alice’s posterous

Isabelle Jones sent this wonderful link on Twitter the other day about getting physical in the classroom by using movement and language.

Marc Helgesen from Miyagi Gakuin Women's College has listed numerous activities which can be used to introduce or reinforce a topic.I have already tried one of the activities listed called FonFs (Focus on forms). The good thing is that there is no preparation required and you can practice different structures and new vocabulary.

I used it in French with grade 4 students (8-9 years old). They have been learning items of clothing, so I explained to them I went on holidays and I wrote on the board:
Dans ma valise, j'ai emporté.... (in my suitcase, I had.......)
Students worked in pairs. They faced each other. One partner held his hands in front of him, palms up.The other partner said the target sentence (Dans ma valise, j'ai emporté un pull) and slapped the first partner’s hands. The first partner said the next sentence. That sentence included the first item from the previous sentence (un pull) and a new item (Dans ma valise, j'ai emporté un pull, un pantalon) and slapped the partners hands.
Students loved slapping each other's hand! and it was a good way to memorise the different items of clothes, plus they learnt a sentence in the past tense.

I used it in Spanish with grade 7 (12-13 years old). This time they practiced a mi me gusta bailar, navegar por internet....(I like....).They enjoyed it so much (there are all boys!) that we did it a second round with a mi no me gusta.....(I don't like...)

The version from Marc Helgesen includes saying a word starting with every letter of the alphabet, so that students play the game from A to Z. But I thought it would get too complicated for my students so we just did the activity randomly.

There are many more activities I want to try on this web page so I will be posting more to tell you how I adapted them and how they went.

What about you? what are your warm-up activities?

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Yesterday night, I watched Looking for Eric directed by Ken Loach and starring Steve Evets as a depressed postman from Manchester and Eric Cantona as "lui-même" or himself!
Ken Loach is not known for making funny and uplifting films. I remember watching Sweet Sixteen or It's a Free World... and feeling so depressed afterwards! However Looking for Eric was funny and touching at the same time. Ken Loach still describes working class people and confused teenagers who have stopped going to school. Eric Bishop is a football fanatic postman whose life is descending into crisis. But this time there is optimism. Eric's hallucinations bring forth visits from his football hero, the famously philosophical Eric Cantona, who gives him advice. Thanks to Cantona and with the help of his friends, Eric Bishop will overcome his problems.

Ken Loach said of the film, "We wanted to deflate the idea of celebrities as more than human. And we wanted to make a film that was enjoying the idea of what you and I would call solidarity, but what others would call support for your friends really, and the old idea that we are stronger as a team than we are as individuals."

Two important points why I enjoyed watching the film:

• the comic situation in that a Frenchman gives a lesson to an Englishman ;)
• the fact that we are stronger as a team and that football is a team sport and not individual players scoring amazing goals. When Bishop asks Cantona his best moment in his football career, Cantona says: "it's not a goal, it's a pass". That is what football is all about!

I thoroughly recommend seeing it. My favourite quotes are "I'm not a man, I'm Cantona." and "He who is afraid to throw the dice, will never throw a six." :))

Plus d'infos sur ce film

What about you? Have you watched the film? Did you enjoy it?

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I teach Spanish and French in an IB (International Baccaulaureate) school. This is the first time in my teaching career that I experience the IB programme. Previous to that, I was teaching the British curriculum.

So, what is the IB? According to the IB website:
The International Baccalaureate chooses to define "international education" according to the following criteria.

• Developing citizens of the world in relation to culture, language and learning to live together
• Building and reinforcing students’ sense of identity and cultural awareness
• Fostering students’ recognition and development of universal human values
• Stimulating curiosity and inquiry in order to foster a spirit of discovery and enjoyment of learning
• Equipping students with the skills to learn and acquire knowledge, individually or collaboratively, and to apply these skills and knowledge accordingly across a broad range of areas
• Providing international content while responding to local requirements and interests
• Encouraging diversity and flexibility in teaching methods
• Providing appropriate forms of assessment and international benchmarking.

