Teaching Languages - Primary
Class Teacher
Linguistic Element – FL014
Day One
14 January 2010
Teaching Languages - Primary Class Teacher
Linguistic Element – FL014
Day One
Audit
1. What previous language learning experience do you have?
Language?
Level?
When?
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2. How do you feel about your language skills now?
confident
nervous
terrified
unprepared optimistic
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3. Do you know where to find language learning support?
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4. Do you know where to find primary language teaching support?
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Primary Languages – What do children need to know by the time they LEAVE at the end of
Year 6, that is after at least 4 complete years of language learning by 2014?
The recommended level of achievement is approx NC level 4 or ‘Breakthrough Level’ as
measured by (for example) ASSET on the Languages Ladder (the UK version of the Common
European Framework).
The following is an example of how the Asset Breakthrough Specification Content (which can be downloaded for
various languages from the Asset site) was used as the start of a discussion between a secondary and it’s networked
primaries to create an ‘End-of-Yr-6 Agreement’. The idea is that once the specified language is agreed, it is entirely
up to primaries how they cover it by the end of year 6. Those who were beginning languages in Reception signed up
to the same end of year 6 agreement on the basis that they were privileged to take longer to reach the level and
without the need to learn additional content. The network was keen to allow the primaries the freedom to make the
best use of the different resources the primaries had already purchased - some were using QCA, others published
schemes including Catherine Cheater and Rigolo, and another writing it’s own scheme for mixed age classes.
French Breakthrough Specification Content…
Language Purposes and Functions
• taking part in simple social situations, e.g. greeting / responding to greetings; expressing thanks;
apologising
• giving simple information
• asking simple questions
• answering simple questions
• describing (colour, size, location, possession, appearance)
• giving simple opinions
• following / giving simple instructions
• expressing ability
• using numbers and expressing quantity
• expressing time (clock, days, months)
Grammar and Linguistic Structures
By the end of Breakthrough stage, learners will recognise and be able to make an
attempt at producing the following grammar and linguistic structures, within the
appropriate functional areas.
• Nouns
o masculine and feminine
o articles: le, la, l’, les, un, une, des
o singular/plural regular and some common irregular, e.g. le bras/les bras,
le château/les châteaux, l’oeil/les yeux
• Adjectives
o agreement, eg. grand/grande, heureux/heureuse, sportif/sportive and
some common irregular forms, e.g. beau/belle
o position
o demonstrative, e.g. ce, cet, cette, ces
o possessive: mon, ma, mes/ton, ta, tes/son, sa, ses
• Pronouns
o personal, e.g. je, tu, il, elle, on and moi, toi
o reflexive: me, te, se, nous, vous
• Prepositions, e.g. à, de, dans, en, chez, devant, derrière, avant, après
• Verbs
o present tense, range of regular -er, -ir and -re verbs and common irregular
verbs, e.g. je suis / tu es / il/elle/on est
o interrogative form, e.g. Comment t’appelles-tu? Quel âge as-tu? Où
habites-tu? Aimes-tu...? As-tu…? Qu’est-ce que c’est? Où-est…? Il y a
combien de crayons? C’est combien?
o negative form, e.g. ne...pas / je n’aime pas.../ je n’ai pas…
o impersonal constructions, e.g. il y a...
o modes of address: tu, vous
o imperatives in context of instructions, e.g. levez-vous / asseyez-vous /
arrêtez! / donnez-moi...! / écoutez / regardez
• Adverbs
o place, e.g. c’est ici, c’est là, c’est loin, c’est près d’ici
o time, e.g. le matin, l’après-midi, le soir, tôt, tard
o manner, e.g. bien, mal, bon, mauvais
o number, e.g. très, trop de, beaucoup de
o frequency, e.g. quelquefois, toujours, jamais
• Conjunctions
o et, mais
• Question words
o Où? Quand? Comment? Combien? Qui? Que? Quel?
What do we think about this list?
How far do we feel we can do / could do any of this?
Where are the gaps in our knowledge?
