English · Bac pro · B1, with an entry level · adapted version

Session 8: Final task: explain US elections to a French colleague

Read one step, do it, then move on. Answers are hidden: click to check.
Start · step one

Recap check

Recap check
  1. What are the midterms?
  2. How many senators are elected in 2026?
  3. What number makes a majority in the House?
Answer key
  1. The elections in the middle of the president's term.
  2. 35 (33 regular and 2 special).
  3. 218.
Start · step two

What we need to say

Today you need to explain the whole system clearly to a French colleague.

Words · step one

Words to say it

WordMeaningExample
first of allto startFirst of all, Americans vote in November.
thenafter thatThen the electors vote in December.
becauseto give a reasonSwing states matter because both parties can win.
for exampleto give an exampleFor example, Pennsylvania is a swing state.
Words · step two

Use the words

Put in order. Put the linking words in the order of a presentation, then use each one in a sentence about US elections.

  1. to sum up
  2. first of all
  3. then
  4. for example
  5. because
Answer key
  1. Order: first of all, then, because / for example (in the middle), to sum up.
  2. Example: First of all, Americans vote in November. Then the electors vote in December. Swing states matter because both parties can win. For example, Michigan was a swing state in 2024. To sum up, the president needs 270 electoral votes.
Words · step three

More word practice

Review matching (ten)

Match each word from the whole sequence with its meaning.

  1. a primary
  2. the Electoral College
  3. a swing state
  4. a veto
  5. the midterms
  6. a running mate
  • a. a state where both parties can win
  • b. the candidate for vice president
  • c. a vote to choose a party's candidate
  • d. more than half
  • e. the paper or form you use to vote
  • f. the group of 538 electors
  • g. a big party meeting in summer
  • h. when the president refuses to sign a bill
  • i. a part of a state that elects one representative
  • j. the elections in the middle of the president's term
Answer key
  1. c
  2. f
  3. a
  4. h
  5. j
  6. b

Which illustration?

Match each illustration with the idea it helps you explain.

  1. The First Vote (1867)
  2. The Third-Term Panic (1874)
  3. The Wigwam convention (1860)
  4. The County Election (1854)
  5. A Truce, Not a Compromise (1877)
  6. The Bosses of the Senate (1889)
  • a. the right to vote
  • b. the conventions
  • c. money and the Senate
  • d. a disputed election
  • e. the party symbols
  • f. Election Day
Answer key
  1. a (the right to vote)
  2. e (the party symbols)
  3. b (the conventions)
  4. f (Election Day)
  5. d (a disputed election)
  6. c (money and the Senate)
Read and look · step one

Read, one sentence per line

  1. Situation.
  2. You are on your work placement.
  3. A French colleague has seen the news about the American elections and asks you: How do they elect their president? And what are these midterms? You explain in English, because a visitor from an American partner company is listening too.

Source: USAGov, Presidential election process

Read and look · step two

Look at the diagram

Task A, speaking (two minutes, in pairs)

One student explains, the colleague asks two questions, then you swap. Use the diagram of session four.

Task B, poster (A3)

A title, a diagram of the Electoral College or of Congress, six short sentences, one illustration with its reference, your sources.

Checklist

I can say...Yes / not yet
how a party chooses its candidate (primaries, convention)
what the Electoral College is (538, 270)
what a swing state is
what Congress does (435, 100)
what the midterms of 3 November 2026 decide

Assessment grid

CriterionInsufficientSatisfactoryVery goodPoints
Content: correct facts (president, Electoral College, Congress, midterms)0 to 2: few facts or wrong facts3 to 4: main facts right5 to 6: precise numbers and dates, no mistake/ 6
Explanation: diagram or clear organisation0 to 1: no order2 to 3: a plan with first, then4: a clear plan and a diagram that helps/ 4
Language: vocabulary of elections, present simple, numbers0 to 2: hard to understand3 to 4: understandable, some mistakes5 to 6: clear, words of the sequence used correctly/ 6
Communication: speaking to the colleague, answering questions, or poster layout0 to 1: reads, no contact2 to 3: speaks with some contact4: speaks naturally, answers questions, looks at the audience/ 4
Total/ 20
Read and look · step three

Tasks

  1. Choose task A (oral, two minutes, in pairs: one explains, one asks two questions) or task B (an A3 poster with a diagram and six short sentences).
  2. Prepare with the checklist: two numbers about the president (538, 270), two numbers about Congress (435, 100), one sentence about the midterms of 2026, one illustration.
  3. Say it: write the three key sentences of your presentation: one passive, one first conditional, one second conditional.
Grammar · step one

Grammar on the board

To explain how the system works, we need the passive; to give possible results, we need the conditional: The president is elected by 538 electors. If nobody gets 270 votes, the House will choose the president.

Listen to your teacher, then copy the board.

On the board

Review: passive and conditionals; question word order; linking words for a presentation

Rule
Passive: is elected, was signed. Real: If..., will... Imaginary: If... (past), would...
Form
The president is elected by 538 electors. Lincoln was chosen in 1860. If nobody gets 270, the House will choose. If I were American, I would vote.
Examples
  • How is the president elected? He or she is elected by the Electoral College.
  • Who chooses the president? The electors do.
Watch out
  • How the president is elected? → How is the president elected?
  • Who does choose the president? → Who chooses the president? (subject question)
French and English
French can keep statement order in questions: Le président est élu comment ? English never does: How is the president elected?

