French for primary teachers

My teaching files

2010-11-01T11:51:00.001Z

Change of URL
As of 8 Nov 2010 the old link will not work.

https://public.me.com/kmcmeekin

if asked for a password, it is valley

Learn French Italian or Spanish on Twitter

2009-06-29T09:59:00.002+01:00

Starting today a daily twitter lesson with link to minipodcast for pronunciation.

Follow @learnfrench @learnitalian @learnspanish from your twitter account, twitter.com

Minipodcast here for French, Italian, Spanish

Timeline

2009-05-19T19:09:00.007+01:00

I used a neat online tool called timeglider to create this timeline. http://timeglider.com with free registration
You can make more important events bigger. Great for history lessons!
Click on an event for more information and weblink.
Related events are colour coded
Drag the green slider down to 25 years for a better view.
Click on the spanner to view full screen.

Online Reading List

2009-05-19T11:26:00.000+01:00

Documents, reports etc Download .pdf if available. Don't print - they are long!
CFE MODERN LANGUAGES OUTCOMES 2007
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/outcomes/languages/modernforeignlanguages/index.asp

Citzens of a Multilingual World (aka the Mulgrew) Report 2000
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/education/rati-00.asp rationale
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/education/cmwr-00.asp recommendations
2005 progress report: http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/hmiecoaml.html

5-14 Guidelines
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/5to14/guidelines/modernlanguages/index.asp

HMIE
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/Publications.aspx

Developing the four capacities through modern languages: focusing on successful learners in primary schools. 22/8/2008 .pdf
Modern Languages - A portrait of current practice in Scottish schools 06/02/2007 .pdf

Standards and Quality: Primary and Secondary Schools 1994-1998: in Modern Languages 01/01/2002

Paris widget photos

2009-05-12T12:46:00.002+01:00

Wordle update

2009-05-08T16:34:00.004+01:00

Erin's wordle

It is now possible to embed wordles in blogs and wikis. I had such a job before pasting in screen grabs! Have made some changes to the wiki

If anyone else still has the URL of their wordle please email me it as the search feature in the gallery is no longer available.

Another new feature is the ability to link words together. If you type in a tilde ~ between words they won't be treated separately eg un~chat or un~poisson~rouge

Promenons-nous dans les bois

2009-04-29T18:50:00.001+01:00

Just found this lovely karaoke version with vocab games http://www.jeuchanteenclasse.com/

Nasal vowels downloads

2009-04-25T14:55:00.003+01:00

The 4 sets of nasal vowels rockets are avaiable to download from Sparklebox share zone

Get different sizes by printing 4 9 12 16 to a sheet. Print some blank ones on to card to add to as a new word crops up.

PGP session 2

2009-04-21T19:30:00.009+01:00

Starter

We got into French mode by looking at a clip from BBC learning zone

It was no 1033 on greetings.

Vocabulary presentation and practice

I demoed some techniques for presenting new voc with flashcard picture and wordcards

We looked at MES English and Tools for educators for generating resources like flashcards and dominoes

21st Century vocab learning with quizlet. Pupils can make their own to practise. My set on French colours here My other quizlets here

Literacy links with L1

We talked about what skills in L1 would help L2 learning

I think the most important one is the ability to give synoyms and express yourself in other words, to work out what an expression really means eg he had a new jumper on = he wore a new jumper.

Knowing parts of speech is really useful too. We had a look at Grammar Ninja on the web. It can be downloaded and customised with your own sentences in French or German or Spanish.

Dictionary and reading skills

prediction, clues, context, similarities with English or Latin/Greek words, general knowledge of Mythology la méduse - jellyfish, le renard Reynard the Fox (Aesop's tales, I think)

Finally a challenging reading task on African animal factfiles. This idea is shamelessly stolen from Lynne's blog

In fact most of my ideas are sparked off by my PLN (personal learning network) on Twitter and others such as Talkabout Primary MFL. "Sharing is caring!" Get yourself connected!

I've enjoyed these brief sessions with you and wish you well in your placement and for the future.

Please email me if you have any French related queries or want to share anything you have seen or done! Or leave a comment.

Bonne continuation!

PGP video

2009-04-15T09:03:00.003+01:00

We looked at an American site for the alphabet and explaining about gender. It's a bit "weird" but interesting!

The link is http://studio4learning.tv/foreign-language/french/

You can also find excerpts of it on youtube.

For next session I asked you to read over the first part of the handout I gave out in the tutorials on vocabulary presentation. I will bring spare copies to Monday's lecture.

