Grade by Grade
A–B. Listening and Speaking · Listening and Speaking Across la Francophonie

Bienvenue en 9e ! My Routine and a Plan for Listening

A1.1 A1.2 A2.3 B1.4About 70 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can use listening strategies before, during and after I listen to French.
  • I can understand a classmate describing their day, including times on the 24-hour clock.
  • I can describe my own daily routine using pronominal verbs (je me lève, je m'habille) and time expressions.
  • I can reflect on which listening strategies help me most and set a goal.

Words to know

l'horaire (m.)
The schedule or timetable (loh-RAIR). Mon horaire = my timetable.
une période / un cours
A period / a class. En première période = in first period.
se réveiller
To wake up (suh ray-veh-YAY). Je me réveille.
se lever
To get up (suh luh-VAY). Careful: je me lève (zhuh muh LEHV) has an accent grave.
s'habiller
To get dressed (sah-bee-YAY). Je m'habille.
se dépêcher
To hurry (suh day-peh-SHAY). Dépêche-toi ! = Hurry up!
se coucher
To go to bed (suh koo-SHAY).
d'habitude
Usually (dah-bee-TÜD).
un balado
A podcast (bah-lah-DOH), used in Québec and other parts of Canada. In France people often say un podcast.
une stratégie d'écoute
A listening strategy: something you do on purpose to understand better.

Bienvenue au secondaire !

New building. New timetable (l'horaire, loh-RAIR). Lockers, bells, four periods a day, and people you've never met. Grade 9 is a big change, and the very first conversations you'll have in French class are about exactly that: your day.

This unit is your Grade 9 Core French listening and speaking course (FSF1D). Over 12 lessons you'll listen to podcasts, announcements, directions, reviews and discussions, and you'll speak more and more on your own: asking questions, explaining what you need, telling stories, giving your opinion, discussing issues, and finally giving a full presentation about a French-speaking region of Africa or Asia.

Today you'll do two things that you'll use all year:

  1. Build a listening plan (before, during, after).
  2. Describe your daily routine clearly, with pronominal verbs and times.

Remember from Grades 7 and 8

In Grade 7 you built a listening plan and learned conversation strategies, and in Grade 8 you practised listening between the lines (working out what people mean, not just what they say). In Grade 8 reading and writing you also used reflexive verbs in the past (je me suis levé(e)). Today you'll say routine verbs in the present, fast and accurately, the way you need them in real conversation.

Why listening needs a plan

When you listen to French, you can't press rewind in a real conversation, and nobody stops to explain each word. Good listeners don't try to catch every word. They decide what they're listening for, they grab key words, and they use what they already know to fill in the gaps.

A listening strategy (une stratégie d'écoute) is something you do on purpose to understand better. Here is a plan in three stages.

Un plan d'écoute : before, during and afterAVANTbefore you listenPENDANTwhile you listenAPRÈSafter you listen• Set a purpose• Predict from the title• What do I know?• Preview key words• Key words, numbers• Cognates• Context clues• Quick notes: 7h15 →• Organize the notes• Summarize in my words• Check with someone• What helped me?
Use all three stages. Most people skip avant and après, but they are often the stages that make the biggest difference.

The three stages, explained

Avant (before):

  • Set a purpose. Why am I listening? To find a time? To get the main idea? To decide if I agree?
  • Predict. A podcast called Ma journée typique will probably include times, school subjects and routine verbs.
  • Activate what you know. What do I already know about school days? What French words might come up? Make a quick list: se réveiller, l'autobus, le cours, le dîner, les devoirs.

Pendant (during):

  • Listen for key words, especially numbers, times, names and verbs.
  • Use cognates (des mots apparentés): words that look or sound like English, such as cafétéria, volleyball, théorie.
  • Use context. If you hear Je prends l'autobus à 7 h 15, you can guess prends means take even if you forgot.
  • Take quick notes. Use symbols and abbreviations, not full sentences: 7h15 bus → école.
  • Don't panic at an unknown word. Keep going; the next sentence often explains it.

Après (after):

  • Organize your notes in a graphic organizer (a timeline is perfect for a routine).
  • Summarize in your own words, in French if you can.
  • Check with a partner or listen again.
  • Reflect: Which strategy helped me most today? What will I do next time?

