Welcome to the twenty third edition of i-c@fé français. This edition covers a variety of topics to interest all students.

The magazine has primarily been designed as a fun, but educational, way to encourage students to read French. The topics, written with teenagers in mind, the underlying support, and instant results and feedback make it easy for students to use i-c@fé français at home, as well as in school, extending their exposure to French. The underlying support has been designed so that students can print it out and keep it as a record.

In order to help you get the most out of i-c@fé français, we have listed all of the articles that appear in this edition, and added a short description of each one. Beneath this are just some of the ways in which articles could be used.

Certain articles are more suitable for certain age groups. We have coloured coded each one, green for the easiest articles, blue for intermediate articles and red for the most difficult articles. For example, some of shorter articles on the Ici et là page are suitable for lower levels, while the A la une article is more suited to higher ability classes or students. The articles on the Sur la piste page are also differentiated – the first one being the easier of the two.

A la une
Alerte dans les aéroports: A look at the increased security in airports following the foiled terrorist attacks. This article comprises the text, an underlying glossary and 2 interactive activities: drag and drop with immediate feedback and a template for students to fill in and send to us.

Ici et là
Sport: A look at the football player, Michel Essien. This comprises an underlying glossary and a multiple-choice quiz with immediate feedback. Used with the underlying support, this article is ideal for less-able students, who could read the article with the help of the glossary and then complete the quiz. KS4 students could be encouraged to read the article, either in class or at home, and complete the quiz without using the glossary.

Vulcania: An article on this popular theme park. This has an associated matching quiz and underlying glossary.

Grille: This wordsearch provides students with a fun way to revise vocabulary.

Raymond Blanc: The famous French chef who is now cooking for Arsenal, an activity with a more grammar-orientated hotspot quiz. This also has immediate feedback and an underlying glossary.

Sur la piste
Spécial politesse: c’est quoi, la politesse?: A look at what ‘being polite’ means to young people and how important it is. This has an underlying reading strategy and a drag-and-drop quiz. This article is ideal to use in class alongside the course book.

Spécial politesse:formules de politesse: A guide to using polite language – how to make sure that you are being polite when speaking French. This has an underlying reading strategy and a multiple-choice quiz. This article is ideal to use in class alongside the course book.

En direct
Un manuel d’histoire scolaire franco-allemand: One history course book, two publishers – one French and one German. This comprises a jumbled sentence quiz and crossword, both with immediate feedback. There is also an underlying reading strategy, which makes the article accessible to KS3 students.

Bureau de change
La rentrée: This is a template for students to fill in and send to us, with the chance of seeing their work published in the next edition.

Flash game: This is a language game, with feedback, for students to try.

Ways to use the magazine
Individually
Encourage students to read articles that interest them and to complete the associated activities at home. Ask them to report back, describing the article to the rest of the class, perhaps even completing the activity on a screen in front of the class.

In class
i-c@fé français can be used in class, alongside the course book (especially the Sur la piste articles), or to revise or reinforce vocabulary or topics that have already been covered in class:

Shared modelling of reading
Read through the article as a class and then analyse the text, using the underlying support and the activities as points of discussion.

Competitions
Read through an article as a class, or in groups and then have a competition. Split the class into 2 teams. The teams take it in turns to answer a question/drag a word into a space. The team that gets the most answers correct wins.

Similarly, teams could complete an activity against the clock. The team that can complete the paragraph correctly in the shortest amount of time wins.

Get the class to read the articles in small groups and then work as a whole class. Ask each group in turn to answer one of the quiz questions.

We welcome any comments you may have about i-c@fé. If you have any feedback, or ideas, about i-c@fé, please send an e-mail to .