FRENCH
This page contains links to cultural resources in French.
Ads
A searchable database of ads from around the world (search by country, topic, type of ad--audio/print/video, etc.
Audio
Very nice database of mp3 recordings in a variety of languages (Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Corse, English, French, German, Italian, Occitan, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, etc.), categorized by topic and searchable by language, level, gender, age, and length (Shared by Amy Lenord)
Links to culturally authentic materials in a variety of languages, including French
- A crowd-sourced collection of texts in French (and a variety of other languages), shared by language learners who found them helpful or interesting. The site allows you to search by categories (fiction, non-fiction, conversations, songs, and others) and to build a list of texts, a word list, and flashcards based on what you have read (if you are signed in).
Children's Literature
- Collection of videos in which native speakers narrate animated children's stories in French. The words appear on the screen as subtitles that are highlighted as they are spoken. Not all stories shared are culturally authentic.
Large collection of comptines in French, organized by topic
Comptines with links to YouTube videos in French--many done karaoke style with captions
A great site where students can listen to and watch stories in French gathered from Haiti, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. Stories appear to be read by native speakers. Be sure to click around - lots there
Available in Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, & Spanish
A collection of comptines, documentaries, fables, legends, songs, and stories for children in French
Searchable database of children's books in a wide variety of languages (including Arabic, Chinese, Croation, Farsi, Filipino, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Mongolian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, & Thai), categorized by age, color of cover, genre, length, topic, etc., that can be read online
An interactive map containing links to legends and folktales from countries around the world in a variety of languages, including French
Full text of many of the stories in the book, accompanied by listening activities, comprehension questions, and vocabulary
Collection of stories from around the world in both English and the target language including many less commonly taught languages
Comics
Searchable database of comics in French
Cultural Comparisons
Dollar Street - Use the dropdown menus on this incredible site to choose countries and topics for comparison based on socioeconomic level. Your selections will bring up photos of whatever you chose from the countries you selected. The site contains many common everyday objects, people, and situations (e.g., adding spices to food while cooking, alarm clocks, answering phones, arm watches, armchairs, backyards, bathrooms, bedrooms, beds, bikes, boats, books, bowls, brushing hair, brushing teeth, car keys, carrying water, cars, ceilings, chickens, child rooms, chopping food, cleaning equipment, cleaning floors, closing the front door, computers, cooking, cooking pots, cooking utensils, cups, cutlery, diapers, dinner guests, disability aid, dish brushes, dish racks, dishwashing soaps, dishwashers, doing dishes, drinking water, drying clothes, drying dishes, earings, eating, everyday shoes, families, family snapshots, favorite home decorations, favorite items in kitchen, floors, freezers, get water, glasses, go through mail, goats, grains, guest beds, hairbrushes, hallways, handwashing, hands, and so forth.
Cultural Practices
Cultural information in English, accompanied by a collection of short video clips filmed with native speakers in the 1990s. Some are interviews with native speakers, others demonstrate various cultural practices in cultural settings from around the French-speaking world. Topics include communication, economy, education, shopping, social life, and transportation. Materials in a variety of other languages are also included on the site (shared by Lori Langer de Ramirez)
Dictionaries
Provides basic definitions in French
Online dictionary that provides definitions, synonyms, typical combinations of use, and examples in French
A really neat French dictionary that provides definitions, synonyms, and common expressions in French, along with quotes by famous people. Each of these features appears in its own tab, making navigation easy. All of the information is also provided as a video!
Games
Several games about gender equality
Images
Links to images from around the Francophone world
Des graphiques indispensables pour toutes les personnes qui aiment cuisiner (et manger) - A collection of food-related infographics in French from Buzzfeed (shared by Leslie Grahn)
Hundreds of photos related to French. Most can be used in online and in published materials for free. Some require that you notify and/or credit the photographer first
Famous works of art, organized by time period, with text in French (also available in English) (Shared by Laura Terrill)
Searchable database of high quality images and photographs, including thousands from the Francophone world. The majority are free for commercial use with no attribution required.
