A Story! a Story! Beginner's French Class
This is a continuing class where students will learn French through storytelling.
What's included
2 live meetings
1 hrs 50 mins in-class hours per weekAssignments
1 hour per week. Students will not always have homework. This is a club and this should be a fun activity not like school. We want kids to have fun and to want to speak French. Occasionally there may be a short writing assignment so I can gauge their writing skills. If there is time in class to complete this, there will be no need for homework.Progress Report
There will be no grading. I feel like this would put too much pressure on the students. I will assess the students while we are doing classroom activities. Correction will occur in real time and if students are not understanding, we will not move on. Repetition is the key. Repetition makes student perfect their language skills. I can send parents a progress report stating things students need to work on and tools that may help them improve.Class Experience
US Grade 9 - 11
Beginner Level
In this club students will focus on speaking using an language acquisition model called TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Storytelling). Each class, we will learn vocabulary that we will incorporate into a story that we will tell. Our stories last over several weeks where we focus on certain themes. At the end of each story, students will be able to be express themselves more and more in French. Students will learn how to do greetings, verbs (to be, to go, to speak, to ask, to want, to need, to eat, etc.), how to appropriately conjugate verbs in context, to ask and answer questions, basic free writing, basic reading in French, vocabulary for weather, body parts, foods, etc. The class will be structured as a collaborative class. Each student will speak and act out different roles. My role as the teacher is to guide the students in the storytelling process and to pre-teach vocabulary using TPR (Total Physical Response) and translation. Students will be the ones who are primarily doing the speaking through question, response, and repetition. This class is meant to help students develop language naturally, not to learn language (much like when an infant develops speech).
Learning Goals
Students will learn how to:
-conjugate verbs in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd groups
-formulate interrogative sentences with inversion and with est-ce-que
-use the appropriate gender and number with nouns
-respond to questions and make phrases using vocabStudents will be able to:
-Write the story we have completed as a class
-Freely communicate using proper syntax and grammar
-Understand and use colloquial phrases that native speakers use
-Gain a cultural context through short texts and videos
Other Details
Learning Needs
The great thing about this class is that we focus on the oral method. We are focusing on language acquisition and not on learning grammar. Writing is a very small part of this class. I'm happy to make accommodations for any student.
Parental Guidance
We will make funny stories that will grab students attention and that will work as a device for them to remember key vocabulary and terms. There is no material that is scary or inappropriate for this age group.
Pre-Requisites
Students do not need any prior language experience. If you are brand new to French, it is better.
Supply List
At this time, we are only going to be reading Pauvre Anne and Les Aventures D'Isabelle. These books can be found on https://cpli-bookstore.myshopify.com/products/les-aventures-disabelle?srsltid=AfmBOorSnYP7p4JjdAp6yMoxTyIfQGOBp8ymaSaO8uSX-VgcnygJzKw_
Language of Instruction
French
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
For students that want to work on their own with writing and grammar, there are a few resources online that are great for conjugation and that are most importantly, free. I think www.reverso.net is one of the better tools because it has the translations in context. In class, we will eventually start reading short TPRS books. This will help with fluency. Our first book will be Les Aventures d'Isabelle by Karen Rowan and Donna Tatum-Johns. This book is around 8 dollars. I will be sure to keep the cost of books affordable for families. The books we will start off with will be TPRS books level one in French. Most of these books can be found on Amazon.
Joined December, 2024
Teacher expertise and credentials
I earned my Bachelor's degree from Universite Blaise Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand France where I lived for 14 years. I worked as an English teacher during my studies at Etablissement St Thecle in Chamalieres. I have a Master's of Arts in French Literature, Language, and Culture from the University of Louisville where my focus was linguistics and post-colonial Francophone literature. I received training and attended a training in the TPRS methodology from Blaine Ray. I worked as a French professor at Jefferson Community and Technical College, Webster University, and an all-boys school where I taught French language and translation. I have a near-native fluency in French and I have training in trauma-informed care. I have worked with children as a tutor and teacher for 20 years. I aim to de-center the French language on European French culture while incorporating all French-speaking cultures in my classes. Therefore, allowing students to gain the needed cultural acumen needed in language learning. Reviews
Live Group Class
$32
weekly ($16 per class)2x per week
55 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 14-17
8-12 learners per class
