "minuit." The French government is imposing a curfew to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The rate of infection is rising in France, as well as Europe in general and the United States. France is trying to prevent the severity of a "deuxième vague," a second wave of Covid infections.
Hello students! Next Monday, we'll be transitioning both to our 2nd grading cycle and Unit 2. In Unit 2, we'll learn vocabulary about different past times, hobbies, and interests: les passe-temps. You'll also learn numbers 1-20, subject pronouns, how to conjugate -er verbs; it's going to be a great unit :) Today, Friday October 16, is the last day of Cycle 1. It's also the last day to submit late work to be graded. Content Hour Survey ResultsThank you to the students who filled out the survey for feedback about what you are most interested in covering for content hour. The majority of you asked for a mix of different types of French culture: music, food, poems, books, news. Let's do it! For our next content hour, we'll discuss the classic song "La Vie en Rose" by Edith Piaf, a song mentioned in the video at the beginning of Unit 2. Here's a link to the lyrics. I'll also be introducing you to the famous French novella, Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. We'll read just a little bit together in English and French.
Next week is the last week of Cycle of the 2020-2021 school year! We'll be wrapping up Unit 1 at the same time Cycle 1 ends: you're all French speakers now :) In this blog post I'll be discussing:
Unit 1 TestYour Unit 1 test will be a real discussion with me in French. We will cover all of the function we've learned in Unit 1, including:
Our agenda for next week will include a schedule for students to do their tests with me. Some students will be schedule during class time, some during content hour, and maybe even a few during tutorial/intervention time and office hours. I ask that during our test your camera is on. It'll just be us, and seeing your face will give me helpful feedback in evaluating you, especially when it comes to pronunciation. On va aux Champs-Élysées.In this week's content hour, we went beyond tutorials to discuss the classic French song "Les Champs-Élysées" by Joe Dassin. It's a nostalgic tribute to one of the most famous streets in Paris. The Champs-Élysées begins at the Arc de Triomphe and ends at the Louvre. Here's a link to the French lyrics with English translations. The science says that music can help us learn languages. Here's a link to a short article that briefly discusses all the benefits language learners can gain from studying (and singing!) songs. Extra Credit Opportunity!!!Now that we've kind of got the rhythm of the year down, kind of hit our language learning stride, I'd like to offer an extra credit opportunity for the 2nd cycle. I'm sure many of you know of the language-learning app Duolingo. It provides super-convenient vocabulary instruction and practice on your phone. There's another free language learning app/program that you may not have heard of: Busuu. Busuu provides the same functions as Duolingo, only it also has a social component. Native French speakers will correct your written or spoken activities, and you also have the opportunity to correct the activities of students from around the world who are studying English as a second language.
Periodically, over the next cycle, I'll give you benchmarks through Busuu for you to hit for extra credit. Here's a link to the page to set-up an account. It's a lot of fun :) |
AuthorI'm a Houston high school teacher during the Covid19 pandemic. Welcome to my adapted, socially-distanced, quarantined French 1 classroom. Archives
May 2021
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