Grade 10 french Listening and Speaking – Listening for Information Notes
Listening for Information — French (Age 15, Kenyan context)
- a) Summarise information from audio texts to confirm understanding.
- b) Break down information to comprehend main ideas from audio texts.
- c) Appreciate improvement in language proficiency through listening.
- d) Distinguish sounds /ʒ/ (jeune, jour, jupe) and /ʃ/ (chat, chou, chez) for accurate pronunciation.
- e) Use information from audio texts to identify physical attributes and personal details (grand, petite, gros, belle; birthdays, likes/dislikes, hobbies).
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Agreement of adjectives: adjectives change with gender and number.
Examples:un garçon grand → une fille grandeun chien gros → une vache grosseun garçon beau → une fille belle
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Age and birthdays:
Use avoir + number + ans: "J'ai 15 ans." — "Mon anniversaire est le 3 juin."
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Likes and dislikes:
aimer/adorer/détester + infinitive or noun: "J'aime la musique.", "Il adore jouer au football.", "Elle déteste les devoirs."
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Hobbies and activities:
jouer à + sport / jouer de + instrument / faire + activity: "Je joue au football.", "Il joue du piano.", "Elle fait de la danse."
- Useful verbs for descriptions: être (je suis), avoir (il a), porter (elle porte), mesurer (il mesure ~ height in cm).
- /ʒ/ as in "jeune", "jour", "jupe" (a voiced postalveolar fricative). Example sentences to listen for: "Le jeune garçon..."
- /ʃ/ as in "chat", "chou", "chez" (a voiceless postalveolar fricative). Example sentences: "Le chat dort."
Listening drill: teacher says a word; students raise 1 finger for /ʒ/ and 2 fingers for /ʃ/.
- /ʃ/ as in "chat", "chou", "chez" (a voiceless postalveolar fricative). Example sentences: "Le chat dort."
Listening drill: teacher says a word; students raise 1 finger for /ʒ/ and 2 fingers for /ʃ/.
Minimal pair examples
jupe /ʒype/ — soupe /sup/ (contrast vowel, practise initial /ʒ/)
jour /ʒuʁ/ — chour (not a French word, but practise /ʃ/ with "chou" /ʃu/)
jour /ʒuʁ/ — chour (not a French word, but practise /ʃ/ with "chou" /ʃu/)
- Preview keywords: âge, anniversaire, aime/ n'aime pas, joue, fait, grand/e, petit/e, beau/belle, gros/se.
- Listen for numbers and dates first (ages, birthdays).
- Listen for adjectives that describe people (grand, petite, grosse, belle) and note their agreement.
- Listen for verbs (joue, aime, fait) to identify hobbies and likes.
- After first listening, summarise main idea in 1–2 sentences; on second listening, extract details (name, age, hobbies).
1) Classroom audio profiles (teacher or audio player)
- Prepare short audio clips (30–45s) about Kenyan teenagers in French:
2) Pair work — Interviews + listening
Example script for teacher to record: "Bonjour. Je m'appelle Amina. J'ai 15 ans. Je suis grande et j'ai les cheveux longs. Mon anniversaire est le 10 août. J'aime la musique et je joue au volleyball." 🔊
- Task: Students listen twice. First: write the main idea in French (one sentence). Second: fill a profile card (name, age, taille, hobby, anniversaire).
- Pupil A reads a short profile they wrote; Pupil B listens and fills details. Swap roles. Then each student summarises partner's profile in French for the class.
3) Sound discrimination station (pronunciation)
- Teacher or recording reads a rapid list of words containing /ʒ/ and /ʃ/. Students mark which sound they heard and repeat the word. Use local examples (e.g., "jeune", "jour", "jupe", "chat", "chou", "chez").
4) Listening for physical description (visual activity)
- Show simple silhouette pictures labelled A–D (use emoji / simple SVG in print). Play audio: "La fille A est petite et belle. Elle a 14 ans. Elle aime la danse." Students point to the correct picture and write a short reason in French using correct adjective agreement.
5) Progress reflection (appreciate improvement)
- After 4 weeks of listening practice students write one short note in English or French: "Before, I could not understand ages and hobbies. Now I can understand when someone says 'J'ai 15 ans' and 'J'aime la musique'." This meets outcome (c).
Use these as audio items. After each, ask students to (a) give a 1-sentence summary in French and (b) list details (name, âge, description, hobbies).
- "Bonjour. Je m'appelle Kevin. J'ai 16 ans. Je suis grand et j'ai les cheveux courts. Mon anniversaire est le 5 septembre. J'aime jouer au football et écouter la musique."
- "Salut! Je suis Lindiwe. J'ai 15 ans. Je suis petite et belle. J'adore la danse et je joue du piano. Mon anniversaire est le 12 avril."
- "Je m'appelle Paul. J'ai 15 ans. Il est gros? Non — il est mince. (Teacher can purposely include a correction to practise listening for corrections.) J'aime le basket. Mon anniversaire est le 20 décembre."
For each listening task, mark:
- Summary: captures main idea in 1 sentence (Yes / Partial / No)
- Details: all key facts (name, age, hobby, birthday) correctly recorded (3–4 facts = Good)
- Pronunciation discrimination: correctly identifies /ʒ/ vs /ʃ/ in at least 8/10 items
- Grammar: uses correct adjective agreement when reporting (un/une, -e endings)
- Age: "J'ai ___ ans." — listen for numbers.
- Birthday: "Mon anniversaire est le ___ (mois)."
- Likes: "J'aime / J'adore / Je n'aime pas / Je déteste ..."
- Hobbies: "Je joue au / Je joue du / Je fais de la ..."
- Descriptions: "Il/Elle est grand(e)/petit(e)/gros(se)/beau/belle." (Make sure adjective agrees.)
- Pronunciation: raise finger(s) for /ʒ/ vs /ʃ/ during drills. 🔊👂
- Birthday: "Mon anniversaire est le ___ (mois)."
- Likes: "J'aime / J'adore / Je n'aime pas / Je déteste ..."
- Hobbies: "Je joue au / Je joue du / Je fais de la ..."
- Descriptions: "Il/Elle est grand(e)/petit(e)/gros(se)/beau/belle." (Make sure adjective agrees.)
- Pronunciation: raise finger(s) for /ʒ/ vs /ʃ/ during drills. 🔊👂
Teacher notes: Record short clips using familiar Kenyan names and activities (football, choir, dance, cooking). Keep each clip under 45 seconds. Encourage pair and group feedback so learners notice progress over weeks.