[Pernickety]

Hi Rouvrou, glad to have found you!

I find the kids here so enthusiastic and not at all afraid to speak. This is new to me as I mostly taught teenagers and adults before, so I'm not sure if it's because of their age or a mix of age and nationality/culture!

I find the lack of materials and lack of clear curriculum great, on the one hand, because there is no pressure to achieve anything concrete and the kids sense this and just enjoy themselves. It's a break from the regular classes, but they're learning nonetheless. However, the lack of resources means that I spend as much time lesson planning as teaching which makes it quite hard work.

I would love to know how you (as a teacher and adviser) view your role? Do you feel that they need to know x, y and z by the end of the year or are you happy to cover random subjects (vocab/grammar) and hope it's enough...

[Rouvrou]

Hi there!
I guess we are lucky in Normandy, because our local advisers have taken the European objectives and broken then down into year by year activities and objectives. I also use the objectives in the English strategy
The Standards Site: Key Stage 2 Framework for languages
These are also based on the European standards.
I find that the combination of these two gives me the objectives and the "what", but is a bit short on the "how", especially the "how" in a French classroom with all the constraints I described in my first post - plus the one you mentioned in another thread about the teachers not really liking it if you make too much noise. I have one teacher who visibly winces when I sing with them (perhaps he is a musician!)
Although I have been a primary teacher and adviser, I haven't taught a modern foreign language before, so I feel that I need to get much better at the pedagogy - for example, what are the best ways of introducing and practising new vocabulary, what games work with large classes in cramped conditions etc
I am sure there must be masses of people on this forum with lots of experience and ideas.
regards
Rouvrou

[cjj]

I’ve been teaching English in French primary schools for the past ten years. I’ll try to explain « how » I teach.
My teaching is comprehension-based. I don’t think you can learn to speak a language without first understanding the language. To understand any language, we have to be exposed to it A LOT and what we are exposed to has to be comprehensible. Parents make language comprehensible when their children are learning to speak their L1. They do this naturally. They seem to know instinctively that it helps children understand if they talk about objects, people and events that can be seen, heard and touched.

A dog! Look at the dog!

I hear a bird. Listen to the bird.

Here comes the mailman.

Parents know children need lots of practice listening so they create opportunities for listening through out the day. They talk out loud about what they are doing as they perform everyday routines and tasks.

I’m cutting the tomatoes.

I’m looking for my shoes.

They also describe what their child is doing, feeling, hearing, seeing . . .

You’re so tired. It’s time for a nap.

You’re giving Teddy Bear a hug.

Parents instinctively know children need to hear the language to learn it, so they speak to their child and they help make what the child is hearing comprehensible. I do exactly the same thing in class. I begin with TPR (total physical response). The beauty of TPR is that the language is 100% comprehensible from the first class. A word can be taught through TPR if its meaning is transparent without translation. The most obvious groups of words are concrete nouns taught with props and action verbs but also many adjectives, prepositions, etc. I teach lots and lots of verbs in the first few weeks of school including, say, stand (up), sit (down), walk, stop, jump, run, swim, fly, come, come in, go, go out, stay, fall, begin, finish, drink, eat, listen, look, look at, look for, put, take, give, put on, take off, put in, take out, open, close, see, shout, cry, sing, dance, draw, write, sleep, play, work, etc. I say the word, I do the action with one or two students and then I teach the sign for the word to the entire class. I talked about signing with my classes in a previous post. Gestures, combined with teaching vocabulary in context, and constantly recycling vocabulary provides students with a language base that allows them to speak with a basic level of fluency very early on.
If you are interested in using sign language with hearing children, I recommend the following books:

Amazon.com: Dancing with Words: Signing for Hearing Children's Literacy: Books: Marilyn Daniels

Amazon.com: Signing Exact English: Books: Gerilee Gustason,Esther Zawolkow,Donna Pfetzing,Lilian Lopez

or this website:
ASL Browser

Next, I introduce There is/are, this is, he/she/it is, I am and the verbs have, like, want, need, make/do, can, must and the question words and lots of important little words like, so, but, then, if, also. These are worked into daily conversation with the kids and the conversations become stories – usually very repetitive silly stories.
As part of our entry routine, I write a journal entry on a large pad on an easel in the front of the class. It always begins with “Today is . . .” If it is someone’s birthday or if someone has broken a bone or has a new baby brother or sister or pet or is going to Spain for the weekend that gets mentioned. This week Luc (CE2) had a new baby brother. So we wrote, “Today is Monday, February 11th. Luc has a baby brother.” Then I started asking and answering questions with the kids help. I sign a split second before I speak so the kids can speak with me as opposed to repeating after me. Does Luc have a baby sister or a baby brother? Luc has a baby brother. Who has a baby brother? Luc has a baby brother. Does Marc have a baby brother? No, Mark doesn’t have a baby brother. Luc has a baby brother. Luc, does your baby brother cry a lot? Does he sleep a lot? Does he sing or does he cry? Luc said his brother sings so we created a story about the baby singing very loudly all night and Luc can’t sleep so Luc is very, very tired. And of course the baby sings only in English not in French so we burst into song often while telling the story. Luc gets out of bed and shouts “BE QUIET” but the baby does not stop singing. The baby begins to dance. This went on for 10 or 15 minutes. Sometimes we act out the story -2 or 3 or 4 times -or draw the story on the board, anything to help make it comprehensible to everyone.

