The French news site www.metronews.fr is asking readers to vote for the best cover version of Adele's new single 'Hello'.  With a summary of each singer and a version of the song in French by Sara'h, here are some teaching ideas for year 12 students studying the topic of music. Thanks to @mfelstead13Mark and @OULanguages for mentioning the French cover version on Twitter.

Teaching ideas

Before the lesson, paste the five short paragraphs from the article which describe the five cover versions into Word and cut them up. These are the paragraphs with the following headings:

• La plus vue: 'Hello' par Leroy Sanchez
• La version douce: 'Hello' par Alice Olivia
• La version la plus originale: 'Hello' par Sara'h
• La version dédoublée: 'Hello' par Twin Melody
• La version rock: 'Hello' par Jonathan Young

Show the class the start of the article, reading through only the two short paragraphs above and below the image of Adele to introduce the topic.

Give each pair of students a set of the five descriptions of the singers and ask them to read through and underline the key words which identify the style of the cover version (e.g. mélancolique, acoustique, énergique etc.).

Without showing them the video clips, explain that you will play the first 10-20 seconds of each cover version for them to match to the five singers, according to what they've read about them.

Students can then discuss in French the version they prefer and why before voting using the buttons at the bottom of the article.

Extension ideas:

• Ask students to translate one of the paragraphs each to share with the class.
• Use the French version of the song by Sara'h for a gapped listening activity.
• Ask students to sing and record their own cover of the French version!