French Teacher Resource: Create your own French Advent Wreath

The start of December entices me to share the Christmas spirit with all. Today in class, there has been carol singing, talk of French Christmas traditions, and crafting!

The final weeks of school can be a bit hectic, and depending on your class, I know that many Year 7 and 8 students love a bit of crafting. As they all said to me today, it reminds them of being back in Primary School. Even the disruptive boys pitched in.

Naturally, I would never leave an opportunity to send the kids home with a French tradition to practice with their families. So this year, I have helped them create their own couronnes de l'avent,  French Advent wreaths. For those new to the tradition, you place 4 candles on a horizontal Christmas wreath, and light each candle each Sunday leading up to Christmas.

Here are some of their creations:

The activity takes approximately 2 x 50 minute periods for students to complete. I pre-printed coloured sheets with holly leaves, stars, and snowflakes for them to easily cut out. I also provided the paper plates, glue, scissors, fluffy baubles etc. as most students don't have these items in high school. They can be bought cheaply at the Reject Shop.

Download the activity sheet here. As I work at a Catholic school, I have highlighted the significance of the four candles for Advent.

This activity was a huge hit, with little preparation time. And most importantly, so relaxing and enjoyable for myself as a teacher.

Let me know if you give it a try! Amusez-vous bien!

Language Podcasts that I'm loving

I find podcasts to be great resources - for use in the classroom, or just for interesting listening on the way to work or while I do the dishes...

Here is a list of podcasts that I'm currently using for classroom resources and also for my own entertainment. What are you listening to?

French language fix

• Podcast Français Authentique - Johan Tekfak

One of the best structured podcasts that I've come across. Johan conducts the entire podcast all in French for second language learners, usually concentrating on discourse and colloquialisms. I particularly enjoy listening to the idiomatic expressions, one of the most difficult aspects to learn for non-natives! 

• RFI - Journal en français facile

Great way to keep up-to-date with French current affairs, and easy to share with senior year students. The episodes are also nice and snappy. 

• SBS en français

I just like to support the SBS, but also, there are episodes on Australian current affairs in French, film reviews, and French events that are happening across the country.

Listening task resources

• Learn French with daily podcasts - Louis from Daily French Pod
• Learn French by Podcast - Hugh Nagle

I have used these podcasts for years to create listening comprehension tasks. Louis' podcast is conducted all in French, and is usually a monologue where he provides great description and uses heaps of synonyms - particularly important vocab skills for the senior years.

Hugh Nagle's podcast is bilingual and always starts with a dialogue. Excellent practice for the VCAA listening comprehension task, and there are 100's of episodes focusing on the VCAA topics.

Teacher 'gas-bagging' time

• Teachers Talking Teachers - CatFish Education (Pete and John)

These NSW teachers create such good banter around current topics in pedagogy and teaching. Each episode is based on two scholarly articles and there is plenty of opinion mixed with discussion based on the papers you should be keeping up to date with. 

French cultural curiosities

• The New Paris Podcast - Lindsey Tramuta and Alice Cavanagh

What I enjoy most about this podcast is that the interviewees are generally expats living in Paris, which I think is most relevant in today's international Paris scene. So far this podcast is at its humble beginnings, but their topics on identity and gastronomy (two of my favourite topics!) have been well discussed.

• Pardon My French - Garance Doré

I feel sassy listening to this podcast (so branchée), but Garance is just personable and lovely. She discusses the everyday issues, or vie quotidienne, of French culture - from dating, to fashion, to the environment. The podcast feels authentic from a Frenchy perspective, and also highly engaging with interviews conducted in an open and relaxed style. Episodes released every Thursday - definitely needs your attention!

• The Earful Tower - Oliver Gee

This podcast is usually quite 'tongue in cheek', as is self evident from its entitled pun. I've mainly followed its Facebook posts over the years, but I've now just realised how good the podcast is! The episodes are about anything French - everything is allowed. 

Linguistic loving

• Lingthusiasm - Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne

Lauren, originally from Melbourne, and Gretchen have excitingly geeky conversations about language. Coming from someone (myself) who loves to discuss the complexities of language - from crazy syntax to discourse variants - this podcast keeps me so engaged. As a French teacher, I find it a necessity to stay engaged with linguistics, as you need to keep perspective on the languages you teach. How does French fit into the linguistic world? What are its variants? How diverse is the speech community? etc. etc. I love the study of linguistics for all these reasons and more. 

French Teacher Resource: Les Maisons Merveilleuses

I have constructed some super fun resources and activities for the topic on 'houses', focusing on culture, text-types and communication. I have tried these activities with four different classes now, in both year 7 and year 8.
With 3 x 50 minute classes per week, the following activities can take 2-3 weeks to complete in total. The whole unit is delivered over approximately 7 weeks.

