Say it in English! Science workshops and bike hire (French edition)

Objective & content

A cross-language mediation pair activity in two rounds, for French classes. The documents are in French; everything pupils say and write is in English. In round 1, Student A has a French science museum leaflet of holiday workshops, and Student B plays Sam, a 13-year-old English exchange student who is free on Wednesday and Saturday, needs a workshop in English, loves computers and has €10. In round 2, Student B has a French bike hire price list, and Student A plays Alex, 15, who wants a bike for the forest from 14:00 to 18:00, has a helmet, is going with an adult and has €25. The pupil with the document must not translate it all: they explain only what the visitor needs, and the visitor decides. By the end, pupils can pick out the useful facts in a French document and pass them on simply in English.

Pedagogical guide

This is the CEFR's cross-language mediation: explaining a document in your own language to someone who doesn't speak it. The rule on each page is the heart of the task: "Your partner doesn't speak French. Don't translate everything: tell them only what they need, in English." Each document holds more than the visitor needs, so the explainer listens to the task and selects. The phrases box gives It says ..., It's on ... at ..., It costs ..., You need to ..., This one is good for you, because ... and That one is no good: it's only in French. Pupils also meet everyday words they will need abroad: workshop, booking, website, mountain bike, helmet, ID card, passport, the whole day. Each task has one best answer, and round 2 has a small trap: four hours cost more than the whole day. Page 3 is the teacher page: the idea, four steps, the language and the key with the reasons.

Suggested procedure

One activity of about 25 minutes.

1. (3 min) Set up the pairs: copy page 1 (Student A) for half the class and page 2 (Student B) for the other half, and put pupils in A + B pairs, face to face. Nobody shows their page. Read the rule and the phrases box with the class.
2. (8 min) Round 1: B is Sam, reads the task and asks; A explains the French leaflet in English. B writes the workshop, the day and time, the price and what to do first.
3. (8 min) Round 2: A is Alex, reads the task and asks; B explains the French price list in English. A writes the bike, the cheapest price and what to bring.
4. (6 min) Pairs swap pages and check, then tell the class who chose what and why. Check with the key on page 3.

Adaptations

[S] Before round 1, the class finds the English words for the column headings together.

[A] Pupils bring a real leaflet or menu from their town and explain it to a partner in the same way.

Materials & prerequisites

Print infogap.pdf: page 1 for Student A and page 2 for Student B, one copy per pupil; page 3 is the teacher page. Pupils need a pencil. They should already know days, times, numbers and prices, and present simple questions. It goes well with work on travel, exchanges or free time, and with the "Explain it to me!" sheets.