PGP session 1 continued. Numbers

2009-04-07T19:03:00.008+01:00

We looked at teaching numbers
Start with a few at a time, building up, first lots of listening before repeating. Lots of guessing, minding reading, lip reading. All this is explained in the methodology handout.

You need number figures/flashcards/number fan to hold up.
Ways of practising
Use number fans or mini whiteboards. You say a number, they hold up number fan or fingers or write on whiteboard
In pairs - pupils write randomly the numbers on a sheet and take turns to point and say. Do the same with the written word. Match the word to the number

Written Word - when showing the written word, spend time discussing the spelling, decoding, ask what letters are silent, what other words have you seen wit this combination ofletters eg eu of deux also in bleu. How will you remember this word?
Dice simply throw a dice and say the number. Snakes and ladders activities where you count aloud are good too.
Songs
Referred to Early Learning centre French is Fun CD comptons jusqu'à 10 - lets count up to 10 £5 in store
It also has a traditional comptine: 1,2 3 nous irons au bois
Counting
round the class - BUZZ say buzz instead of multiples of 7 and numbers containing 7 (or whatever number)
11 All stand. In turn say 1 2 or 3 numbers Aim is not to say 11. Whoever is 11 has to sit down and start again at 1. Can be tactical. You know who your friends are!
Instead of just chanting 1 - 100, play hide the thimble. Instead of saying hot and cold class chants numbers getting louder and faster for warm and slower and quieter for cold.
Think of a number. Class guess. You say higher or lower (plus / moins) until they work it out.

Use real opportunities for counting in class - how many for lunch, etc
classroom language
On va compter jusqu’à 20! we’re going to count to 20
on va compter la classe we’re going to count the class
tous ensemble (avec moi) all together (with me)
répétez après moi repeat after me
Comptons let’s count
Compte / Comptez count (to one child)/count (plural)
Combien? How many?

Blagues

2009-04-06T20:50:00.002+01:00

Created using Glogster. Can add sound and video, too! Education account suitable for pupil use. And it's all free!

Curriculum for Excellence news

2009-04-02T17:35:00.003+01:00

Newly published today: Principles and Practice and updated Experiences and Outcomes for Modern Languages
Click here

PGP session 1

2009-04-01T19:41:00.005+01:00

Learning numbers in French (for beginners) or Chinese/Russian etc challenge.
Aim was to put you in the place of a beginner. I suggested Chinese and Russian since the writing system would be no help! Many did other languages including Punjabi, Gaelic, Polish.
Strategies you used to acquire this language

your own personal trainer - eg parent, son or daughter, friend or pupil at school. Excellent for feedback, correction of your mistakes. Loved the Chinese pupil teaching the teacher!. Another student reported the school they had been in had an international week and pupils with different language backgrounds taught some phrases to the others. Value and celebrate the languages the pupils bring with them.
books - very few used a book
youtube - you can find a native speaker to teach you and you can see their mouth. no text; and
internet generally - good for audio and notes. You can play the sound as often as you like. The computer doesn't get fed up with you! But no correction of your mistakes.
Notes - many came with notes, with phonetic spelling

Conclusions

It is hard to learn strange foreign words
Remembering them subsequently is even harder.
It helps if you can associate the sound with something else eg Chinese 30 sounds a bit like sandshoe.
Don't attempt too many at once

We looked at the website hello-world which has some attractive interactive help in several languages.

Poisson d'avril!

2009-03-31T19:52:00.002+01:00

Poisson d'Avril

View more presentations from Alice Ayel.

Gender Issues

2009-03-30T19:33:00.006+01:00

Gender issues

Anecdotal
seen as feminine subject
parental attitudes -subject for girls
role models - few male MFL teachers
boys like challenges, tasks, rules to follow
boys like sport, facts, ICT

boys like German more than French

Need to find evidence to support or refute some of these "facts"

Amanda Salt 2009, Belfast
"One of the great success stories of my year has to be the boy who showed an open dislike for Spanish last year yet has sent me the last two homeworks (created on Goanimate) early, and is visibly more relaxed in class."
http://amandasalt.blogspot.com/2009/03/creating-buzz.html

Mica 2009 on Comic Life
I am not sure if anyone of you has come across this software but it is great for MFL. This creates pages like a typical comic. I have used this to complete ER verbs and reflexive verbs unit. Pupils used cameras to take picture of their daily routine and added speech bubbles to their story. This really engaged some of my boys.

Australia
http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:K9rKigKw8PoJ:education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/area/lote/docs/boys-lote.doc+boys+primary+languages&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=safari
Languages are boring. Boys, in their own opinion, are less prepared to be bored than girls. Many of the boys talked nostalgically about their experience in primary school when languages had been more interactive and task-based, where they did things with the language rather than just ‘copy from the board or read out of the textbook'.

