Day 2 - 1st December

Welcome to new class members.
Registration paperwork.

Intro video from Salut Serge/French is fun (BBC) video clip. Episode 1, Ici la France
Bonjour, salut, (faire la bise, serrer la main, les boules) comment t'appelles-tu? je m'appelle, au revoir

Review of homework.
Review of last week.
Photos

I found some more ideas on the activity from last week Quiz Quiz Trade for vocabulary checking.
Also the Inside Outside Circle as described in the above forum by staralar

We also use this with the inside/outside circle. I don't know if you have done this activity. It is very similar to quiz, quiz, trade. Half the students form a circle facing out and the other half of the class forms circle facing in. They should be facing a partner. If you have an odd number of students you may have to be part of this one. Each child is given a card. They ask their partner the question and then confirm if correct or "Tip Tip Tell" if incorrect and give a praise. Then they trade cards and the outside circle moves to the left. Now, they have a new partner and quiz quiz trade again. I have used this with vocabulary, telling time, multiplication, etc. It is a great way to spiral at the beginning of a lesson or check for mastery at the end of a lesson.

Introduction to the Theory of Second Language Acquisition

How we teach is driven by theory and research. We will look at some methods and some research and current thinking.
How did you learn French at school?
This will depend on your age! I learnt in the 60s when it was quite driven by grammar. We learnt lists of vocabulary every night and had the tools to put it into sentences. We were pretty good at reading, writing, translating but not so good at conversation and certainly not idiomatic usage. (Whitmarsh French grammar)
In the 70s it was the audio lingual method with film strips and tape recorders, language labs and much drilling of grammar structures. (Longman's Marsaud family - but still little relationship to real life) Still whole class teaching.
There was a bit of a sea change in the 80s with paired speaking and self assessment. (Tour de France) and more authentic tasks eg role playing.
Learning by doing and total physical response featured in the early MLPS materials from the 90s.
In the 21st century there is the start of the digital age with the internet and CD roms to provide up to date authentic material. Being creative with digital movies and sound files, email links
Then Web 2 with interactive and sharing media such as podcasting, blogging, facebook, twitter, wikispaces makes it easy to find a real audience/real collaboration. Instead of just talking or writing to the teacher the whole world of native speakers or other learners is available.

Currently the Curriculum for Excellence seeks to make languages more relevant, challenging and interest based. It is more than learning words and phrases, it is a key to the wider world. It can be interdisciplinary eg if learning about space, learn about it in French. It ties in with literacy, global citizenship, even numeracy.

A major influence on recent methodology has been Stephen Krashen, emeritus professor at Southern California. He published Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition in 1982.

Let him speak for himself in this clip from the eighties.



Earlier researchers are Chomsky, Lenneberg and Vygotsky

Comprehensible Input - when we understand messages (what is said or written) - the Input Hypothesis. Talking is not practising. Speaking emerges gradually.
Silent period (Lenneberg) - listening, picking out comprehensible input, this is normal.
Speaking in conversation

Affective Filter Hypothesis - What blocks language acquisition?
motivation
self-esteem
zero anxiety

LAD language acquisition device (Chomsky) - a built in brain mechanism that everyone has to process language.

Summary - we acquire language in only one way - when we get comprehensible input in a low anxiety environment, when motivated and expecting to succeed.

Language
Numbers
Useful aids - number flashcards and mini flashcards, dice, number fans, dominoes, board games, counting games

I was unaware of the ban on Sparklebox until yesterday, http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6033403&navcode=94
Link to pdf of the SB mini cards, 6 to a page - NB clicking will start download SB862 6 to a page This link is not to Sparklebox but to my Dropbox)

Numbers t0 100 hello-world

Song: Dix petites fleurs

Lots of number activities are in your course materials

Try to avoid mindless class chanting of numbers up to 30 or 100! (a particular bête noire of mine!)

Time permitting we'll make a start to Christmas.