Hello everybody

 

I am preparing to make a list of free useful  sites for a pupil who is 17 year old. she needs to revise some grammar but also train in others skills (listening comprehension...) She will pass her final exam this year (Baccalauréat ES).

Can you suggest interesting  and useful sites for her age? For  the French teachers : have you got  an already made list?(I will give you my e mail)

Thanks in advance. Have a nice evening.

Hi Loic

 

This is what I did for my students and here is what Marie-Hélène (Montypython) did for hers . I hope you �ll find useful links for your student.

 

 Flo

I think that Breaking News English is brilliant training for the aural comprehension exam. Pupils can listen and then read the text afterwards to see how much they have understood. http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

LearnEnglishTeens also has listening texts with transcripts and comprehension questions. http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/ 

Perfect English Grammar is good for a pupil who can work well autonomously. http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/

On Youtube, Sky News have short videos in British English, but without transcripts. (British English)

Fox News also has short videos in American English on their webiste, but without transcripts.

Vocable has some good listening texts with transcripts but you need to create an account, I think.

 

And here are my top pieces of advice for the listening exam, which you are welcome to share:

 

Advice for the BAC listening

� Note the title � what do you think the passage will be about?

� Note how many speakers there are � is it a report, a monologue, a dialogue �?

� Listen to the tone of voice used by the speaker(s) � is their general attitude to the topic positive or negative? (On the second and third listenings, try to work out why they have this attitude.)

� Are there any words or phrases which are repeated or given extra emphasis in the passage? Note these words and try to work out why they are important.

� Does the passage have different sections? What is the connection between the different parts of the passage?

� Pay close attention to tenses and dates � what has already happened, what is happening now, what will or could happen in the future?

� Pay close attention to numbers and statistics � what do they refer to and why are they important? What arguments do they justify?

� Pay close attention to argument phrases such as but, although (which will introduce a contrasting argument) or and, moreover, as well, too (which will introduce another example).

� If you missed some of the details :

- if you don�t understand someone�s name, use their gender, nationality or profession instead � le journaliste, la femme du soldat, un p�re de deux enfants, une anglaise �

- if you miss the name of a state or city, use the name of the country or be more specific and use the details you know � aux Etats-Unis, � l�universit�, dans un petit village �

- numbers and statistics can be approximated � un peu plus que deux mille, environ 50%, des milliards de dollars �

- if you aren�t sure of how to spell unusual or technical terms, just explain what they mean � un nouveau vaisseau spatial, un m�dicament inconnu, une fleur rare, un sport extr�me �

- use logic and sensible guessing if you have no other choice. What do you already know about the topic? What could the missing information be?