Welcome to Lesson 1!

Today, we are going to begin our first MYP 2 French unit by learning how to greet people, introduce ourselves and say goodbye in French.

You will also learn an important French grammar structure: the subject pronouns and the verb être (to be).

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to meet someone in French and have a short introductory conversation.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

use common French greetings;
distinguish between formal and informal greetings;
introduce yourself;
ask someone’s name;
ask and answer Comment ça va ?;
say goodbye appropriately;
use je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles;
use the verb être in simple sentences;
create a short dialogue with a partner.

Global context

Identities & Relationships

Today we are beginning to explore an important question:

How do we use language to introduce and express ourselves?

When you meet someone for the first time, the language you use helps you establish a relationship.

Inquiry question

How can French help us connect with other people?

Think about this question throughout the lesson.

Look and Think

Look at the situations.

Think:

Who might say Bonjour?
Who might say Salut?
Is the situation formal or informal?
How do you greet your teacher?
How do you greet a close friend?

1. Vocabulary bank – Les salutations

Learn these expressions carefully.

🇫🇷 French	🇬🇧 English
Bonjour !	Hello! / Good morning!
Salut !	Hi!
Bonsoir !	Good evening!
Comment ça va ?	How are you?
Ça va bien.	I’m fine.
Ça va très bien.	I’m very well.
Ça va mal.	I’m not well.
Comme ci, comme ça.	So-so.
Merci.	Thank you.
Et toi ?	And you?
Au revoir !	Goodbye!
À bientôt !	See you soon!
À demain !	See you tomorrow!
À plus !	See you!

2. Formal or Informal?

In French, you don’t always greet everyone in the same way.

Informal

Use these with friends, classmates or people you know well:

Salut !

Ça va ?

À plus !

Formal

Use these in more formal situations:

Bonjour, Madame.

Bonjour, Monsieur.

Comment allez-vous ?

Au revoir, Madame.

Individual Task – Formal or Informal?

Write F for formal and I for informal.

Bonjour, Madame. ___
Salut, Emma ! ___
Comment allez-vous, Monsieur ? ___
Salut, Lucas ! ___
Au revoir, Madame. ___
À plus, Thomas ! ___

Challenge

Explain why you classified two of the expressions as formal or informal.

3. How to say your name

Now let’s learn how to introduce ourselves.

The most common structure is:

Je m’appelle + name.

Examples

Je m’appelle Emma.

Je m’appelle Lucas.

Je m’appelle Sofia.

It means:

My name is…

Another structure

You can also say:

Mon prénom est Lucas.

My first name is Lucas.

But for everyday conversation, Je m’appelle… is very common and useful.

Sentence starters

Use these structures to create your own sentences.

Introducing yourself

Bonjour ! Je m’appelle __________.

Salut ! Je m’appelle __________.

Mon prénom est __________.

Asking someone’s name

Comment tu t’appelles ?

What is your name?

Answer

Je m’appelle __________.

Individual task – Complete the conversation

Complete the missing information.

Student A

Bonjour !

Student B

__________ !

Student A

Comment tu t’appelles ?

Student B

Je __________ __________.

Student A

Enchanté(e) !

Student B

__________ !

4. Enchanté(e) !

When you meet someone for the first time, you can say:

Enchanté ! – Nice to meet you. (male speaker)

Enchantée ! – Nice to meet you. (female speaker)

You may also hear:

Ravi de te rencontrer !

Ravie de te rencontrer !

For now, focus on Enchanté(e).

5. Asking “How Are You?”

One of the most useful French questions is:

Comment ça va ?

This literally asks how things are going.

You can answer:

French	English
Ça va très bien !	I’m very well!
Ça va bien.	I’m fine.
Ça va.	I’m okay.
Comme ci, comme ça.	So-so.
Ça va mal.	I’m not well.

Mini conversation

Read the dialogue aloud.

A: Bonjour !
B: Bonjour !

A: Comment ça va ?
B: Ça va bien, merci. Et toi ?

A: Ça va très bien !

Pair task – Interview your partner

Work with a partner.

Student A asks:

Bonjour !

Comment tu t’appelles ?

Comment ça va ?

Student B answers:

Bonjour !

Je m’appelle __________.

Ça va __________.

Then swap roles.

6. Grammar focus – Subject pronouns

Now let’s look at an important part of French grammar.

A subject pronoun tells us who is doing something.

Subject pronouns

French	English
je	I
tu	you – informal
il	he
elle	she
nous	we
vous	you – formal/plural
ils	they – masculine/mixed
elles	they – feminine

Important!

French has two common forms of you:

tu → one person you know / informal

vous → formal or more than one person

7. Grammar – The verb Être

The verb être means:

to be

You will use it throughout this unit to talk about your identity, nationality and personality.

