I love being a foreign language teacher! I love that my students can communicate in another language. More importantly, I love that they can SPEAK French. Those first moments when students are speaking the target language to communicate their thoughts and needs are such big moments for them! Due to the resources available and some serious […]
Search Results for: speaking activities
French summer teaching resources
Looking for French summer teaching resources? Summer is getting close! I love seasonal activities, because I think they are a fun way to introduce French vocabulary that students might not learn elsewhere. They are also such a good way to keep students engaged when they are excited about an upcoming break. Whether it’s a fun […]
Block scheduling teaching strategies
es Does your school use block scheduling? Maybe you’re a pro at it and you love it. Maybe you’re like me and you could use some block scheduling teaching strategies for your French class. Since I started teaching French in 2004, I’ve taught in schools with all types of schedules. Mostly, I’ve taught a schedule […]
French school supplies teaching resources
Teaching beginners French school supplies vocabulary? This unit is usually taught way in the beginning of a French student’s journey into foreign language. In most Core French or FSL classes in the U.S., students haven’t had much, if any French. That means it can be hard to get them engaged, because everything feels so new. […]
My favorite French back to school resources
What are my favorite French back to school resources? I have a lot! I have taught everything from 4th grade beginners all the way through AP seniors in FSL, but I also taught middle school French immersion for a long time, too. That means that la rentrée for me sometimes meant a LOT of different […]
How I started teaching in the target language
I didn’t start out teaching in the target language. I struggled a LOT with this when I first became a French teacher. How was I supposed to speak in French when they couldn’t understand me? Weren’t they going to give up? Weren’t they going to miss the instructions? I wanted so badly to do a […]
Teaching the futur simple
Teaching the French futur simple is probably my favorite unit of all. The grammar is a little easier for kids to understand, and we love to play fun games in class. Plus, it’s so much fun to talk about the future! Kids imagine what their lives will be like, and that is always a ton […]
Teaching the passé composé
Teaching the passé composé is one of my favorite French units. There is so much to cover, but suddenly, students are not stuck in the present tense. It really opens up what we can talk about with our students. As they learn the passé composé, I sense a certain relief when they find more freedom […]
Should you assign homework?
Should you assign homework? It’s a debatable topic in education today, and in my opinion, the answer is maybe. It really depends on the class, the age of the student, and the reason for the homework. I don’t feel comfortable making a blanket statement that homework is absolutely necessary or totally bad, because I do […]
How to teach French -er verbs
Teaching French -er verbs can be fun and engaging, but it’s really important to make conjugation accessible to all students. For many students, this might be their first exposure to French verb conjugation, verb charts, and subject pronouns. They’ll need step by step instructions on just how to do it, but they’ll also need interesting […]