Pronominal verbs: the verbs of your routine

Many routine verbs in French are pronominal (also called reflexive): the action is done to yourself, so the verb comes with an extra pronoun: me, te, se, nous, vous, se.

  • Je me réveille. (zhuh muh ray-VEY) I wake up (literally I wake myself).
  • Tu te dépêches. (tü tuh day-PESH) You hurry.
  • Elle s'habille. (el sah-BEE) She gets dressed. (se becomes s' before a vowel or silent h.)

The pronoun matches the subject, and it goes right before the verb.

se lever (to get up)Say it
je me lèvezhuh muh LEHV
tu te lèvestü tuh LEHV
il / elle / on se lèveeel / el / oh(n) suh LEHV
nous nous levonsnoo noo luh-VOH(n)
vous vous levezvoo voo luh-VAY
ils / elles se lèventeel / el suh LEHV
Lever adds an accent grave (è) when the ending is silent: je, tu, il, ils. Nous and vous have a spoken ending, so no accent. The final -s and -ent are silent.

More routine verbs

  • se réveiller (suh ray-veh-YAY): to wake up
  • se doucher (suh doo-SHAY): to shower
  • se brosser les dents (suh broh-SAY lay DAH(n)): to brush your teeth
  • s'habiller (sah-bee-YAY): to get dressed
  • se dépêcher (suh day-peh-SHAY): to hurry
  • se reposer (suh ruh-poh-ZAY): to rest
  • se coucher (suh koo-SHAY): to go to bed

Some routine verbs are not pronominal: prendre l'autobus (PRAH(N)-druh loh-toh-BÜS, to take the bus), aller à l'école, manger, faire mes devoirs, rentrer à la maison (to get home).

Saying no

In the negative, ne... pas goes around the pronoun and the verb together:

  • Je ne me lève pas tôt le samedi. (zhuh nuh muh LEHV pah TOH) I don't get up early on Saturdays.
  • Il ne se couche pas avant minuit. He doesn't go to bed before midnight.

In fast casual speech many people drop the ne: Je me lève pas tôt. You'll hear this a lot, but in class presentations keep the ne.

Telling time the way schools do

School bells, bus schedules, TV listings and announcements in French use the 24-hour clock:

  • Le cours commence à 8 h 45. (weet UHR kah-RAH(N)T SANK) The class starts at 8:45 a.m.
  • L'entraînement finit à 17 h 30. (dee-SET UHR TRAH(N)T) Practice ends at 5:30 p.m.

In everyday conversation, people also use the 12-hour clock with du matin, de l'après-midi, du soir: cinq heures et demie de l'après-midi.

  • et quart = quarter past (ay KAR) · et demie = half past (ay duh-MEE) · moins le quart = quarter to (mwah(n) luh KAR)
  • midi = noon · minuit = midnight

Time expressions for routines: d'habitude (usually), tous les jours (every day, too lay ZHOOR), le matin / l'après-midi / le soir (in the morning / afternoon / evening), le lundi (on Mondays), d'abord (first), ensuite and puis (then), après (after), enfin (finally).

La journée d'Amara (24-hour clock)6 h8 h10 h12 h14 h16 h18 h20 h22 h6 h 30se réveille7 h 15l'autobus8 h 451er cours12 hle dîner15 h 30volleyball17 hrentre22 hse coucheOfficial schedules use the 24-hour clock: 17 h = 5 p.m., 22 h = 10 p.m.
Amara's day on a timeline: a perfect après organizer. Notice the 24-hour times: quinze heures trente is 3:30 p.m.

Le dîner at noon?

In Québec and other parts of Canada, le déjeuner is breakfast, le dîner is lunch and le souper is supper. In France, it's le petit déjeuner, le déjeuner (lunch) and le dîner (supper). You met this in Grade 5; in a Canadian school, le dîner est à midi means lunch is at noon.

Worked example

Let's listen with a plan: Amara's podcast

Amara records an episode for her school's podcast (le balado de l'école, used in Québec and other parts of Canada). Have a grown-up read it aloud once at a natural speed, or read it yourself in a quiet voice. Purpose: find out her schedule and what she thinks of her day.

