Speaking Practice - Role Play: Everyday Transactional Scenarios
Handle a café, shop or station in French. Learn the polite phrases, the tu/vous rule and the question words you need to ace the speaking role play.
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A free interactive activity you can put in front of a class in a few minutes.
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The role-play task
In the Speaking exam you act out a short role play: an everyday situation such as ordering in a café, buying something in a shop, or asking at a station. Pearson Edexcel sets this as Task 2: five short prompts, two marks each, drawn from a closed list of everyday settings. This module practises transferable language for that task.
Tu and vous
French has two words for "you", and choosing the right one changes the tone of your answer.
Tu or vous?
You are in a shop, speaking to a shopkeeper you do not know. Should you use tu or vous?
- vous (formal, for someone you do not know)
- tu (informal, for friends and family)
- It never matters which you use
- nous (we)
Polite phrases
These short chunks help you sound polite without building a long sentence from scratch.
Match each French phrase to its meaning
- je voudrais
- s'il vous plaît
- l'addition
- merci
- I would like
- please
- the bill
- thank you
Question words
In the role play, at least one prompt can ask you to ask a question. Pick the question word that matches the need.
Match each question word to its meaning
- combien
- où
- quand
- à quelle heure
- how much / how many
- where
- when
- at what time
Spot useful question lines
Tap the TWO lines that would help in a café, shop or station role play.
- C'est combien ?
- À quelle heure part le train ?
- Où est le chat ?
- Vous êtes une table.
Order in a café
You are ordering in a French café. Choose the best thing to say at each step.
- To order a coffee politely, you say...
- To ask how much it costs, you ask...
- To ask for the bill, you say...
Useful role-play phrases
Select the THREE phrases that would be useful in a transactional role play.
- Je voudrais... (I would like)
- Avez-vous...? (Do you have?)
- Où est...? (Where is?)
- Le chien est bleu (The dog is blue)
- Vous êtes une table (You are a table)
- Bonjour combien pizza chat
At the station
Station language is useful because role-play settings include the train station. Keep it direct and polite.
Buy a ticket
Which phrase asks for a train ticket?
- Un billet, s'il vous plaît
- Un café, s'il vous plaît
- L'addition, s'il vous plaît
- Merci beaucoup
Complete the role play
To order politely: Je _____ un café, s'il vous plaît. To ask the price: C'est _____? To ask for the bill: _____, s'il vous plaît. To say thanks: _____.
Prepare a role-play answer
Write two short French lines you could say to an adult in a café, shop or station role play.
- Use vous-level politeness, not tu-level informality.
- Include one request such as je voudrais, un billet, or l'addition.
- Include one question word such as combien, où, quand, or à quelle heure.
- Keep accents where you know them, for example s'il vous plaît, café, où, or à.