En ville - In town

Talking about the town where you live.

Study the list of places in town.
Practise words and phrases for places in town by completing these exercises.
To practise the names of shops try Les magasins en ville.
You might want to say how far you live from different places, here's a fun online exercise to help you practise talking about distances "C'est loin?" "Is it far?"
For a more advanced listening exercise you can watch this video clip and read the transcript of a description of a town and region.

J'aime / Je n'aime pas

Talking about what you like and don't like.

You can say that you like something (a noun) or you can say that you like to do something (a verb) - here are some examples.
As an introductory activity you could watch this video clip from the BBC website Talkfrench.
Now for some practice! Try saying which vegetables you like or dislike - Les légumes.
Then try the online exercises to practise saying which animals you like or dislike.
You have just practised talking about some of the things that you like (nouns).
If you want to talk about some of the activities you like to do (verbs) then here is an explanation from GCSE.com.
For easy listening practice you could try these games.
For more advanced listening practice you could try this video clip about TV, sports and Music.
The teacher asks Luc what he likes to do in his free time.

What does Luc like and dislike doing?

L'alphabet - the Alphabet

You may need to spell your name, your address or the name of the place you are staying or want to travel to in France. Some letters sound similar in French and English like F, L, M, N, S, Z. However, some are very different! You can listen to the sounds of the French alphabet simply by scrolling over each letter. Try it now, start by practising your first name and surname. Then move on to practise spelling your town.
For a listening exercise you could try this French language learning website.

Ma maison - My house

Où habites-tu? Where do you live? Comment est ta maison? What's your house like?
Start by describing where you live. You might want to describe the geographic features of the area. Study the phrases and adjectives to build up a description of where you live.
Then study the phrases to describe your house.
For further study you could watch a video and follow a conversation all about My house and home.
Practise what you've learnt using this exercise to test your understanding.
Finally for fun you could try these games and activities which include sound files.

Aider à la maison - Talking about household chores

Qu'est-ce que tu fais pour aider à la maison?
What do you do to help at home?

Study the list of household chores and also learn how to say how often you do the jobs around the house.
It's useful to revise the verb "faire".
Then test yourself using this online exercise.
For further practice you could study the conversation and watch the video clip all about helping around the home.

Les pays et nationalités - Countries and nationalities

Où habites-tu? Tu es de quelle nationalité?
Where do you live? What nationality are you?

Study the list of countries and nationalities.
Try to learn which countries are masculine and which are feminine.
Practise what you've learnt with these exercises about countries and nationalities.
Remember in French when you talk about your own or someone else's nationality you use a lower case letter not a capital letter. "Il est français", "He is French".

Ma chambre - Describing your room

Comment est ta chambre?
What is your room like?

A great starting point is to learn about the different furniture and items in your room. You will also need some prepositions which will help you to talk about the position of things in your room.
You could try these exercises to practise what you've studied.
If you want to describe the items in your room then you might need to know more about adjectives.
Finally here are some fun activities and games, including sound files, which should really help to fix the phrases in your mind.

Video link for listening practice

If you want to improve your understanding, listening skills and pronunciation then here's a great website from Ashcombe School French department. The videos cover many topics and are great practice for students at different levels.

Language learning blog!

This is the first day of a new lease of life for French4u.com - Language learning blog.
I will share my ideas and experiences from the chalkface (well, online classroom).
I'll include website reviews and language learning tips as well as building up French language learning resources on the site.
Each post will include a question which is relevant for language learners. Study the suggested websites and see whether you can answer the question.