Innovative teaching strategies in French
This term we have been studying the topic of Holidays with our Year 9 students (ages 13-14). As part of the topic we decided to devise a Holiday rap. Students looked at an example of a holiday in the past tense and tried to come up with as many rhymes as possible on this theme. We found that by using the perfect tense we could do this most easily. Students looked at an example and then worked in pairs/groups to create their own holiday rap. They then acted out their raps to the rest of the group. Here is an example of two of the holiday raps that we created. For the second part of the project students from two Year 8 classes created their own language activity and delivered these in their Maths lessons. Students worked in groups to create a variety of innovative games which tested their linguistic skills as well as challenging the rest of the class and their Maths knowledge. Activities included Spanish bingo with students completing number challenges to arrive at the correct number; Elevens in German; a French Sudoku challenge and a logic puzzle in German. Student feedback was very positive with students showing great cooperation to devise the activities as well as developing their presentational skills.
During the Spring term students from Year 8 went into a variety of different year groups to observe other classes during their MFL lessons and also to check the criteria for what makes an effective MFL lesson. Lessons observed included a Year 8 German lesson with students interviewing each other in a Speed Dating style and Year 10 French students creating and performing their own holiday rap. The feedback from students who observed lessons was that not only was it interesting to use the checklist but it also gave an insight into what languages look like as you go further up the school. The top criteria observed were that there were a variety of activities during the lesson and students were able to use lots of spoken language during the lesson. Speed Dating in German In December all students in Year 8 had the opportunity to show off their language skills in Maths lessons. Students were given a variety of starter activities in both French and German which included sequencing and more complex adding and subtracting tasks. Students had spent time in their language lessons revising numbers and Maths staff were keen to greet students, give praise and instructions in the target language. Student feedback was very positive with some of their comments attached.
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