100 French vocabulary games in context

Who wants to revise their French vocabulary? This is one of the problems I often encounter as a teacher of French as a foreign language: how to revise French vocabulary in relation to real life situations? 

To meet the needs of students of FLE (Français Langue Etrangère), I have written a book called 100 French vocabulary games in context! Let me introduce it to you and explain my approach. 

The need to acquire French vocabulary  

To retain French vocabulary, students of FLE need to practise it in different ways. It is essential to practise orally in highly contextualised situations. The objective is to try to incorporate the practical aspects in the teaching of French as a foreign language.

However, it is equally important to work on French vocabulary in writing in order to be able to retain its spelling and use it correctly. In this regard, I had a lot of fun writing this book of 100 French vocabulary games in context so that FLE learners can practice French and vocabulary on their own.

French vocabulary workbooks

There are many books on the market to review vocabulary. But what’s wrong with them? They are all overloaded, even illegible, and my students often tell me that they create a certain amount of anxiety. The quantity of content but also the lack of space, the overwhelming succession of exercises are very anxiety-provoking. The layout and quantity suffocate them.

Also on this list are the cost reducing efforts made by some printers. Poor quality paper, black and white printing, and finish that isn’t really suited to engaging and motivating the learner.

But fortunately, not all are like that and there are also some very, very good ones. But here I am! 

I wanted to make a contribution and I had a lot of fun writing this French vocabulary workbook adapted to real situations for the beginner.

Structure of 100 French vocabulary games

In my 100 French Vocabulary Games in Context book, I tried to work on 10 DELF A1 exam topics. Ten French vocabulary topics in context, that’s a 108-pages colour book that is divided into 10 different topics, plus the corrections.

In addition, I thought it would be appropriate to add a list of English and Spanish words along with French, in order to facilitate the acquisition of French vocabulary in context by FLE learners. This French vocabulary book contains many pictures that explain the meaning of words. These fun and interesting games can be done either in the order prescribed or in any order the learner wishes.

Themes covered 

The most difficult part of designing this French vocabulary workbook was choosing the topics. 

If you have 10 French vocabulary topics, you have to choose them well! So how did I go about it? Well, I simply asked my students. What topic do they want to work on? To retain? Which vocabulary topics were more difficult?

From this personalised study of the learners’ needs came the following 10  vocabulary topics.

• Numbers 
• Time of day 
• Dates 
• Seasons and the weather
• Introducing yourself
• Languages and nationalities 
• Sports 
• Leisure activities
• Home
• Transportation
• Occupations

Each theme begins with a page of vocabulary illustrated in the manner of a picture book, with a picture and a word. Then, it is followed by about ten exercises to acquire the vocabulary in different ways. The French vocabulary theme is then concluded with a list of vocabulary translated into French, English and Spanish. All of this is done to help learners memorise the vocabulary completely.

Selling my French Vocabulary Book on Amazon

You can’t imagine how complicated it is to get a quote from a local printer in France! After several requests to different printers in my area and three months of waiting, I finally decided to publish on Amazon.

I would have loved to be able to distribute and ship my books myself, but let’s look at the challenges:

• First, the investment to print these books is high. Would that investment be paid off? After how long? 
• Secondly, the logistics of the different shipments were a concern. Do I really have the time to send my books according to the orders? To go regularly to the post office? Definitely not! I already have a lot of classes online, so when would I find the time to go to the post office to send my books? So that’s another reason why working directly with Amazon is the correct solution. 
• Finally, what about delivery concerns? Can I really handle hassles on different shipments? No, I still don’t have the time and I don’t want to have that stress.

In conclusion, Amazon was the best solution for me when it came to putting my various books and notebooks on sale. Because yes, 100 French Vocabulary Games in context is not my only book on Amazon. There are also notebooks and a FLE class planner for FLE teachers.

So those are the reasons why I chose to work with Amazon. The main thing is that I really enjoyed writing this book. So that is valuable to me!

What’s next?

Now that I know how this works, and how to edit a book, I hope this will be the beginning of a long series. However, it takes a long time to create this kind of work and I don’t know when the next one will be published, but I remain hopeful! There is a lot to cover in the field of FLE and I have many projects in mind. Maybe even too many!

This was the presentation of my book of 100 French vocabulary games in context. I hope you will understand my approach and that you will perhaps buy it or recommend it to your FLE students. 

If you want to read this article in French, check it out here: 100 jeux de vocabulaire français en contexte

Do you want to study French, participate in grammar workshops, prepare for an exam, or take conversation classes in French? Contact me for a quote or for the program of individual and group French classes. 

Sincerely yours,

Élodie – Your Online French Teacher

French tuition, French course for groups, private French lessons

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