Concentration span (twice as long for girls Kruse 1992)

Jones and Coffey, Modern Foreign Languages 5-11 (course book)
ch 6pp95-96
use variety of methods

LOW, JOHNSTONE CONNACHER Evaluation of the Visiting Specialist
lower achieving boys tend to do better in German (than French) p28

Other possible sources in books
Clark, A. (1998) Gender on the agenda Factors motivating boys and girls in MFLs London: CILT
Doublier, M, Green, S. and Haworth, S. (1998) On est fou du foot/Football crazy London: CILT
Harris, V. (1992) Fair enough? (PF14) Equal opportunities and modern languages London: CILT
Jones, B. and Jones, G. (with Helen Demetriou, Peter Downes and Jean Rudduck) (2001) Boys’ performance in modern foreign languages. Listening to learners.London: CILT
Jones, B. and Swarbrick, A. (2005) It makes you think! Creating engagement, offering challenges (NPF4) London: CILT
Jones, B. (2005) Boosting boys’ motivation in MFL London: CILT

English government site:

http://www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/research/themes/gender/

Thanks o today's researchers

If you have any more references or points please add them in comments!

Interactive exercises on clothes

2009-03-30T08:10:00.003+01:00

quia matching from Mairi

here are some from elsewhere

Babbie

hello world

clothesline fun

Best sites for language help (updated)

2009-03-29T14:12:00.006+01:00

ULTRALINGUA Dictionary and much more eg conjugation - all tenses of verb; numbers- type figures, converts to words; grammar
Wordreference Dictionary with lots of examples and a forum

pronunciation with audio files
database of sound files, French here but other languages too

BBC courses, eg Ma France
BBC learningzone clips

typing accents
or here
LTS charts here

Primary languages

Talkabout Primary - English based network

Primary Languages - English based, training for primary MFL, now incorporates NACELL, video clips

RadioLingua Network (based in Ayr) award winning language learning podcasts to download for free or listen online. (small charge for additional notes, if you want them) eg Coffee Break French and Spanish, Walk Talk and Learn French, School Run French for primary pupils, One Minute Polish, Russian and lots more.

French about - vast American site - excellent resource on French language and culture

the MFLE - part of ltscotland. Lots of resources and a discussion forum

SCILT the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, based at Jordanhill. They publish the Scottish Languages Review and
Scilt wiki

My delicious links tagged and frequently added to

Audio files

2009-03-28T14:41:00.003Z

I have started to upload old audio files to Podomatic. So far I've done the French sound system that I have mentioned before from my French Early Years Course, 2002. Listen here There is a six second pause before I get going!

Clothes

2009-03-22T17:24:00.008Z

For the next 2 weeks we will be exploring ways of teaching clothes in French. We will revisit skills in presentation, look at resources and try to move beyond the topic based approach.

Capture pupils' imagination with nice resources.

These Sparklebox resources - dress the children, bear and pig habille les enfants, le nounours et le cochon are very colouful and beautifully drawn.

If you have a supply of doll's clothes or baby clothes or dressing up clothes, that is so much better than flashcards!

Pegs and a length of clothes line (or skipping ropes) can be put to good use.

You need to teach the content and practise it, then you can progress to a challenge.

gender: American videos studio 4 learning

parts of speech Grammar Ninja, good for whiteboard. Can be downloaded and customised.

revision of possessive adjectives fits in well here

adjectives - colours, beautiful etc suit the topic too

Songs

promenons-nous dans le bois click

washing machine song on CD3 Français français track 09

HW online exercises

millionaire

classtools eg dustbin game

tools for educators - bingo, dominoes

Comic relief - learn Scottish

2009-03-11T23:09:00.001Z

Former colleague Mark Pentleton who runs the very successful languages podcasts Radio Lingua Network has produced a tongue in cheek course in Scottish for Comic Relief. For £3 donation all of which goes to Comic Relief you can download 3 lessons, plus you get a 25% discount off your next purchase.

Full details here

This week

2008-12-01T13:44:00.004Z

This week we are building sentences using verbs of liking (p29 in pink booklet) along with animal vocab (pp16-17) and also hobbies with faire and jouer (pp20-21)
We have games/activities to practise using this

1 What animals does X like? In 2 teams. First team A ask questions Est-ce que X aime les chats? Other team B has already decided what animals X likes. By listening to the answers Team A has to work out what the criteria are eg X like very small animals or animals that have an A in them or farm animals. Then swap over who asks the questions.

