Whether you're learning business French or are coping with a house renovation or construction, new areas of vocabulary can be hard to memorise.
This learning game will help you to memorise building vocabulary and keep the lesson interesting for students. The game is designed for older students or adult learners, but could also be adapted for younger students by simplifying the phrases used, and playing as two teams with the teacher keeping the scores.
Large classes should be divided up into groups of no more than six students each.
You will need: one set of dice per group and some paper and pens
Pre-lesson preparation: Draw a plan of a house on paper with squares:le séjour, la buanderie, la cuisine, le dégagement, la salle de bain, le bureau, les chambres, le garage, la cave,etc. There should be at least six rooms on the plan. Photocopy the plan, two copies for each group.
Work list:
- 500€ - Alimentation eau chaude/eau froide pour l’évier/le lavabo - put in hot/cold water supply for sink/washbasin
- 1000€ - Traitement mur - treat the walls
- 200€ - Installer un faux plafond - install a false ceiling
- 200€ - Isolation plafond - insulate the ceiling
- 2000€ - Remplacement de solives - replace joists
- 2000€ - Réalisation de poutres béton sous solives - add concrete beams under joists
- 500€ - Reconstruction du mur - re-building of wall
- 2000€ - Isolation toiture en laine de bois - insulation of the roof with 'laine de bois'
- 2000€ - Couverture sur garage à refaire - replace garage roof
- 1500€ - Repeindre - repainting
- 500€ - Fourniture et pose d’une fenêtre - Supply and fit a window
- 200€ - Etanchéifier les fenêtres, la porte - make windows and door watertight
Round One:
Each player starts with a budget of 8000€. The players in each group navigate from room to room with a die, taking it in turns. Once in a room, the player throws both dice together to pick work from the work list, adding the costs together as he goes. When every player has had two goes, the player with the lowest score under 8000€ wins. Any player who has exceeded their budget takes a 100€ penalty through to round two.
Round Two:
For round two, the groups start with a fresh copy of the house plan. but create their own worklist and pricing, for example:
500€ - poser une nouvelle moquette - fit a new carpet
500€ - repeindre les fenêtres - repaint the windows
The second round is then played in the same way, with the player who spends the least over the two rounds winning.
Sara Walker - I graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BA in English and French, and spent many years working as a software trainer and then ...
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