This year, we’ve focused on providing opportunities for classroom students and homeschoolers to learn Spanish and French online. We are excited to announce the next step in that direction: the Teen Voices French course.

Intended for learners in grades 7-12, the 20-unit course focuses on the everyday life of a typical adolescent in France. Learners will follow Pierre and his family and friends who live in the beautiful town of Grenoble. The characters face typical situations like going to school, doing chores, and checking social media.

After the introductory unit, learners work through 19 authentic conversations between a group of four students all living and going to school in Grenoble, France. Learn how French teens actually talk to each other and what they like to talk about. Each unit also includes a challenging cultural reading passage related to the theme of the unit. For example, in the “Meeting Others” unit, students will read about les bises, the all-important custom of exchanging cheek kisses and how it differs throughout the Francophone world. In the “Important Dates” unit, the cultural reading explores one of the most important days in France: Bastille Day. The passages explore not only French culture, but some Swiss and Canadian culture as well.

The three levels are comprised of 6 or 7 units, broken down into 5 to 9 lessons. Each level equates to 1-1.5 years of study in school, for a total of 3-5 years of French instruction.

• Level 1 is intended to be the first step in learning French after practicing the alphabet and extends to mastery of the simple present tense for many common regular and irregular verbs as well as formal/informal language and basic sentence construction. Students will be able to give basic information about who they are and what they like to do.
• Level 2 picks up where Level 1 leaves off, and begins to explore the imperfect and past perfect tenses for important verbs, as well as introduces some polite language used for speaking in more formal situations. Students begin to combine their lexical knowledge with intermediate grammatical concepts.
• Level 3 continues where Level 2 leaves off and dives into important grammatical concepts and structures such as reflexive verbs in the past and present tense, direct/indirect object pronouns, and irregular past participles. Students can communicate in a variety of topics related to everyday life and personal interests and studies.

The course is delivered in Transparent Language Online, which includes a full suite of learning activities that build computer skills alongside French skills. While mastering vocabulary and internalizing grammar rules, students can practice recording audio and typing on a virtual French keyboard. Companion vocabulary lists for both the conversations and cultural readings will also be available in a mobile app, exposing students to e-learning on different platforms.

Both homeschooled and traditionally-schooled learners will enjoy 70+ hours of content focused on the everyday lives of typical teens, packed with vocabulary they will actually want to use. Also included is a workbook for additional grammatical, cultural, and lexical practice. Teachers have access to an answer key for the workbook as well as an instructor guide that outlines how to conveniently implement the 20 unit course in any school or schedule.

Ready to start learning? Allez-y! Find a library near you who offers Transparent Language Online.

None close by? Print this info card and bring it to your local librarians to let them know you’re interested, or sign up for the free trial!