How to help your students continue French after high school!

So, your students are coming to the end of high school. How do you help them continue to learn, and most importantly, USE French? Well the good news is that now they are entering the adult world, there are more diverse and interesting ways to use French. Even better - these opportunities to speak French exist right here in Australia!

A few months ago a former student emailed me to get some ideas on where they could practice French. Nothing pleases me more than connecting with former students and hearing that they wish to continue to acquire language... nothing! Therefore, I decided to make this poster:

This free PDF download includes:

- an engaging poster to hang in your classroom or email to students

- 8 ways to practise French for different interests

- links to connect with French organisations, groups and events all over Australia

Top 5 French Pop Songs for the Classroom 2019

When I was a teen, I learned so much language through music and loved trying to connect with new French music (through CD's back then - a bit harder!). Listening to the latest music trends in France is nevertheless a common request from our students these days. Nowadays, we can easily find music through YouTube, Spotify, social media... and our students are also great a finding music themselves. You can find my Youtube playlist for 2019 through this link.

Here are the top 5 songs loved by my advanced French classes (Year 10 +) this year:

Anglèle feat. Roméo Elvis - Tout Oublier (2018)

Hitting the charts with so many tunes, Angèle has become the ultra-pop French idol with her feminist views pushing the boundaries. My students loved the film clip with this song and bopped their shoulders along with the artists.

Clara Luciani - La Grenade (2018)

A song that continued to climb the charts in to 2019 with the incredible voice that is Clara Luciani. After seeing her at the 2019 So Frenchy So Chic in Melbourne, it's a talent that's hard not to share.

Louane - No (2018)

None other than the top teen French idol, my students love Louane! Once they're hooked to her songs, it's always a good idea to suggest Louane's beautiful starring role in the film 'The Belier Family' available on Netflix.

Christophe Maé - Les Gens (2019)

Released only a month ago, this song is packed with simple vocabulary and diverse adjectives - a must use! Did you know that Maé used to be pâtissier?

Joyce Jonathon - On (2018)

She's become a classic, Joyce Jonathon, having been around for over a decade (like the two artists above!). Another very simple song that's easy to sing along to.

What are your students listening to in the modern French pop scene? Please share!

French Teacher Resource: Immersion signs (alphabet and commands)

As a language teacher, I try hard to ensure that French is constantly used in a meaningful way for students to feel successful in their learning. This year, I am finally introducing language immersion in to my upper levels and have created some resources to aid in facilitation.

French themed alphabet wall in my French classroom

In my LOTE classroom, it is becoming more apparent to me that both deductive and inductive methods are necessary. That is, sometimes you need to use English as a medium to piece together grammar rules or to teach text-type features, and at other times, students can be forced to learn through the second language in full context. In particular, during worksheets activities, I have been setting a timer for 20-30 minutes and enforcing a 'French-only' rule. If a student 'slips up' and speaks in English to a friend, I tell their peers to instruct, "pas d'anglais...!" Students have found it to be a positive challenge, as a whole.

Classroom commands in easy view next to the whiteboard

Most importantly, I want my students to understand that communication is necessary in learning a language. Asking my students to speak French together highlights the need for meaningful conversation to learn French at school. It is not an easy task but I am persevering to ensure that this expectation is normalised in my classroom.

Therefore, to aid in my endeavour of ongoing language immersion, I have created the following printable Google Slide wall resources:
1. French alphabet - French/Parisian themed (great for secondary girls' school)
2. French alphabet - children's (basic) theme
3. Classroom commands and questions

Print them on card to stick on the wall or print them as small slides on A4 to give to students if you rotate between different rooms.

Do you use language immersion in your LOTE classroom? How do you facilitate immersion in a non-immersion school?

French Teacher Resource: Whodunnit?, 'Qui l'a fait?', adjectives game

Resources are most effective when students have the opportunity to create, use and share their own work. This is the kind of resource that covers all that, and my students have loved it over and over!

