At the beginning of the semester, students are introduced to the French phonetic alphabet using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Once they are familiar with the IPA, they practice transcribing a list of numbers in various contexts: in isolation, before a vowel-initial noun, and before a consonant-initial word. We review the transcriptions in class to ensure students understand the correct pronunciation of the numbers before moving on to dictation or other activities involving numbers.

Students are provided with a list of French and English idiomatic expressions involving numbers and are tasked with translating or explaining the phrases, using native speaker friends, dictionaries or online resources as needed. This activity is designed to promote both cultural competence and lexical awareness, as students engage with idiomatic language that may not always have a direct translation. In class, we facilitate a guided discussion of the expressions, focusing on their usage in different contexts, the variability in how frequently certain expressions are used, and the distinction between phrases that can be translated literally and those that cannot. Once students have a clear understanding of the meanings of the expressions, I typically assign a collaborative task in which students work in pairs to select 10 expressions they wish to incorporate into their linguistic repertoire. They then create a role-play activity by writing a dialogue that includes the chosen expressions, allowing them to demonstrate pragmatic competence. Once the students have written their dialogues and I have provided feedback, they record their conversations for peer review. Their classmates then listen to the recordings and identify the idiomatic expressions that have been incorporated. This activity promotes peer learning and active listening skills, while also reinforcing the correct use of the expressions in context.