2 cards with 2 halves of the sentence - mix and match, make silly sentences. Play at random or choose cards. eg j'aime manger les chats Play in groups then read a favourite sentence each.

I'm aware we haven't done many songs.
We're singing song mon merle a perdu une plume on page 8 along with props!

Introducing some sports and hobbies (handout)
Saying what ones we like
Then onto which ones we do or play.
Writing some sentences on personal likes

3 "walkie talkie" find someone in the class who … (handout)
4 Using mini words cards again to build sentences with hobbies phrases

Some groups did not do the "walking dictation " last week when in the lab

we may also do some question forming, if time.

FOLDERS- I STILL HAVE SOME FOLDERS TO INSPECT

No further homework tasks
Next week: Christmas theme

wiki change

2008-11-27T19:03:00.003Z

I have realised that you can make changes to the wiki without logging in so I have changed the password to protect accidental changes to the settings. You will be able to edit as before. Just go straight to the page

Voki instructions for those absent this week

2008-11-27T18:54:00.005Z

The task
To create a voki that resembles you and who will speak a few sentences in French about you.
To upload finished voki to our wiki https://uwsfrench.wikispaces.com/
(If you are able to get sound into your computer record yourself reading your sentences and update your voki )
You might want to listen to some examples on the wiki first.
Go to voki.com Get started by registering an account. User name is an email which you need to access to activate your account. Then log in. You will see your log in on top right of page. If it is blank you won't be able to save your creation.
Then create a voki. Choose hair etc then background, clicking "done" when finished. Then "Give it a voice" by typing or pasting your text. Choose a French voice from the menu, clicking "done" when finished.

I now realise that there is a limit to how much text youcan have: only about 4-5 sentences (10 seconds worth) so choose good ones.
The text to speech feature will have trouble with English words so you may have to be inventive in the way you "spell" your name eg Sineaid might try something like "chine aide"
Listen to what it sounds like. If it goes too fast, put in extra spaces. Don't worry too much about accents unless é or è which affect pronunciation.

When happy with it you need to publish. "Send to a friend" ie email it to me kay.mcmeekin@uws.ac.uk

And then put it on the wiki for public appreciation!
Instructions for putting it on the wiki are here on the blog

You can go back and edit in voki later. I think the changes will upate on the wiki, unless possibly if it was me who uploaded it in which case you/I will have to do that bit again.

If you have a mic or another way of inputting your voice onto your computer you can put on about 60 seconds worth of recording either directly or by uploading mp3 file. I'm sure some of you are capable of this! And you can speak in your best accent in the privacy of your own home!

The vokis

2008-11-26T19:50:00.002Z

Despite the trials and tribulations of the mac lab we have now got quite a lot of vokis posted on the wiki.

I think I have added all that were emailed to me. If anyone else wants me to do that last bit, mail me your voki and in the message say please post it. Otherwise have a go yourself.

Nominations are being taken for the voki that most resembles its creator. Nominate by commenting below this post. State the name of the person, the section and your name and section. I will try and organise an online vote (my next ICT challenge)

Option meeting

2008-11-25T09:31:00.002Z

I would like to invite those of you who have selected the French option to a short meeting on Wednesday 3 December at 2 - 3 pm. This will give us a chance to discuss expectations and help me plan a course to suit. Can you let me know if this time is suitable by commenting or emailing me kay.mcmeekin@uws.ac.uk

Jose Picardo's post on using vokis

2008-11-24T14:37:00.002Z

Jose Picardo teaches languages in England and has an excellent reflective blog called Box of Tricks. He uses ICT a lot in the classroom.
This is his post on vokis
Well worth a read!

Publishing your Voki to our Wikispace

2008-11-24T14:09:00.007Z

When your voki is finished , click on "my voki" to get this view

in 1 select the last choice "java script"
in 2 select "small"
Click get code
Copy the code

Go to our wikispace (no need to log in)
Go to your section page
click edit this page
go to the icon that looks like a TV screen (widgets editor)
go to the last choice HTML
paste in code
save
type your name before it
click save

Bon courage!

This week in emac lab

2008-11-23T13:30:00.002Z

If you have earphones bring them to hear your voki.

If you already have a google account can you note down your log in. This is the first step to create a blog in blogger.

I have also created a class wikispace to showcase your work. Click here

I have put up some of the wordles and toondoos but it was taking ages! The idea would be that you post your own! I'll give you the log in and a quick demo in class!

Week 48

2008-11-19T08:55:00.003Z

I have booked the emac lab for all classes next week so go straight there. We will do our vokis (see previous post) and create a blog!

