Designing a Lesson Plan About Teaching French Grammar as a Foreign Language from a Social
Constructivist Approach
Dilek Soylu Baştuğ*, Jonathan Broutin
Department of French Language Teaching, Bursa Uludag University, Turkey
Corresponding author: Dilek Soylu Baştuğ, E-mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
In modern methods, in line with the social constructivist and action-oriented approaches,
knowledge should be (co-) constructed by the learner in interaction with his or her learning
environment which has been established by the teacher prior to the session. A social constructivist
approach can be described as learning-centered. This approach indicates learning as an interactive
process. This study aims to dene how learners build instructional sequences based on the
European Common Language Reference Framework (CEFR) and action-oriented methods by
using authentic documents including metalanguage. The sequence is for adult learners at A2
level. They are Turkish students who are at least 19 years old and they have participated in a
one-year preparatory class with the aim of reaching B1 level. We will analyze the context of the
procedure teaching and the prole of the learners to whom it will be passed. At the end of these
introductory analyzes, which are important for the development of an audience-specic learning
sequence, we will create a sequence guide with additional activity sheets for students.
INTRODUCTION
Grammar has always played an important role in foreign
language teaching, both in traditional teaching and in more
modern methods, such as communicative methods or action
methods, which develop rhythmically according to the goals
of morphosynthesis. Canale and Swain (1980) argued that
one of the important elements in learning language is gram-
mar. It is generally accepted that grammar teaching is nec-
essary and useful, but more research related to the subject is
needed (Barnard & Scampton, 2008:59). In fact, all aspects
of language, including vocabulary, grammar and phonetics
play important roles in language learning. Therefore, gram-
mar cannot be neglected and the language development of
learners can be severely limited (Baleghizadeh & Farsh-
chi,2009). In addition, Nan (2015) stated that for real com-
munication, knowing grammar in foreign language is not
enough, but insufcient knowledge of grammar can severely
limit the learners’ ability to communicate effectively. Gram-
mar learning in foreign language teaching has attracted con-
siderable attention in the research. For example, Bord and
Burn’s (2008) research shows that teachers have a strong
belief and they need to avoid teaching grammar. The main of
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Copyright (c) the author(s). This is an open access article under CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.12n.2.p.13
purpose of grammar teaching is to enable learners to acquire
language skills.
There are two main approaches of teaching grammar.
The rst one is about imparting knowledge. In traditional
methods, grammar knowledge is transferred directly from
teacher to student using metalanguage to describe how lan-
guage works. In modern methods, in line with the social
constructivist and action-oriented approaches, knowledge
should be (co-) constructed by the learner in interaction with
his or her learning environment which has been established
by the teacher prior to the session. The learner observes,
analyzes, deduces and synthesizes grammar rules under the
guidance of the teacher and interacts with all the artifacts
(material, student, documents, etc.) that creates the learning
environment. During this process, the learner uses learning
strategies and patterns to generate new knowledge while
artifacts have become instruments. The second point is
that the designers and teachers of FSL (French as a foreign
language) tend to use textbooks just to introduce a gram-
matical concept. If the learner does not have the necessary
knowledge, how is he or she supposed to learn and describe
how the language works? This research offers a model for
Advances in Language and Literary Studies
ISSN: 2203-4714
www.alls.aiac.org.au
ARTICLE INFO
Article history
Received: January 14, 2021
Accepted: March 16, 2021
Published: April 30, 2021
Volume: 12 Issue: 2
Advance access: April 2021
Conicts of interest: None
Funding: None
Key words:
French as a Foreign Language,
Social Constructivist Approach,
Grammar,
Authentic Source,
Language Teaching,
Interaction
14 ALLS 12(2):13-20
teachers to teach French grammar consistent with the social
constructivist approach.
Therefore, the main goal of this research is to dene how
learners build instructional sequences based on the Euro-
pean Common Language Reference Framework (CEFR)
and action-oriented methods by using authentic documents
including metalanguage. In particular, it aims to focus on:
1. Progress means understanding of meaning. Teaching the
sequence order more specically describes the existence
of conditions and their formation and use.
