Games for Teaching Primary French

Daniele Bourdais, Sue Finnie

• Publisher: Crown House Publishing
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781845909949
• eBook ISBN: 9781785830341
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Games for Teaching Primary French by Daniele Bourdais and Sue Finnie is a practical toolkit containing a wide variety of fun and engaging games for all abilities, from complete beginners to more competent learners. It includes a wide range of games, from 5-minute starters or plenaries to longer, more challenging games where learners can make substantial progress. It has been devised specifically for busy teachers with limited resources, budget and planning time, who want simple and effective ideas to use in the classroom. The games in this book cover all core aspects of the primary French curriculum and are organised into the key skills areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing, with additional parts on grammar, number games and sounds. These games allow learners to absorb and explore language in a variety of mediums, building up skills, knowledge and confidence in the process. The book is packed with techniques and games to support existing schemes of work and offers plenty of inspiration and ideas for teaching primary French. The straightforward, reliable, no-tech suggestions are based on sound pedagogy and years of classroom experience, and will help deliver great learning outcomes lesson after lesson. Teaching modern foreign languages can be challenging, and can be a daunting prospect for teachers who are not language experts themselves. Games for teaching primary French is designed to support teachers with easy to follow, ready to use ideas. These flexible games can be adapted to suit any topic and any ability level. For more experienced French teachers, there are plenty of new, imaginative and fun ideas to refresh your practice. The book is perfect for Key Stage 2 teachers who want ideas for teaching French and don't have unlimited resources and planning time.

Part 1: Listening

Listening is an important skill which should be practised as often as possible. If you play these games regularly, even for just a few minutes at a time, then pupils should soon develop confidence.

Pupils need to listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding. In some of the games, all that is needed is a physical response to show that pupils have understood; in others, listening goes hand in hand with speaking.

Songs, rhymes and drama games allow pupils to explore the patterns and sounds of the language in a fun, age-appropriate way. See some suggestions on page 245.

Many of the games in Part 2: Speaking also involve listening practice, and Part 3: Reading contains a number of games that link the sound, spelling and meaning of words and phrases.

1 Four corners/Les quatre coins

Classroom management	Whole class
Skill	Listening
Aim	To present new vocabulary
Resources	Flashcards to represent the vocabulary you want to teach Adhesive tack or drawing pins

Step by step

1. Introduce four new words. For example: un chien/un chat/un lapin/une tortue (a dog/a cat/a rabbit/a tortoise). Hold up each flashcard in turn, saying what it represents. Repeat each word or phrase twice, e.g. (showing picture of dog): Un chien. … Un chien.

2. Ask pupils to invent a mime for each one, for example moving their arm like a wagging tail, or panting, for a dog. Then show the cards again, naming each one in turn, and let pupils do the matching mime.

3. Pin a flashcard in each corner of the room, naming it as you do.

4. When you call out a word, pupils point to the corresponding corner. Anyone who is wrong is out, and watches the rest of the class to spot any pupils who make a mistake.

	Écoutez et inventez un mime.	Listen and invent a mime.
	Montrez la bonne image.	Point to the right picture.

Comments

• If you can play the game in a large hall, pupils can all run to the corner with the flashcard that corresponds to the word you call out. This makes it more obvious if anyone is wrong!

• To vary the activity, show a flashcard and ask a question, which pupils must answer with oui or non. For example:

Teacher (T): C’est une tortue ? (Is it a tortoise?)

Pupil (P): Oui/Non.

Increase the level of challenge by calling out the names more quickly, or by including the word in a sentence, e.g. Tu as un chat à la maison ? (Have you got a cat at home?) or Qui aime les lapins ? (Who likes rabbits?)

2 Silly me!/Étourdi !

Classroom management	Whole class
Skill	Listening
Aim	To revise key language
Resources	A hand puppet or soft toy Flashcards or objects representing the language to be practised

Step by step

1. Choose three or four pupils to stand at the front, facing the class. Give each a different flashcard or object to hold and show the rest of the class. If you are teaching colours, the objects could be socks of different colours, for instance.

2. Introduce the puppet or soft toy to the class. Pupils greet the puppet. Explain that he doesn’t understand French very well so they need to help him.

3. Make a statement practising the language you want to revise.

For example:

T: Bleu ! (Blue) or Ma couleur préférée, c’est le bleu (My favourite colour is blue).

4. Move the puppet forward to one of the objects/flashcards. If he goes to...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part 1: Listening
• Part 2: Speaking
• Part 3: Reading
• Part 4: Writing
• Part 5: Numbers
• Part 6: Grammar
• Part 7: Playing with sounds
• Appendix 1: French sounds
• Appendix 2: French rhymes and tongue-twisters
• Appendix 3: Quick and easy ways to turn a language activity into a competitive game
• Copyright