« Salut tout le monde ! Ici Amara, pour le balado de l'école. Aujourd'hui, je vous parle de ma journée typique. D'habitude, je me réveille à six heures et demie, mais je ne me lève pas tout de suite : je reste au lit cinq minutes ! Ensuite, je me douche et je m'habille. Je prends le petit déjeuner avec mon frère, et à sept heures et quart, nous prenons l'autobus scolaire. Mon premier cours commence à huit heures quarante-cinq. Le mardi, j'ai français en première période, et c'est mon cours préféré ! À midi, je mange à la cafétéria avec mes amis. Après l'école, à quinze heures trente, j'ai mon entraînement de volleyball, et je rentre vers dix-sept heures. Le soir, je fais mes devoirs, et je me couche à vingt-deux heures... enfin, en théorie ! »

  1. Avant: the title ma journée typique tells us to expect times and routine verbs. I list: se réveiller, se lever, l'autobus, le cours, les devoirs, se coucher.
  2. Pendant: I note numbers fast: 6h30 réveil · 7h15 bus · 8h45 1er cours · midi cafét · 15h30 volley · ~17h maison · 22h lit?
  3. Cognates help: typique, cafétéria, volleyball, théorie. Context helps with tout de suite: she stays in bed five minutes, so je ne me lève pas tout de suite must mean I don't get up right away.
  4. Après: I put my notes on a timeline (like the diagram above) and summarize: Amara se réveille à 6 h 30, prend l'autobus à 7 h 15 et se couche à 22 h.
  5. Between the lines: enfin, en théorie ! (well, in theory!) suggests she often goes to bed later than 22 h.

Translation: "Hi everyone! Amara here, for the school podcast. Today I'm talking to you about my typical day. Usually I wake up at 6:30, but I don't get up right away: I stay in bed five minutes! Then I shower and get dressed. I have breakfast with my brother, and at quarter past seven we take the school bus. My first class starts at 8:45. On Tuesdays I have French first period, and it's my favourite class! At noon, I eat in the cafeteria with my friends. After school, at 3:30, I have volleyball practice, and I get home around 5 p.m. In the evening I do my homework, and I go to bed at 10 p.m.... well, in theory!"

Worked example

Let's describe a routine out loud

Say Jonah's Saturday in French, using the cues: wake up 9:00 · not get up right away · shower · eat breakfast 10:00 · hockey 13:00 · bed 23:00.

  1. Start with a time expression: Le samedi, ... (on Saturdays). Use je + the right pronoun: je me réveille.
  2. Negative goes around me lève: je ne me lève pas tout de suite.
  3. Use connectors: ensuite, puis, l'après-midi, le soir.
  4. Read the times aloud: neuf heures (nuh-VUHR), dix heures (dee-ZUHR), treize heures (treh-ZUHR), vingt-trois heures (vant-TRWAH-ZUHR). Notice the liaison: the final consonant links to heures.

Le samedi, je me réveille à neuf heures, mais je ne me lève pas tout de suite. Ensuite, je me douche. Je prends le petit déjeuner à dix heures. L'après-midi, à treize heures, j'ai un match de hockey. Le soir, je me couche à vingt-trois heures.

Thinking about your listening (metacognition)

Metacognition means thinking about your own thinking. In high school, you're expected to notice which strategies work for you and plan how to improve. After each listening task this year, take one minute to fill in a short listening log (journal d'écoute):

  1. Qu'est-ce que j'ai compris ? What did I understand (main idea + 2 details)?
  2. Quelle stratégie m'a aidé(e) ? Which strategy helped me? (e.g. noting numbers, cognates)
  3. Qu'est-ce qui était difficile ? What was hard? (speed? one word? accent?)
  4. Mon objectif pour la prochaine fois : My goal for next time. (e.g. I'll preview vocabulary before listening.)

A good goal is specific: not listen better, but write numbers as digits while listening.

Just for fun

French has a delicious expression for sleeping in: faire la grasse matinée (fair lah GRASS mah-tee-NAY), literally to make the fat morning. Your weekend routine might include one. Your Monday routine probably shouldn't.