2. We will analyze and compare the approach to the French
Present Conditional, and second, we will analyze the
context of the procedure teaching and the prole of the
learners to whom it will be passed.
3. The article aims to show that teaching French as a sec-
ond foreign language to design grammar teaching mate-
rials based on social-constructivist activities. Learning
is considered a creative action by the learner.
4. Finally, at the end of these introductory analyzes, which
are important for the development of an audience-spe-
cic learning sequence, we will create a sequence guide
with additional activity sheets for learners.
THE FRENCH PRESENT CONDITIONAL: FROM
METHODICAL GRAMMAR TO FSL METHODS
The Didactic Process
Before developing a didactic sequence, the documental gen-
esis which consist of authentic material should not be lim-
ited to copying the contents of French teaching textbooks
or Internet sites without critical thinking. It is necessary
to learn grammar beforehand to analyze the differences
between these works and the way in which the methodology
of FSL. This allows the teacher to analyze the shortcomings
and especially adjust the sequence to the needs of the learn-
ers, hence the choice of content is an important part of the
didactic process. Social constructivists assume that the real-
ity cannot be directly assumed, but the people can construct
their view based on the knowledge they already have. There-
fore, the learner learns about them by contacting with others
(Duffy&Jonassen,1992). A social constructivist approach is
based on building new knowledge rather than directly trans-
fer it (Bodner,1986; Sherman, 2000). In this perspective,
knowledge can be created in three different stage. These
stages are assimilation, regulation and balance (Cunningham
& Piburn, 1997). It is aimed that students reach information
by researching and questioning with constructivism based
on foreign language education. In this context, we can dene
constructivist approach as meaningful learning that a learner
accomplishes by establishing a relation between existing
knowledge and new knowledge. In this way of learning, it is
important to carefully design learners’ acquisition methods.
Teaching the French Present Conditional: From
Professional Grammar to FSL Methods
The Present Conditional is not a tense of the indicative
mode. According to Grosse and Grévisse (2016: 980), it is
“a special future, a future in the past, or a hypothetical future
(later or at least following the fact expressed (…) in a con-
dition proposal”. Goose and Grévise emphasize (2016: 980)
“the verbs of The Present Conditional ending with -er do not
appear in innitive form and the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, etc,
but the indicative in the rst person of the singular presents
the endings -rais, -rais, rait. For example, in Le Nouveau
Taxi 2 or the Alter Ego 2 teaching guide, The Present Condi-
tional is created with the Future Tense stems and The Imper-
fect Tense endings. However, the Future Tense in textbooks
is described only on the basis of the innitive. Therefore, it
seems insufcient for it does not work for many verbs whose
stems change. For example, to conjugate the verb “acheter”
(to buy), we take the innitive of the verb and add the Future
Tense endings (acheter-ais). For many verbs, the stem con-
sists of the innitive of -er: j’achete-r-ais. Regarding to the
verbs ending with -ir or -re, Goose and Grévise (2016) remark
that the The Present Condition is formed with the innitive,
and the last -e in the innitive form of the verbs ending with
-re is removed before the endings of The Imperfect Tense
is added (for example, lir-ais). It is not lire-ais, nir-ais,
mettr-ais. In Le Nouveau Taxi and Alter Ego 2, there is no
description of the conditional form of verbs ending in -ir or
-re. Finally, two other groups of verbs are mentioned, each
of which requires a special formation of the condition. The
rst group concerns certain verbs from the rst group “- éer,
- ier, -ouer, - uer, - yer”, for which cannot be above -e before
the conditional ending (the same for the future) (Grousse
and Grévisse, 2016: 980). In the French language teaching
methods, this formation does not exist, neither in Alter Ego 2
nor Le nouveau Taxi 2. However, it seems important because
it concerns verbs used at A1 and A2 levels, such as: acheter
(buy), payer (pay), louer (rent), etc. The second group con-
cerns some verbs, such as acquérir (to acquire), courir (to
run), envoyer (to send), mourir (to die), pouvoir (to be able)
and voir (see) for which it is doubled -rr in condition (and
in the future). However, there aren’t any subject concerns
with this formation in the FSL methods. Riegel, Pellat, Rioul
(2009: 444) describes methodical grammar “the formation of
The Present Conditional of the verb should be used from the
rst-person plural of the present indicative” (nous devons,
je dev-r- ais).