Être – Present tense

Subject	Être	English
Je	suis	I am
Tu	es	You are
Il	est	He is
Elle	est	She is
Nous	sommes	We are
Vous	êtes	You are
Ils	sont	They are
Elles	sont	They are

Learn these carefully:

Je suis

Tu es

Il est

Elle est

Nous sommes

Vous êtes

Ils sont

Elles sont

Grammar pattern

The basic structure is:

Subject + être + information

For example:

Je suis Erick.

Je suis français.

Elle est française.

Nous sommes élèves.

Important: Don’t say…

Error: Je être français.

Instead:

Je suis français.

The verb must be conjugated.

Individual grammar practice

Complete the sentences with the correct form of être.

Je ______ élève.
Tu ______ sympathique.
Elle ______ française.
Il ______ canadien.
Nous ______ élèves.
Vous ______ professeur.
Ils ______ sportifs.
Elles ______ françaises.

Challenge – Create your own sentences

Use the table to create five sentences.

Example:

Je suis élève.

Now create:

Je suis __________________.
Tu es __________________.
Il est __________________.
Elle est __________________.
Nous sommes __________________.

8. Asking and answering

Let’s combine what you have learned.

Question 1

Comment tu t’appelles ?

Answer

Je m’appelle __________.

Question 2

Comment ça va ?

Answer

Ça va __________.

Question 3

Tu es français/française ?

Answer

Oui, je suis français/française.

Non, je ne suis pas français/française.

We will study the full ne…pas structure in more detail later.

Group task – Créez une conversation

Work in groups of 3 students.

Create a short French conversation.

Your conversation must include:

A greeting

Asking someone’s name

Giving your name

Asking how someone is

Answering

Using être

Saying goodbye

Conversation frame

You can use this structure:

Student A:

Bonjour !

Student B:

Bonjour !

Student A:

Comment tu t’appelles ?

Student B:

Je m’appelle __________. Et toi ?

Student A:

Je m’appelle __________.

Student C:

Salut ! Comment ça va ?

Students A & B:

Ça va __________, merci. Et toi ?

Student C:

Ça va __________.

Student A:

Je suis __________.

Student B:

Je suis __________.

Student C:

Moi, je suis __________.

All:

Au revoir !

Group challenge

Now try to perform the conversation without reading the complete script.

You may keep the Vocabulary Bank and Sentence Starters for support.

Proficient challenge

Add:

a question;
an answer;
a description;
a reason.

For example:

Je suis sportif parce que j’aime le football.

Individual writing task – Mon premier dialogue

Write your own short dialogue in your notebook.

Your dialogue should have at least 8 lines.

Include:

Greeting
Name
Question
Answer
How you are
Use of être
Another question
Goodbye

Capable challenge

If you are working at the Capable Level, extend your dialogue.

Include:

your name;
your age;
your nationality;
where you live;
one personality adjective;
one interest.

Example

Bonjour ! Je m’appelle Lucas.
J’ai douze ans.
Je suis français.
J’habite à Paris.
Je suis sympathique et sportif.
J’aime le football.
Et toi ?

Inquiry – Think deeper

Answer in English or simple French.

Question:

Why do we use different greetings with different people?

Think about:

your teacher;
your friend;
a stranger;
an older person;
a group of people.

How does word choice change depending on the relationship?

Cultural connection

In French-speaking communities, greetings are an important part of everyday communication.

Think about greetings in your own culture.

Compare:

Situation	My Culture	French
Greeting a teacher
Greeting a friend
Greeting someone older
Saying goodbye

Sentence starter

Dans ma culture, on dit __________, mais en français on dit __________.

Reflection

Take a moment to think about your learning today.

Complete:

Today I learned…

Aujourd’hui, j’ai appris __________________________.

A new French word I learned is…

__________________________.

One French sentence I can now say is…

__________________________.

My confidence today:

😊 I can do it independently

😐 I need a little more practice

😟 I need help

Exit ticket

Before leaving the lesson, write these three sentences:

Je m’appelle __________.
Je suis __________.
J’aime __________.

Then write one question you can ask another student:

________________________________ ?

ATL skills

Communication

You are practising how to:

listen to another person;
ask appropriate questions;
respond clearly;
choose appropriate greetings.

Self-Management

You are practising:

pronunciation;
vocabulary recall;
confidence;
organizing your notes.

Learner profile

Communicator

You are using French to communicate information about yourself and interact with others.

Inquirer

You are asking questions to discover information about your classmates.

Lesson 1 Checklist

Before moving to Lesson 2, make sure you can:

Say Bonjour and Salut.
Ask someone’s name.
Say your name.
Ask Comment ça va ?
Respond to Comment ça va ?
Say goodbye.
Identify formal and informal greetings.
Use je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles.
Conjugate être in the present tense.
Create a simple French conversation.

Next Lesson

Lesson 2 – Qui suis-je ? | My Name, Age and Personal Information

In the next lesson, you will learn how to say:

J’ai douze ans.

Je suis indien/indienne.

J’habite à Hyderabad.

Je parle français et anglais.

We will focus on numbers, age, countries, nationalities and languages, while continuing to develop your ability to introduce yourself in French.