The Mistakes Every French Speaker Makes
Grammar: Common errors: articles, tense confusion, false friends, prepositions, verb patterns
A Level 3 English lesson exploring education.
What's in this lesson
A Level 3 (intermediate) ESL lesson on education, practising common errors: articles, tense confusion, false friends, prepositions, verb patterns. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary and discussion questions.
From the reading: The Mistakes Every French Speaker Makes
Léa Rousseau arrived in London at twenty-two with a degree in economics and excellent French. Her English was good — until she opened her mouth. On her first day at work, she told her manager: "I am in England since three months." Her manager smiled politely. Léa had made the most common mistake that French speakers make in English: she used the present simple instead of the present perfect. In French, you say Je suis en Angleterre depuis trois mois — and the verb is present. In English, the action connects the past to now, so you need: I have been in England for three months.
Vocabulary
- at the end of the day
- for the time being
- in fact
- in other words
- add in
- figure out
- memorized
- sort out
- work out
Discussion questions
- Have you ever said something in English that felt correct but sounded wrong?
- Do you think your first language helps or hurts your English?
- What is the most embarrassing mistake you have ever made in a foreign language?
The Mistakes Every French Speaker Makes
Grammar: Common errors: articles, tense confusion, false friends, prepositions, verb patterns
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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