Quick check

  1. Question: the president / elect / how?
  2. Subject question: Who ______ (choose) the president?
  3. Passive past: The bill ______ (sign) last week.
Answer key
  1. How is the president elected?
  2. chooses
  3. was signed
Grammar · step two

Practise

Stage 1. Recognise

Write P (passive), C1 (first conditional) or C2 (second conditional).

  1. The votes are counted by Congress.
  2. If she wins Nevada, she will get six votes.
  3. If I were a senator, I would vote yes.
  4. The bill was signed by the president.
  5. If nobody gets 270, the House will choose.
Answer key
  1. P
  2. C1
  3. C2
  4. P
  5. C1

Stage 2. Transform

Rewrite as asked.

  1. Congress makes the laws. (passive)
  2. The electors chose the president in December. (passive)
  3. She wins Georgia. She gets sixteen votes. (if, real)
  4. I am not American. I can't vote. (if, imaginary)
  5. The House impeaches; the Senate holds the trial. (passive)
Answer key
  1. The laws are made by Congress.
  2. The president was chosen by the electors in December.
  3. If she wins Georgia, she will get sixteen votes.
  4. If I were American, I could vote.
  5. A president is impeached by the House and tried by the Senate.

Stage 3. Guided production

Build the key sentences of your final task.

  1. the president / elect / 538 electors
  2. Election Day / hold / first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
  3. the laws / make / Congress
  4. if / a candidate / win / 270 votes
  5. if / nobody / get / 270
Answer key
  1. The president is elected by 538 electors.
  2. Election Day is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
  3. The laws are made by Congress.
  4. If a candidate wins 270 votes, she will become president.
  5. If nobody gets 270, the House will choose the president.

A. Name the structure

Write P (passive), C1 (first conditional) or C2 (second conditional).

  1. The votes are counted by Congress.
  2. If she wins Nevada, she will get six votes.
  3. If I were a senator, I would vote yes.
  4. The bill was signed by the president.
Answer key
  1. P
  2. C1
  3. C2
  4. P

B. Mixed review

Put the verbs in the right form.

  1. The president ______ (elect) by the Electoral College.
  2. In 1860, Lincoln ______ (choose) at the convention.
  3. If a candidate ______ (win) Pennsylvania, she ______ (get) nineteen votes.
  4. If I ______ (be) a candidate, I ______ (visit) the swing states.
Answer key
  1. is elected
  2. was chosen
  3. wins, will get
  4. were, would visit
Grammar · step three

Figure of speech

Figures of speech: review

Learn

Name the figure of speech: symbol, metaphor, metonymy, personification, parody, hyperbole, blend word, idiom.

  1. The White House refused to comment.
  2. The elephant stands for the Republicans.
  3. A Senate of the monopolists, by the monopolists and for the monopolists.
Answer key
  1. metonymy
  2. symbol
  3. parody
Do it · step one

Say it

Oral task: two minutes with your French colleague

Steps

  1. Greet and announce the plan.
  2. Part one: the president (passive).
  3. Part two: Congress and the midterms (conditional).
  4. Answer two questions.
  5. Conclude.
Sentence starters
  • Hello, today I am going to explain ...
  • First of all, ...
  • Then, ...
  • If you want to understand the midterms, ...
  • That's a good question: ...
  • To sum up, ...
Model answer

Hello, today I am going to explain American elections. First of all, the president is elected by 538 electors. Then, the laws are made by Congress. If you want to understand the midterms, look at the seat bars: if a party has 218 seats, it controls the House. That's a good question: the results are counted state by state. To sum up, it is a complex but logical system.

Do it · step two

Gap-fill worksheet

Word bank: first of all then because for example to sum up 538 270 435 100 3 November 2026
  1. , Americans vote on a Tuesday in November.
  2. the electors vote in December.
  3. Swing states matter both parties can win.
  4. , Georgia was a swing state in 2024.
  5. , the president needs 270 electoral votes.
  6. The Electoral College has electors.
  7. A candidate needs votes to win.
  8. The House has voting members.
  9. There are senators.
  10. The midterms took place on .
Answer key
  1. First of all
  2. Then
  3. because
  4. For example
  5. To sum up
  6. 538
  7. 270
  8. 435
  9. 100
  10. 3 November 2026
Finish · step one

Going further (optional)

Optional
Rule

Modal and perfect passives, reporting passive, third and mixed conditionals, inversion: use two or three in your final task to show your level.

Translate into English

  1. Le président est élu par 538 grands électeurs.
  2. Si un candidat obtient 270 voix, il gagne l'élection.
Answer key
  1. The president is elected by 538 electors.
  2. If a candidate gets 270 votes, they win the election.
Finish · step two

Homework

Finish your poster or learn your oral with your five key words.
Answer keyModel answer: key words such as primaries, convention, Electoral College, 270, midterms; a diagram; one dated fact for each part; a clear conclusion.