(FLEX) Learn French Through Silly Stories in 4 Weeks!
In this 4 week online course, students will learn the French language in the context of stories. #academic
Madame Parkinson (Courtney Parkinson) M.A.
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(127)
What's included
Homework
1 hour per week. The best way to learn a language is to practice! I encourage students to complete all materials given to achieve their personal best at learning French. I have planned for this material to take up to 1 hour per week to complete.Grading
includedClass Experience
Welcome to Learn French through Storytelling for Beginners - Flexible Schedule! *This class is NOT live, but includes interactive games & video recordings of French stories. There is a 4 week FLEX course with additional available if you'd prefer* You don’t need ANY prior experience with the French language to enjoy this class. This beginning French course will introduce the French language to learners with a funny story! This course will introduce high frequency French/common words that the teacher will use in context to provide a comfortable learning environment for new learners. #academic I don’t expect you to speak ANY French independently. If you want to and feel comfortable, great! Just as you learned your first language, much of these lessons will be focused on listening to the French spoken by the teacher. I will be teaching by using Comprehensible Input, which focuses on you feeling comfortable with about 90% of the words I'm speaking in French with 10% room for new words and growth! You as the student will be actively listening to follow through with the story as I the teacher will speak entirely in French. (I will use English sparingly if clarification is needed.) However, as a group, we will be speaking French and using our knowledge to build silly stories. Together, we will create a community of positive, encouraging language learners as making mistakes shows that we are LEARNING! :) Negative speech towards yourself or others will not be tolerated. This is a safe space for all of us to grow and learn French! What to expect from the teacher: There will be a combination of videos, audio excerpts, online articles, pictures/infographics, discussion boards, or music, and, of course, stories all focused on a specific topic. We will learn new vocabulary in the context of the story each lesson. These items will be available for you to go through at your own pace throughout the week. I will be checking in with the class on a regular basis to see how they are progressing. Resources for each lesson will be provided on the scheduled course start date and each week following (Example: If the course starts on a Thursday, materials each week will be posted every Thursday.) Even though this isn't a class with a live video lesson, this is an interactive class! Make sure you are actively reading/listening and participating throughout the lessons. Your participation helps guide me, the teacher, to provide materials to review words or add more challenging words! Please feel free to message me with any questions you have, I LOVE helping my students! :) Students can contact me (the instructor) any time they wish via the Classroom page & Teacher page. I will respond to questions within 48 hours. What the learner can expect: Throughout this 4 week course, Students will be practicing the 4 main parts of learning French through reading, listening, speaking & writing. For students who are not as proficient in writing, there will be a multiple choice option for them to complete. Each week, I will post activities to complete requiring written or spoken responses in the form of practicing reading/listening comprehension, spoken Q & A/prompts, or writing prompts. Response activities will focus on one main element of learning a language per week, (Example: Week 1 - Reading, Week 2 - Listening, etc.) All of these activities are centered around a main story tied to each week's topic. Each week's activities (including the student's response activity) are planned to take up to 1 hour a week of a student's time to complete. Because learning to speak a language requires conversational practice, part of the activities require learners to respond to one another's videos on Flipgrid in French. The Outschool discussion board is another place for learners to comment on each other work and help us all learn French together. Within some resources, there is an opportunity to gamify your learning. I will introduce these opportunities within the weekly resources given. I encourage you to use the knowledge from this class to grow & learn about your interests in French! During the 4 weeks you will have a Bingo board full of opportunities to experience new French words as well as French culture outside of class. Please share what you have done with the rest of us! Topics that will be covered: Week 1 - The Calendar (Reading) We will learn numbers, days of the week, & months in the context of family/friends' birthdays. Week 2 - The Weather (Listening) We will look at seasons, & types of weather in French-speaking (Francophone) countries across the globe. Week 3 - School (Writing) We will look at school schedules & classes of schools throughout the world. Week 4 - Food (Speaking) We will learn about popular cultural meals in Francophone countries. Please send me a message with any additional questions - I'm happy to answer! :)
Learning Goals
Every week, the teacher will introduce new vocabulary. As a class, we will review the vocabulary through a story, game, and/or song, and use it in context throughout the class. Finally, we will read/create our own story with the new vocabulary! Each week focuses on a different topic all listed in the class description.