In the guidance and conceptualization stage, we will
retain the adaptations of the descriptions of “Le Bon Usage”
and “La grammaire méthodique du français” : the verbs of
the rst type of verb -er, focusing on maintaining the verbs
-éer, -ier -e,- ouer, -uer, -yer and verbs, use the rst person
plural to form The Present Conditional. We will also demon-
strate the -ir and -re verbs. Finally, we will introduce some
special forms (auxiliary être and avoir in the future and con-
ditions).
The Use of The Present Conditional
Regarding to the application of the present condition, Riegel,
Pellat, and Rioul (2009: 555-561) list the categories of the
present condition: conditional temporal, conditional modal
(a hypothesis with two values depending on the point of view
of the unreal situation speaker of present and potential). Also,
Designing a Lesson Plan About Teaching French Grammar as a Foreign Language from a
Social Constructivist Approach 15
in the case of modal conditional, the condition can be implicit.
We have therefore the following values: a request, attenuated
advice, an illusory and imaginary opinion. Finally, the third
category involves conditions without assumptions. In the
French teaching method at the A2 level, values reect desire
and polite requirements, both of which imply an assumption in
Le Nouveau Taxi (Capelle and Menand, 2009). In Part 6 of the
Alter Ego 2+ manual, the use of several values for conditions
is discussed (Hugot, Kizirian, Waendendries, Berthet, Daill,
2012). In fact, in the language point of le 6 entitled “Imag-
ining a hypothetical, unreal situation” the following structure
is mentioned “si + Imperfect Tense Tense, followed by The
Present Conditional to make a hypothesis which concerns the
present and imagine the consequence”. We also nd the val-
ues of suggestions and wishes. Indeed, a condition without a
hypothesis can be learned at level B1 with a journalistic or
literary text.
A SEQUENCE OF COURSES RELATING TO THE
CURRENT CONDITION
The Learners and the Level
This sequence is for adult learners at A2 level. They are
Turkish students who are at least 19 years old and they have
participated in a one-year preparatory class with the aim of
reaching B1 level. In fact, the B1 level is integrated in the
rst year of their license. Therefore, their goal is to become
the future FSL teachers. However, the textbooks that the
institution uses have to be rearranged in order to provide
enough grammatical acquaintance, and develop the learn-
er’s ability to analyze language with the help of metalan-
guage.
From an Authentic Source to a Document
This sequence aims to teach conditions and certain usages
(values) by using real video resources. This authen-
tic resource is a partially improvised song called “Super
d’achat”, available at the following address: https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=RqzR-KwjlrI, created by Clément
Marchand and Alexandre Castagnetti in 2007. The verse
contains an explicit hypothesis in the Imperfect Tense lead-
ing to numerous occurrences in the present condition having
for value the unreal or imaginary of the present. We will start
with the knowledge acquired by the learner, in other words
the formation of the The Future Tense and the Imperfect
Tense and the expression of the hypothesis (si + present then
The Future Tense).
Teaching Guidance and Activities
The sequence includes 3 sessions of 45 minutes. The rst 45
minutes of the course.
Awareness stage (10 minutes)
This step allows learners to actively enter the learning pro-
cess and teaching sequence to control the learning situation.
Material and Modal: The image below is projected on the
interactive digital board which is from the Adobe Illustrator
image library.
Sequence of steps (interactive verbal expression and
reading comprehension activity): The teacher asks the
learners to read the red sentence and the black sentence
“Plus de pouvoir d’achat”. The teacher asks the learners
about the topic of the poster and related elds (education,
health, work, leisure, money). The learners try to jointly
construct the denition of “le pouvoir d’achat” and talk
about their purchase priorities in the areas mentioned
before. This will make it possible to promote the under-
standing of the song dictionary. The dictionary requires A2
level to be acquired.
Global understanding (15 minutes of triple lessons + 15
minutes of sharing and revising the whole class)
The purpose of this step is to understand the context and
structure of the song. First, students are distributed a work-
sheet and tablets containing a preloaded lm, as well as
worksheet 1. The work is performed in groups of three.