Bring folders of work to show me too. May have to arrange to see you outwith class time to get round them all. I am free Monday afternoon between 2- 3.30 and Tuesday between 2.45 -3.45

personal writing

2008-11-18T15:10:00.002Z

If I haven't marked your writing homework by end of this week's class can you email me it. I'll correct and return.

Corrections
Please update your original piece of typing as we need the correct version for next stage of creating a voki. Please bring it on a stick or email it to yourself so that you have it for working on the computers next week!

Essay due date

2008-11-17T13:00:00.004Z

During last week's lecture, taking into account the original published date of the assignment and the pressure of work, I have agreed that the asssignment 's due date in MONDAY 5 JANUARY at 3pm

If you have it ready before then that is great. I will accept submissions the last week of term, by Wednesday 10 December, 3pm.

essay plan

2008-11-13T14:59:00.002Z

As requested, I have now uploaded a (slightly updated) possible essay plan to blackboard.

Personal language - writing HW for wk 47 (updated)

2008-11-10T20:08:00.007Z

Using your knowledge, write about 50 -150 words about yourself.

Beginners: stick to name, age, nationality, where you stay, family, favourite colour.
Others can add more if you can.

First read these 2 passages in quia which provide a model.

Success criteria
accurate spelling and grammar
word processed with accents

Print a copy to hand in. YOU CAN EMAIL ME IT IN ADVANCE IF YOU WISH AND I'LL CORRECT.
Save a digital copy - as next step, we will create something like this

Laure

Get a Voki now!

Documents

2008-11-08T13:53:00.003Z

I have uploaded several documents and papers to blackboard which may be helpful with the essay.

Listening homework for week beg 10 Nov

2008-11-04T09:30:00.005Z

There is an excellent series on the BBC website calld Ma France. It is aimed at adult leaners and although not for complete beginners it is accessible since you can put on French or English subtitles or both or neither.

Choose one of these to watch

no 7 family and animals

no 4 shopping which is culturally interesting

Start here

you can skip the intro

click on video to see the episodes

For the beginners there is another episode on the ma France video podcast series on alphabet, spelling and we met a Scottish-French family and see them playing some games. Click here

select episode 2. Interesting and useful stuff!

Meet some young French people

2008-11-03T14:28:00.001Z

Ayrshire Modern Languages Association (AMLA) is hosting a social evening for Ayrshire's foreign language assistants, French, German, Spanish, Chinese. All interested teachers are invited along.
It will take place in Greenwood Academy, Dreghorn, Irvine on Tuesday 2 December at 7pm. Refreshments will be served.
If you would like to attend please email me.
I'll be there!

bring headphones!!

2008-11-02T19:24:00.004Z

Can you bring along headphones with a stereo mini jack, the kind that plugs into ipod, walkman?

We can get the classroom in a box but they don't have headphones and so many of the activities involve sound. If you don't have them, you'll have to turn the sound off.

email

2008-10-29T23:00:00.002Z

Have discovered that sending me email via blackboard sends it to my old East Ayrshire email address, which I cannot access. You can email at uws.ac.uk

If you have sent any work to blackboard please resend.

Keep the wordles coming! You do need a recent version of java enabled.

To make a word or words bigger type or paste them in more often.

Assignments for week beg 3 Nov

2008-10-27T20:17:00.007Z

Reading You are all welcome to try other groups' tasks.

Higher group
read this magazine article on how to work out what colour suits you
and then

do this exercise
note any vocab you had to look up (on www.wordreference.com)
write in French what type you think you are and why.

Standard group
Simpson family. You may need to read beyond the answer space to find the answer.
note any new voc
http://www.quia.com/cz/8726.html

You don't need a password just hit play game!
To show you did this, print the last screen

Beginners group

personal language
work out the answers to the questions and

questions to go with the answers
http://www.quia.com/pop/235942.html

To show you did this print the last screen

Next week's presentations

2008-10-22T12:07:00.002+01:00

The format for next week will be

1 presentations from Higher group

you will present the new language and activity to the beginners' group. No need to prepare activity material for the whole class - just enough for some or all of the beginners.

The Standard group will be peer assessing. As will the rest of the class.

2 Then the Standard group will talk to their presentations. You can bring any ppt or word doc on a memory stick to load onto the laptop at the beginning of the lesson or can send in advance by email. Make sure you tell me which section you are. Rest of class will peer assess the presentations.

Hope we will get through all of them in the time.

Beginners group will be the guinea pigs for the higher group. The date for your submissions is the following week. You don't have to present in front of the class unless you want to!

I'm really looking forward to seeing you in action!