Other Details
Language of Instruction
English
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
All resources are free for the learner to access and the teacher will provide specific links for each week. Resources may include: Google Slides, Quizlet, YouTube, or Flipgrid
Joined May, 2020
4.9
127reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Michigan Teaching Certificate in Foreign Language
Hello/Bonjour! My name is Courtney/Je m’appelle Courtney!
I have taught French, English/Language Arts, and Theatre in the K-12 classroom for 10 years and initially, was nervous to begin teaching online. Now, I've been teaching online for 6 years and loving every minute of it! I have a Bachelor’s degree in French Language & Literature with honors along with two minors in English & Theatre. I loved school so much that I went back to earn my Masters in Teaching (I am state certified to teach French to grades K-12 & English to grades 6-12.) In my spare time, I love hanging out with my husband, our baby boy, and our two dogs. I speak only in French to our baby, so he will grow up knowing French and English. One of our dogs is a certified therapy dog. Before Coronavirus, we took him to schools, hospitals, anywhere where people need a furry, friendly face! We are currently training our second puppy to join the therapy dog team next year.
My teaching style encourages students to know their classroom is a safe place & our classmates are apart of our community. As an educator, I strive for students to feel comfortable and confident while learning a new subject. While earning my teaching certification, I worked as a professional actor for 10+ years and I use much of that experience in my classroom. I’ve found that using expressions when speaking another language, storytelling, and discussing characters is very effective in engaging students as well as allowing them to be empowered with the knowledge they’ve learned!
What to expect in my French classes: Learning a second language can be intimidating! I use best teaching practices of second language acquisition to allow your student to comprehend up to 90% of what is happening in French class - even if they’ve never learned French before - isn’t the brain crazy?! We can understand what someone is saying when they are literally speaking another language! I do this by incorporating much of my background in theatre, film, and storytelling into the classroom as well as focusing on using frequently used words and cognates to help with understanding. In class, I will be speaking in French the whole time, (unless English is absolutely needed for clarification/tech issues.) Your child’s French will develop through listening and reading first which will give them the confidence to speak and write independently, just as they learned their 1st language, but a little quicker.
When I taught in the classroom, my 8th graders who had no prior knowledge of French could collectively read and understand a short story about greetings within the first week of school (around 4 hours of total class time.) After 55 hours of French instruction, they could write a French story ranging from 70-110 words within a 10 minute time limit. This method works!
**Due to overwhelming response for French classes, theater classes will be postponed.** Please feel free to personally message me if you're interested in theatre classes!
What to expect in my Theatre classes: There are so many aspects of working in the theatre & also on films! Most of my years of professional experience is in front of the camera or on stage, but it’s important to know a little bit about everything so you can work collaboratively. You can expect that I will provide information from the point-of-view of an actress but also sprinkle in some knowledge of other areas to help you best contribute to the team! I have 6 years of experience working with students ages 5-18 on various musical theatre productions. I have worn many hats inside the theatre, [pun intended ;) ] but my strength lies in helping you create believable, wonderful characters. I can coach you for monologues, plays, musicals, and even creating a character while singing! As your teacher, I will ask you questions to get you to really jump into the shoes of your character and how he/she might react to certain situations. I also LOVE playing tour guide and introducing people to the wonderful world of theatre! If you have any hesitations about public speaking, let me know! I’m happy to gently guide you to gain more confidence and use your voice!
Please contact me anytime to share any classes you would like for me to teach; for classes you really wanted to take, but didn't fit your schedule; or provide any additional feedback here on Outschool!Reviews
Live Group Class
$45
for 4 weeks4 weeks
Completed by 2 learners
No live video meetings
Ages: 6-10
