This page is a collection of French ed resources that I’ve found useful over the past several years. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it’s stuff I love.
Audio and Multimedia/Interactive websites
Podcast Français Facile: I can’t tell you how much I love the audio clips from this site. Cloze activities, dictées, grammar activities at beginning and intermediate levels – this website has been a source of inspiration to me.
TV5:Monde is a French language website that has all kinds of Français Langue Étrangère (FLE) resources – video clips, tongue twisters, news broadcasting, etc. Whenever I need an exciting multimedia idea or activity, especially for my CIS Level 5 class, I start here.
Mômes.net – A French kids website with all kinds of games, video clips, and interactive games. Super useful when you’re looking for something on a French holiday. My fave back to school passé composé review activity is narrating this short film: Sorry I’m Late – I got the idea from the Mômes blog here.
Se Donner le Mot: Learn idiomatic expressions with two Québéquois comedians – very fun.
Music & Literature & Other Fun Reading
Chansons françaises et francophones: A multimedia site with about ten zillion (est. count) fun French songs – streaming mp3 files, annotated lyrics, articles, and links. An absolutely incredible project that I’ve found useful.
Vive Voix: Poèmes à écouter: a poetry project with a huge catalog of French poems read aloud. Includes audio and text versions of both classic poems that every French major in the USA has read and probably loved as well as a bunch of lesser known works that may just melt your Francophile heart into puddles.
Calligrammes: Do you remember the Calligramme poems by Apollinaire? They make me feel all squooshy inside. This site has some examples by CE2 students in Toulouse, and my students have loved them. Great way to work on adjectives and narrative descriptions.
Centre Astrologique de Michèle Perras: Have you ever wanted to read your horoscope in French? You’d be amazed at how many of my students LOVE this site. Hilarious, snappy writing, good for practicing the conditional tense.
Historical Interest
Château Guédelon: Why not rebuild a medieval fortress castle using the same stones and techniques that they used in the 13th century? I love this project for so many reasons!
Les Châteaux Mediévaux: If you read French and want to know anything about the fortress castles in France, this is the place to start. Châteaux Forts are one of my obsessions, and I love the Middle Ages.
Médiathèque de l’architecture et de la patrimoine: Want to do research on any of the historical monuments in France? Here’s where to start – well, after Wikipedia, of course.
Aliénor d’Aquitaine: A French museum project that shares everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Eleanor of Aquitaine – wife of two kings, mother of Richard the Lionheart, and (some argue) the inspiration for the legend of Robin Hood.
Other Resources
California Newsreel: Film and video for social change. One of the most reliable sources for movies from Francophone Africa that I’ve found – their Library of African Cinema is pretty fantastic.