• ask challenging questions
• learn how to learn
• develop a strong sense of their own identity and culture
• develop the ability to communicate with and understand people from other countries and cultures.

This is illustrated by a hexagon with the three parts of the core at its centre.

Students study six subjects selected from the subject groups. Normally three subjects are studied at higher level (courses representing 240 teaching hours), and the remaining three subjects are studied at standard level (courses representing 150 teaching hours).

All three parts of the core—extended essay, theory of knowledge and creativity, action, service—are compulsory and are central to the philosophy of the Diploma Programme.

The three core requirements are:

1. Extended essay: The extended essay has a prescribed limit of 4,000 words. It offers the opportunity to investigate a topic of individual interest, and acquaints students with the independent research and writing skills expected at university.
2. Theory of knowledge (TOK): The interdisciplinary TOK course is designed to provide coherence by exploring the nature of knowledge across disciplines, encouraging an appreciation of other cultural perspectives.
3. Creativity, action, service (CAS): Participation in the school’s CAS programme encourages students to be involved in artistic pursuits, sports and community service work, thus fostering students’ awareness and appreciation of life outside the academic arena.

What about you? Have you experienced the IB programme?

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Click here to download:

1_phonics.ppt (901 KB)

When Suzi Bewell talked to me about phonics, I didn't know what she was on about! She explained to me what it was and did a explanatory presentation on strategies for teaching French phonics (also Suzi Bewell set up a blog for her school which is amazing! http://www.allsaintslanguagesblog.typepad.co.uk/):>

I thought it was a brilliant idea to improve students' pronunciation. Most of the time, we teachers assume that our students know how to pronounce words in the target language, but in fact they don't. They are very confused when we correct them and then their motivation to learn another language starts to decrease! That is why I am thinking of planning strategies to teach my students Spanish phonics next year, although I do think Spanish is very easy to pronounce (compared to French!). For most of the words, you just pronounce them as you read them apart from some letters like "jota" for example. Rachel Hawkes did a lot of work on how to teach Spanish phonics and her blog is full of excellent ideas. I found one of her Powerpoints on ideas to teach phonics (just see above).

What are you thoughts? Have you tried teaching phonics to improve your students' pronunciation?

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Click here to download:

Amelie_Poulain.doc (3299 KB)

This is a fantastic workbook about the French film Le fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain. I found it on the TES website and it was created by aliciagomez.

I used this workbook with my year 10 class (15 years old) during the last week of school year. The first part of the workbook is to be completed before watching the film. They are facts about the film and the actors. The second part is to be completed after watching the film or when watching and you can pause for each section to be filled.

The film is set in the heart of Paris in Montmartre and is a romantic comedy depicted parisian life. During the film, we can see Amélie in famous parts of Paris: Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Martin's Canal, Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, La Gare du Nord.  The film also contains lots of references to French culture and way of life. For example, Amélie meets her cloistered neighbour, Raymond Dufayel, a painter who continually repaints Luncheon of the Boating Party (Le Déjeuner des canotiers) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. In the workbook students have to research this painting.

The flat where Amélie lives is typical of a parisian flat with the concierge, Madeleine Wallace who lives of the ground floor in her "lodge". The neighbourhood greengrocer where Mr Collignon and Lucien work is also very French!

My students enjoyed watching the film because each character has its own personality and is quite eccentric. They also discovered Paris and Parisians which they enjoyed. Personally this is one of my favourite film because I am a Parisian and Montmartre is the place where my cousins used to live, so I can relate to the scenes very well!

What about you? Do you use films to teach your students the culture of a language/country?

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There are already great contributions with videos, poems, articles and websites, as well as ideas to implement reading strategies in the classroom. I have added my little contribution today with resources related to the 20th century's writer, Jean Giono and his book L'homme qui plantait des arbres (The man who planted trees).

