French the natural way: input is crucial

Coucou les French learners,

Lately I have been reading a lot of articles and blog posts on how to keep up with learning a new language. La rentrée is over and most of us are back to work and to our daily chores.

[read more…]

affective filter6 angel pretot1 apprendslefrançais91 beginner french28 busy2 ci145 compelling input31 comprehend52 comprehensible input36 comprehension261 consistent148 Cooking41 easy french51 effortless9 french beginner3 french for free4 french in one minute2 french love6 french lover3 french recipe6 frenchstorytime26 fun story10 have fun3 interesting23 keepmotivated184 lefrançaisnaturellement92 listeningfirst20 newsletter5 one minute2 online french sessions37 online tutoring6 regular practice1 schedule1 self confidence54 self confident37 self french205 simplissime1 slow french322 Stephen Krashen11 stressfree43 TCI74 TPRS71 upper beginner449 verbling6 weekly videos55 youtube67 youtube channel52

French the natural way: Listen!

Coucou les French learners,

Feel energized!

this week I got one of the best compliments from one of my online beginner learner. We had a productive one hour session. It was fun because we created a whole story together from scratch with many details.

[read more…]

acquirefrench76 acquiring18 acquisition65 acquisition process41 active listener94 beginner french28 boost195 ci145 compelling39 compelling input31 comprehend52 comprehensible input36 empower3 energy2 free time7 french activities1 french hobbies1 french input13 french online15 french video2 home practice3 intermediate718 keep motivated23 language acquisition240 listen294 listening52 listeningfirst20 love81 love story28 motivate162 natural approach59 practice33 story asking15 story building8 storylistening153 support4 TPRS71 transcript5 upper intermediate414 visual5

Let it flow!

I have been busy in good way lately. I am now offering French online tutoring on Verbling and I get to meet new learners from all around the world with different needs. It has been a steep learning curve for me to try to facilitate comprehensible input at different levels and needs but it has also been a great source of joy and accomplishment.

[read more…]

acquire50 acquisition65 acquisition process41 approach38 brain break6 compelling39 comprehensible100 comprehensible input36 Education20 flow9 flowing2 French41 french videos6 input47 inspiration4 invisibles2 language45 listen294 listening52 natural approach59 natural way9 online language session16 online learning15 online tutoring6 personal13 processing input2 resource102 ressources40 Spanish33 stories40 story asking15 story listening19 TPRS71 tutor3 tutoring2 verbling6 videos25 weekly videos55 youtube67

How to build up to a story in French?

My online learners are acquiring French at a fast and steady pace and it is amazing to watch them progress naturally. Unlike last school year when I was trying to use TPRS along with my other resources, I have decided to give it a full go following each of the three steps…

[read more…]

acquire50 acquiring18 acquisition65 brain61 build up1 building4 ci145 comprehensible100 comprehension261 Education20 French41 frequent38 high frequency217 high interest7 improve19 input47 language45 logical2 meaningful15 mother4 motivate162 natural176 naturally5 parent1 personal13 personalized16 progress112 putting it together1 script201 second language44 story46 story asking15 story script6 storytelling39 tpr19 TPRS71 unconscious3 unconsciously3

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.

[read more…]

Adriene3 Adriene Mishler1 body20 brain61 brain break6 break6 breath3 breathe17 breathing18 classroom9 comprehensible100 comprehension261 Education20 endofyear1 energy2 engage161 engaged149 engaging10 feelgood30 findwhatfeelsgood3 fool1 fwfg1 homepractice2 input47 keepmotivated184 lion11 movement1 refresh1 relax48 release10 reset1 Spanish33 strength5 stressfree43 target language12 tension1 yoga12 yogaevrydamnday2 yogaforstrength4 yogalove5 yogapose2 yogawithadriene5 yogaworks3

Reflection on Comprehensible Input

I haven’t updated my blog for a while now, and as I am taking a break due to my fourth baby coming at the end of September, I wanted to reflect on my last school year. I was teaching Spanish from grade 6 to 12 and I decided to turn to comprehensible input and TPRS since I was never fully satisfied with the traditional way to teach languages.

[read more…]

6th graders2 acquisition65 comments3 comprehensible100 Education20 encourage2 feedback47 fluency107 fluent57 grade 108 grade 74 grade 85 grade 98 IGCSE12 input47 inspire13 languages13 listening52 Martina Bex11 middle school3 motivate162 personalized16 reading263 review26 song29 Spanish33 story46 story asking15 storytelling39 TPRS71

Fun and simple idea to practice “gustar”

The verb “gustar” is not an easy verb to use as it is so different from “normal”verbs. The majority of students know how to use it in the first person singular “me gusta” but they rarely know how to use it when they want to refer to someone else.

[read more…]

activities5 cards1 clapping1 Education20 engage161 focus36 grade 68 grammar72 gustar1 lesson7 listening52 marker1 matching1 objective21 practice33 reading263 Spanish33 speaking73 warm up36 whiteboard2 writing55