Lesson 1: Greetings and Introductions

Level: Emergent / Beginner
Unit: 1 – Bonjour !
Key Concept: Communication
Related Concepts: Message, Convention
Global Context: Identities & Relationships

Statement of Inquiry

Learning a new language helps us express our identity and build relationships through meaningful communication.

1. Lesson overview

This is your first French lesson, and you may have no prior knowledge of French. You are not expected to know any French before beginning.

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

understand what a greeting is;
use Bonjour and Salut appropriately;
understand the difference between formal and informal greetings;
ask someone’s name;
say your own name;
ask how someone is;
respond to a simple greeting;
say goodbye;
recognize the basic structure of a short French introduction.

2. Learning objectives

By the end of the lesson, I can:

Knowledge

☐ Explain what a greeting is.

☐ Explain the difference between Bonjour and Salut.

☐ Identify a formal and an informal greeting.

Understanding

☐ Understand a simple French greeting exchange.

☐ Understand the question Comment tu t’appelles ?

Application

☐ Say Je m’appelle…

☐ Ask Comment tu t’appelles ?

☐ Say Bonjour, Salut and Au revoir appropriately.

Communication

☐ Introduce myself to a classmate in French.

3. Key vocabulary

You will first learn a small number of expressions.

French	English	Use
Bonjour !	Hello! / Good morning!	General/daytime greeting
Salut !	Hi!	Informal
Bonsoir !	Good evening!	Evening
Au revoir !	Goodbye!	Leaving
À bientôt !	See you soon!	Informal/friendly
Merci !	Thank you!	Thanking someone
Ça va ?	How are you?	Asking how someone is
Ça va bien.	I am doing well.	Positive response
Comme ci, comme ça.	So-so.	Neutral response
Ça va mal.	I am not doing well.	Negative response
Je m’appelle…	My name is…	Introducing yourself
Comment tu t’appelles ?	What is your name?	Asking someone’s name
Enchanté ! / Enchantée !	Nice to meet you!	Meeting someone

Remember

You do not need to memorize all of these immediately.

For your first lesson, focus on:

Bonjour !
Salut !
Comment tu t’appelles ?
Je m’appelle…
Ça va ?
Ça va bien.
Au revoir !

4. What is a Greeting?

Definition

A greeting is a word or expression we use when we meet or speak to someone.

For example, in English:

Hello!

Hi!

Good morning!

French has different greetings too.

French:

Bonjour !

Salut !

Bonsoir !

5. Understanding French Greetings

A. Bonjour

Bonjour !

Definition: Hello / Good morning

Usage

Use Bonjour when greeting someone during the day.

You can use it with:

teachers
adults
classmates
people you do not know
people you know

Examples

Bonjour, Madame !

Bonjour, Monsieur !

Bonjour, Emma !

Remember

Bonjour is a safe and polite greeting.

6. Salut

Salut !

Definition: Hi / Hello

Usage

Salut is generally informal.

Use it with:

friends
classmates
people you know well

Example

Student → friend:

Salut, Lucas !

Teacher → student:

Bonjour, Lucas !

For now, remember this simple rule:

Bonjour = polite/general

Salut = informal/friendly

7. Bonjour vs Salut

Situation	Correct expression
Meeting your teacher	Bonjour !
Meeting your friend	Salut !
Meeting someone you don’t know	Bonjour !
Meeting your classmate	Bonjour ! / Salut !
Greeting someone formally	Bonjour !

Think about these situations:

If you meet your French teacher in the morning, would you say Salut or Bonjour?

Bonjour !

If you meet your best friend?

Salut !

8. Bonsoir

Bonsoir !

Definition: Good evening

Usage

Use Bonsoir when greeting someone in the evening.

Compare:

Bonjour ! → daytime

Bonsoir ! → evening

Remember

Do not say:

Bonjour soir

Instead:

Bonsoir

9. Saying Goodbye

Au revoir

Au revoir !

Definition: Goodbye

Usage

Use Au revoir when leaving or ending an interaction.

Example:

Bonjour, Madame !

Au revoir, Madame !

À bientôt

À bientôt !

Definition: See you soon!

