French
Bonne Année 2020 et bienvenue tout le monde
(Happy 2020 and welcome everyone)
It was delightful to return to Preshil and be welcomed with shouts of “Bonjour Madame Suzanne.” I feared that during the holidays, French may have been forgotten – “mais non” – the children have returned ready to keep learning – “I want to be fluent” enthused one of our 11s.
We have welcomed lots of new students this year, some with no prior knowledge of French. It has been wonderful to see these students throw themselves into the program and start speaking right from Day 1 – a language learner needs to be willing to have a go and make mistakes in their learning. The new students have been ably supported by their peers who are always keen to demonstrate and share their knowledge.
I will include lots of our learning on Seesaw if any families would like to follow up with their children at home. The language learner’s mantra – repeat – practise – repeat – practise – repeat – practise.
Kindergarten & Lighthouse
At a young age, children pick up the sounds of language easily – they are so tuned in to learning through oral communication. When Madame Suzanne and Sid come to visit, they speak a different language – how is that different from what we speak? Does anyone else speak different languages? Are there other ways to communicate apart from language? These are all questions we explore in our language classes.
Gestures: Associating a gesture with each new word allows the children to move their bodies and attach meaning to the new vocabulary. Madam Suzanne can then use the gesture and the children can respond with the corresponding French word. We can then transfer these words to different contexts and create full sentences – embedded with the correct grammar.
Henry – Kinder Song: - Je m’appelle, je m’appelle, je m’appelle and je m’appelle
Wren – 5s: Madame Suzanne – what does “mais non” mean?
Topics for Term 1 include; Greetings, Opposites, Numbers, Colours, Animals, Verbs
Loft Room
French takes place in the French Room where each lesson we do something different. Where will the stools be placed and what will we be learning today? The Lofties have remembered so much vocabulary that Madame Suzanne is already including new words to learn. We will revisit some of our previous stories before moving on to a new adventure with Sid, Mimi, le dragon, Norman and Sven – Sven- qui est Sven??
Topics for Term 1 include: Prepositions, Verbs, Opposites, Numbers, Story – Mimi et le dragon
Sunroom
A great start to French in the Sunroom with everyone having a go at speaking French and taking part in all the different activities. Games are proving popular with each day a request for a repeat of some old favourites such as “Oú est Haatchi Paatchi?,”with some new inclusions – “Plus Haut (higher) ou Plus Bas (lower).” The return of Muzzy is hotly anticipated – “Qu’est-ce qui va se passer? (What’s going to happen?) Sophie and Michael are really improving but in times of need, the children are very willing to help them out.
Topics for Term 1 include: Prepositions, Verbs, Opposites, Muzzy, Story – Mimi et le dragon et La Poule Maboule and the new Mimi story.
Peppercorns
We have been progressing our French understandings in the 10s & 11s. We have included some general revision and for the newbies, and introduced the concept of gender in language. We have played different games to embed vocabulary and furthered some of our grammar understandings. Some of these understandings are a slow build. We will add layers as the year progresses. The sloth has been named “Latte” and Muzzy is back in town. Two clear camps are emerging;
- Camp 1 = “j’aime Norman” et
- Camp 2 = “je déteste Norman” - (ask the children).
Topics for Term 1 include: Prepositions, Verbs – including infinitives, Opposites, MovieTalks, Muzzy, Story – Mimi et le dragon and new Mimi story.
Suzanne Banfield
French Language Teacher