ICT challenge number 2

2008-10-21T21:28:00.003+01:00

Go to http://wordle.net

have a look in the Gallery

Wordle requires a browser with java enabled

Task

Create a wordle to illustrate a phonic cloud such as you have been doing on the pink sheets and like the example I did for "oi" (see my post of the 17th October)

(If the beginners group find this too hard, type in a set of French numbers instead)

You don't need to log in

type your words (carefully!)

click go

play about with colour, fonts and layout (maybe best to avoid black background for printing)

when you are satisfied with the look, save to gallery (at bottom of window)

Give it a title eg French ui sounds and sign it with your first name, section and UWS

Save is undoable and undeletable

take a note of its URL and email it to me

print it out for your file, if you can!

A chance for those who failed with toondoo.com to redeem themselves!

Bon courage!

Wordle

2008-10-17T17:38:00.005+01:00

http://wordle.net is a tool for presenting words in an eyecatching way. It is free and quick to use.

Here is one I did for OI sound.

Here is another from the Gallery for numbers above 20

Can you think of other uses?

erratum and online ex

2008-10-14T19:11:00.002+01:00

Oops sorry typo on nationalities sheet
Scottish masculine form is écossais
feminine form is écossaise

Have discovered quizlet and made up these vocab sets.
Play scatter is quite fun. the race game requires you to type.

colours
countries
nationlities

you can search for other sets

Jobs - les métiers, Marital status

2008-10-14T15:04:00.004+01:00

Useful for celeb presentations
Qu'est-ce qu'il fait dans la vie? What does he do for a living?

NB no word for "a" in these expressions
il est acteur - elle est actrice
il est chanteur - elle est chanteuse (singer)
il est footballeur
il est millionnaire

il est marié avec X
elle est mariée avec X

Assignments

2008-10-13T13:30:00.005+01:00

I have spoken to the library staff about making more of the books available on 3 day loans. Paul had asked about where to find Standard Circular 1178 online. I have drawn a blank there too. It is quoted in the books though.

Language Assignments
This week I will be reseating you in ability groups and setting appropriate language homework.

Higher and above Group
Standard grade group
Beginners and near beginners

The tasks will be explained in class. For the sake of this morning's group here they are.

Higher Group
due date week beg 27 Oct

In pairs, following the general order in FC presentation handout, prepare a presentation of about 6 items of voc followed by a pupil activity in context.

You will be told which vocabulary to prepare. Start by thinking what would be a suitable activity to do with pupils, This will inform you which article to teach with the noun. Use visual aids eg fcs or objects.

eg if pupils are going to have to say I like cats I don’t like dogs
then teach the plural of the nouns along with “les” since they will be saying “j’aime les chats”

Write out the presentation in note form but including the French instructions

You will be asked to present it together with your partner in front of class or group. It should last 5 – 10 minutes.

Success criteria
show an understanding of the methodology
good visuals – flashcards or objects
correct grammar eg gender
good pronunciation
brisk delivery
suitable support for the activity
enjoyable for teacher and class
good collaborative work

Standard group
Due date week begin 27 October

In pairs, prepare in French a presentation on a celebrity to include personal information eg name, age, birthday, where born, nationality, languages spoken, where s/he lives, family, what s/he does for a living ca 150 words
You will be expected to deliver it in front of class. You don’t have to memorise it.

Format: any PPT, Word or poster with photo plus text maybe audio pre-recorded or just read.

Success criteria
attractive to look at
accurate writing: spelling grammar,
good pronunciation
confident delivery
shared presentation

Beginners group due date week beg 3 Nov
You should be concentrating on building up your core vocab.
I will discuss with each group a suitable task
You could try a similar presentation to the Standard group with 50 words
stick to what we have done in class

More files uploaded

2008-10-12T13:05:00.002+01:00

I have uploaded to blackboard: assessment record,
Powerpoints on the verb to be and another on regular -er verbs for those who need it.
Also notes on countries and nationalities for this week, and on colours as some asked for it.

The cartoon challenge

2008-10-10T09:50:00.003+01:00

I am enjoying your cartoons.
Cartoons created in UWSclass appear in In menu Toons, MyToonsDoos. Other ones can be marked as favourites and appear in Galleries>My favourites. I am posting comments as I find them. Please remember to add your name. A few are unsigned!
Please go back and look.

Strangely not all the cartoons seem to showing up. It says there are 25 but I can only see 14. Maybe best to do your own log in, publish to the world and let me know the URL.

Here are some nice examples!

Reading Update

2008-10-09T16:11:00.003+01:00

The key text book for this module is Jones and Coffey modern foreign languages 5-11- a guide for teachers.