I also like to share picture books with my classes. The books can be in French because I tell the story using vocabulary they will understand and I ask a lot of questions.

By the way, I see my classes 3x30minutes/week.

Other suggested reading:
Amazon.com: How Languages Are Learned (Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers S.): Books: Patsy Lightbown,Nina Spada

and anything my Stephen Krashen. “Comprehension-based” approaches are based primarily on Stephen Krashen’s Comprehensible Input (CI) theory.
Books and Articles by Stephen D Krashen

Also watch this show about a gesture-based teaching method:
Enjeux

Good luck teaching
cjj

[Pernickety]

cjj,
Fabulous post.

Does it take long to actually learn the signing yourself? I think I may investigate your links and try this as I feel that what I'm currently doing seems disjointed (although, having said that, I'm impressed with the amount the kids have actually remembered since November last)

I've also become a little lazy and find it easier to speak French but I think the kids are beginning to rely on the fact that they will get a translation, so perhaps they'll get a shock after the holidays when I only speak English!

Question: How do the teachers react to your methods? Have you had any feedback from the academie over the years?

[coccinelle]

Hello,
Thanks a lot for all that useful information!
I'm teaching English to kids ages 4 and above and I am really interested in using signs in my lessons. is there an internet link with signs for classroom use? The AIM method is really expensive!
Best regards,
coccinelle

Quote cjj

I’ve been teaching English in French primary schools for the past ten years. I’ll try to explain « how » I teach.
My teaching is comprehension-based. I don’t think you can learn to speak a language without first understanding the language. To understand any language, we have to be exposed to it A LOT and what we are exposed to has to be comprehensible. Parents make language comprehensible when their children are learning to speak their L1. They do this naturally. They seem to know instinctively that it helps children understand if they talk about objects, people and events that can be seen, heard and touched.

A dog! Look at the dog!

I hear a bird. Listen to the bird.

Here comes the mailman.

Parents know children need lots of practice listening so they create opportunities for listening through out the day. They talk out loud about what they are doing as they perform everyday routines and tasks.

I’m cutting the tomatoes.

I’m looking for my shoes.

They also describe what their child is doing, feeling, hearing, seeing . . .

You’re so tired. It’s time for a nap.

You’re giving Teddy Bear a hug.

Parents instinctively know children need to hear the language to learn it, so they speak to their child and they help make what the child is hearing comprehensible. I do exactly the same thing in class. I begin with TPR (total physical response). The beauty of TPR is that the language is 100% comprehensible from the first class. A word can be taught through TPR if its meaning is transparent without translation. The most obvious groups of words are concrete nouns taught with props and action verbs but also many adjectives, prepositions, etc. I teach lots and lots of verbs in the first few weeks of school including, say, stand (up), sit (down), walk, stop, jump, run, swim, fly, come, come in, go, go out, stay, fall, begin, finish, drink, eat, listen, look, look at, look for, put, take, give, put on, take off, put in, take out, open, close, see, shout, cry, sing, dance, draw, write, sleep, play, work, etc. I say the word, I do the action with one or two students and then I teach the sign for the word to the entire class. I talked about signing with my classes in a previous post. Gestures, combined with teaching vocabulary in context, and constantly recycling vocabulary provides students with a language base that allows them to speak with a basic level of fluency very early on.
If you are interested in using sign language with hearing children, I recommend the following books:

Amazon.com: Dancing with Words: Signing for Hearing Children's Literacy: Books: Marilyn Daniels

Amazon.com: Signing Exact English: Books: Gerilee Gustason,Esther Zawolkow,Donna Pfetzing,Lilian Lopez

or this website:
ASL Browser

Next, I introduce There is/are, this is, he/she/it is, I am and the verbs have, like, want, need, make/do, can, must and the question words and lots of important little words like, so, but, then, if, also. These are worked into daily conversation with the kids and the conversations become stories – usually very repetitive silly stories.
As part of our entry routine, I write a journal entry on a large pad on an easel in the front of the class. It always begins with “Today is . . .” If it is someone’s birthday or if someone has broken a bone or has a new baby brother or sister or pet or is going to Spain for the weekend that gets mentioned. This week Luc (CE2) had a new baby brother. So we wrote, “Today is Monday, February 11th. Luc has a baby brother.” Then I started asking and answering questions with the kids help. I sign a split second before I speak so the kids can speak with me as opposed to repeating after me. Does Luc have a baby sister or a baby brother? Luc has a baby brother. Who has a baby brother? Luc has a baby brother. Does Marc have a baby brother? No, Mark doesn’t have a baby brother. Luc has a baby brother. Luc, does your baby brother cry a lot? Does he sleep a lot? Does he sing or does he cry? Luc said his brother sings so we created a story about the baby singing very loudly all night and Luc can’t sleep so Luc is very, very tired. And of course the baby sings only in English not in French so we burst into song often while telling the story. Luc gets out of bed and shouts “BE QUIET” but the baby does not stop singing. The baby begins to dance. This went on for 10 or 15 minutes. Sometimes we act out the story -2 or 3 or 4 times -or draw the story on the board, anything to help make it comprehensible to everyone.

