“How am I supposed to teach beginner French students?” was a question I frequently thought of in my first few years of teaching. I have learned so much from trial and error in my first four years of teaching Core French. Here is a list of some dos and don’ts that are an integral part of my French pedagogy.
Before you scroll – grab your beginner French freebie!
The problem with how we have been teaching Core French to beginner French students
So here’s the deal. New French teachers come out of their Education program and tend to teach the way they had been taught French. To be fair, this is my personal experience and what I have observed from my friends and colleagues.
During my Education program, we didn’t go over the different approaches to teaching and learning FSL. We never really discussed how a language should be taught to maximize language acquisition and proficiency.
As a result, I personally had no choice but to repeat how I had been taught in High School and in my undergrad. I know that many of my colleagues have undergone a similar journey.
Now, there are actually so many things that were wrong with this and I am about to break them all down for you!
Decolonize your approach – French isn’t superior to any other language
As French teachers, we must remember that we are teaching a colonial language. Most of us (Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Americans) also live on stolen land. Therefore, it is doubly important that we are not perpetuating harmful colonial ideologies.
Some questions to consider :
- How often do you stress to students that French is a superior language?
- Do children from disadvantaged backgrounds struggle significantly in your classes?
- Are your teaching materials eurocentric?
- Do you teach with a heavy (and extremely positive) emphasis on France? E.g. are you all about the Eiffel tower and baguette situation?
- How often do you teach about certain places because they are “francophone”? (eg. you are ONLY celebrating French, and not celebrating indigenous cultures, languages, religions and ways of living).
- Are BIPOC actively represented from the very beginning to the very end of your course? Not just traumas, but are you representing the joy and success of BIPOC?
- Do you put as much of an emphasis celebrating and studying Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh celebrations and traditions as you do Christian?
I cannot provide answers and alternatives to all of the questions above in this blog post alone, but I will for sure be creating another blog post entirely on this topic in the future.
In the meantime, reflect on this question — “how could you be perpetuating harm through your French pedagogy?”.
Cultivate a culture love for the language
This has been a sentence I have been repeating to my cousin who teaches middle school French. Despite having no background in French, the poor girl is stuck teaching beginner French to her students. I know that many elementary and middle school teachers in BC are in a similar sticky spot.
Make French class a place where your beginner French students WANT to come back year after year. There is no better way of securing the success and longevity of the French program at your school!
I make my French classes really interesting, unique & fun. I am basically that French teacher that teaches Social Studies but in French! We learn about diverse cultures, we listen to tons of music and we play all sorts of games.
You will know you have succeeded at creating a culture of love for French when your students do not want to leave after the bell rings!
Focus on culture
This next point is important for not just beginner French, but all levels. Culture should NOT be a side dish in French class. It should be the main meal!
Culture is actually what makes French class enjoyable, engaging and meaningful. In other words, culture makes French class fun!
Make the learning relevant to the world your students live in
Who else remembers those projects boring French projects like creating a camping trip itinerary or creating a travel company?
While these sorts of projects seem like an interesting learning opportunity, the truth is that your students may find them unengaging because they cannot simply imagine a time when they will be camping in French (lol!).
Instead, teach your students about meaningful topics and themes such as :
- racism in France and/or Quebec
- gender inequality
- human rights issues and inequities
- mental health
Stop explicitly teaching so much French grammar to beginner French students
Seriously though! When we learn our first (and second for many of us) language as babies, it is not by memorizing grammar concepts. This method is also not effective in the Core French classroom.
What tends to occur is that French students are only able to recognize and reproduce those French grammar concepts in the limited contexts in which they learned and practiced the concepts initially.
Instead, I have discovered that teaching grammar implicitly and sometimes even accidentally through French reading and listening comprehension is far more effective.
Drop the French vocabulary lists
Who remembers receiving the longest lists of vocabulary in High School Core French? Even my University professors would do this!
Here’s the problem with French vocabulary lists – students memorize the vocabulary for quizzes and tests and then they forget it. Instead, introduce your students to smaller lists (like 5 terms) in context of an activity (reading comprehension, skit, game, etc).
They will consequently retain that information much better!
How much French are you speaking in class?
One of the biggest mistakes I made with beginner students was not speaking enough French! I was so worried that I would overwhelm my beginner French students that I barely spoke French.
I forgot one of the biggest lessons I learned during my Quebec exchanges — one learns language best when they are IMMERSED in the language. This means that the teacher must speak French to her students!
Now, don’t get me wrong – the French that is spoken to the students must be comprehensible. It must also make use of repetition, gestures, and cognates — especially for beginners.
The moment I started to speak tons of French with my beginner students, their comprehension levels increased dramatically. I was so surprised at how much vocabulary they had picked up with implicit instruction and how much they understood!
How much are your beginner French students talking in class?
This next one actually goes hand in hand with the one we just discussed. How much are your students actually speaking in French? A good chunk of the period, especially in those early classes, needs to be devoted to your students speaking as much French as possible!
Consequently – Core French should be an immersive experience
Over the years, I have come to the realization that Core French classes must be immersive experiences for our students. This IS the best practice for language acquisition and proficiency.
I know this from learning Punjabi and French in immersive environments (the home and exchange programs), and I was silly to think that it would be any different for my beginner French classes.
I’d love to hear from you now – what mistakes have you made teaching French to your beginner Core French students? What valuable lessons have you learned?
