French Language Learning Games for a Construction Theme

SaraWalker
Categories : French lesson plans for secondary grades 6 12
Tags : Teaching english speaking students a second language

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Before starting to learn French construction and building vocabulary, it might also be interesting for your students to know a little about the different construction techniques used in France.

Construction techniques in France depend on the region, and also on the age of the building. Houses can be built of stone, brick, wood or even mud bricks.

Modern French houses tend to be built of brick, and covered with a render of either lime or cement. More and more eco houses are also now being built, using wood and glass.

Older houses can be built of stone, or of bricks made from a mixture of chopped straw and mud. Local builders would have made use of whatever materials they could find, including river sand or clay, so buildings styles vary across France.

In the south, for example, many old farm houses are half-timbered on their upper storey, a style called colombage. The more important buildings, such as châteaux, would have been built completely of stone to show off the wealth and taste of the owner. The more modest buildings, such as farmhouses, would be built of stone on the façade, and the other walls might be built of briques de terre, or mud bricks. The whole building would then be covered with lime render to give a unified look.

Roofs are usually made from tiles, either slate or terra cotta.

Basic Building Terminology

To start with, we will look at some basic words. Students may already have come across some of this vocabulary.

To build – construire

Walls – les murs (m. pl.)

Roof – le toit

Ceiling – le plafond

Floor – le plancher

Roof tile – la tuile

Floor tile – le carreau

Foundations – les fondations (f. pl.)

Windows – les fenêtres (f. pl.)

Chimney – la cheminée

Activity – Building a House

To reinforce the students’ understanding of the above French construction vocabulary, split the class into two or more teams. Hand out a set of cards to each team, each card having one of the vocabulary words written on it. Students must put the cards in order of building the house, from the ground up.

For example, the FONDATIONS card is first, then MURS etc. The teams may not both come up with the same sequence, but should be able to demonstrate their understanding of the vocabulary.

Vehicle And Materials

Now we will look at more specific vocabulary.

Construction Crane

Truck – le camion

Crane – la grue

Crane driver – le grutier/la grutière

Concrete mixer – la bétonneuse

Concrete – le béton

Cement – le ciment

Lime mortar – la chaux

Sand – le sable

Bricks – les briques (f. pl.)

Wood – le bois

Glass – le verre

Activity – Learning the Construction Vocabulary

This game is a variation of Hangman, and can either be played as a competition between two tea

Draw A Simple House in the Construction Game

ms, or as a group.

The teacher chooses a word from the vocabulary list, and writes the appropriate number of spaces on the whiteboard. For example, for bétonneuse, the teacher would write 10 spaces : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . The class then have to guess letters to fill in the spaces.

Instead of the hangman figure, the teacher draws the outline of a simple house (see example) for incorrect guesses, one feature at a time. If playing in teams, the team who build their house first are the losers.

Tools

The final French construction vocabulary section looks at tools.

Tools – les outils

Toolbox – la boîte à outils

Wrench – la clé

Sandpaper – le papier de verre

Tape measure – le metre à ruban

Hammer – le marteau

Saw – la scie

Chisel – le ciseau

Nail – le clou

Screw – la vis

Screwdriver – le tournevis

Trowel – la truelle

Activity – Learning The Tool Vocabulary

Divide the class into two groups. Give each member of the first group a card with one of the vocabulary words written on it.

Then give each member of the second group a card with a description written on, for example Un outil pour frapper des clous, Quelquechose pour mesurer.

The students should then move round the room until they find their “partner,” or the person who has the word corresponding to the description. Swap the cards around amongst the group after each round is completed.

For younger age groups, prepare picture cards instead of cards with descriptions.

Future Lesson Ideas

If your students have enjoyed learning this specific French construction vocabulary and trying out the games, then why not look at more specific vocabulary such as clothing or math?

French Language Learning Games for a Construction Theme

Basic Building Terminology

Vehicle And Materials

Tools

Further Reading