Expected responses are written in bold. The questions 5,6,7
will guide to the next step regarding the opposition between
the si + present structure (for the future hypothesis) already
acquired and the new structure si + Imperfect Tense, requir-
ing the use of a condition.
Visionnez la chanson sur les tablettes et répondez aux
questions ci-dessous.
Q1 : Ou se trouvent les deux personnes ?
Ils/Elles sont assis(es) dans la rue.
Q2 : Que voulez-vous en arrière-plan au début de la
chanson ?
Il y a un magasin d’alimentation /une afche public-
itaire.
Q3 : Comment s’intitule la chanson ?
La chanson s’intitule “Le super pouvoir d’achat”
Q4 : Essayez de repérer le refrain (paragraphe qui se
répète plusieurs fois dans la chanson). Que demandent les
deux chanteurs ? Que disent-ils pour demander ?
Ils demandent d’avoir plus de pouvoir d’achat. Ils le
demandent en disant “Donnez-moi le pouvoir d’achat”
Q5 : Quel temps reconnaissez-vous dans votre réponse
précédente ?
C’est l’impératif
Q6 : Quand veulent-ils obtenir ce qu’ils demandent ?
(Entourez la bonne réponse)
Maintenant, dans le présent.
16 ALLS 12(2):13-20
Q7 : De quoi parlent-ils dans les couplets (partie de
chanson entre les refrains) ? Entourez la bonne réponse. Ils
parlent...
de ce que permet de faire le pouvoir d’achat / des
problèmes que pose le pouvoir d’achat
Second session of 45 minutes
Conceptualization and synthesis
Create a corpus (10 minutes)
A priori analysis: at this stage of the corpus formation, the
teacher deliberately creates an imbalance in learners’ knowl-
edge. In fact, learners only know the Future, Present, Past,
and Imperfect Tense at this stage. The teacher will ask the
students to complete the transcription of the song in groups
of three with the verbs heard (the present condition). There
is a high probability that learners will react by writing verbs
in the The Future Tense, moving with the si + present …,
future, or relying on close pronunciation for learners at A2
level (although slightly different for verbs in the rst per-
son singular). Once activity 2 (below) has been completed, a
review will be made throughout the class, which will intro-
duce the beginning of the guiding and conceptualization
stage.
Modality and material:
Triple works on a touch screen tablet on which video is
recorded
Activity 2: Listening comprehension activity. The correc-
tion can be found in appendix 1.
Instructions: complete the following transcription based
on what you hear.
Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat, ah ahahah,
J’…………… plein d’objets sans l, ah ahahah,
J’…………. un écran plat, ah ahahah,
La vie ……….. plus facile, ah ahahah,
Je t’………………. un stylo, je t’………………. un
cahier, peut-être même que je ………… payer l’Université...
Donnez, donnez-moi le pouvoir d’achat!
Donnez, donnez-moi le supermarché!
Le super pouvoir de pouvoir acheter
Tout en achetant du lait UHT!
Donnez, donnez-moi-a le pouvoir d’acha-a-at...
Donnez, donnez-moi-a le pouvoir d’acha-a-at...
Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat, ah ahahah,
J’…………………. des boîtes en plastique, ah ahahah,
J’…………………….. une tente Quechua, ah ahahah,
Aujourd’hui on ne sait jamais, ah ahahah,
Je t’………………. le TER, je t’……………………
jusqu’à Beauvais, peut-être même que je
…………………………. payer l’hospice de mémé...
Donnez, donnez-moi le pouvoir d’achat!
Donnez, donnez-moi le supermarché!
Le super pouvoir de pouvoir acheter
Tout en achetant du lait UHT!
Donnez, donnez-moi-a le pouvoir d’acha-a-at...
Donnez, donnez-moi-a le pouvoir d’acha-a-at...
Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat, je ……. payer plus d’impôt,
mais en fait je p……….. moins d’impôts
Parce que les impôts c’est bien fait,
Je m’………… un barbecue avec un allume-barbecue, je
m’……… un rottweiler pour protéger monbarbecue,
Guidance and conceptualization (25 minutes)
The correction of the previous activity is being carried out
in several stages in the classroom to conceptualize and build
new knowledge: The Present Conditional.
