Last Thursday, I was observed by Jo Gierl (@JoBeeG73) who is first and foremost a
secondary MFL teacher and also part of the Janet Lloyd Network team as she is
currently teaching French in one of the network’s primary school.
Jo is also involved in the DfE programme ‘Language learning
for everyone’ – a training programme for primary and secondary schools in the north west of England (more information here).
She was with me for a couple of hours and saw Y3, Reception
and Y6… a busy morning!
Jo posted on own her own blog her impressions, from her point of
view as a Secondary teacher, and I’d like to share here what I hope, on my
side, came across in my teaching.
With Year 3:
Primary languages offer an opportunity to learn about the
target language (France) as a country, its culture. It lends itself very well
to cross-curricular work.
For example, at this time of the year or when I’m
starting off with a new class, I like to spend 2 minutes at the beginning of
the lessons to investigate the map of France using a child friendly map like
the one I used in my virtual visit to Paris last year.
Children are interested to find out facts especially as
they’re realising they can decipher a lot of information for themselves and so
we can start develop language learning skills such as looking for cognates,
etc.
Phonics –Now is the right time to have a go at phonics,
children are eager, curious and keen to do well. They want to pronounce the
words correctly and they enjoy 'putting on' their French accent.
With Reception:
This was my first lesson with this class as the children have just
started full time after a couple of weeks of half-days.
They were a little bit shy as you would expect but I wanted
to show that a little language goes a long way.
We practiced : a greeting song ('Bonjour Madame') and added
some actions; saying ‘Bonjour’; played a
circle game to practice Bonjour Madame/Monsieur and finally had a go at saying
‘Je m’appelle…’
So, not a lot of content, but lots of opportunities to listen and hear the language, have go at
speaking through games, showing understanding through actions.
With Year 6:
The lesson was about school subjects and likes/dislikes.
Unintentionally,
it was a very ‘secondary language lesson’ and Jo commented on the fact that
this is the style of lesson she would teach a Year 7 class. And, so, we mentioned
briefly transition and how it will be crucial to understand the range of
experiences that the children are already/will bring in with them in Year 7 and
how it is important to work together to ensure a successful transition.
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