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A2
L'apéro
Elementary
You chat more comfortably about familiar things: plans, recent memories, daily life. You tell stories in the past, express your tastes and handle common exchanges without freezing.
What the European framework says
- You understand frequent sentences and expressions about what concerns you directly: yourself, your family, shopping, your neighbourhood, your work.
- You can exchange simple, direct information in familiar situations.
- You can describe in simple terms your background, your surroundings and your immediate needs.
Source: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), Council of Europe
Possible lessons
30 lessonsWe don't work through a textbook page by page: together we choose the lessons that are useful to you, in the order that suits you. Open a lesson to see what we work on.
Telling stories, placing events in time, giving your opinion
Talking about your holidaysYou can say what you did on holiday.
- Grammar
- the passé composé with avoir (-er verbs); the negative in the passé composé
- Vocabulary
- holiday activities (réserver, visiter, goûter, dépenser)
- Pronunciation
- je mange / j'ai mangé, the [ə] and [e] sounds
- Activity
- a holiday story; comprehension questions; telling about your last holiday
Talking about your weekendYou can talk about your weekend using the most common verbs.
- Grammar
- past participles of -ir and 3rd-group verbs (fini, pris, fait, vu, bu, lu, eu, été)
- Vocabulary
- weekend activities and household chores
- Activity
- question game « Qu'est-ce que tu as fait samedi ? »; writing about a weekend
Telling someone's life storyYou can tell the story of a person's life, from birth to today.
- Grammar
- the passé composé with être (naître, aller, venir, partir, devenir, mourir…); past participle agreement; dates and centuries
- Vocabulary
- stages of life, art and artists
- Pronunciation
- arrivé / arrivée, the same pronunciation in masculine and feminine
- Activity
- reading an artist's biography; writing one about an artist you choose
Telling about an eventful weekendYou can choose between être and avoir to talk about a trip or an outing.
- Grammar
- être or avoir in the passé composé; agreement with être; reflexive verbs in the passé composé
- Vocabulary
- travel, visiting a city, moving house
- Activity
- correcting agreement mistakes; completing a travel diary; an email to a friend
Saying what has just happenedYou can say what you have just done, what you are doing and what is about to happen.
- Grammar
- the recent past (venir de); être en train de; être sur le point de; reminder of the near future
- Vocabulary
- everyday news (appeler, arriver, finir, partir)
- Activity
- commenting on "before, during, after" pictures; quick messages to a friend
Remembering your childhoodYou can describe your childhood and your past habits.
- Grammar
- the imparfait (formation); the imparfait for descriptions and habits; avant / maintenant
- Vocabulary
- childhood, school, the family home
- Pronunciation
- je mangeais / j'ai mangé, the [ɛ] and [e] sounds
- Activity
- « Quand j'étais petit(e)… »; comparing then and now
Telling an anecdoteYou can tell a memory with its setting and its events.
- Grammar
- passé composé or imparfait; storytelling markers (un jour, soudain, tout à coup)
- Vocabulary
- unexpected events and small mishaps
- Activity
- telling an anecdote from pictures; putting a story in order
Placing an event in timeYou can say since when, for how long and in how much time something happens.
- Grammar
- il y a, depuis, ça fait… que, pendant, dans, jusqu'à, de… à, avant, après
- Vocabulary
- cultural outings, being late, duration
- Activity
- story of a late arrival at the theatre; describing a picture by placing the actions in time
Giving your opinionYou can give your opinion on an outing, a dish or a place.
- Grammar
- je pense que, je trouve que, à mon avis, selon moi; plural adjective agreement (-eux / -euse, -al / -aux)
- Vocabulary
- appreciation (magnifique, décevant, ennuyeux, sympa)
- Activity
- a conversation on a café terrace; a message to a friend giving your opinion
Comparing two homesYou can compare two things and say which you prefer.
- Grammar
- the comparative with an adjective and with a noun; meilleur; ce qui… c'est, ce que… c'est
- Vocabulary
- housing (loyer, charges, caution, bail)
- Activity
- comparing two listings; choosing a flat together
Describing, working, looking ahead
The best and the worstYou can talk about what is the most or the least in a group.
- Grammar
- the superlative (le plus, le moins, le meilleur, le pire); ordinal numbers (premier, deuxième…)
- Vocabulary
- cities, records, rankings
- Activity
- a quiz about France; presenting the best place in your town
Describing someone's personalityYou can describe a loved one's personality with nuance.
- Grammar
- très, trop, assez, plutôt, si; adverbs in -ment (calmement, rapidement)
- Vocabulary
- personality and qualities
- Activity
- portrait of a friend or a colleague; guessing a person from their description
Talking about your studies and backgroundYou can present your education and what you no longer do.
- Grammar
- ne… plus, ne… jamais, ne… rien, ne… personne; reminder of the passé composé
- Vocabulary
- studies, degrees, subjects
- Activity
- a questionnaire about your background; presenting it in a few sentences
Having a job interviewYou can ask and answer questions in a professional setting.
- Grammar
- formal questions (inversion: Avez-vous… ? Où travaillez-vous ?); the three ways to ask a question
- Vocabulary
- the world of work (CV, poste, entreprise, salaire, horaires)
- Pronunciation
- the intonation of formal and informal questions
- Activity
- job interview role play; turning informal questions into formal ones
Giving a present, doing someone a favourYou can say who you give, write or phone to without repeating their name.
