Grade 9French

Se Déplacer

Means of transport; giving and following directions; travel vocabulary.

📖 5 min read · 3 worked examples · 7 practice questions

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The lesson

Today we're starting our new theme Se Déplacer – getting around. By the end of this lesson you'll be able to identify common transport vocabulary, describe routes, and ask or follow directions in French. First, notice the bullet points outlining our focus. We'll look at words for bus, boda‑boda, matatu, and other ways people move around Nairobi. Then we'll practice phrases like « Comment aller à… » (how to get to…) and « Tournez à droite » (turn right). Can anyone think of a transport method they use every day? Share the French word you know, or just the English term and we'll add it together. Great ideas! We'll keep those connections to Kenyan daily life in mind as we explore the vocabulary and practice giving directions.

We'll start with the basic vocabulary: le bus, le taxi, la moto, le train, and l'avion. Can anyone give me the English equivalent of each word? Feel free to shout them out. Let's connect that to what we see around us in Kenya. A matatu is like le bus, a boda‑boda works as la moto or le taxi, and the intercity train between Mombasa and Nairobi matches le train. Notice how the French terms describe the same mode of travel—we just use different words. Finally, this table shows a quick French‑English mapping with a picture description for each. At the first row: le bus – bus – a large yellow vehicle you might see on a busy Nairobi road. Take a moment to study the table, then we'll do a short matching activity together.

Everyone, let's dive into giving and following directions in French. We'll learn the key phrases and see how they fit into everyday situations here in Kenya. First, these core phrases: Tournez à droite (turn right), Tournez à gauche (turn left), continuez tout droit (go straight), près de (near), and en face de (opposite). Practice saying them aloud—you'll hear them a lot when asking for directions. At this chart. It shows a typical direction dialogue: a person asks for directions, the guide gives a series of steps using the phrases we just covered, and the traveler repeats back to confirm. Notice how each step builds on the previous one. Let's apply the phrases to Kenyan landmarks. For example: Le marché est près de la police (The market is near the police station), L'hôpital est en face du parc (The hospital is opposite the park). Try forming your own sentences with places you know. To recap, we covered the essential direction verbs and prepositions, saw how they flow in a conversation, and practiced with familiar Kenyan locations. Great job, everyone—keep practicing these phrases in real conversations!

Everyone, we've come to the end of today's lesson. This slide titled Summary & Homework will help us wrap up what we've learned about travel vocabulary in French. First, let's review the key words we practiced: la voiture, le bus, le métro, and directional phrases like à gauche, tout droit, and en face. Make sure you can match each word to its meaning. For your homework: please write a short paragraph of five sentences describing your daily commute in French, using the vocabulary we just reviewed. Try to record yourself speaking those sentences aloud—listening to your own voice will help you notice pronunciation and fluency. If you have any questions while working on the assignment, feel free to send me a message. Good luck, and I look forward to hearing your French commutes!

Worked examples

– Describing a Ride

Class, let's walk through our first worked example: Worked Example 1 – Describing a Ride. We'll describe a typical journey from home to school using French. First step: Je prends le matatu à la gare routière – I take the matatu at the bus station. Notice the verb prends (take) and the location à la gare routière (at the bus station). Second step: Je descends à l'arrêt « Kenyatta » – I get off at the "Kenyatta" stop. The preposition à indicates the specific stop, and descends means 'to get off'. Any questions about this phrase? Final step: Je marche jusqu'à l'école – I walk all the way to school. Here marche is the verb 'to walk' and jusqu'à means 'up to/until'. Put these three sentences together and you have a complete, natural description of the ride. Remember the sequence: take the matatu, get off at the right stop, then walk to school. We'll practice by swapping locations in our next activity.

– Asking for Directions

Our worked example titled Worked Example 2 – Asking for Directions. We'll practice a short conversation you might have on the street. First, notice the opening question: Excusez‑moi, comment aller à la bibliothèque ? (Excuse me, how do I get to the library?). This is a polite way to ask for directions. Next, the response gives the route: Vous devez tourner à gauche puis prendre le deuxième à droite. (You need to turn left then take the second right). Pay attention to the sequence words tourner à gauche and prendre le deuxième à droite. Finally, the polite closing: Merci beaucoup ! (Thank you very much!). Always end with gratitude. Let's pause—can anyone repeat the full dialogue in French, then translate it into English? I'll give you a moment. Remember the structure: greeting, question, directions, thank you. Practice this with a partner later.

– Responding to Directions

Class, let's look at our worked example titled Worked Example 3 – Responding to Directions. We'll see how to confirm that we understand directions in French and how to thank someone for their help. First, listen to the sentence: « Donc, je tourne à gauche, puis je prends la deuxième rue à droite ? ». This is a way of repeating the directions you heard to make sure they're correct. You can respond with « Oui, c'est exact. » – that means "Yes, that's correct." It shows you have understood perfectly. Finally, to be polite, you add « Je vous remercie pour votre aide. » – "Thank you for your help." This closes the exchange nicely. The full interaction is: repeat the directions, confirm with "Oui, c'est exact," and end with gratitude.

Practice questions

Take a moment to read each question carefully. For the multiple‑choice items, pick the option that matches the French vocabulary we practiced.
If you get stuck, think back to the visual we highlighted on the whiteboard: the list of transport locations—**la station**, **l'arrêt**, and the others. Those are the places where you can catch a bus or a taxi.
Once you've finished, we'll review the answers together and clear up any misunderstandings. Good luck, and remember: learning a new language is all about practice!
First, remember the sequence **"tournez à droite"**, **"tournez à gauche"**, and **"continuez tout droit"**. For the shortest way from **l'école** to the **marché**, the correct answer is the option that uses the fewest turns while staying on the main streets we mapped earlier.
Let's spot the wrong preposition. French prepositions must match the verb and the destination.
For the short‑answer task, think of three useful phrases: **"Tournez à droite"**, **"Prenez la première à gauche"**, and **"Continuez tout droit jusqu'au feu"**. Use them to guide someone from **la gare** to **la bibliothèque**.
Finally, the missing phrase in "Je viens ___ maison de mon ami" is **"à la"** because we use **"venir à"** when we go to a place. Option C is the correct choice.

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Se Déplacer

📖 The lesson

✏️ Worked examples