Primary
French Greetings - Easy Routines, Songs and Games for Your First Lessons
When
starting a new language, knowing where to start in the very first lesson can be
daunting for staff. What makes a great first lesson? Ideally a lesson with just
enough content that will create real engagement and enjoyment but so as to not
overwhelm any of the pupils in that class. Also establishing clear routines in
this subject going forward. Showing pupils what they are capable of, what the
overall language learning experience will be like and that they are in a very
safe learning environment where they will achieve from the very first lesson.
In terms of
topic, simple greetings can work extremely well. Providing pupils with
immediate and accessible language that they can immediately use for oral
interactions moving forward. Language that can be used every day in school with
real context. I would personally focus on oral communication in the first
lesson to show the young learners the foundations for starting conversations.
Language that can be used immediately in daily life. In short, simple French
greetings for kids can be a great first lesson in the French primary scheme of work!
Which KS2
French Greetings?
The amount of language in this first lesson is important as pupils will need enough language to have a short interaction by the end of the lesson but not too much to become overwhelmed. The recommendation would be to introduce between 5-7 simple items of language. For example, teachers could use:
- Bonjour - hello
- Salut – hi
- Au revoir - goodbye
- Ça va ? – How are you?
- Ça va bien – I am well
- Ça va mal – I am not great
- Merci - Thank you
How to
Teach French Greetings & First Lesson Ideas
One of the
key things is to always ensure pupils understand what they are learning.
Clarity and meaning are key. Using dual coding and ensuring pupils understand
the images used is a good place to start before introducing the foreign
language. Ensuring the images stay consistent as pupils progress through their
language learning journey is also key. Show the images and share meaning in
English before introducing any foreign language.
Clear,
articulate, authentic and accurate modelling of the foreign language is also
non-negotiable. If teachers are not subject specialists they need to use a
resource that provides this.
Each item of
language should be introduced one at a time and pupils should be given the
opportunity to listen and then repeat in the safety of a class chorus several
times before a few pupils repeat out loud individually. Always playing back the
authentic, accurate pronunciation for another whole class repeat. What may seem
very tedious to the class teacher will be a different experience for the
children. Written versions should always be shown after the children have heard
the audio several times and had an opportunity to repeat. Lots of games with
the images on an interactive presentation or flashcards before asking the
pupils to perform their own role plays – ideally unsupported! Ensuring pupils
know the difference in etiquette between ‘bonjour’ and ‘salut’ is also helpful!
Followed up
by a short, catchy song with the exact same language can also be a great way of
consolidating the newly acquired language. Having the song played often and
accessible outside of the lesson for pupils to listen to and sing along to as
many times as they like will also encourage pupils to keep the language in
their short term and working memories and move it eventually to long term
memory.
Don’t be
tempted to introduce more foreign language in the first lesson as time should
be protected at the end for pupils to actually practise and use their new
knowledge in a more ‘real’ context. This will help them also remember the
language going forward and recall it without issues. Encouraging active
learning can also engage pupils to pay attention more and even simple thumbs
up/down as pupils act out their simple first role-plays, describing how they
are feeling, can engage pupils more.
Every start
of the day or at the register going forward pupils can greet each other, say
how they are feeling and ask how their peers are, all in the foreign language!