Step 1 : Correct the rst 3 lines
Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat, ah ahahah,
J’…………… plein d’objets sans l, ah ahahah,
J’…………. un écran plat, ah ahahah,
Synthesis A: when we hypothesize about the present, we
use: si + Imperfect Tense, then it is a conditional present.
The condition of the hypothesis is invalid for now, there is
no purchasing power or it is not real (imagining it): we are
talking about the unreal present.
Continuation of the conceptualization: the conditional of
verbs in -er
Synthesis B: For -er verbs, the conditional is formed with
the conjugated verb in the rst person of the present indic-
ative to which we add -r and the Imperfect Tense endings
-ais,-ais- ait,-rions,- riez- raient.
Therefore, students can correct all the “acheterais” verbs
in the song.
Continuation of conceptualization (case of the verbs -éer,
-ier, -ouer, - uer, -yer)
Correction of the Last Verse:
Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat,
je devrais payer plus d’impôt,
mais en fait je paierais moins d’impôts,
Parce que les impôts c’est bien fait.
Je m’achèterais un barbecue avec un allume-barbecue,
je m’achèterais un rottweiler pour protéger mon barbecue
Guidance and conceptualization
Synthesis of B. In the case of the verbs -éer, - ier, - ouer, -
uer, -yer, do not forget the “e” before the endings -rais, -rais,
rait. Example: Je louerais, iltuerait, tutrierais etc.
We mainly focus on the conditional verb “devoir” which
is the rst-person plural.
Synthesis C: for the verb “devoir” The Present Condi-
tional is formed from the verb of the rst-person plural of
the present indicative (dev-r-ais). This also applies to other
verbs such as pouvoir, mourir and courir where -r is doubled
(mou-rr-ais, cou-rr-ais, pou-rr-ais).
Continuation and end of the conceptualization: The Pres-
ent Conditional of the verbs in -ir and -re.
Third Verse Correction :
Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat, ah ahahah,
J’achèterais des boîtes en plastique, ah ahahah,
J’achèterais une tente Quechua, ah ahahah,
Aujourd’hui on ne sait jamais, ah ahahah,
Je t’offrirais le TER, je t’emmènerais jusqu’à Beau-
vais, peut-être même que je pourrais payer l’hospice de
mémé...
Designing a Lesson Plan About Teaching French Grammar as a Foreign Language from a
Social Constructivist Approach 17
Synthesis D: For verbs ending in -ir and -re, you have to
construct the conditional from the innitive by removing the
nal -e. (for verbs -re) and adding -ais, -ais, -ait etc. Exam-
ple: offrir-ais, mettr-ais.
Overview (10 minutes)
We can give learners a general summary and then distribute
the exercises to be done in the next session.
Learners are asked to check the correctness of all verses.
At the end of the session, the teacher distributes the exercises
that the learners will do in groups at home.
Session 3: 45 minutes
Teacher guidance Expected responses
from the learners
The teacher asks the following
question: “What does the singer
say, what would he do if he had
purchasing power?”
The teacher selects a volunteer to
write the answer on the board.
Teacher shows “acheterais”
correction
And the teacher asks “Have we
learnt this tense?”
The teacher says “Yes, it is a new
tense” and asks
When you write “l’année prochaine,
si j’ai assez d’argent, je partirai
en vacances en Chine” the “si”
hypothesis applies to the present or
to the The Future Tense.
The teacher adds:
We have already seen this structure.
We make a hypothesis on... The
teacher writes on the board:
Hypothesis on the future si+present...
then future.
The teacher says: Now let’s look at
our song. We learnt that he wanted
purchasing power now with the
phrase “donnez-moi”. So, in your
opinion, when does he say that
if I had purchasing power, the
hypothesis is in the present or in
the future? Do you think he has the
power now?
The students will
probably write
“acheterai”.
Expected or possible
answer: No or it looks
like the The Future Tense
Expected answer: This
is the The Future Tense
because there is “next
year”
Expected answer: The
Future Tense
Expected answer: the
present
No, he asks for it now
The teacher continues: Now
we will see how we create the
present condition. Look at this
verb (J’acheterais). How can I
separate the endings?
