French the natural way: tips to start reading

Coucou les French learners,

I have just finished reading such an impactful post about language acquisition. Jody Noble, who is a fanstastic language teacher has been discussing the myth around language practice.

Courtesy of Compelling Input Productions

She writes: “Why do people continue to believe that PRACTICE is the key?

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French the natural way: how to access input?

Coucou les French learners,

I have just finished reading this fascinating article by Steve Kaufmann on how learning a new language is a subconscious process. Basically, the author explains how he learned Romanian by first reading a lot about Romania in Romanian! He says: “

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Story listening is powerful!

To me, developing listening skills are vital in life, yet not practiced enough. As teachers, we are told to let students learn by doing (which is valuable too in some cases) and that classrooms should be students led. As a consequence the skill of listening is being put aside,

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How to find out about your learners interests in a compelling way?

I have started teaching French to a group of 3 girls aged 10 years old. They are native German but they have been attending a primary school where they were taught French intensively, it was like an immersion type of school so their level is very good.

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From story-telling to story-asking

I am reading TPRS with Chinese characteristics: making students fluent and literate through comprehensible input by Terry Waltz and I am learning a great deal! I definitely recommend this book if, like me, you want your learners to truly develop fluency and proficiency in another language and on the other hand you do not consider yourself advanced in TPRS and comprehensible input,

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The lion’s breath or how to refocus

Last year when I was teaching Spanish, I became a fan of brain breaks. According to Dr. Lori Desautels: “They refocus our neural circuitry with either stimulating or quieting practices that generate increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, where problem solving and emotional regulation occur.

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Finding input which will engage English learners.

One of my online Spanish student has an advanced level of English and she wants to practise her speaking skills but she lacks confidence. I have noticed that most language learners often lack confidence when it comes to having a conversation. They can comprehend a lot but they fear of speaking because they think people will not understand them or they will make too many errors.

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