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Le capitaine arrive

Learn some basic French whilst playing this adapted version of Captain’s coming.
Plan a session with this activity

You will need

  • Something to mark spots on the floor

Before you begin

  • Put markers on the floor – you could use masking tape, chalk, or hoops. Make sure they’re a safe distance apart.
  • If you want to, you could print out the French words and their meanings and stick them up around the room for people to see.

Safety checklist


  • Stay socially distanced when moving around the space and when talking to the leaders.
  • Create markers on the floor for people to stand on that are safely distanced apart.

Play the game

  1. Everyone should stand on their own marker. The person leading the activity should explain that these are there to help everyone stay a safe distance apart – people shouldn’t leave their marker without asking first.
  2. The person leading the activity should introduce the first few words and actions and everyone should practise them together.
  3. Once everyone’s ready, the person leading the game should say a word in English. Everyone should say the word in French while doing the action. If anyone gets the word or action wrong they should sit down – they can still join in.
  4. As the game goes on, the person leading the activity should keep calling out words in English. If everyone’s getting on really well, they should pause the game and add an extra word or two.
  5. The last person standing up is the winner.


Learning a new language can sometimes be difficult; having fun can make it easier to learn something new. This activity gave everyone the chance to develop skills while being active. What words do people remember and what do they mean? Were any words harder to pronounce? Did the French words all sound very different to the English words or were some similar? People practised some really useful words like hello and goodbye. Would they be happy to practise by greeting someone in French? What other words could they teach their friends?



Active games