Once students have learned basic vocabulary on the house and where you live ('la maison' et 'où on habite'), it's time for some fun inquiry-based and project-based work.

Here are the order of events, connected to Victorian Curriculum points:

1) Introduce students to the tasks, and show them the final product (with success criteria). Access task instructions here.

2) Students are presented with different and interesting French cultural homes (PPT). Depending on the class, I'll either get them to discuss what they like/don't like between slides or at the end of the PPT. Sometimes I'll get students to read out the information from the PPT too.

Communicating (Socialising)Interact with peers and teacher to exchange information and opinions, talk about self, family, friends and interests, and express feelings, likes and dislikes (VCFRC091)

3) Students choose a French cultural home to base their own home off. They start to produce a digital floorplan. (Individually or pairs is optimal, if they are in 3's someone always seems to do much less work). You can walk around the room and ask them to decision-make in French together, e.g. je veux un jardin, une grande chambre...

Communicating (Informing)Present information and ideas relating to social worlds and natural environments in spoken, written and digital forms (VCFRC095)Participate in collaborative activities such as performances and presentations that involve planning, making arrangements, transacting and negotiating (VCFRC092)

4) Students produce a labelled advertisement for their home, with pictures from the internet.
- If you haven't covered the bilingual component yet, you can ask them to produce a bilingual advertisement.

"They create their own texts, mainly using the present tense of regular and common irregular verbs, enriched by the use of adjectives and adverbs."

5) Students blu-tac their advertisement on the wall/board. Once all students are done, give them a survey sheet (le sondage) to survey every one's hard work. Collect the results and create charts for future use (Excel spreadsheet).

Communicating (Informing)Locate factual information from a range of texts and resources and use the information in new ways (VCFRC094)

6) Students participate in the housing auction (see 'Les règles aux enchères'). (Students don't actually win and take-home each other's work. It's just a fun idea!)
Some students try to 'play-off' each other, which is just amazing, because they are yelling French numbers at each other without even realising the effort!
You really have to calm down the room between each sale though, it can get quite loud in the auction room. I usually preface the auction by saying that auction rooms are 'quiet' rooms.
Access the paddles here. I glue them onto large paddlepop sticks.

Understanding (Systems of language)Recognise and use features of the French sound system, including pitch, rhythm, stress and intonation (VCFRU102)

7) I have also created a homework task to ensure students are reflecting on the tasks from a culture and identity perspective. Also great as a post-vocab task for consolidation and for re-inforcing numeracy skills.

Communicating (Reflecting)Notice own and others’ ways of expressing identity, and consider the relationship between language, culture and identity(VCFRC101)

Amusez-vous bien! Please write your comments below on any ideas or suggestions for improvements, or your experiences teaching this unit of work.
Feel free to adapt any of the attached resources, and feel free to send them back to me.

Access curriculum documents here

French Obsessions: Coffee-table books to start French conversations

As a neurotic librophile, I take great pride in showing off beautifully binded, exquisitly hard-covered books that I am passionate about - mainly on the topic of France (French language spruiking to the next level).

Placing some interesting French culture books on my coffee table can inspire some wonderful conversations with friends and family. I have sourced all the delicious hard-back copies of my books on rotation:

French Women Don’t Get Fat – Mireille Giuliano 

As Mireille Guiliano states, it's a book about helping women feel bien dans sa peau. In other words, a book about understanding the true pleasures of eating (that's my mantra!). It's almost a pre-successor of the mindfulness movement or 'slow eating'. I also find that talking about 'French diets' brings up the conversation on French wine - the famous French Paradox. 

The French Paradox concerns the fact that although the French seem to consume a high-fat diet, there is low incidence of heart disease... so maybe c'est grâce au vin rouge, n'est-ce pas? (And all French people crossed their fingers in hope.) Based on studies around this 'catch phrase', the minor study on the Mediterranean diet with "moderate consumption" of wine took hold as social truth for good heart health. To cut a long story short, look up scientist 'Serge Renaud' for a good food chat on this topic.

The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Just the teacher in me wants everyone to discuss the pure genius of Le Petit Prince. From simple childhood souvenirs to a discussion on how the Little Prince shows us how we have lost our childhood imaginations and our abilities to look beyond our adult restrictions. I no-one at the table has yet read the Little Prince, ask them to draw you a sheep!

It's also a great read for any friends who come over with children. A great chance to read them a passage and share a few beautiful quotes from Saint-Exupery:

"On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux."
"All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it."
“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” 

Toujours Tingo - Adam Jacot de Boinod

I came across this book in a second-hand bookstore years ago, and it has been the start of so many great conversations about idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms. 

Some of my favourite topics on French language expressions are the amount of vocabulary around 'cows' - ah la vache, vachement bien, parler comme une vache espagnol...  

How about the French vegetabl-isms. Tu es choux, faire le poireau, être en rang d'oignon...

