School Courses

Les Cours

French and American students take many of the same courses. French students take courses in the native language, in foreign languages, in the sciences, in the social sciences, and in the arts. Physical education is also taken by French students. While there are many similarities in the courses offered at a French high school and an American high school, courses like band, drama, and a number of other electives are never or rarely offered in the French lycée. Instead, students in France may take philosphy and geography as standard courses, which is rare in the United States. In this interactivity, you will learn the French pronunciation of a few common courses. Click the player to begin.

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In the interactivity, you learned that the French translation of physical education is la gymnastique. Just like in English, you can use some words in French in multiple ways. Another way to say physical education is éducation physique et sportive, or EPS, for short.

La description des cours

Everyone has their favorite courses in school. You may love history class, but think science is boring. You may find that algebra is difficult and physical education is fun. The students in French high schools use certain adjectives to describe the courses in which they are enrolled. You already know that adjectives agree in gender and number with the person or thing that they describe. The phrases in the table below can be used to describe things, as well as the courses you are learning about in this topic. Familiarize yourself with these phrases and practice your pronunciation by repeating each phrase aloud after the speaker. Click each phrase to hear the pronunciation. Some phrases include both the masculine (m) and feminine (f) gender.

French	English
C’est intéressant	It’s interesting
C'est ennuyant	It’s boring
C’est difficile	It’s difficult
C’est amusant	It’s fun
C’est facile	It’s easy
C’est préféré	It’s my favorite
C’est utile	It’s practical

Système Scolaire Français

Schools in France do not follow the same structure as the United States. Students in French schools begin with L’école primaire until the age of eleven. Then, students attend Le collège, or middle school, until the age of sixteen. After Le collège, students can enroll in two different types of high school: one that will further their studies in educational courses or one that will help them acquire a trade skill. In this interactivity, learn about the French school system. Click the player to begin.

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School Courses Review

Now that you have studied the school courses and some adjectives used to describe them, practice what you have learned. In this non-graded interactivity, drag the words from the Word Bank and drop them in the blank space provided. Click the player to get started.