Grade 7:  Oral Communication  
 
 
 
 Speak French
 
In French Immersion, we primarily focus on the Oral aspect of the language.  In keeping with this, the number one priority in my classroom is to give the children a true "immersion" experience.  We focus a lot on speaking only in French.  When students insert English words into their French, they are robbing themselves of the opportunity to learn a new word or a new expression.  They are also choosing not to refine their speaking skills by thinking of another way to say what they are tryng to say in French.  I try to keep accurate records regarding who is speaking English and how much.  Sometimes I have students call home to chat with parents about challenges they are having speaking only French in class.  When students make the effort to speak only French in class, they are so pleased with the progress they make in their speaking skills.
 
Similarly, learning new grammatical structures comes much more easily when we learn them orally before we try to write with them.   So we spend a lot of time talking.  Some presentations are more like formal speeches, others are more like casual conversations.  We play a lot of games, do skits, roleplays, listen to music and watch videos.

 


   Games 

We play a number of different games to refine speaking skills.  These games are very popular with the students.  I often have high school students comment that they miss the fun games they used to play in my classroom.  Here are few examples...

  1. Marathon:   In this game students speak on a given topic until they make a grammatical error.  Students receive one point for each word that is correctly spoken.  This helps students become very attentive to their own speaking and really helps them improve in accuracy.
  2. Tac au tac: In this  game two students create a story by contributing one word at a time.  Students have to be attentive to the other student to make sure that they don't make errors.  For example, if a student says "le", then the next student has to come up with a noun that is masculine.  Or, if one student says "nous" then the student has to conjugate the verb for that pronoun.  Similary, if a student says "hier" then the following student has to remember that we are speaking in the past tense.
  3. Autour du monde:  In this game students stand in a circle around the classroom.  As a class they build a story, each student adding one word, that makes sense based on the words that proceed it.  Students who make an error sit down.
  4. Pourcentage: Students tell a story that is a certain number of words.  The teacher records the number of mistakes that a student makes during the story.  The goal is to speak without any errors.    For example, if student makes 8 errors in a story that is 40 words long, he/she receives 80 points.  Stories will become longer throughout the year. 
  5. Minute folle:Students have one minute to speak on a topic of their choice.  Students with the fewest errors win.
  6. Pyramide:  Students play "Tac au tac" in groups of 3 or 4.  The winner plays the winner of other groups as we proceed up the pyramid to have a final winner.
  7. Bobby-John:  This is a game that students created themselves.  About 5 students at a time stand in front of the class.  They each say one word at a time to build sentences that make sense and are grammatically accurate.  Every sentence must end with the name "Bobby-John".  Sentences often become quite long and complex because they need to find a way to end the sentence logically with the name.  If students make a mistake, they sit down after the group has finished the sentence.  The person who finished the sentence with Bobby-John picks the next player.  Every time a student finishes the sentence with Bobby-John he or she gets a point.  The student with the most points wins.


 

   Evaluation

We will be working together to create success criteria for Grade Seven Oral Communication in French Immersion early in the year.  I will post our work here when we have completed it.

  •  Log in to your engrade.com account to track your Oral Communication marks and specific feedback to improve your speaking skills.
 
 
 Suggestions
 
Not all families are able to visit a French speaking part of the country or the world, but there are other ways to help your child develop in his or her French speaking skills.   Here are a few ideas.
  • Having your child watch familiar DVDs in French is an excellent way to improve his or her spoken French.  Being familiar with the plot helps students follow the French dialogue.  Watching a DVD in English with French subtitles is also useful, as is watching it in French with English subtitles.  
  • Listening to the radio in French is a good idea.  The local CBC French station is 860 AM.  
  • Watching French TV is a great way to help students learn to understand native speakers more easily.
 

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