This is another friendly way to end a conversation.

10. Introducing Yourself

Now you will move from greeting to identity.

When you meet someone for the first time, you usually introduce yourself.

In English:

Hello. My name is Emma.

In French:

Bonjour. Je m’appelle Emma.

11. Asking someone’s Name

Structure

Comment tu t’appelles ?

Definition

What is your name?

Let’s look at the expression:

Comment = how
tu = you
t’appelles = are called / call yourself

At this level, you do not need to understand the grammatical history of t’appelles.

You simply need to recognize the expression as a fixed question meaning:

What is your name?

You ask:

Comment tu t’appelles ?

You respond:

Je m’appelle ______.

12. Saying your Name

Structure

Je m’appelle + name.

Definition

My name is…

Formation

Je m’appelle + your name

Examples:

Je m’appelle Sarah.

Je m’appelle Adam.

Je m’appelle Maria.

13. Important beginner Point

You may be tempted to translate English word-for-word.

You might say:

Je suis Emma.

For this lesson, use the standard introduction:

Je m’appelle Emma.

Remember:

French uses the expression Je m’appelle… to introduce your name.

Learn this as one useful expression.

14. Asking how someone is

Ça va ?

Definition

Ça va ? = How are you? / Are you okay?

This is a very common everyday expression.

Basic response

Ça va bien.

= I am doing well.

Other responses:

Ça va.
I’m okay.

Comme ci, comme ça.
So-so.

Ça va mal.
I’m not doing well.

For now, focus first on:

Ça va ?

Ça va bien.

15. Complete beginner conversation

Look at this conversation.

Dialogue 1

Student A: Bonjour !

Student B: Bonjour !

Student A: Comment tu t’appelles ?

Student B: Je m’appelle Emma. Et toi ?

Student A: Je m’appelle Lucas.

Student B: Enchanté !

Student A: Enchanté !

Student B: Ça va ?

Student A: Ça va bien, merci !

Student B: Au revoir !

Student A: Au revoir !

16. Understand the structure

A simple conversation has a sequence.

Greeting → Name → Response → Well-being → Goodbye

BONJOUR !
     ↓
Comment tu t'appelles ?
     ↓
Je m'appelle...
     ↓
Ça va ?
     ↓
Ça va bien.
     ↓
Au revoir !

This gives you a communication framework, rather than asking you to memorize disconnected vocabulary.

17. Listen and Repeat

First, listen carefully. Don’t repeat yet.

Bonjour !

Pause.

Je m’appelle ______.

Pause.

Comment tu t’appelles ?

Pause.

Ça va ?

Pause.

Ça va bien.

Pause.

Au revoir !

Now repeat each expression after your teacher.

18. Pronunciation practice

Keep your pronunciation simple and confident.

Bonjour

Approximate pronunciation:

bon-zhoor

Repeat:

Bonjour.

Salut

sa-lü

Repeat:

Salut.

Au revoir

oh ruh-vwar

Repeat:

Au revoir.

Je m’appelle

zhuh mah-pell

Repeat:

Je m’appelle.

Comment tu t’appelles ?

koh-mahn tü tah-pell

Repeat.

Ça va ?

sa va

Repeat.

19. Activity 1 – Greeting detective

Time: 5 minutes

You will see different situations.

Situation 1

You meet your teacher at school.

Your answer:

Bonjour !

Situation 2

You meet your best friend.

Your answer:

Salut !

Situation 3

It is evening and you meet your neighbour.

Your answer:

Bonsoir !

Situation 4

You are leaving school.

Your answer:

Au revoir !

20. Activity 2 – Repeat and respond

Teacher:

Bonjour !

You:

Bonjour !

Teacher:

Comment tu t’appelles ?

You:

Je m’appelle _________.

Teacher:

Ça va ?

You:

Ça va bien !

Teacher:

Au revoir !

You:

Au revoir !

Repeat several times, gradually increasing speed.

21. Activity 3 – Meet your classmate

Online version

You will work in pairs/breakout rooms.

Use this dialogue:

Student A

Bonjour !

Comment tu t’appelles ?

Student B

Bonjour !

Je m’appelle _________.

Student A

Ça va ?