I also like to share picture books with my classes. The books can be in French because I tell the story using vocabulary they will understand and I ask a lot of questions.

By the way, I see my classes 3x30minutes/week.

Other suggested reading:
Amazon.com: How Languages Are Learned (Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers S.): Books: Patsy Lightbown,Nina Spada

and anything my Stephen Krashen. “Comprehension-based” approaches are based primarily on Stephen Krashen’s Comprehensible Input (CI) theory.
Books and Articles by Stephen D Krashen

Also watch this show about a gesture-based teaching method:
Enjeux

Good luck teaching
cjj

[Pernickety]

Quote Rouvrou

I have one teacher who visibly winces when I sing with them (perhaps he is a musician!)

Rouvrou, I'm still sniggering at this!

Am also wading through all the info on the site you recommended, good to see the objectives in black and white.

[cjj]

I found it surprisingly easy to learn the signs for the words I use the most often with my students. I found it easier to learn the signs in the context of a story so I practiced by signing the stories I like to read/tell my students or have created with my students. Also, if a natural sign exists for the word, I use it instead of the SEE sign. Hot, cold, walk and run are a few that come to mind. Until this year, I’ve never had a class for more than one school year so the number of signs I need to know is limited to about 400.
As far as translation goes, I will from time to time translate a word the first time I introduce it. I sign and say if/si/if for example. But, for the first 10 hours or so I try to introduce only words that can be understood from my modeling. For example: Put on the coat, take 2 pencils, run to the door, sit on my chair, sit on your desk, run then jump, sing then shout your name. I also use pictures occasionally to clarify meaning and if someone blurts out something in French, like “I know” or “I don’t understand” or “who me?” I take that opportunity to teach the English equivalent and the appropriate sign.
The “good” teachers really enjoy watching me work with their class and can appreciate what I’m doing. They are so proud and supportive of the progress of their students. I love working with these classes. The other teachers use the time to make photocopies or grade papers – enough said. Every year I have entire classes of future teachers from IUFM come to observe my
classes . . . The feedback I receive is that my methods and the way I interact with my students are "American" or "made in USA".
There are always lots of comments about my "esprit positif et encourageant", constant smile, energy, utilisation of space, movement . . . but even the French teachers who are convinced of the efficacy of my methods say it isn't part of their culture and they tell me flat out they would never be comfortable utilising such techniques. I try not to give up hope.
By far my biggest supporters are the parents.

[Rouvrou]

Many thanks cjj for your informative and detailed posts - there are lots of ideas here that I will try to use and adapt for my own situation.
It seems to me that what you are describing here covers the principles of good teaching - clarity of objectives and varied and interesting activities which support those objectives. If you look at the English materials on the Standards site and the video clips on the linked NACELL site you will see that it is all based on active learning, with lots of ideas for visual and kinaesthetic learning; all very similar to your practice.
It does seem to me (admittedly only after a short exposure to French classrooms) that many of the things we have been talking about in England over the last ten years are not much under discussion here - climate for learning, creating the classroom environment, positive behaviour management, independence, active learning, assessment for learning etc etc.
Is this an accurate view? What do other people think?
regards
Rouvrou

[KEV5446]

Hi rouvrou i teach in spain in a semi private school to 6,7,8 year olds with about 20 children in class. we use the get set go books which prodides teacher and children with a very good base for language learning. they have all the objectives incorperated in a syllabus filled with games , songs and fun but with a very practical step by step way of introducing grammer through speaking , reading and singing. check it out and then with a few flashcrads you will be on your way. thew classroom is your repsonsiblity . you should take it on yourself to decorate with meaningfull english material based on a syllabus and that will inspire the children and make them feel homely. involve them with activities to make posters like picture dictionaries. photosfrom magazines with the french and english words written on and it will help them pick up the grammer.don´t take the easy english in a foreign country way out and wait for the school to paint the claassroom or provide you with a syllabus. teach with a guideline not here and there lessons and internet worksheet in five minutes worksheets invest in a good book with syllabus. contact macmillan or oxford.they have great products in spain with extra story and flashcards and cds with songs and a firm guideline to introduec the grammer and vocab the children needand these were designedandwrittenby pros. check outthe get set go books as soon as you can. you can get flashcards from mes-english on-line as well.