- Grammar
- indirect object pronouns (me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur); direct or indirect object
- Vocabulary
- presents, celebrations, communication verbs (donner, offrir, écrire, téléphoner)
- Activity
- choosing presents for the family; mini-dialogues with lui and leur
Choosing between two itemsYou can point to and compare items without repeating their name.
- Grammar
- demonstrative pronouns (celui, celle, ceux, celles); possessive pronouns (le mien, le tien, le sien…)
- Vocabulary
- everyday items, fashion, shopping
- Activity
- shop role play « Je préfère celui-ci »; finding the owners of lost items
Presenting a film or a bookYou can present a work and give details about the characters.
- Grammar
- relative pronouns qui and que; reminder of giving an opinion
- Vocabulary
- media, cinema, reading
- Activity
- presenting your favourite film; guessing a film from definitions with qui and que
Imagining the futureYou can make predictions and promises.
- Grammar
- the futur simple (regular and irregular verbs: être, avoir, aller, faire, pouvoir); near future or futur simple
- Vocabulary
- technology, the city of tomorrow, life plans
- Pronunciation
- je serai / je serais, a difference you can hear
- Activity
- writing a letter to yourself in ten years' time; predictions for the city of tomorrow
Asking politely and giving adviceYou can express a wish, ask politely and advise someone.
- Grammar
- the present conditional (full formation); je voudrais, j'aimerais, pourriez-vous; tu devrais, à ta place
- Vocabulary
- politeness, services, advice
- Activity
- role play at a service counter; an advice column
Making hypothesesYou can talk about what will happen if a condition is met.
- Grammar
- si + present, future; si + present, imperative
- Vocabulary
- plans, the unexpected, the weather
- Activity
- chain game « Si je gagne au loto… »; planning a weekend depending on the weather
Explaining, reporting, organising, reviewing
Explaining whyYou can explain the cause of a situation, positive or negative.
- Grammar
- parce que, car, comme; grâce à, à cause de
- Vocabulary
- impressions and feelings (j'ai l'impression que, ça me fait peur, ça me rend heureux)
- Activity
- justifying life choices; explaining a delay or an absence
Keeping fitYou can say how you do things and what you do at the same time.
- Grammar
- the gérondif (en marchant, en écoutant); adverbs of frequency (toujours, souvent, parfois, rarement, jamais)
- Vocabulary
- sport, health, good habits
- Activity
- a questionnaire about your habits; tips for staying fit
Reporting what someone saidYou can pass on a message or report what someone said.
- Grammar
- reported speech in the present (il dit que, il demande si, il veut savoir où)
- Vocabulary
- the phone, messages, the media
- Activity
- passing-the-message game; reporting a conversation you overheard
Y and en: going furtherYou can replace a place, a thing or an idea with y or en.
- Grammar
- y and en (review for places); y with penser à, s'intéresser à; en with parler de, avoir besoin de
- Vocabulary
- hobbies, plans, interests
- Activity
- quick questions and answers without repeating; talking about your passions
Talking about what you buyYou can talk about your purchases and your consumer habits.
- Grammar
- quantities (beaucoup de, peu de, trop de, assez de); numbers above 100
- Vocabulary
- consumption, online shopping, money
- Activity
- comparing shopping habits; listening to a short report and discussing it
Celebrations through the yearYou can talk about celebrations and traditions and wish someone well for an occasion.
- Grammar
- reminder of the present, the imparfait and the futur simple to talk about traditions
- Vocabulary
- celebrations, traditions, wishes (Bonne année, Joyeux anniversaire, Félicitations)
- Activity
- presenting a celebration from your country; writing a greetings card
Inviting, accepting, decliningYou can suggest an outing, accept or decline politely and give a reason.
- Grammar
- ça te dit de… ?; volontiers, avec plaisir; désolé(e), je ne peux pas parce que…
- Vocabulary
- outings, the apéro, appointments
- Pronunciation
- the intonation of enthusiasm and regret
- Activity
- invitation role play; replying to invitation messages
Writing an email to tell a storyYou can write an 80 to 100-word email about a trip or a weekend.
- Grammar
- passé composé and imparfait; storytelling connectors (d'abord, ensuite, puis, finalement)
- Vocabulary
- phrases for a friendly email
- Activity
- guided writing, then commented correction
Review: a weekend to tell aboutYou can use the past, opinions and comparisons together.
- Grammar
- review of the passé composé, the imparfait, the comparative, direct and indirect object pronouns
- Vocabulary
- review of the level's topics
- Pronunciation
- review
- Activity
- telling about a weekend and giving your opinion; describing a picture
Speaking like in everyday lifeYou can understand and use about ten common A2-level expressions.
- Grammar
- expressions with prendre, mettre, tomber (prendre son temps, mettre les pieds dans le plat, tomber bien)
- Vocabulary
- colourful everyday expressions
- Activity
- guessing what the expressions mean; using them in mini-dialogues
By the end of the level, you can
- Tell a memory, a trip or someone's life in the past
- Place an event in time and talk about your plans and the future
- Give your opinion, compare and explain why
- Ask politely, give advice, invite, accept or decline
- Write a simple email to tell a story or reply
Alongside the lessons
- Listening: short reports on daily life
- Reading: texts to discover a region or a celebration
- Words not to mix up (depuis / pendant, savoir / connaître, visiter / rendre visite à)
- The most common mistakes at A2
- Regular writing practice, corrected and commented