If you want to buy one this would be the most helpful.

Chapter One gives a good background into thinking behind an early start. Chapter 4 gives ideas on presenting language and ties in very nicely with what we are doing at present.

Toondoo.com seems to be particularly slow in the afternoon and evening. if you are having trouble, try logging on in the morning while the US is asleep!!

About 10 of you still have to fill in the form asking for information. Please do this before next week. You know who you are!

Writing Challenge (updated)

2008-10-07T11:12:00.002+01:00

For week beginning 13 October your challenge is to create a brief dialogue using only some of language we have done eg greetings, name, age, colours.

This is also an ICT challenge - create a comic strip in Toondoo.com or if you know of something similar that will do the job that is fine too.

Log in to http://www.toondoo.com
EITHER Register your own account for privacy
Remember to note your username and password!
OR use an account I created user name UWSclass PW craigie
Everyone can see everyone else's then!

Have a look around eg do a search for French

I will do a quick demo in tutorial this week but it is pretty intuitive. Drag shapes to the boxes. Add your name to the title bar. Put "tags" like French and name for easy searching.
If using your own account, once you have created your masterpiece "share" it with me by emailing it. You can print it for your files if you wish!

Have fun!

Here is my first attempt

Models of MLPS delivery

2008-10-05T19:41:00.002+01:00

Models of delivering the teaching of MLPS in Scotland

1. Secondary specialist visits

2. Peripatetic teacher visits several schools

3. Trained primary teacher – class teacher

4. Trained primary teacher – drop in teacher

5. Native speaker eg Comenius assistant

6. Immersion eg Gaelic Medium schools

7. partial immersion eg Walker Road school in Aberdeen

1. Secondary specialist visits – has good knowledge of language and teaching methods, if from associated secondary school benefits for transition of knowing the pupils when they get to S1. May underestimate capabilities of primary pupils. Problems associated with drop in teaching – once a week, timetabling, cancelled classes etc Tried in pilot but not widely successful

2. Peripatetic teacher visits several schools – will usually be well qualified, often native speaker. Problems associated with drop in teaching – timetabling cancelled classes etc
Expensive, short term solution

3. Trained primary teacher – class teacher, can do some every day

4. Trained primary teacher – drop in teachers. In some schools used to cover McCrone time, or when trained teacher teaches in lower school.

5. Native speaker eg Comenius assistant. Great for culture. short term additional support

BILINGUAL models
6. Immersion eg Gaelic Medium schools – very successful, very expensive, difficulties recruiting staff. 80% of pupils have no Gaelic background

7. Partial Immersion eg Walker Road school in Aberdeen. also very successful has now been stopped due to financial situation

References:
SCILT
Walker Road Evaulation 2000 – 2008

Les couleurs

2008-10-05T12:51:00.009+01:00

rouge bleu vert jaune
orange violet rose gris
marron noir blanc
bleu foncé bleu clair
or argent (gold and silver)
C'est quelle couleur? C'est bleu (what colour is it? It's blue)
Moi, j'aime le rose. I like pink
Quelle est ta couleur préférée? What is your favourite colour?
Ma couleur préférée est le violet. My favourite colour is purple

Je n'aime pas le vert.. I don't like green.

mais = but for "fat" sentences!

J'aime le rose et le bleu mais ma couleur préférée est le violet.

Preparation

2008-10-05T12:02:00.002+01:00

You already have a lot of reading to do. No written work for this week.

I have now uploaded ppt of last week's lecture and the one on conjugations to Blackboard. There are links to online exercises on it and other exercises in these posts. Links are red in colour!

Work at numbers. This week we will add colours to our repertoire.
My links to colour activities

Quel âge as-tu? (updated post)

2008-10-04T14:50:00.001+01:00

Quel âge as-tu? What age are you? How old are you?

J'ai neuf ans.

Note you are really saying I have 9 years so you can't miss out the ans as you can in English since it won't make sense!

Moi, j'ai neuf ans, et toi? I'm 9 what about you?

Moi aussi, j'ai neuf ans. I'm nine too. (Note the position of "aussi")

To give other ages, you need the present tense of the verb to have, avoir
j'ai - I have
tu as - you have
il a - he has
elle a - she has
nous avons - we have
vous avez - you have
ils ont- they have
elles ont - they have (all F)

Question forms with inversion

Quel âge as-tu?

Quel âge avez-vous?

Quel âge a Pierre?

Quel a-t-il?

Quel âge a-t-elle?

I am uploading ppt file with subject replacement and present tense avoir to blackboard

Reading

2008-09-30T20:42:00.002+01:00

I have uploaded a couple of good papers to the Bibliography in Blackboard.