And finish up by being stood up by un lapin.

The New Paris - Lindsey Tramuta

Most of us foreigners have a romantic notice of Paris as it has been through history - the gothic architecture, Haussmanian buildings, Hemingway's Paris,  the French Revolution... but what about the revolutionary movements of today?

Especially as a Melbournian, a topic that always come up is the quality of coffee in Paris. The New Paris has a wonderful podcast which interviews local Parisians about new and upcoming issues. Have a listen to the coffee conversation about the new movement in Paris for improving the daily 'grind'.

How to be Parisian (wherever you are) - Sophie Mas, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, Anne Berest

Everyone loves to discuss stereotypical French dress. From the mariniere, to the beret with boots and a cigarette. It's a beautiful book which talks about the stereotypical modern day Parisian woman from a Parisian woman's perspective, scattered with gorgeous photos, articles and poems. 

However, a conversation on French stereotypes opens a larger conversation on which stereotypes really exist in France. You have the turtleneck and man bag kind of man, to the sports clothes and runners kind of man. The simple-dressed, plain coloured woman, to the high-heeled, fine labelled woman. 

Books from your own French travels

There is nothing quite like your own travel collection to spark a good conversation. On my coffee table at the moment, I have maps of Lyon where my partner and I lived for a year. We have so many fond memories of our time in Lyon, and we just love the city and its beautiful streets. 

Not only do I love the impressionist paintings in the Orsay, but the book comes with a hilarious personal travel story... 

What is on your coffee table?

French Teacher Resource: Verb cheat sheets

My more advanced students like to understand that grammar rules can be finite.

For most students at school, they feel that the amount of verbal conjugations and mood/tenses that they have to learn will go on forever! To help them consolidate their learning, and also as a visual aid, I give my students a copy of the following documents.

The first verb document shows the different verbal moods visually, and how they are made up of tenses. This helps students to see how language is constructed in moods of speech and time.

The second verb document is a consolidated list of verbal conjugations. This also helps them to see the difference in simple and complex verbal constructions.

Leave your comments below.

Learn fluent French fast... here's where to start.

I get asked by a lot of people about how to start learning French. What are the secrets, what are the tips of the trade. The hardest part about starting a new language is knowing where to... start! The task of taking on a new skill, such as talking in a new language, is nothing less than onerous. Or so you thought.

So this blog is for you, adult language learners. And just for the repeated record, yes you can learn a language to fluency at any age - I get tired of explaining this to people. For now, just understand that it's a big fat lie when you hear that adults can't pick up second language fluency.

Here, i'll lay out some different ways that I advise adults to learn new languages.

STEP 1: The best way to start is to work out why you wish to start learning French.

Learner goal A) I want to learn French because I want to speak with people, and communicate in a different language. This is either because I want to travel to a French speaking country or because I'm interested to talk to people who speak a different language. Or maybe both! (Lucky you!)
Maybe you need it to increase job prospects or to connect with your new French partner (This is a common situation, so many Frenchies in Australia!). Maybe you're a retiree who just wants to work the brain, and practice a new and interesting hobby.

Learner goal B) I'm mainly interested in the logistics behind language and language learning. I love learning about linguistics, and how people can express themselves in languages other than English.
Maybe you feel as though Australia is such a multilingual country that it's time you had some perspective on how people might think in another language.

.... So what's your reason? (Comment below if you wish to share!) I can help you decide whether you're a learner type (A) or a learner type (B). Then move onto the next step to get started ASAP!

STEP 2: Start to learn with both language 'input' and 'output'

Let me start by expressing one main rule of language learning. You need both language 'input' and language 'output' to truly learn any language. What this means is that you need to be learning the language by ways in which most people would consider hearing and listening to a language, and also you need to be using the language through speaking and writing (optional). You constantly need a mix of all these passive and active learning methods at all stages of the language learning to progress. Even right from the get-go!

Now let's look at some different ways that you can learn French in Australia:

Learner goal A) Coucou! You're predominately wanting to learn to SPEAK the language!
We are so lucky in Australia to have so many native French speakers - time to take advantage of the situation!

Meetup language group

Social approach -
Use the combination of a group class scenario along with meetup social groups. There are many organisations and small businesses to choose from (see below for links). Meetup groups are generally a mixture of native speakers and learners of French, if you know which groups to choose from.
This mixture of speaking and learning quickly from natives and advanced learners gives you the opportunity to use the language straight away, and quickly adapt the language based on your initial mistakes. It's one of the best ways to learn a language, in the fluent capacity, but can also be the most daunting as you are forced to drop your guard quickly and embrace your language faux pas.