To enrich the learning of adjectives and adjective agreements, students engage in a good game of 'Whodunnit' or 'Qui l'a fait?'!

The Whodunnit game is organised in 3 parts:
1. Students complete a suspect profile
2. The class plays a Whodunnit game
3. Individual feedback collected by students

The whole activity covers 2 lessons, as you will need to collect the criminal profiles to create the Whodunnit game for the following class.

Students listing details from each 'recherché' profile hung around the classroom.

1. The suspect profiles

To practise physical and personality descriptions, get the students to draw a criminal and give a description. Depending on the level of the class, you can organise the profiles in different levels based on what you wish to test for. 

For my Year 8's, I would provide space for dot-points against different categories, e.g. hair, eyes, personality. For Year 10's, I would ask students to write a paragraph describing their criminal. 

You can access some examples here:

Year 8 level profile worksheets

Year 10 level profile worksheet

Collect the profiles from students at the end of class. Provide written feedback to students on the profiles, and decide on the "criminals" for the game. For a class of 25-30 students, choose about 5-6 student profiles as the criminals. Make sure the descriptions are varied and creative or targeted to vocab you want students to focus on. You will use these descriptions to create the 'dossier de police', the police suspect file, which you will give students to complete the game and work out the criminals during game play.

     2. 'Qui l'a fait?' game setup and play

Hang each profile on the walls. Begin the lesson by playing the 'Pink Panther' tune as students are walking in to the class - creates the investigator tone!

Go through the game instructions with students, either in French or English depending on how immersive your lessons are. The instructions for students are:

- You are a private detective (individual work) / Tu es detective privé (travail individu)

- Write down the details found on each profile (be precise) / Écrire les détails de chaque profil (sois précis)

- Once the details sheet is filled, collect the police witness file from your teacher / Quand la feuille de détails est remplie, prendre le dossier de police de ton prof

- Use the clues/statements to find out the criminals / Utiliser les indices pour trouver les criminels

- When you have the criminal names, go see your teacher! / Quand tu as les noms des criminels, aller voir ton prof!

Here is an example of the details sheet and police witness file. Change the detail boxes and descriptions based on the level of your students.

      3. Student feedback

At the end of the game, ensure that students collect their original profiles to ensure they receive individual feedback. You will also need to create an extension task for those students who complete the game quickly! Some students love these types of game a lot, and they are not always your top performing students. There is also lots of laughs and chatter as students ask each other questions about the profiles.

Have you tried this Whodunnit game? Let me know how it goes in the comment section!

French Teacher Resource: Try Flipping your French classroom

Since beginning my adventure in Flipped Classroom tools this year, I have had many teachers reach out and engage in great discussions or ask questions. You don't have to be a 'tech whizz' to enjoy Flipped Learning, you just have to be someone who is interested in creating engaging and practical resources to suit 21st century pedagogy. Just using one method, such as Flipped Learning, is never the answer to increased student motivation or the ticket to language fluency, but it is one 'super' method in the teacher toolbox.

Flip your dial, too!

Not sure what a Flipped Classroom is? First read my blog on the 'Flipped French Classroom'.

As myself and my students have thoroughly enjoyed using Flipped Learning this year, I thought I would share with you some basic resources that you can adapt and apply to your classroom. There are many ways to 'flip a classroom', but I will share with you here a simple way to 'flip' grammar teaching to get you started:

Step 1. I DO.

You never start telling a story from the middle, you first need to 'set the scene'. The same works for a Flipped Classroom. You first use some classroom time to brainstorm, interview, survey or chat with your students about the content you will be giving them as a Flipped task.

Just like a good story, the opening scene also creates the intrigue for a Flipped task. For example, the following resources are on conjugating for the imperfect tense in French. In class, we first brainstormed the differences between English past tenses and we played a game where they had to guess the correct imperfect conjugation with its subject pronoun - they can easily work it out based on prior knowledge of tenses!

Step 2. YOU DO.