Following an enquiry from a student regarding which of course books to buy, my advice would be borrow them from the library!

SALT conference 1 November

2008-09-28T14:50:00.001+01:00

The annual conference of the Scottish Association of Language Teachers (SALT) takes place on Saturday 1st November at the University of Stirling.
There is a varied programme of keynote speakers, 3 seminars from a choice of 29 covering primary and secondary, plus publishers' displays and freebies. The cost is £58 (£18 for students) including coffee and lunch.
It is a very enjoyable and worthwhile day.
More info online

les nombres

2008-09-25T08:33:00.002+01:00

In the tutorials we'll be working on numbers next week. If you want a head start:-

links to lots of number activity sites here

Carla Bruni

2008-09-24T19:35:00.004+01:00

Je vous ai promis Carla Bruni, femme du Président Nicolas Sarkozy. Et voilà!
Quelqu'un m'a dit

young French people in Ayrshire

2008-09-24T19:27:00.002+01:00

There are several young (early twenties) French, Spanish, German and 1 Chinese language assistants living in Ayrshire - Kilmarnock, Ayr, Irvine, Ardrossan. If any of you would like to meet them socially let me know and I will give you some more info.

French and other world languages

2008-09-24T18:45:00.001+01:00

francophone is the French adjective for French speaking
France about has information on who speaks French, numbers and countries etc

French speaking countries here, in English!

As for the most widely spoken here are some interesting lists. Note the date of 1997. Here is another list dated 2006.

map of French speaking countries

l'alphabet

2008-09-23T15:00:00.004+01:00

Listen to the pronunciation of single letters here

or watch Véronique enunciate on youtube

Spelling

Say the word you want spelt, then

… comment ça s'écrit? how is that written? eg

Votre (ton) nom de famille, comment ça s'écrit?

A is for … A comme …

Alphabet song Canadian choir jazzy karaoke

abcdefg

je sais que tout va changer

hijklmn

là où le courant te mène

opqrstu

plus tard que deviendras-tu?

vwxyz

quand tu ouvriras tes ailes

usual alphabet song

abcdefg

hijklmnop

qrstuvw

xxyz OK

ça c'est l'aphabet français

Nice alphabet poster showing French handwriting

Quel est votre nom?

2008-09-22T10:00:00.002+01:00

Quel est votre nom? Mon nom est Kay McMeekin

French people usually give their surname only. Mon nom est Lafarge.
and their signature is just the surname.
Otherwise they give their surname followed by their first name, LAFARGE Paul. This can cause confusion when you give your name to a French person!

Mon nom de famille est McMeekin Mon prénom est Kay

Be prepared to spell your name!

Les prénoms
Here you can find the most popular first names by year from 1940!
or this site from 1900 - 2006
What names do French people your age have? Pick one you like to be your "French" name!

Saints' days (la fête) are celebrated like birthdays in France. People will say bonne fête. Everyone knows when your saint's day is. Find out here

Comment t'appelles-tu?

2008-09-22T09:47:00.005+01:00

Je m'appelle Kay. Et toi?

Stand in a circle and throw a soft toy randomly (or seemingly randomly - start with pupils you know will cope!) Pupils throw toy back to you. When more confident they can throw toy to other pupils.

Then, instead of et toi, use the question Comment t'appelles-tu?
This is the normal way of asking when talking to someone younger or the same age and status.

A more casual form you may be familiar with is Comment tu t'appelles? It means the same but is more informal.

The correct way of forming a question is using inversion - ie verb before subject and joined with a hyphen.

Here are the other questions and answers
Comment t'appelles-tu? Je m'appelle …
Comment vous appelez-vous? Je m'appelle …
Comment s'appelle ton père? Il s'appelle André. or Mon père s'appelle André.
Comment s'appelle-t-il? Il s'appelle …
Comment s'appellent tes frères? Ils s'appellent Paul et Pierre. or Mes frères s'appellent …
Comment s'appellent-ils? Ils s'appellent Paul et Pierre.
Comment s'appelle-t-elle? Elle s'appelle …

vous is for adults (or plural)
Note the single -l- in the vous form
the "-t-" is there for ease of pronunciation
The "-ent" verb ending is pronounced the same as the "-e" ending

Online quia exercise

Hot potatoes ordering exercise

BEd students

2008-09-22T09:02:00.001+01:00

Please complete this form and submit! It will save me a lot of typing!

Bonjour et bienvenue

2008-09-04T09:45:00.000+01:00

Welcome to this blog of grammar and teaching notes to support teaching French in primary schools.