Solo approach -
Use a combination of one-on-one tutoring with a native French speaker, and join some bi-monthly small French conversation groups. I advise these types of people not to join a group language class, as you will lose yourself within the group and then become way too nervous to open your mouth to speak (which is the opposite to your goal!) Build some confidence within small groups and with native speakers, and you will truly feel yourself flourish in the language. Sometimes you might also like to be immersed in culture by yourself, so attend French events that occur often in your city or visit French cafés and restaurants, and soak in the Frenchness.

Learner goal B) Bonjour, salut, coucou, bienvenue to linguistics. You're predominately wanting to learn the FORM and FUNCTION of the language.

Grammar approach -
I typically find that this group is really in to language apps. Start to delve into apps such as DuoLingo and iTalki on your phone and laptop for some quick knowledge. As group French classes are generally grammar-based, you might also enjoy interacting with people with similar interests in this setting. Hard-copy grammar books that I would recommend are Schaum's Grammar and Easy French Step-by-Step (free copy through link). Both books contain heavy grammar exercises and are in-depth guides to form.
If you're heading back to uni or about to start, the French language courses at most good universities will be enough to tickle your grammar desires.

Allez, c'est parti! We all have to just jump in and start learning!


Links to learning French in Melbourne:
Please comment or email if you need some help to find what's best for you.

Native French tutors -
Gumtree (best way to find a local native and on the cheap)
The French Workshop
VoulezVouloz
Alliance Française de Melbourne

Group classes -
Lyceum Language Centre
Alliance Française
Cosmopoli' French
CAE
French Journey
InLanguage Boutique

Meetups -
Meetup.com
MundoLingo
Language Connection

Conversation groups -
My French Life
Alliance Française
Ask your local French restaurants and cafés as many hold monthly conversation groups


Please comment or email if you need some help to find what's best for you. Bon courage!

Should we teach French in schools?

A recent article by Associate Professor Warren Midgley from the University of Southern Queensland, analysing which languages should be taught in Australian schools, recently took flight in the media. The well researched article highlighted the gap between the languages offered in Australian schools and the possible economic and community benefits of second language learning.

In today's global setting, students acquiring second language skills at schools can be of great benefit to our international community. No doubt the question of which languages to study at school is of great importance. However, it would be a mistake to simply impose change based on economic reasoning.

With a focus on economic gain and Australia's majority linguistic communities, it is easy to understand that French might not feature high on the priority list. The article does however point out that, for travel purposes, French is the official language of 53 countries. Is this the only important factor for learning French? As the article implies, is it worth teaching French at all?

French literature
Bilingual competency gives access to different languages, and subsequently, different concepts and ideas. Studies have shown that if you want to get a message out to the world, English will be the language accessible to most. However, what about the approximate 6 billion people who don't speak English? How do you reach their ideas?

Recent studies have identified the best languages to get your message out and access different cultural ideas. Along with Chinese Mandarin, Spanish, and Russian, French is of course a highly communicated global language. French is also highly translated in English, which shows the literary demand for both language groups. If you have ever done some research as a monolingual English speaker, you may have noticed that you only ever read articles or scholarly work in English? Ever thought that might be an issue?

Francophile communities
There is nothing better about the Internet than easy collection of data. Duolingo (app for language learning) released information that, after English, French was the most accessed language on their app. For Australia, French tops the list.

Francophile and francophone communities exist all over the globe. In Europe, French is still the second most taught language in schools. Not to mention that half of Africa is French-speaking, and we have New Caledonia at our doorstep. Through my travel experiences, I have used French everywhere I go, and have used French to build relationships with refugees in Australia and other second language speakers. Just being a 'linguaphile' bridges the gap for new language experiences.

The French-speaking world 2008

Brain benefits
I couldn't write a blog without the obvious mention of the cognitive benefits to second language learning. It is common knowledge that when students learn a second language, there are positive impacts on all areas of learning.

Most people quote the 'critical period hypothesis' to me, saying that you can't learn a second language after the age of 12, so why bother. Nonsense! The research shows that, although you may never be a native speaker, you can certainly acquire bilingual competency, and well, why do you want to be a native speaker anyway?
It is never too late to learn a language, our brains are amazing machines. Use it! If you happen to have a slight affinity for the French language, start from there.

As a French teacher, my bias towards the study of French is implicit within this blog. My experience in teaching, however, has shown me that students will generally show interest in language for reasons outside of economic gain and travel. Generally, there are personal beliefs and interests that are predisposed by family and experience. Most students are inspired by their teachers, and tune-in to the teacher's passion for the subject area. Most students in Victoria are also stimulated by the incentive of increased study scores in LOTE (but that's another conversation...).

My opinion dictates that French is, in fact, a globally important language to study at school, and there seems to be general 'francophile' interest. Also, LOTE in general is of benefit to cognition and social skills for students. We don't want to create more of a disincentive for students to learn languages by imposing adult economic beliefs on the languages curriculum. Let's promote language learning for all the right reasons.