Student B

Ça va bien, merci !

Student B

Et toi ?

Student A

Ça va bien !

Both

Au revoir !

22. Online classroom variation

If breakout rooms are not practical, we will practise together.

Imagine that your classmate is a new student.

Student 1:

Bonjour !

Student 2:

Bonjour !

Student 1:

Comment tu t’appelles ?

Student 2:

Je m’appelle _________.

Student 1:

Enchanté(e) !

Student 2:

Enchanté(e) !

23. Activity 4 – My French Name Card

Take a blank piece of paper.

Create:

MA CARTE

Include:

Bonjour !

Je m’appelle __________________.

You can decorate your card.

Extension

If you are confident, add:

Ça va bien !

24. Mini writing task

Copy and complete:

Bonjour !

Je m’appelle __________________________.

Ça va bien.

Au revoir !

Keep your writing short. You are beginning French today, so accuracy is more important than writing a lot.

25. Formative check

Complete these independently.

Match:

French	English
Bonjour	Goodbye
Salut	Hello
Au revoir	Hi
Ça va ?	How are you?

Then complete:

1.

Je m’appelle __________________.

2.

__________________ ! = Hello

3.

__________________ ! = Goodbye

4.

Comment __________________ t’appelles ?

26. Exit ticket

Before leaving the lesson, type this in the chat:

Bonjour ! Je m’appelle __________________. Au revoir !

If you are confident, you can add:

Ça va bien !

27. Common beginner mistakes

Mistake 1

❌ Je appelle…

✅ Je m’appelle…

Learn the complete expression rather than trying to construct it independently.

Mistake 2

❌ Bonjour = Goodbye

✅ Bonjour = Hello

Mistake 3

❌ Au revoir = Hello

✅ Au revoir = Goodbye

Mistake 4

You may pronounce Salut like the English word “salute.”

Model it as:

sa-lü

Mistake 5

You may use Salut with everyone.

Remember:

Bonjour is the safer polite/general greeting.

Salut is informal.

28. Board plan

Keep the board visually simple.

UNIT 1 – BONJOUR !

1. GREET

Bonjour ! = Hello
Salut ! = Hi
Bonsoir ! = Good evening

2. INTRODUCE

Comment tu t'appelles ?
= What is your name?

Je m'appelle...
= My name is...

3. ASK HOW SOMEONE IS

Ça va ?
= How are you?

Ça va bien.
= I'm doing well.

4. SAY GOODBYE

Au revoir !
= Goodbye!

À bientôt !
= See you soon!

29. Learning check

At the end of the lesson, complete this conversation:

A: ______________________________ !

B: Bonjour !

A: Comment tu t’appelles ?

B: ______________________________________________.

A: Ça va ?

B: ______________________________________________.

A: Au revoir !

B: ______________________________________________.

Expected answers:

Bonjour !

Je m’appelle __________________.

Ça va bien.

Au revoir !

30. Homework

My First French Introduction

Write:

Bonjour !

Je m’appelle __________________.

Ça va bien.

Au revoir !

Optional challenge

Add:

Enchanté(e) !

31. Success criteria

Today I can…

I can…
Say hello in French.	☐
Say goodbye in French.	☐
Ask someone’s name.	☐
Say my name.	☐
Ask how someone is.	☐
Say that I am doing well.	☐
Use Bonjour and Salut appropriately.	☐

32. Closing

“Excellent work today, everyone!”

“Today you learned your first French conversation.”

“You can now greet someone, ask their name, introduce yourself, ask how they are and say goodbye.”

“You don’t need to know everything today. Learning a language happens step by step.”

“Before we finish, everyone type one sentence in the chat.”

Bonjour ! Je m’appelle __________________.

“Très bien ! Excellent travail !”

Au revoir et à bientôt ! 🇫🇷

Lesson 1 Takeaway

You should leave Lesson 1 confidently knowing this core exchange:

Bonjour !

Comment tu t’appelles ?

Je m’appelle __________________.

Ça va ?

Ça va bien, merci !

Au revoir !

This provides the foundation for Lesson 2, where you will move from simply saying your name to using subject pronouns + the verb être to describe yourself.