Set the table with me (Listening practice)

Listening skills are not the easiest of skills to master.  No sooner have you worked out what someone is saying then it’s too late to reply because the conversation has moved on. We all get that as learners of French, so you are most certainly not alone. 

So I thought I would help with a series of listening videos. You have the video, the sound, the transcript and the English. 

There are so many ways you can learn form this!  My favourite is the read-along possibility.  

What you SAY is processed differently from what you HEAR. It also stops you reading along in your inner English voice.

Here's what you will be focusing on in this mini-lesson:

• the vocabulary you need when setting the table in French

• Your listening skills - use it as a dictation

• Your speaking skills - practise your pronunciation skills and read along!

Listen to the pronunciation and read along.

It's always easier when you have the text in front of you. What you could do is have a look at the transcript at the bottom of this mini-lesson and listen to the video at the same time.

That way, you can not only refer to the text but you can also pay attention to the pronunciation. 

Feel free to add your own notes concerning the pronunciation like liaisons or silent letters and other intricacies of the French language.

Use this listening exercise in French as a dictation.

If you haven't had a look at the transcript, watch the video, just listening first then again, trying to note everything you can. Repeat it as many times as you like. You can even slow it down and use it for pronunciation practice. DON’T watch the video at first or you will see the text. 

Don’t despair if you don’t recognise all the words! This is the best exercise you can do because the more you practise dictations, the easier it gets to understand French.

My goal this year is to help you with your listening comprehension and offer you various listening activities during the year.

If you struggle with your listening skills and are looking to have more fluid conversations with like minded people at your level of French, then check out how having a teacher support in small groups could make a massive difference to your spontaneous listening skills.

Here’s how joining Conversation Café can help you understand spontaneous spoken French more easily.

Click here to check out our conversation café sample.

Transcript and the Translation. Don't peep if you don't want to see it yet.

Alors on y va. À table. 

Je commence avec une belle nappe et comme ça c’est joli.  

Je mets le dessous d’assiette ici, bien au milieu, et je mets une assiette plate, et parce que peut-être si vous allez manger des pâtes ou de la soupe, une assiette creuse. En effet c’est un grand bol.

À gauche, je mets l’assiette pour le pain et maintenant, pour les verres, je mets un autre petit dessous (d’assiette) ici et le verre à vin.

Ici, j’ai un verre à eau et bien sûr une bouteille de bon vin. 

Et les couverts, je commence avec un couteau. Voilà, un couteau qui coupe. Ici, c’est plutôt un couteau qui ne coupe pas très bien donc c’est bon pour les pâtes ou quelque chose (urr) de simple mais si vous mangez de la viande ou quelque chose qui doit être coupée, il faut utiliser ce couteau-là. Donc je mets les deux. 

À gauche, j’ai la fourchette, et ici les cuillères, une cuillère à soupe, une grande cuillère et aussi une petite cuillère pour le dessert. Comme ça on a le choix de prendre la grande cuillère ou la petite.

Personnellement, je prends la petite. 

Bon, maintenant, l’autre verre, le verre à eau, qui va avec le verre à vin. Est-ce que c’est joli ? 

Et puis on aura une carafe pour l’eau. Et quelque chose de décoratif. Err, personnellement j’aime ça, c’est très joli. C’est juste une ancienne bouteille. 

Et aussi il faut . . . voilà, tout est fini . . . avec une serviette. Voilà, je tourne, je tourne et je (la) mets dans le verre à vin. Comme ça.

Et, j’ai deux bougies, donc pour allumer plus tard. Je mets les bougies, là. Et voilà. Là, on a mis la table. Allez !

And here’s the English . . .

Here we go. Table time! I'll start with a beautiful tablecloth, and that way it looks nice. 

I’m putting the table mat here, right in the middle, and I’m putting out a flat plate, and maybe if you're going to eat pasta or soup, a deep plate. Actually, it's a large bowl.

On the left, I’m putting the bread plate, and now, for the glasses, I’m putting another small coaster here and the wine glass.

Here, I have a water glass, and of course, a bottle of good wine.

And the cutlery, I’m starting with a knife. There you go, a knife that cuts. Here, it's more a knife that doesn't cut so well, so it's good for pasta or something simple, but if you're eating meat or something that needs to be cut, you need to use this knife here. So, I’m putting both of them. On the left, I have the fork, and here, the spoons, a soup spoon, a large spoon, and also a small spoon for dessert. This way, we have the choice to take the large spoon or the small one. Personally, I prefer the small one.

Alright, now the other glass, the water glass, which goes with the wine glass. Is it pretty?

And next, we'll have a carafe for the water. And something decorative. Um, personally, I like it, it's very pretty. It's just an old bottle.

And also, you need ... there you go, everything is done... with a napkin. There you go, I fold it, I fold it, and I put it in the wine glass. Like that.

And, I’ve got two candles for lighting later. I’m putting the candles - there. And there you have it. There, the table is set. Let's go!
 

Which activity did you choose? The dictation? The reading? Both? Either way, I hope this mini-lesson allowed you to develop a skill.