Hands-on activity

Mon balado d'une minute (My one-minute podcast)

You need: a phone or tablet that records audio, a scrap of paper, a pencil.

  1. Plan (avant): On the paper, write only key words and times for your school-day routine, not full sentences: 6h45 réveil · douche · bus 7h30... At least 6 steps, using at least 4 pronominal verbs.
  2. Record: Speak for about one minute, starting with Salut ! Ici [ton nom]. Je vous parle de ma journée typique. Use d'habitude, d'abord, ensuite, après, le soir. Add one negative sentence (Je ne me lève pas...).
  3. Listen back like a listener: would someone who doesn't know you be able to draw your timeline?
  4. Swap: If a family member or friend can, ask them to listen and draw your timeline from your recording. Compare it with your notes.
  5. Real French: Choose a short French clip about daily life (for example from TFO or ICI Radio-Canada, with a grown-up's OK). Use the three-stage plan and fill in the four listening-log questions.

What to look for: correct pronouns (je me, tu te, il se), the accent sound in je me lève (LEHV), times read correctly, and connectors that make the order clear.

Your turn

1

Conjugate se lever with nous, and say it aloud.

2

Say in French: I get dressed at 7:20.

3

Make it negative: Tu te couches tôt.

4

You hear L'autobus part à 7 h 05 and write bus 7h05. Which stage and which strategy is this?

5

Say 15 h 30 the way it's announced on the 24-hour clock, then the way you might say it in conversation.

6

In Amara's podcast, what does she do after school, and when does she get home?

7

Write a good, specific listening goal for yourself in English.

More practice: warm-up

1

What does se brosser les dents mean?

2

Choose the right pronoun: Elle ___ réveille à six heures. (me / se / te)

3

What does d'habitude mean?

4

Which listening stage is predicting from the title?

5

What does le soir mean in Le soir, je fais mes devoirs ?

More practice: on your own

1

Correct the mistake: Je lève à sept heures.

2

Conjugate s'habiller for ils, and explain the apostrophe.

3

You hear: « Le lundi, je ne me dépêche pas, parce que mon premier cours commence à dix heures. » What do you learn?

4

Put in order and say aloud: ensuite / je me lève / d'abord / je me douche / enfin / je prends l'autobus

5

Your friend says she understood nothing in a French clip because she didn't know the third word. Give her one strategy for each stage.

Challenge

1

Tell what Léa did this morning (passé composé) using: se réveiller à 6 h 15 · se doucher · s'habiller · se dépêcher. Léa is a girl. Watch the agreement.

2

A friend texts a voice message: « Désolé, je vais être en retard, l'autobus est en panne ! » You don't know en panne. Use context to work it out and explain your reasoning.

3

Je lève la main. vs Je me lève. Both use lever. Explain the difference in meaning and why only one has me.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which sentence is correct?

2.

Which strategy belongs to the avant (before) stage?

3.

Le match commence à 19 h. When does the game start?

4.

Which is the correct negative?

5.

In Québec and other parts of Canada, le dîner usually means...

6.

Which listening goal is the most specific?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Your teen starts Grade 9 Core French (FSF1D) by building a three-stage listening plan (A1.1), understanding a description of a school day (A1.2), reflecting on their listening (A2.3), and describing their routine with pronominal verbs and time expressions (B1.4).

You do not need to speak French to help. Ask your teen to explain the avant / pendant / après plan to you in English, then listen to their one-minute podcast and try to draw their timeline. If you can draw it, they communicated well.

Common difficulties:

  • Forgetting the pronoun: Je lève instead of Je me lève. Ask: "Who are you getting up? Yourself? Then you need me."
  • Pronouncing the silent endings: ils se lèvent sounds exactly like il se lève (LEHV). The -ent is silent.
  • Trying to understand every word: reassure them that strong listeners skip unknown words and use context.
  • The 24-hour clock: subtract 12 from any hour above 12 (19 h = 7 p.m.).

Good to know: The first weeks of high school can be tiring. Talking about routines is a natural opening to check in about sleep and how the new schedule is going.