Using appropriate French 1 songs is a no-brainer to engage our beginning French students. They enjoy a break from the textbook. I enjoy a break from the textbook. And in all honesty, picking the best French 1 songs for my students has multiple benefits:
- increased student engagement
- personal student enjoyment
- improved student listening skills
- a successful outcome for all groups of students
- and, a bellringer routine that gives me a few extra minutes at the beginning of class.
In this blog, I have picked out 4 perfect French 1 songs that I use with my beginning French students to improve their listening skills and engage them at the beginning of class. If you are looking for a more detailed explanation of how this daily bellringer unfolds step-by-step, check out some other blogs:
- “3 Steps to use Popular French Music in Your Classroom at any time of the Year”
- “Use Popular French Music at all Levels – Easy Instructions for the First 3 Days”
- “3 Tips for French Bellringer Activities”
Those above blogs relate to how I prep for the French 1 songs and this blog gives you very specific examples of what I do and say in French to keep students motivated through the full 6-10 days of my fill-in-the-blank French 1 songs.
Perfect French 1 Songs – When to Begin?
The flow for my beginning French 1 students is that we participate in Manie Musicale during March (which is usually during Quarter 3 in the calendar). They absolutely love love love this song-bracket competition. Manie Musicale is a beautiful introduction to popular French music and I am able to continue the hype at the beginning of Quarter 4 when I introduce my fill-in-the-bank French 1 songs.
By the start of Quarter 4, my students are used to me speaking only in French when I teach and it’s not a stretch for them to listen to French 1 songs with the goal to improve their listening skills.
Keep in mind that I am not working to improve their listening comprehension with these French 1 songs. No. Listening skills come before listening comprehension. Listening skills are being able to pick an isolated French word out of a string of French words. Can my students listen for this tiny level of detail? Can they drown out French words they do (or don’t) understand in order to hear where one specific word is sung?
That is how I use my French 1 songs to engage my students and begin to fine tune their listening skills at the same time. I do have to repeat over and over the reason for the French 1 songs … to improve listening skills. Because I know full well they can go to the internet and find the lyrics in French within 90 seconds and fill in all the blanks.
This is where I work to have buy-in from students and I give them grace in the form of how I grade their song that they turn in at the end of the 10 days. Find my specific grading routine for the French 1 songs within the two pages of teacher tips available with any song purchase in my TPT store: L’Essentiel French Resources.
Perfect French 1 Songs – Setting the Stage on Day 1
On Day 1 of all new French 1 songs, we watch the music video (if there is one) or listen to an audio (if there is no existing video). The goal while students watch the video is to listen for the title “Me Voilà”. While they watch the video, I hand out the fill-in-the-blank song with an attached alphabetized list of vocabulary words.
Before starting the very first song, I explain these items in English:
- These French 1 song activities are to improve listening skills.
- And I explain the difference between listening skills and listening comprehension. Improved skills are needed before improved comprehension.
- This is not a “can-you-find-the-lyrics-to-copy-from-the-internet-in-less-than-90-seconds”.
- I know they can already do that.
- Everyone receives all the points for every song if you finish approximately 70-80% of the song.
- Is the word in the section where it should be? Is it near the correct blank?
- I can’t grade listening skills because it’s a slow and steady progression to improve that skill. Everyone is always at different points.
- The only way you receive zero points is if you turn in NOTHING. For students who have been absent for 3 days in a row and only achieve 40-50% of the song?
- They mark “AB – 3 days” at the top and when I enter points into the computer, I understand why they only filled in 40-50% of the blanks.
Part of my routine is that I say, reinforce, and check for some of the same items every day for every song during French 1. As I say it for the 5th, 6th, and 7th day in a row, I slowly switch those questions over into French:
- “Cette chanson est pour comprendre le français ou pour entendre des mots individuels?”
- “Mots individuels”
- “Vous copiez les paroles de l’internet?”
- Non.
- “Pour recevoir 100% des points, vous finissez quel pourcentage de la chanson?”
- 70% – 80%
- “Et si on est absent?”
- “Écrivez AB.”
Setting this stage over and over is critical to the buy-in and helps avoid them copying the words from the internet. It does help that I walk around during the songs to check and I provide them with strategies throughout the 7-12 days on a song.