The teacher adds: Do you know in
which tenses rst-person singular
form of the verbs end with -ais end
in the?
The teacher: try to make rules. How
do you conjugate the -er verbs?
The teacher helps by showing the
separation (Achète-r-ais) on the
digital board.
Expected answer at
the end: conjugate rst
person singular verb
present (indicative)
with -rais endings
Expected answer:
Yes, the Imperfect
Tense (indicative)
Expected answer:
take rst person verb
in Present Tense and
add -r-ais (Imperfect
Tense endings)
Teacher’s actions and
words:
Actions and words
expected from the learners
Look at this sentence
“Si j’avais le pouvoir (…) je
paierais (.).”
Dou you hear the “e” in paierai?
It is silent “e”, we should not
forget it as synthesis B.
This is the case with other verbs
that we have seen before such
as “louer changes into louerais
in The Present Conditional.
No
Teacher’s actions and
words:
Actions and words
expected from the learners
Now look at this sentence:
“Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat, je
devrais payer plus d’impôts.”
Do you know which verb this is?
Who wants to come to the board
and conjugate devoir for the
Present Simple Tense?
Now in pairs, try to think about
how to describe in The Present
Conditional, by looking at the board.
Look at The Present Conditional
of the verbs “courir” Nous
courons – Je cou-rr-ais
What is it that we should
remember to write?
The -r is doubled, this is the case
with the verbs: mourir (mour-rais,
pouvoir (pou-rr-ais)
This is the verb “devoir”
A learner conjugates the
verb devoir on the board in
the present indicative
Expected action/response:
The learner on the board
circles the base of the
rst person plural in the
Present Tense (previously
conjugated) and adds -r-ais.
We need to form The Present
Conditional: je dev-r-ais, nous
dev-r-ions etc.
Two “r”
Teachers ‘actions and
words:
Actions and words expected
from the learner
Note this sentence :
“ si j’avais le pouvoir (.),
je t’offrirais le TER.”
Which is the verb?
This verb offrir a simple
formation rule for The
Present Conditional.
That’s it for the -ir verbs
this method must be
applied
A new verb is given in
The Present Conditional
this time the innitive
isn’t -ir but -re :
lire ( lir-ais)
This is the verb “devoir”
We take the innitive to offer
and we add -ais,-ais-ait etc.
You have to remove the -e from
lire to lir and add -ais,-ais,-ait.
18 ALLS 12(2):13-20
Re-employment exercises (15 minutes of correction)
The correction of exercises is performed at the beginning of
the whole lesson session on the digital board. Students are
asked to refer to the general summary table. The second is to
prepare interactive quizzes for the whole class. The Kahoot
software allows you to check in a real DIB (Digital Interac-
tive Board) volume to see which student has answered right
or wrong and the overall condition of the class in relation to
understanding the concept. The quiz, questions and results
are collected in DIB. Students have tablets to identify and
indicate responses. This exercise focuses on determining the
different use-values of a condition.
Exercise 1: work on training
Instructions: Complete the following sentences by con-
jugating the verb in parentheses to The Present Conditional.
Circle the letter corresponding to the part of the summary
that you used to answer (B, C, D, E).
1- Si j’avais une voiture, je ……… venir chez toi beau-
coup plus vite (pouvoir) B-C-D-E
2- Si nous avions plus d’argent, nous ………. à l’étranger.
Mais pour l’instant il faut économiser. (voyager) B-C-D-E
3- Garçon ! Je …………….. un thé s’il vous plait. (vou-
loir) B-C-D-E
4- Si tu t’organisais mieux, tu ……………. ton travail en
avance. (nir) B-C-D-E
5- Si vous étiez un peu plus courageux, vous
………………… un peu de sport pendant le connement.
(faire) B-C-D-E
6- Si je me trouvais au sommet du Mont Blanc, je
……………….. de peur. (mourir)
7- M’………………… - vous cette dance ? (accorder)
B-C-D-E
8- Si tu avais l’habitude de lire régulièrement, tu
……………. plus vite. (lire) B-C-D-E
9- S’ils dépensaient moins, ils ne ………………. pas à
découvert. (être) B-C-D-E
10- Si nous avions le temps, nous …………… la maison
de fond en comble. (nettoyer) B-C-D-E
Exercise 2: Choose the corresponding value for each sen-
tence.
