I know that it can be a real struggle to get your students to communicate in French. Although initially enthusiastic in grade 4, by the time they hit grades 7 and 8, they are reluctant at best. I recently went to a workshop regarding the communicative approach which made me evaluate (apart from being forced to during the course of the session with those reflection activities) my current teaching practices. It’s always rewarding and energizing to be presented with a challenge and new ideas to try out. For those of you who might not have had the chance to attend any PD on the new philosophy rocking the world of FSL, I thought I’d sum up a few things to take into consideration when planning your next oral activity.
- choose a reasonable task that reflects student interests and abilities
- prepare students thoroughly by planning a progression of short activities that incorporate increasing degrees of communication
- with your students, establish a list of expressions that they will need to use during the activity and have it displayed for reference
- MAKE them communicate in French but in a way that is meaningful and authentic
Now that you hopefully have some food for thought, I’ll update you in my future blogs as to which activities I’ve created and tried out. In the meantime, loosen up, collaborate with your students for some ideas, be creative and have fun!
