7 of my favorite songs for Intermediate French students (plus free resources!)

Intermediate language learners are ready to negotiate more complicated vocabulary and structures. Pop songs are a high-interest vehicle to introduce them.

Readers of this blog know how passionate I am about incorporating it in my classes! Pop Music is such an effective entry point into so many language skills, with ties to listening, vocabulary, culture, reading, grammar, and vigorous discussion!

“Some kids spend hours outside of class poring over French music! This “extramural language learning” is highly correlated with future language proficiency.”

Read my past blog posts Music to My Ears Part 1 and Part 2 and Using Talent Search Shows to Improve Language Proficiency to learn about the benefits of incorporating music into instruction, and practical ideas for planning music-related lessons. 6 of my favorite songs for Novice French Students includes free resources I’ve developed for my French classes. Now let’s turn our attention to intermediate learners with 7 my favorite songs for intermediate French.

Chanson numéro 1: On Ira par Zaz

Zaz is so cheerful and fun, and I find her voice really unique and memorable! This song has super-fast lyrics that are challenging but manageable for more proficient students. The irregular future tense, concrete vocabulary, and unique video all lend themselves to use within your curriculum, possibly with this cloze activity. 

Chanson numéro 2: Clown par Soprano:

This song has exceptional vocabulary for Intermediate French, especially related to personal routines and deeper emotion (larmes / colère / faire semblant / maquillage / depuis ) and good examples of asking questions with inversion (est-il / suis-je / va-t-il). The ‘sad clown’ motif resonates with teen listeners.

Chanson numéo 3: Aux Champs Elysées par Joe Dassin

This upbeat song from the 60’s has become a classic, and is probably the signature song of the beloved folk singer, Joe Dassin. I like highlighting the weather and time of day vocabulary in the chorus.

As an extension, check out the updated versions from Zaz and from “The Voice - kids” blind audition! Have your students compare the three versions for practicing vocabulary for detail and nuance. Watching “The Voice - France” audience react to this classic is a bonus!

Chanson numéro 4: Libérée Délivrée de La Reine des Neiges:

Ok, this isn’t technically a target culture song - it’s from the Disney movie, Frozen. I do think Disney does an excellent job translating their music, and I love using this song during my unit on ‘nature’ since it includes so much relevant vocabulary (and because it gets a strong reaction from the kids!). I pass out the written lyrics before I play any music, and I ask students to a) understand as much as possible and b) figure out what the American version of this song is. This is a challenge, and typically takes students some time. The lyrics are quite different from the English “Let it Go”, which is a great illustration of dynamic equivalent vs. literal translations. My students at this level have enough knowledge under their belt to really delve into the lyrics, and the Disney fanatics in the class leave happy. Click here to copy a cloze activity to accompany “Libérée Délivrée

Chanson numéro 5: La Chanson des Haters par Satine Walle

Satine Walle is a teenage YouTuber who writes silly songs. I use this one in my level 4 unit on Social Media; the song lyrics are composed from negative comments posted on her videos. It’s funny, clever, and includes lots of the slang (and ** warning ** a couple of bad words!) that students are always asking for. I had to look up a few of those slang words myself! Here’s a link to the exercise I give students with this song - feel free to make a copy for your own use.  

Chanson numéro 6: Mon Coeur Avait Raison par Gims

This song has a hauntingly beautiful melody and an evocative message. It’s good practice for passé composé as it includes multiple irregular participles and examples of negation. It’s better for intermediate students, as there’s (unfortunately) no video.

Chanson numéro 7: Grace Kelly par Mika

Mika mainly sings in English, but wow, I wish he would do more French! “Grace Kelly” is super-fast, and there’s no French video (the link below is a live performance) but the lyrics are very clever. The kids may be familiar with the English version, as it was a popular TikTok background song. Your upper level kids will enjoy decoding the French lyrics, and it’s an interesting linguistic observation when Mika briefly switches into English.  

Those are my top 7 songs for Intermediate students: I hope your students will enjoy them! Of course, it’s important to stay current, and this takes time and effort. Your students can help; I have a standing extra credit offer for any student who brings me a French song that I like enough to use in class. Some kids are motivated enough by this prospect to spend hours outside of class poring over French music! I do everything I can to encourage students to explore their interests in French outside of class. This practice, known as “extramural language learning” is highly correlated with future language proficiency, and you can read more about it in my blog post, Music to my Ears Part 1.

Additionally, here are three French music libraries, curated by fellow French teachers, to help you vet and incorporate a variety of music for your students.

Music Libaray 1: Le Cours de Francais online library of music-based grammar lessons (free resource)

My colleague, Brittany Probst, has compiled this impressive collection of grammar resources; most are connected to a French song which illustrates the grammatical structure in question. The songs are vetted for high school students, and Brittany’s accompanying resources make a great introduction, review, or sub plan!

Music Library 2: Manie Musicale (free resource)

French teachers Stephanie Carbonneau and Michelle Fournier started the Manie Musicale website in 2017 to mirror March Madness. Each March, these teachers post 16 contemporary French songs; students can vote for their favorite in an elimination-bracket-style tournament. It’s fun for students, but Manie Musicale is also helpful in keeping me current with school-appropriate artists. 

Music Library 3: Music Mercredi  (paid resource)

My colleague Jeanette Price has a huge collection of no-prep French music resources on her Teacher’s Pay Teachers store, including listening comprehension, interpretive reading, and culture resources. Check it out at Jeanette’s English & French Curriculum Store

What’s your favorite French song to use with students? Do you have a resource to share? Let us know in the comments!