The students are then required to watch a grammar content video for homework. There are a few things I've learned since starting. (A) students need to feel accountable for their work, which is why I have embedded the homework in to a Google Form. This way, their homework is time stamped. Also, (b) I am able to collect ongoing data on student content comprehension. You would think that questions directly relating to a video would be super simple for students, however, this is not always the case. Sometimes I get data that shows 100% student comprehension of the video content. Other times, I have a low to high distribution. I can then use this data to set out my classroom for scaffolded activities.

Take a look at this Google Form on the imperfect tense in French - conjugation, for student homework (make a copy to edit).

Step 3. WE DO.

Homework done? It's now time to set up some scaffolded activities based on the content from the homework. A simple way is to create 2-4 levels that students can work through - a visible progression pathway. I will usually determine the amount of levels based on how students have demonstrated understanding on the videos.

Here are a few situations you may run in to:

1. All students have achieved 80%+ content comprehension
When this occurs, this is a good opportunity for student reflection. Ask students to level themselves by asking different reflective questions. For example, start at level 1 if you feel you have grasped the basic concepts, but start at level 2 if you want to dive in to a challenge!

2. You have a broad range of student content comprehension
When students walk in to the classroom, the data distribution allows me to seat them at different levels. That get used to it really quickly, and realise that they don't have to be at the same level every week. It really depends on the week and how much effort they have put in at home.

3. Some students haven't completed the homework
Ne vous inquiétez pas! There is always going to be a time when a student hasn't completed homework - with or without a Flipped homework task. The great thing about a Flipped Classroom, is you can ask that student to first watch the video and take notes prior to starting the Flipped classroom exercises. If it occurs on a regular, ongoing basis... well, there is something else going on. It's not your teaching.

Setting up the classroom:

I love group tables for a Flipped Classroom, as there is no longer need for a front board. Sometimes I create levelled group tables. Sometimes I mix up the student cohort. But, in the end, it benefits the students if your planning is regular and consistent. What I love watching now is my students engage in peer tutoring, without me even asking. If they know that someone is a few levels above them, they will start to ask those students for help.

I have also started placing mini whiteboard and whiteboard markers on the tables. This enables me to have localised discussions with students and provide examples. Students can also use them with each other. I don't do this for my younger students, I carry around my own mini whiteboard (merci!).

Here are 3 scaffolded tasks to get you started, in response to the homework on the imperfect tense. I generally use the Bloom's Taxonomy to help design my scaffolded activities, as it helps to define the task with a verb:

Level 1 - L'imparfait (La forme)
Level 2 - L'imparfait (La forme)
Level 3 - L'imparfait (La forme)

• Provide a high ceiling for the final level by adding links to websites.
• It's important to ensure that the content is the same across the scaffolded levels. The levels are to enable differentiation based on ability so that all students can access the curriculum.

Extra step. Summative assessment.

At the end of the week, you may wish to create a summative assessment to gage how your students are performing.

I sometimes create 'old school' paper vocabulary quizzes or grammar quizzes. I also use Google Form quizzes, however, as you can provide automatic inbuilt feedback for students. You can also change the parameters to enable students to complete the quiz until they reach 100%.

Here is a Google Form summative assessment quiz for the imperfect tense.

A few extras notes.

1. Absences - A Flipped Classroom has worked so well in my classes as students are often absent. Family holidays, sports, excursions... the list goes on. This way, I can ensure that all students have access to the content in their own time. They now understand that the Flipped homework is a minimum requirement and benefits their learning.

2. Revision - it is nearly exam time! Many of my students go back and watch the videos to revise. As they've completed the video as homework, they know where the access the videos.

3. Teacher motivation - you need to encourage 'buy-in' from your students. They won't be motivated to try a Flipped Classroom unless the motivation starts with you!

Can't open the links above? Send an email to ilovefrenchaustralia@gmail.com and I will email you a copy, or simply request access from the link.

Also, post your comments and questions below!

Methods to my teaching madness?