Writing production then oral production (30 minutes)
Instructions: In groups of three, compose a song on the same
model called: si j’avais plus de temps. The songs are then
recorded and a compilation is created. The results will be
used as the basis for the formative assessment (transcription
+ recording)
Synthesis B
the verbs in -er
Synthesis D
the verbs -ir and -re
Synthesis C
the verbs devoir, pouvoir,
courir, mourir
Synthesis E
Some particular forms (the basics have
been covered for the future simple)
Je Mange-r-ais
First person present
indicative+r+-ais, -ais, -ait
etc.
Attention, don’t forget the
silent “e”
Example : nettoie-r-ais
Jefinir-ais/je lire-ais
the infinitive by
removing the final -e
+-ais, -ais, -ait, etc.
Nous dev-r-ions/ils
pou
-rr-aient
Base of the present indicative
1
st
person. From the
plural (nous devons)
+ dev+-r+-ais, -ais, -ait etc.
Attention doubling of the
“r”- “rr” in the conditional
present for the verbs: pouvoir,
courir, mourir
avoir=>a
u-r-ais
être=>se-r-ais
faire=>fe-r-ais
aller=>i-r-ais
vouloir=>voud-r-ais
When we use The Present Conditional?
Synthesis A: to express a
hypothesis in the Present
Tense (we indicate the
condition si+Imperfect
Tense which isn’t
produced in the Present
Tense)
To express a request, a wish, a desire (the condition is
implied)
Exemples :
Je voudrais un café (please)
Pourrais-tu m’aider? (implied if you have the time, if
you want to help me)
To express attenuated advice
Exemples:
Tu devrais
travailler un peu implied : if
you want to work a little)
Hypothesis in
the present (or
imaginary fact)
Advice Polite
request
wish
Vous serait-il
possible de
fumer un peu
plus loin ?
X
Si j’étais
un animal,
je serais un
aigle !
X
Tu devrais te
dépêcher.
X
Si j’étais plus
motivé, je
rangerais la
cave
X
Pourrais-tu me
donner le sel ?
X
Génie, je
voudrais trois
choses.
X
Designing a Lesson Plan About Teaching French Grammar as a Foreign Language from a
Social Constructivist Approach 19
CONCLUSION
The analysis and the construction of didactic sequence
showed us that it is possible to practice grammar which starts
from the analysis of the meaning to the analysis of the form
in a social constructivist approach without simplifying the
grammatical concepts.
At the end of this research, two essential didactic theories
seem essential for us to integrate into the teaching of FSL:
The theory of documental genesis of Gueudet and Trouche
(2010) and the didactic transposition process of Chevallard
and Johsua (1985). The two theories are intertwined: the
rst allows the teacher to become aware of his/her own pro-
cess of teaching authentic documents and of the techniques
(diagrams) used to transform a resource into an exploit-
able document (cutting of information, hidden information,
chronology, etc.)
The second theory allows the teacher to have a critical
sense of the grammatical teaching contents that were pre-
sented in the methods by comparing them. This introspection
research on techniques of the teacher allow him /her to opti-
mize his/her didactic sequence by adapting it specically to
the needs of learners. This research also suggests a subject
for researcher related to didactic transposition and didactic
process in teaching grammar. According to the social con-
structivist approach, the teacher doesn’t act as a transmitter
of knowledge. The learner is expected to use his/her own
experiences to answer to questions by using different meth-
ods, because in this perspective, there are different ways to
solve the problem. The learners can work together in groups
and they discuss to nd different ways according to their
experiences. Wang, (2010) stated that it is the grammar of the
language that contributes to speak the language. The knowl-
edge of grammar allows learners to understand what makes
correct sentences and paragraphs. The aim of this study is
to develop a sequence on grammar teaching based on the
social constructivist approach. The purpose of the plan is to
provide students with meaningful learning about the condi-
tional. It is thought that the sequence will contribute to the
French teachers being able to include the conditional tense in
their lessons effectively, and to make meaningful and enter-
taining learning. In addition, these materials will be able to
help foreign language teachers, prospective teachers and
researchers who will work on this subject. The aim of this
study is to design and develop an effective lesson and learn-
ing environment for students to provide meaningful learning
about grammar. With this sequence, an attitude scale mea-
suring students’ attitudes towards grammar learning should
be applied before and after the application. Thus, with this
plan, it can be determined whether there is any development
in student’s attitudes towards grammar learning.