Resources for teachers:
CGP KS3 French/German/ Study Guide www.cgpbooks.co.uk £4.50 (a cheap and
absolutely essential quick guide to all the grammar you will ever need and more
because it goes up to KS3)
 CGP Spanish currently available as a GCSE revision guide only but still extremely
useful!
 Teachers Talking French http://www.ttfrench.com/ £75 set of CDs that you listen to
in your own time, written especially for and by teachers. Works best if a group of you
club together to do this though - to jolly each other along!
 Coffee Break French/ Spanish http://www.radiolingua.com/ FREE for the 15min
podcasts and you can upgrade to get worksheets from £27 depending on exactly what
support/level you would like.
Online Resources for teachers:
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Any Language:
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‘Wonder how to’ a website with lots and lots of how-to videos to learn & brush up pronunciation and grammar
in a wide range of languages - free, based on YouTube sharing. http://www.wonderhowto.com/howto/video/how-to-describe-facial-expressions-in-french-172096/
Languages Online - Over 220 interactive tasks & 190 printable worksheets that introduce, reinforce and
recycle vocabulary. Self-paced and self-correcting. Activities are presented in 35 topic-based sections:
recordings by native speakers. French German Italian & Indonesian
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/
Language Guide - Native speaker sound files to check your pronunciation in many languages (inc. French,
German, Spanish, Italian, etc) divided into topics (alphabet, clothes, sports etc)
http://www.languageguide.org/
The Literacy Centre - French German & Spanish (and English too) pronunciation online. Simple exercises –
ABC, colours, numbers shapes etc using flash player (link provided to download flash free if needed)
http://www.literacycenter.net/play_learn/index.htm
French:
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J'adore le Français - Online interactive French grammar and some exercises to practise the points as you go
along - great for helping teachers brush up on their own linguistic knowledge
http://trainfrench.com/French/Grammaire/index_grammaire.htm
MFLE French Reference grammar - Basic French grammar for primary teachers. It covers verb forms, nouns,
articles, adjectives & dates, numbers, weather. You can even download the entire resource as PDF/Word
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/mfle/primaryzone/referencegrammars/frenchrefgrammar/index.asp
Phonétique - Brush up your own pronunciation & fine-tune your listening skills, from beginner to fluent there
is always something to learn from this bank of soundfile exercises. http://phonetique.free.fr/
FrancaisFacile - Test your own level of French and try some free online exercises to brush-up a little.
http://www.francaisfacile.com/
German:
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Guardian German Pages - German news articles with online support from the Guardian, specifically for
adults to brush up their language skills http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/languageresourcesgerman
Exeter Uni Online German course for adults http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~joyce1/abinitio/chap1-0.html
Spanish:
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SmartKid Software - An American bilingual course for young learners of Spanish/English based around
phonics - which is useful for learners of all ages to brush up pronunciation.
http://www.smartkidssoftware.com/sndhml6.htm
Day One Session Contents & Vocabulary:
 Greetings & Names
 How are you?
 Numbers 1-10 & Age
Greetings & Names
Bonjour!
Salut!
Au revoir !
Monsieur/Madame
Ça va?
Ça va bien/mal. Et toi?
oui/non
Je m’appelle …
Comment tu t’appelles?
¡Buenos días !
¡Hola !
Adios !
Señor/ Señora
¿Cómo estás?
Estoy bién/Estoy mal. ¿Y tú?
Si/no
Me llamo...
¿Cómo te llamas?
Hello!
Hi !
Goodbye !
Sir/Madam, Mr/Mrs
How are you?
I’m fine / not well. And you?
yes/no
My name is …
What’s your name?
What are the conventions of greeting one another in UK? In other cultures?
Numbers (1-10)
un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix,
uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez,
Numbers (11-20)
onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize, dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf, vingt
once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve, veinte
Combien de …?
¿Cuantos...?/¿Cuantas...?
How many …?
Age
Quel âge as-tu?
have you?)
¿Cuantos años tienes?
How old are you? (lit. What age
Tengo siete/ocho años.
I’m seven/eight years old (lit. I
J’ai sept/huit ans.
have 7/8 years)