8/14/2019 flasonline-tips-getting-students-talking-and-errors-2010.doc

1/2

FLAs on-line 1

Getting students talking Tip 1

One of the best parts of your job will be when you hear pupils using language

spontaneously. It is fun to hear them practising their pronunciation so that theysound more realistic. This takes time and helping them to practise the languagelearned in their MFL lessons is a vital part of the learning process.

Much of the language you will be using will already have been taught by their

teachers so your job is to find ways to help them practise the new language. !ohow can you get them talking" #emember they will be nervous at first$

If you plan a variety of activities involving pair work and group work as well as

individual participation you will be able to build pupils% confidence and get them

talking. &ou may need to start by being 'uite firm but friendly with pupils.(hatever the age or level if you have some interesting simple activities to startwith then your pupils will feel able to complete the work and start speakingstraight away$

Take plenty of time to observe teachers. )ote the target language they use with

pupils so that you can use the same phrases in your lessons. *on%t forget thatyou are used to using comple+ sentences in your own language and the pupilsneed simple and clear instructions.

Here are some ideas for warm up games to involve pupils straight away:

,. -ave all pupils sitting.sk them to /stand up% if they like pi00a 1 rock music 1 maths 1 blue shoes% 2 anyvocabulary they already know. 3se longer sentences for older pupils.4.g. -ave you seen the latest -arry 5otter film 1 been to the 3! etc" &ou canalso ask pupils for their own statement. Or they could be standing up and they sitdown if they like or don%t like certain things. !tart with more unpopular items thenthey will have to stay standing for a while$

6. Lip reading.!tart simply by asking pupils to lip2read the numbers you are saying 7 write themup in letters as they guess. &ou can do this in teams versus 8 7 they get onepoint each time they guess correctly first. 5upils then play this in pairs 2 it works

well with high numbers. &ou can of course use this techni'ue with othervocabulary and full sentences.

9. -ave a si+2line dialogue on the board.)umber each line. (hen you or a pupil throws a die pupils call out the correctnumbered line according to the number on the die. This is a way to practisedialogues over and over again.

FLA on-line 20092010 26 February 2010| 1

8/14/2019 flasonline-tips-getting-students-talking-and-errors-2010.doc

2/2

How to correct errors Tip 2

Making errors when you learn a language is normal. (e all learn by having a go and

then finding out if what we have said or written makes sense. !o it is important that youhelp pupils to understand their mistakes without damaging their confidence. This can beharder than you think. &ou want pupils to talk as much as possible and not be put offbecause they have chosen the wrong gender1part of the verb etc.

Here are some tips to help you highlight errors:

,. 8uilding sentences and communicating in the new language is more importantthan ,::; accuracy