France has talent – a fun show to watch in class

Sometimes you don’t feel like doing much, but you still want the kids to get some CI.  Sometimes you know that half the class will be gone on a field trip or whatever…and you just want something to fill the time period, but you don’t want to just waste the day.  This is the perfect time for one of France’s popular TV shows – la France a un Incroyable Talent!

You know the drill.  Four judges, a large number of people with questionable talent, and a variety of acts.  My students love to watch the show.  You should always preview it before sharing with students – I’ve seen a little bit of risqué talent in the past – but for the most part, it’s a mixture of magic, music, dancing, etc.  France has talent has a slightly wider variety of acts than what you usually see on the US version.

How I use France Has Talent in my classes

I usually offer them extra credit if they fill out the form with the names of the acts, the type of act, the opinion of the judges and their opinion.  If you want to really get into the topic, the students can have a class discussion about who got buzzed, who should have been buzzed, and who should win. Here’s a free chart to use when watching France has Talent. 

France has talent is now on season 16 and there have been many interesting groups and performers. What I like about the show is that there is such a wide variety of things to see. Of course there is a lot of singing and dancing, but every once in a while there will be a nice surprise.

Not all of the performers are French – they can come from all over the world, which means that sometimes their French language skills aren’t all that great. One of the acts that I like to share with my students is the Bagad de Vannes – a musical group from Brittany. We talk about some of the cultural things in Brittany including the musical instruments and then they enjoy the show.