We're already starting week 4 in Victorian High Schools... where has the time gone? Now that 3 weeks has passed, I am finally taking a breather to reflect on some goals I had constructed coming into the year.

After a crazy 2017 year - graduating from Masters and working in various schools - it was a nice thought to be starting a new school year. I goals for 2018 were to implement better classroom organisation, increase class participation, and use technology in a smarter way. Over the school holidays, I decided to therefore focus on three programs/methods: (1) Google Classroom, (2) the Flipped classroom, and (3) AIM-based learning.

(1) Google Classroom
Late last year, I overheard some Science teachers talking through the assessments their students were using on Google Classroom (full-time eavesdropper right here). I realised that my school, was a 'Google School'! Yes, Google has officially branded education.

Google Classroom almost mirrors the Facebook look. You post information on a forum, within which students can comment and interact. You can post assessments, which allows for students' own copies, and which a teacher can provide feedback on almost immediately. It also seamlessly works with Youtube and other Google programs, such as Google slides which you can use to make interactive worksheets.

I have also realised that the students love using Google Classroom. Everything is in the one place (no so many bits of paper), and they receive emails to alert them of homework and assessment tasks. For me, there is a quick marking scheme, and if I have created a Google Form, the marks can be automatically uploaded (easy!!).

So far, the sole issue is where the grades are stored. At my school, I also communicate with parents through our Intranet, and therefore must post grades and comments on the school system. This means creating multiple entries - from Google Classroom, to my assessment log, to the SIMON intranet. This seems to be the only downfall so far...

I have decided to start the Google Classroom course online (offered through Google, of course) during the Easter holidays. I will post about this course when I commence.

(2) The Flipped Classroom
I can be quite a chatty bot and can rush through content too, so another aim was to reduce the teacher talk in my classroom. As a French teacher, there can be a fair amount of lecture delivery in the classroom - especially in the grammar domain. The big issue is, if a few students don't understand what you talking about, then they miss the entire delivery! 'So why not turn them into videos!' I thought.

Each Saturday, I have been creating content-rich videos based on grammar topics that I would have usually taught on the board in class. Especially for my Year 10's, who head out of the class for conversation, I am asking them to watch the video at home and then come into class with questions and ready to work with me on the video topic.

Unexpectedly, I had one Year 8 student who was absent for the whole of week 3. When he walked into the classroom on Friday, while I was testing the rest of the class, I got him to log into Google Classroom and watch the video on the current topic. If I didn't have that resource at my fingertips, I'm not sure what I would have had anything for him to do at that time?

I have also realised that my students are respondent to myself being the deliverer of the content in the videos. I guess students like to work with THEIR teacher, not usually a stranger. However, this means that if I make a video for every topic across my 4 years... will there be time for sleep? An issue to contemplate!

(3) AIM-based learning
As a LOTE teacher, I want my classroom to be hyper-communicative! 'Please speak French with me children!'

Mid-2016, I head over to Canada to see 'first-hand' the immersive classroom method, called AIM. As it is a very expensive program that my school does not use, I have decided to implement certain methods and ideas from AIM into my classroom. The first lesson is all about teaching the students, in French, that the expectation is to speak only French in the classroom. You accompany the language with gesture and language repetition. La classe commence en français...

I had two very different responses from my classes. The first were highly engaged, hanging on every word. I was amazed at how much they just wanted to be immersed in the language, and then wanted to involve themselves also. My second class, however, was completely different. The kids were turning to each other and saying, 'What the hell is she saying?', 'Miss, we don't speak French', 'This is stupid.' After a few lessons, I very quickly realised that the 2nd classroom had become less communicative...

I have decided to use this as an interesting measure. How much more might my 1st class learn and/or be able to speak by the end of the semester, in comparison to my 2nd? I will write a more detailed blog post about this test in June, and I will have to think of a few more assessments.

-----

Quite frankly, I am exhausted, however I am also inspired. We will soon see for just how long I can keep some of my more wacky ideas going, and how long my students will also feel engaged with these methods. Only time will tell...

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. 

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!