REFERENCES
Baleghizadeh, S. and Farshci, S. (2009). An Exploration of
Teacher’s Beliefs about the Role of Grammar in Iranian
High Schools and Private Language Institutes. Journal
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Barnard, R and Scampton, D. (2008). Teaching Grammar: A
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Capelle, G., & Menand, R. (2009). Le nouveau taxi!. 2:
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Chevallard, Y., & Johsua, M. A. (1985). La transposition
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Canale, M & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of com-
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testing. Applied Linguistics, 1 (1), p. 1-47
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Goosse, A., & Grevisse, M. (2016). Le bon usage. De Boeck
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Nan, C. (2015). Grammar and grammaring: Toward modes
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20 ALLS 12(2):13-20
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Correction of activity sheet 2
Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat, ah ah ah ah,
J’achèterais plein d’objets sans l, ah ah ah ah,
J’achèterais un écran plat, ah ah ah ah,
La vie serait plus facile, ah ah ah ah,
Je t’achèterais un stylo, je t’achèterais un cahier, peut-
être même que je pourrais payer l’université...
Donnez, donnez-moi le pouvoir d’achat!
Donnez, donnez-moi le supermarché!
Le super pouvoir de pouvoir acheter
Tout en achetant du lait UHT!
Donnez, donnez-moi-a le pouvoir d’acha-a-at...
Donnez, donnez-moi-a le pouvoir d’acha-a-at...
Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat, ah ah ah ah,
J’achèterais des boîtes en plastique, ah ah ah ah,
J’achèterais une tente Quechua, ah ah ah ah,
Aujourd’hui on ne sait jamais, ah ah ah ah,
Je t’offrirais le TER, je t’emmènerais jusqu’à Beauvais,
peut-être même que je pourrais payer l’hospice de mémé...
Donnez, donnez-moi le pouvoir d’achat!
Donnez, donnez-moi le supermarché!
Le super pouvoir de pouvoir acheter
Tout en achetant du lait UHT!
Donnez, donnez-moi-a le pouvoir d’acha-a-at...
Donnez, donnez-moi-a le pouvoir d’acha-a-at...
Si j’avais le pouvoir d’achat, je devrais payer plus
d’impôt, mais en fait je paierais moins d’impôts parce que
les impôts c’est bien fait.Je m’achèterais un barbecue avec
un allume-barbecue, je m’achèterais un rottweiler pour
protéger mon barbecue,
Appendix 2: correction of re-employment exercise 1
Exercice 1 :
Consigne : Complétez les phrases suivantes en con-
juguant le verbe entre parenthèses au conditionnel présent.
Entourez la lettre correspondant à la partie de la synthèse que
vous avez utilisée pour répondre (B, C, D, E)
1- Si j’avais une voiture, je pourrais venir chez toi beau-
coup plus vite (pouvoir) B-C-D-E
2- Si nous avions plus d’argent, nous voyagerions. à
l’étranger. Mais pour l’instant il faut économiser. (voyager)
B-C-D-E
3- Garçon ! Je voudrais. un thé s’il vous plait. (vouloir)
B-C-D-E
4- Si tu t’organisais mieux, tu nirais ton travail en
avance. (nir) B-C-D-E
5- Si vous étiez un peu plus courageux, vous feriez un
peu de sport pendant le connement. (faire) B-C-D-E
6- Si je me trouvais au sommet du Mont Blanc, je mour-
rais de peur. (mourir) B-C-D-E
7- M’accorderiez
- vous cette dance ? (accorder) B-C-D-E
8- Si tu avais l’habitude de lire régulièrement, tu lirais.
plus vite. (lire) B-C-D-E
9- S’ils dépensaient moins, ils ne seraient pas à décou-
vert. (être) B-C-D-E
