Technology in Everyday Life: Mobile Devices and Digital Habits
Vocabulary for mobile devices and digital habits, part of the Technology in Everyday Life theme, covers nouns such as un portable (a mobile phone, or a laptop when it is un ordinateur portable), un écran (a screen), une application (an app) and la batterie (the battery); verbs including envoyer un SMS/un texto (to send a text), éteindre/allumer (to switch off/on) and se recharger (to charge up); and the idiom être accro à (to be addicted to). Examiners test whether candidates can describe screen-time habits accurately and use the near-miss vocabulary (portable, ignorer) correctly in context.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the near-miss un portable: shortened from either un ordinateur portable (a laptop) or un téléphone portable (a mobile phone) - always check the surrounding context to know which device is meant.
- Learn the core device nouns with gender: un écran (masculine), une application/une appli (feminine, informal short form), une notification (feminine), la batterie (feminine).
- Learn the key verbs: envoyer un SMS/un texto, télécharger une appli, éteindre son portable, allumer son portable, recharger la batterie.
- Learn the false friend ignorer: it means to not know or to be unaware of something, not to ignore something on purpose (which is ne pas faire attention à) - j'ignorais qu'il m'avait envoyé un message means 'I did not know he had sent me a message', not 'I ignored' it.
- Learn the idiom être accro à (informal, to be addicted to) plus a noun, a phrase GCSE writing tasks frequently expect for describing overuse of a phone: je suis accro à mon portable.
- Practise building a habit-plus-consequence sentence, e.g. je passe trop de temps sur mon portable, ce qui m'empêche de me concentrer sur mes devoirs.
- When reading or listening, listen for time expressions attached to screen use (toutes les cinq minutes, avant de me coucher, dès que je me réveille) - these carry the detail an exam question usually asks for.
Worked example
Correct the two vocabulary errors in this draft and add a consequence clause: 'J'ignore toujours mon portable pour regarder des vidéos avant de me coucher.'
- Check ignore: the sentence means the writer deliberately uses their phone, not that they are unaware of it, so ignorer is the wrong verb here - replace it with utilise.
- Check portable: without more context this could mean phone or laptop; since the sentence is about watching vidéos in bed, it is clearly the mobile phone, so add téléphone for clarity: mon téléphone portable.
- Add a consequence clause using ce qui plus a verb: ce qui m'empêche de dormir suffisamment.
- Write the corrected sentence with the consequence added: 'J'utilise toujours mon téléphone portable pour regarder des vidéos avant de me coucher, ce qui m'empêche de dormir suffisamment.'
Practice questions
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Q1What does un portable mean, and why can it be ambiguous?Show answer
Answer: It means either a mobile phone (téléphone portable) or a laptop (ordinateur portable), so context is needed to know which.
Q2Translate into English: 'J'ignorais que la batterie était presque vide.'Show answer
Answer: I did not know that the battery was almost empty.
Q3Give the French for 'to send a text message.'Show answer
Answer: envoyer un SMS/un texto
Q4Translate into French: 'I am addicted to my phone.'Show answer
Answer: Je suis accro à mon portable.
Q5Give one French verb pair meaning 'to switch off/switch on.'Show answer
Answer: éteindre/allumer
Q6What is the gender of application and notification?Show answer
Answer: Both feminine - une application, une notification.
Q7Correct the error: 'J'ignore mon frère quand il me parle, parce que je ne sais pas qu'il est la.' (intended: I don't notice him because I don't know he's there)Show answer
Answer: This is already correct for the intended sense (ignorer = to not know), so no change is needed; the error would only occur if ignorer were used to mean deliberately disregarding him.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Lisez ce texte, puis répondez aux questions en anglais. 'Le matin, dès que je me réveille, je regarde mon portable pour vérifier mes notifications. Mes parents disent que je suis accro à mon téléphone, et je pense qu'ils ont raison! Le soir, j'essaie d'éteindre mon portable une heure avant de me coucher, mais j'ignorais que ça pouvait vraiment améliorer mon sommeil jusqu'à ce que je le lise dans un article.' (a) What does the writer do as soon as they wake up? (1 mark) (b) What do the writer's parents say about them, and does the writer agree? (2 marks) (c) What does the writer try to do in the evening? (1 mark) (d) What did the writer not know until they read an article? (2 marks)
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Translate this passage into English: 'Beaucoup de jeunes sont accros à leur portable sans s'en rendre compte. Ils vérifient leurs notifications toutes les cinq minutes, même pendant les repas en famille, ce qui inquiète de plus en plus les parents.'
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See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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