Culturally authentic images
Road signs from France
Infographics
Hundreds of infographics in French (and some in English) from a French designer
A collection of infographics in French regarding technology and social media use (put the term "infographie" in the search box)
Infographics for World Languages: French - A Pinterest board of infographics collected by Leslie Grahn
An extensive collection of infographics in French pinned by Isabel Jones on Pinterest
Blog Le journal du geek in French that contains a variety of infographics (many in French)
A small collection of very useful infographics on common textbook topics such as education, food, health, sports, and technology
An extensive collection of images and infographics in French, categorized by historical time period and topics which include archaeology, children's literature, games, languages, the Middle Ages, science and technology, and places (i.e., Africa, France, etc.).
Interviews
Africa Remix: Interviews in French with African artists (transcripts also available)
Links to interviews of native French speakers, organized by topic
Cultural interviews filmed with native speakers from around the French-speaking world in the 1990s--a variety of other languages are also included on the site (shared by Lori Langer de Ramirez)
5,000 interviews in which participants answered 40 essential questions about the challenges of daily life, differences, dreams, environment, family legacies, fears, God, hopes, joy, love, and war were filmed in 75 different countries and presented here in English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese (Click on thematic movies to access them)
Literature
Fontaine's fables, available for free download in French
A collection of audiobooks in French
Magazines
Magazine and newspaper sites, categorized by country and topic, from 200 countries around the world
Directory of newspapers and magazines from around the world
Memes
Authentic Texts: French Memes & Quotes - A Pinterest collection by Leslie Grahn
Music
- A collection of culturally authentic songs organized by continent, country, holiday, and language
A site containing lyrics to songs in French
A collection of popular songs from France
News
Magazine and newspaper sites, categorized by country and topic, from 200 countries around the world
News and debatable questions for children in French
Multimedia magazine for kids with news and information on many of the AP themes, including the environment, health, science and technology, and society
Newspapers from France, organized by region, as well as from around the world, organized by continent
Online news for kids in French (Shared by Laura Terrill)
News on social issues in French written for children in France
Today's front pages from newspapers around the world
A map that plots the locations of newspapers from around the world--can be filtered by language (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish)
- A collection of newspapers and magazines, organized by continent and country and briefly annotated with info. about the primary emphasis and political leanings of the news included
Poetry
Collections of classic poetry in French, as well as reader-submitted poems
Pedagogical Resources
Polls
Political polls results from France regarding candidate popularity, intentions to vote, etc. (Shared by Laura Terrill)
Realia
- A small collection of images of culturally authentic realia from the French-speaking world
Resources in French (Core Curriculum)
Links to a variety of resources in French, categorized in terms of reading, writing, viewing, youth, etc. (Also includes a link to a Spotify playlist of pop music in French)
Click around on the site to see text sets of infographics, written text, and videos designed to build students' understanding of social studies topics
- Informational texts on science topics for kids in French
Links to cultural resources on a variety of different topics
Links to culturally authentic materials in a variety of languages, including French
A very nice site from France filled with resources on various science topics. Includes a section for teachers (see also this link to materials for children)
Texts
- A collection of books, e-books, and other texts in a wide variety of languages. Use the advanced search feature to find texts in French.
Videos
TV programming in French
Pedagogical Resources
- Magazine available in English and the language of your choice. Each issue is organized around a conceptual theme. Excellent visuals make great bulletin board material if you buy these in your local bookstore instead of viewing online. CAUTION: Much of the material in these magazines is NOT appropriate for classroom use, so teachers should preview and select carefully.
Phenomenal site filled with creative, practical, proficiency-oriented ideas for world language teaching and learning,
Materials organized by level and thematic topic, primarily for French teachers (although there are Spanish activities as well)
Doc Ladd - W. Béni - Each link contains a culturally authentic video or resource of some kind, followed by various tasks
Handouts from an ACTFL 2010 presentation that contain a comic analysis worksheet form, a comic creation worksheet that asks students to analyze complementarity, contrast, and redundant relationships among images and text, lesson plans, project rubrics, and more
A collection of education-related resources
Excellent resources for building, tracking, and assessing proficiency
Excellent materials for building, assessing, and tracking proficiency from Alyssa Villareal
- A PowerPoint presentation from an ACTFL session that contains loads of great examples for engaging students with culturally authentic texts in pedagogically sound ways
Resources grounded in the CI approach.
- World-wide statistics on energy, environment, food, government and economy, health, population, technology, and water in Italian that update in real time