I do believe reading books in a another language and understanding the literature of another country helps you to better learn a language and understand the culture behind the language.

So if you:

• need help with your plans for literature/reading in the classroom, click on the Discussion tab and start a thread with your question and/or comment.
• have a link to a video, song, poem, article, website, etc. for a reading, click on the century for which you have something to share and get started today!

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I have been watching OSS 117 Rio ne répond plus, the second movie about the famous French secret agent Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath (who shall be referred to as Hubert, to spare you the tedious length of his name) and I've found it as funny (even funnier) than the previous one OSS 117 Le Caire, un nid d'espions.

Hubert (played by great actor Jean Dujardin) is the anti-hero, a parody of the traditional espionage movie. He is the stereotype of the arrogant Frenchman, misogynistic, a chauvinist, filled with racial, colonial and cultural prejudices. The character is so grotesque and exaggerated, it is impossible not to laugh at his stupidity. And when we laugh, we can do it without feeling guilty because it is not the Arabs, Jews or Chinese that we are laughing at, but the outdated attitude of the old-school Frenchman.
Hubert is a mix of Austin Powers and James Bond, but in the French way with alcohol, women, and deranged dance moves. It is very politically incorrect but it works because it is French!

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There was a time in France during the summer holidays when children would have a "cahier de vacances" which was an exercise book to revise the curriculum covered during the year and to start the new school year in September well prepared! I can clearly remember myself, my brother and sister and my cousins working on the dining table in the morning  in Arcachon so that we could then go to beach in the afternoon! We would often see some "poorer" children studying their "cahiers de vacances" on their beach towels being watched over by their sadistic parents or even grand-parents!



Well... Times have changed as this year the French government has realized it is the 21st century and is providing resources and exercises online for free (I forgot to mention that our parents had to pay for these "cahiers de vacances")! YES, believe it or not, they have created this online academy. You can access the resources either by subject or by level. I had a look at the exercises and they look fun and engaging although the explanations at the start are a bit tedious! There are lots of resources that might be useful for French teachers and also Spanish teachers.
If you are teaching French phonics to help your students improve their speaking skills, follow this link, there are lots of activities related to sounds. I played them with my 3 years old son and he enjoyed them.
If you cannot find the activities, make sure you scroll down the page and click on "Accéder aux activités".

What about you? did you have to carry on working during holidays when you were a child?

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Last week, we finished the topic about school with my year 7 classes so I took them to the computer room and asked them to type some of the topic's key words on Wordle.

I had already tried this lesson previously in the year and it had been a success, and this time because my students knew the tool already, they enjoyed it even more ;)

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Recently, I enjoyed watching this controversial Moroccan movie by the female Muslim director Laila Marrakchi.

"The title Marock is a play on words based on the French name of Morocco Maroc and Rock as in Rock'n Roll.
Set in Casablanca, a Moroccan Muslim teen falls for a handsome and progressive-minded Jewish boy. High school is drawing to a close for 17-year-old Rita (Morjana Alaoui) and her carefree friends. When Rita meets fun-loving Youri (Matthieu Boujenah) and the pair hit it off, her liberal Muslim family's open-minds soon begin to close when they discover that their daughter's new boyfriend is Jewish." from Wikipedia.

I thought the tone was a bit naive as it is about teenagers and first love but behind the romance, we discover Morocco today. A country divided between rich and poor and where rich youngsters are living the same kind of life as youngsters in the western part. We also discover a liberal country where girls and women are quite freed from Muslim tights but where there is a strong divide between religious groups, in this case Muslims and Jewish. What stroke me was that Rita's brother comes back from the UK more Muslim than when he was living in Morocco. I thought the ending was a bit coward. Laila Marrakchi did not want to confront with a a difficult choice and so chose an "easier" way to end the film! But I will let you watch it and decide ;)

I also think it is a good film for French learners as wealthy Moroccan people still speak French most of the time and go to prestigious French schools to study. It makes you aware of the strong French legacy in Northern Africa.

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