French - Intermediate
At St.James Church Hall, Norton, postcode WR5 2PS meets fortnightly on Thurs at 1400hr.
Leader and Contact: Hilary Wallace
The topics we have studied this year in the French Intermediate group have included: , talking about ourselves and our hobbies, families and activities, where we live, asking the way and giving directions, shopping, eating and cooking, travelling and visiting places, finding and describing accommodation, and expressing opinions on different lifestyles. During lockdown periods we have continued group sessions on Zoom and were fortunate in having contributions from a French friend who brought many interesting topics such as the restoration of Notre Dame, updated us on the pandemic situation in France and corrected our vocabulary. We have practised conversations in pairs and written short passages to share with the group. We have used text books “French Experience 2” listening to CD and watching videos on Youtube, and “La Grammaire en Clair” for grammar exercises. We are now beginning to read passages from a novel “La Gloire de mon Pere” by Marcel Pagnol which is quite challenging and introduces more literary expressions and the use of the past historic tense.
The general level of the group is between GCSE and A-level but some members have studied beyond this and we try to strike a balance between reading texts and exercises and as much free conversation as possible. I try to introduce some fun activities to minimise the risk of falling asleep. (A common third age problem!) We don’t do tests!
We meet in the Beechill room at St James’ Church, Norton, which is very light and pleasant with excellent facilities and has room for up to 20 people so I hope to welcome new people in the next session as well as some familiar faces.
Bonnes vacances et à bientôt!
Hilary Wallace
July 2022