Activities used by other MFL/Language Teachers

Ucdstudent92

Hi guys,

I was just thinking it would be great to hear from other French/German/Spanish/Irish teachers about what games/activities they use frequently in the classroom to get students more familiar with new vocab. Would be great for us all before September. I'll start with the ones I use most frequently:

1. Dominoes- students have to make a chain matching image to French word. (Time consuming to prepare)

2. Pass the ball- students have to think on the spot. Could be used as a translation exercise/ for verb conjugation

3. Whiteboard/ Mini-whiteboard challenge- students in groups.

4. Flashcards- Students create their own flashcards and test each other in pairs.

katydid

Ucdstudent92 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I was just thinking it would be great to hear from other French/German/Spanish/Irish teachers about what games/activities they use frequently in the classroom to get students more familiar with new vocab. Would be great for us all before September. I'll start with the ones I use most frequently:

1. Dominoes- students have to make a chain matching image to French word. (Time consuming to prepare)

2. Pass the ball- students have to think on the spot. Could be used as a translation exercise/ for verb conjugation

3. Whiteboard/ Mini-whiteboard challenge- students in groups.

4. Flashcards- Students create their own flashcards and test each other in pairs.

Do you have an interactive whiteboard or another means of projecting the internet? There are great online activities such as bingo, word games etc.

rose23

Ucdstudent92 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I was just thinking it would be great to hear from other French/German/Spanish/Irish teachers about what games/activities they use frequently in the classroom to get students more familiar with new vocab. Would be great for us all before September. I'll start with the ones I use most frequently:

1. Dominoes- students have to make a chain matching image to French word. (Time consuming to prepare)

2. Pass the ball- students have to think on the spot. Could be used as a translation exercise/ for verb conjugation

3. Whiteboard/ Mini-whiteboard challenge- students in groups.

4. Flashcards- Students create their own flashcards and test each other in pairs.

Hi,

This is a great idea. I would love to hear others ideas in general.

For introductory lessons:
1st years: I have a Powerpoint with various questions about France with multiple choice answers. They write A,B,C or D on their whiteboards. Its a simple lesson where everyone participates and it doesn't put the students under pressure on day one so I find that this works well.

2nd Years: In my school second year French students are mixed from their original base classes in 1st year. I spend the first lesson with ice breaker activities. "Find someone with blue eyes, plays the guitar etc" this hasworked well in the past. They then present 6 of their findings in French using full sentences to the class. This allows them to move around and mingle and learn their peers names and break the ice with them.

To ensure oral participation in class:
When calling the roll each student has to say a simple statement. For example first years in week one might be "I am 12 years old" in the target language. That way you know that everyone has spoken at least once in the lesson.

Get students in pairs to find 6 things they have in common and present this to the class in the target language.

For learning vocabulary:

1. Quizlet is a great online tool.
2. Fill in the gaps exercises/crosswords etc to help with spelling
3. If the topic is "rooms in the house" - ask students to write down as many as possible.
4. Ask students to brainstorm all words they know beginning with "A/B/C etc on a certain topic.
5. I have a small teddy that I get students to pass around the room if we are recapping on vocabulary from a Unit. Each student has to recall a word and they are not allowed to repeat.

Hope some of these ideas help. Keep them coming guys! Great to have new ideas to try out in September!