A webcast for Core French Teachers
Produced by the
B.C. Ministry of Education and the
Richmond School District, SD#38

Bienvenue!
 Introductions
 Joanne Jenkins, Ministry of Education
 Timma Blain, Prince George SD#57
 Kelly Burt, SFU
 Pam Haynes, Maple Ridge SD#42
 Diane Tijman, Richmond SD#38

Our goals
 Build on our understandings
 Value of second language learning
 Curriculum foundations
 Explore
 Share strategies, activities and tools to support you in your teaching
 Observe
 Discuss
 Reflect and Plan

Visual synectics
Teaching French is like… because….
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

Richmond SD#38 teachers:
Sarah Beairsto, Denise Chambers,
& Sara Lai

Our questions about planning
 How do you plan a unit?
 Where can I find resources & books?
 Is it better to provide French instruction in two forty minute blocks per week or is daily integration of ten to twenty minutes enough or better?

Questions about instruction
 What importance do you put on reading
& writing vs listening & speaking?
 What’s the best way to use flashcards?
 Can you share some Reader’s Theatre scripts appropriate for beginners?

How do you integrate culture?
 What are some good games or songs that kids like?

Questions about language
 When introducing vocabulary, is it best to have students guess what the word means, look it up in a dictionary, or tell them the meaning?
 Should I teach verb conjugations? If so, do I teach them before key vocabulary so that students can make up their own sentences?

French language & culture
 How do you teach the language when you don’t know it yourself?
 How do I find guest speakers that could come to my class? What about links with Fr. Immersion students?
 How can I improve my
French language skills?

Questions about assessment
 How do I assess their French? Because they are just beginning, and because of the nature of the curriculum, I want to base my marks mostly on oral participation and skills, but I have no idea how to assess them.
 What should I expect my students to know in order that they are prepared for high school?
 What do they do at the beginning of Grade 8?

Think - pair - share
 In groups of 2-3, discuss:
 The most important question for me is….
 A question I still have about….

Joanne Jenkins, BC MOE

The communicative approach
 Video clip of Karen Lin’s Grade 5/6 class at
Ferris Elementary, Richmond, SD#38
While watching, think about:
 What aspects of Karen’s teaching enhance language acquisition?
 What do you notice about the students?

People search
Est-ce que tu….? Nom ________________
A: Est-ce que tu aimes la pizza?
......aimes la pizza?
B: Oui, j'aime la pizza.
ou
B: Non, je n’aime pas la pizza.
A: Merci.
…aimes la pizza?
B: De rien.
.... aimes l e chocolat? .... aimes l e basketball? ...... aimes l’art?

Kelly Burt, SFU

Pause-caf é
 Please be back at 2:30.
 Merci!

Pam Haynes, SD#42

Timma Blain, SD#57

Here’s
What!
So What?
Now What?

Time for reflection and planning
 When teaching French, I know that….
 Today I noticed that….
 I wonder if….
 In my classroom, I’m going to try ….

Have we answered our questions?
 A review of questions collected earlier

And what do the children say?
 Video of Francesca Juhasz’s Grade 5/6 class at Grauer Elementary, Richmond,
SD#38

- Websites and other resources document www.bctf.ca/bcatml/ www.caslt.org
www.langcanada.ca
www.jexplore.ca
What’s important in teaching French
Pronunciation tips

Joanne Jenkins, Ministry of Education

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Discussion 1
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