Question du Jour - A Quick Speaking/Listening Activity for Core French Classes

Teachers are always asking me how to include more speaking and listening activities into their Core French classrooms. For Core French teachers who may not be fluent in French themselves, it is often daunting to speak French with their students. Here is one activity that I like to do to start off my French class everyday: Question du Jour (Question of the Day).

Why try it? 
This is my assurance that every student is speaking French at least once in the block. 

How do I implement it?

• I create a question, usually something that fits in to the theme or unit we are studying. I usually have the question written on the board as they come into class. A question during a family unit could be “As-tu des cousins ou des cousins?” A question during a sports unit could be “Aimes-tu jouer au football?”

• We discuss the question and I ask the student what they think it means. I also use this time to point out grammatical elements/pronunciation of the words so they can make the connection to how the French is written and what it sounds like. Then we brainstorm possible answers. I like to write down the possible outcomes so that the students have a visual to refer to.

• Once the class understands the question, everyone stands up. I ask the question to a student, who answers it and asks it to another student. Once a student has answered the question and asked someone else, they sit down.

• The question is passed through the classroom in the same way. The last student standing asks me the question to complete the loop.

How long does it take?

This activity takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on how long the brainstorming piece takes. Later in the year, my class usually has it down to 8-10 minutes from beginning to end.

If you'd like to read more about how I structure my Core French classes, click here.

This game is a great warm up to use with any French lesson. Pair it with any of these resources to have a well-rounded French lesson!

So, what do you think? Do you do something similar? Would this warmup work for you and your students? Let me know in the comments below!

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