Perfect French 1 Songs – Strategies
#1: They repeat the vocabulary list after me every day for the first 3 days and then with me for the next 2 days after that. If they can’t pronounce the individual word, they’ll never hear the individual word. I don’t give them the meanings of the words. There is no test. These French 1 songs are to improve listening skills, not to expand vocabulary.
#2: I recommend that students aim to fill in 4-5 words per day. That’s only 1 word per section. Very attainable. Except for the perfectionist students. Ouch – that’s tough. Identify those students early on and help them with this gray area so that they don’t give up and look for the words online.
There are more strategies listed below with each song.
Perfect French 1 Songs – Me Voilà (du film)
– I always start with the alphabetized (more difficult) version. And then I work ever so hard to help them feel successful.
– Listen for the title of the song on days 1 and 2. Get the title filled in everywhere.
– Listen for words that you know. “Suis” will come after “je” or “je ne” as in “je suis” or “je ne suis pas”.
– And towards the end of this first French 1 song, I might give them the categorized version of the vocabulary or I might sing a verse or two slowly.
Perfect French 1 Songs – L’oiseau et l’enfant (Kids United)
– As always, listen for the title on Days 1 and 2. Fill it in everywhere.
– Watch for patterns: The final word in one section is the first word in the next section. I wait for a few days into the song to give them that hint.
Perfect French 1 Songs – Je suis ton ami (du film)
- Listen for words that you know. “Suis” will come after “je” or “je ne” as in “je suis” or “je ne suis pas”.
- Choose the 4-5 words you want to listen for before I begin playing the song. Write them off to the side and focus on those words only today.
- I find a word(s) in the song that is repeated many times (“c’est moi”) and I tell them to listen just for this combination today.
Perfect French 1 Songs – Le Lion est mort ce soir (Pow woW)
- Listen for rhymes.
- Listen for words with several syllables. The more syllables, the easier it is to hear 2 or 3 of the 4 syllables.
Perfect French 1 Songs – How to finish the song?
When I walk around, I notice how fast or slow the students are moving at filling in the blanks. When I see that most students are 50-60% finished, we vote on when to end the song. Then I put these strategies into play for the next 2-3 days, if needed:
- Sing parts of the song to them as we approach the last 2 days. I teach them to say, “Chantez, s’il vous plaît, strophe 3.” And I sing that verse 3 or 4 times, depending on how much help they need.
- Give out the categorized list of vocabulary words, if needed.
- I make them say, “Chantez, s’il vous plaît, strophe 3.” And I sing that section 3 times at a relatively slower pace than the song.
- I watch the struggling students to make sure that they’re on the correct section as I sing so they can hear the word(s).
- I hold the categorized list of vocabulary words and write the 7 words for strophe 3 on the board before we begin.
- Students take a check of the words they have in that section. They erase the words that don’t belong.
- I either sing that verse of the song 3-4 times in a row OR I replay that verse of the song 3-4 times in a row.
Perfect French 1 Songs – Final Thoughts
Listening skills are not the same as listening comprehension. Develop the skills so that they can be better at comprehension. I love the French 1 songs that are part of my bellringer routine. Students often ask, “Why can’t we have that popular song called ____?” And I tell them with all honesty that it’s too fast for our listening proficiency level. Or it might have inappropriate words. Either way, I remind them that I choose the songs for specific reasons: word choice, speed, rhyming, repetition, grammar, familiar vocabulary, etc… and that ONE SONG THEY LOVE doesn’t fit right now.
I’m always open to suggestions – and they begin to give me French music suggestions to listen to. That’s how I “found” the Canadian singer Coeur de Pirate. A student suggested her music to me. Shout out to Béatrice! The four songs mentioned above are linked here to my TPT store:
If you are interested in more French songs and teacher tips to incorporate French music into your classroom, the next blog is “6 Effective French 2 Songs to Engage Students and Improve Listening Skills“.
All my video versions of blogs are on my YouTube Channel: L’Essentiel French Resources. Follow me on Instagram: @essentielfrenchresources. Find my French 1 songs (and more) in my TPT store: L’Essentiel French Resources. My name is Lisa and I love being your new French colleague. How can I help you tomorrow?
