Students in my middle-school French 1 and 2 classes are excited, energetic, and determined to become bilingual! They come in as young as 10 years old, not quite sure what they're about to embark on.
From day one, they start hearing me speak to them with comprehensible French, supported by reading, looking at pictures, pointing at words, and using gestures.
My teaching in level one focuses on the 100 most common words in the French language. Rather than focusing on grammar topics in an unnatural forced way, I focus on communicating with authentic language from the very beginning. When I get my students to focus on understanding the meaning of what is being expressed, rather than trying to memorize words, then with many repetitions they acquire the language naturally. This is the way babies learn their first language!
My Project
I have selected well-loved beginner level French reading books as well as some newly published titles to fill up my classroom library with diverse choices.
Second language learners make the most impressive gains in their new language by spending time reading self-selected books for pleasure.
Giving my students many books to choose from during their silent reading time not only provides us with a beautiful print-rich environment but also gives them enough variety to truly get to choose based on their own interests.
I strive to provide many novel choices so that my beginners can challenge themselves with interesting stories, but they can also choose to put a book back and pick something else if they find a book not interesting or not the right reading level.
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