Jordan is a Language Immersion Curriculum Developer and works on producing experiential learning programs for EF Language Immersion Tours. After studying three different languages – Portuguese, French and Italian – and teaching English abroad, she realized that the best way to learn a language is to establish a personal connection with it.
What better way to get in the spirit of Valentine’s Day than with a good ole fashioned French love song? Here’s a fun and interactive activity taken from our Language Immersion program for your French classroom, in which you introduce your students to the classic Sous le Ciel de Paris. This activity is perfect for beginner to intermediate levels.
Sous le Ciel de Paris was first recorded in 1951 for the movie with the same title. The song didn’t become a hit until it was rerecorded by Édith Piaf in 1954. Now over 60 years later, the French love song has been remade by a number of different artists, including the version below by Yves Montand, and remains a staple in French music.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day in your language class with this French love song activity below.
Language Levels:
Beginner to intermediate
Learning Goals:
– Introduce popular French music to students
– Enhance student listening skills
– Develop student ability to use context clues to identify and understand missing vocabulary
– Foster creative, out-of-the-box thinking
Resources:
– Lyric sheets with missing lyrics
– Audio equipment and French love song
– Camera phones or tablets (or any other type of device that can film)
– TV, interactive screen, or monitor that can play mobile videos
Instructions:
1. Hand out this worksheet to your students. Explain that you will play the song once, and students should just listen. (Five minutes)
2. Then, play the song two more times and each time students should try to fill in the missing lyrics. (Twelve minutes)
3. Review song and cultural context with students, and ask them what they think the meaning is. (Ten minutes)
4. Play song once more, so students can sing along. (Three minutes)
5. Put students into groups, and have each group choose a verse and chorus in the song and create a music video for it. Encourage students to think creatively for their music videos and try to come up with unique interpretations of the lyrics. (Fifteen minutes)
6. Students present their music videos to the class. (15 mins)
Don’t just sing Sous le Ciel de Paris in your classroom. Travel to France with your students and sing it underneath the Eiffel Tower.
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