Unit 9 recap
Four lessons to express your opinion:
- 😊 Lesson 33 · C'est quoi le bonheur ? → surveys + conditional + si + imparfait.
- 🗳️ Lesson 34 · À voté ! → elections + indefinites (tout, certains, quelques, plusieurs).
- 📊 Lesson 35 · Votre avis nous intéresse → online survey + indicative vs subjunctive.
- ⚖️ Lesson 36 · Une question de valeurs → FOR/AGAINST debate + concession (bien que, malgré, cependant).
In this review, you'll put it all into practice in 3 situations close to DELF A2. At the end, you'll be ready for the final assessment!
Survey · What is happiness? 🎙️
A polling institute surveyed 1,000 French people: « Qu'est-ce qui vous rend heureux dans la vie ? » ("What makes you happy in life?"). Here's the top-3 podium of the most frequent answers:
💡 For English speakers: these answers are consistent with similar surveys done in the UK, US and Australia (e.g. the World Happiness Report) — family typically tops the list everywhere. What differs in France is the way people talk about happiness — more philosophical, less "self-help".
Now listen to a vox-pop interview with 4 French people in the street. A journalist asks them the same question.
⚠️ You can listen twice.
Take notes 📝
For each person, write down what makes them happy and why.
| Person | What makes them happy | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| Élodie · 28 · architect | ||
| Marc · 45 · teacher | ||
| Aïcha · 19 · student | ||
| Henri · 71 · retired |
📰 Write the news article (120-180 words)
From the podium figures + the 4 testimonies, write a magazine article. Give it a title, a standfirst, and synthesise the results. Use at least 2 indefinites (la plupart, certains, quelques, plusieurs, tous…) and at least 1 subjunctive.
Citizens' debate · Drones in the city? 🛸
The city of Lyon is looking into a drone-delivery project for parcels and takeaway food. A public meeting has been called. Read the project brochure, then prepare your role.
💡 For English speakers: French municipal "réunions publiques" are real consultation events where residents (citoyens) speak in turn — closer to a UK town-hall meeting or a US public hearing than an online comment thread. Tone is formal but passionate.
🛸 PROJET LYON-DRONE 2027
Smart, clean, fast aerial delivery.
From January 2027, self-piloting drones will be able to deliver your Amazon parcels, your pizzas or your medicines in under 20 minutes. The drones will fly between buildings at 40 m altitude, guided by GPS. 100% electric, they don't pollute the air. The project will create 800 jobs (technicians, dispatchers, monitors). Cost: 35 million euros, funded by the metropolitan council and the company DroneZap.
Choose your role, prepare 3 arguments, then act out the scene with a partner.
✓ FOR the project
- 🌍 An environmentalist: zero pollution, fewer trucks
- 🍕 A restaurant owner: time saved, lower costs
- ♿ A person with reduced mobility: easier access to medicines
- 💼 The deputy mayor: 800 jobs for the city
💡 Use il faut que, je pense que, bien que + subj ("Bien qu'il y ait des risques, le bilan environnemental est positif…")
✗ AGAINST the project
- 🔊 A city-centre resident: noise, privacy concerns
- 🐦 An ornithologist: danger for birds
- 🚴 A cyclist: fear of accidents
- 📦 A bicycle courier: job loss
💡 Use je ne pense pas que + subj, malgré + noun, au contraire ("Malgré les promesses, je ne crois pas que ce projet soit bon…")
🎤 Prepare your speech (100-150 words)
Pick your role above and write your speech for the public meeting. State your position, give 3 arguments, and use at least 2 connectors (mais, par contre, cependant, bien que + subj, malgré + noun).
Letter to the editor ✍️
On the Aujourd'hui Madame blog, a reader has published a controversial op-ed titled « Pourquoi je ne vote plus » ("Why I no longer vote"). Read it, then post your reply in the comments — for or against.
🇫🇷 Cultural note: voting in France is not compulsory (unlike Australia). Abstention rates have been rising for decades, and op-eds defending non-voting are common. The argument used by "Mickeytonic" — that withholding a vote is itself a political act — is a recognisable position in French public debate.
Pourquoi je ne vote plus 🗳️❌
« Aux dernières élections, je n'ai pas voté. Et depuis 2008, je n'ai plus mis les pieds dans un bureau de vote. Tous les hommes politiques sont nuls ! Et aux élections, ça change quoi ? Rien ! Ils nous promettent 50 ans en France et nos vrais problèmes — la santé, le logement, le chômage des jeunes — ne sont jamais résolus. »
« Alors moi, je préfère ne plus voter. Au moins, je ne donne pas mon accord à ce système. Bien sûr, certains me disent : "Mais c'est ton droit, c'est un devoir civique !" Eh bien, justement, c'est mon droit — et donc je l'utilise pour dire non. »
─── Mickeytonic, loyal reader of Aujourd'hui Madame
💬 Write your comment (120-180 words)
Quick self-test
Tick everything you can do after Unit 9:
✅ 8/10 or more? You're ready for the big Assessment 3 · final DELF A2 mock! 🏆
🔁 Less? Revisit the lessons where you're unsure (33-36).
You've finished all 16 A2 lessons!
Next and final step: Assessment 3 · final DELF A2 mock.
A full simulation worth 100 points (Listening + Reading + Speaking + Writing). You've got this! 🇫🇷