Teaching French to Teens in 2025: What’s Different (and What Isn’t)

Sandrine
Jul 17
3 min read

If you’ve been teaching for a few years (or more than a few, like me), you’ve probably felt it too:

Something has shifted.

Teens in 2025 don’t feel quite like the students I met a decade ago. They’re quicker to speak up, slower to trust. They’re tech-fluent, emoji-literate, and not particularly impressed by anything just because it’s in French.

And yet… at the core, they’re still teens. Curious. Social. Insecure. Hopeful. Capable of joy, brilliance, and eye rolls (sometimes all in the same 45 minutes).

Here’s what feels different in today’s French classroom… and what hasn’t changed at all.

What Has Changed

1. Shorter attention spans and lower tolerance for fluff

If it doesn’t feel relevant, they’re gone. I’ve learned to trim the fat. Every activity needs a hook. Every task needs a purpose they can feel. it’s a list of chores vocab, we turn it into “Which chores should your favorite celebrity never do and why?”

That’s the lens I use when I create my own resources, too: no busywork, just tasks that feel real and worth doing.

2. They expect interactivity and they’ll tell you if it’s boring

This generation has lived through Zoom school and TikTok trends. They’re not afraid to say when something feels dry. That used to bother me. Now, I listen. We move more. We talk more. I use whiteboards, pair activities, polls, and just enough tech to keep it dynamic.

3. They know more ...and less than ever

They might not remember the passé composé endings… but they can explain social issues in multiple languages, show you a Senegalese influencer, and talk about mental health with emotional fluency I didn’t have at their age. I’ve stopped underestimating them. I start where they are, not where I wish they’d be.

What Hasn't Changed

1. They still want connection

More than anything, teens want to feel seen. When I ask about their weekend in French, of course they light up. When we laugh in class, it changes everything.

French is the tool. Belonging is the goal.

2. They still rise to the occasion

Give them a real reason to use French (and some support to do it) and they will surprise you. Every time. My students have debated social issues, written love letters as literary characters, recorded fake influencer videos… all in French. It takes scaffolding, yes. But it’s possible - and powerful.

3. They still remember how you made them feel

They won’t remember all the irregular verbs. But they will remember if they felt safe, encouraged, and challenged in your room. The way we show up matters. More than the perfect unit plan, more than the data, more than the decor.

What I’m Doing Differently (and Maybe You Are, Too)

I use more real-world materials: short videos, memes, music, IG screenshots in order to connect language to now.
I plan for shorter chunks and lots of movement : we switch modes often: listen, speak, move, write, react.
I check in more: not just “Did you get it?” but “How are you doing with it?”
I don’t expect perfect French. I expect engagement, effort, and progress. That’s the win.

The French classroom in 2025 might look different: more tech, more memes, more honesty. But the heart of the work? Still the same.

We’re still showing up. We’re still building bridges. We’re still giving students a new language to understand the world and themselves.

If you're looking for materials that reflect these changes and actually work for teens in 2025, you'll find my resources are built exactly for that.