Un succès fou!
What worked and why?
- Most students were very well prepared for the blind date conversations; several couples spoke fluently for the entire time they were dining.
- For those who weren't as well prepared/as strong, they were forced into making conversation and had the experience of participating to their level in a French speaking environment.
- Students did not speak English! Gaby and Fishy were blown away by this - we actually did not expect this level of collaboration in the task. For most of the year this group has not distinguished itself by hard work or strong motivation, so their achievement was outstanding. As well, the best and hardest-working students genuinely excelled.
- Logistically, it all worked, which can be attributed for the main part to the facilities to which we had access - kitchen, benches, water etc. Gaby & Fishy also spent some time in planning and preparation, individually and together.
What didn't work and why?
- We weren't able to assess the students as formally as we wanted to, due to being involved in food preparation and service.
- We need to charge the students an extra $2 to cover costs.
Student Feedback
- Immediate feedback was extremely positive:
* Good preparation for the students travelling on the France Study Tour or for anyone travelling in future. Students felt competent ordering food in restaurants, and general conversation.
* Studentss felt like they were in an authentic French setting (because they were obliged to speak French - but this was self-motivated since we couldn't actually have forced them.)
* Students were able to evaluate their learning in terms of how they could improve eg 'we needed to develop the waiter's conversation more.' They asked if the exercise could be repeated so they could be more prepared next time.
* The food was well reviewed and appreciated by students.
Gaby & Fishy Feedback
- Well worth the effort because of the high level level of student participation and enjoyment.
- We believe we witnessed the evidence of genuine learning.
- It was a culmination of 3 terms' work, but also what they have learned over nearly four years - bringing it all together in an authentic scenario was what made it so satisfying for us and the students.
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Good Idea
How to engage the two classes in a meaningful 'authentic' speaking task about the unit's work?
Gaby and Fishy are setting up a restaurant in L6 next Tuesday during the double. We will pair students randomly in a blind date scenario, so that students may 'present' themselves and have conversations about simple matters such as what they like to do in their spare time, hobbies, films they have seen etc. during the dining experience. Meanwhile, there will be 2 waiters for each table of 2; one waiter will talk about the menu and take the order, the other will bring the food and present it. After one period the teams of diners and waiters will swap experiences. Gaby and Fishy will roam with clipboards, assessing students. Marks will be deducted for talk in English.
This is a mammoth task and requires students to take responsibility for their learning in order to maximise their enjoyment of the task.
Gaby and Fishy are setting up a restaurant in L6 next Tuesday during the double. We will pair students randomly in a blind date scenario, so that students may 'present' themselves and have conversations about simple matters such as what they like to do in their spare time, hobbies, films they have seen etc. during the dining experience. Meanwhile, there will be 2 waiters for each table of 2; one waiter will talk about the menu and take the order, the other will bring the food and present it. After one period the teams of diners and waiters will swap experiences. Gaby and Fishy will roam with clipboards, assessing students. Marks will be deducted for talk in English.
This is a mammoth task and requires students to take responsibility for their learning in order to maximise their enjoyment of the task.
Speaking assessments
This type of task continues to be our most successful in terms of team teaching. Once again, there is the potential for instant feedback, for students in both classes to see and hear what the others are doing, and to measure themselves against the whole cohort. It also enables Gaby and Fishy to moderate on the spot.
Last week we sat the class in an elliptical shape across the two classrooms N10 and N12, we sat next to each other in the ellipse, and the students performed their speaking activities in the middle. Highly successful. It was also very clear to all which students had not prepared and had not learnt.
Previously we have used a speed-dating scenario, ie a long row of desks, students seated on either side to converse with each other, then moving on. Gaby and Fishy participated in this activity, assessing at the same time. We assessed half the class each and then randomly assessed 10 students in common for moderation purposes.
Last week we sat the class in an elliptical shape across the two classrooms N10 and N12, we sat next to each other in the ellipse, and the students performed their speaking activities in the middle. Highly successful. It was also very clear to all which students had not prepared and had not learnt.
Previously we have used a speed-dating scenario, ie a long row of desks, students seated on either side to converse with each other, then moving on. Gaby and Fishy participated in this activity, assessing at the same time. We assessed half the class each and then randomly assessed 10 students in common for moderation purposes.
Success
We would love to report a particularly successful class in which we felt we actually achieved the goal of team-teaching. The students were seated in L6 in a U shape, a bit cramped but ok, for a listening task. It was in fact a dictation, an exercise that we find useful for feedback purposes ie. the students are able to tell us immediately what errors they have made in understanding/grammar/vocab - and more importantly, why they made them. In this instance, both Gaby and Fishy were asking questions and answering them - the advantage to the students being that they hear different methods of explanation.
We came across a word that no-one recognised at all - léger. With the class we discussed what the first 3 letters might be, including the accented e, and then brainstormed all the possible endings that might be used to express the sound 'ay'. The students came up with er, é, ée, ez, ai ais ait aient. We then challenged them to determine what part of speech léger might be, in its context in the sentence. We were then able to exploit their knowledge of grammar to eliminate endings that would not be possible. It was established that léger is an adjective. We then challenged them with a sentence in which léger was used to modify a feminine noun. This whole exercise allowed us to revise noun-adjective agreements, and remind students of verb endings for particular tenses.
The exercise was particularly fun because both students and teachers were participating equally, asking and answering questions, arguing why or why not something might be the case. They know enough grammar and grammatical terminology at this stage to competently put a case for their point of view.
At the end of the lesson we asked for a show of hands as to who enjoyed the lesson and every student put up their hand enthusiastically. As did we. There was a real buzz in the room.
We came across a word that no-one recognised at all - léger. With the class we discussed what the first 3 letters might be, including the accented e, and then brainstormed all the possible endings that might be used to express the sound 'ay'. The students came up with er, é, ée, ez, ai ais ait aient. We then challenged them to determine what part of speech léger might be, in its context in the sentence. We were then able to exploit their knowledge of grammar to eliminate endings that would not be possible. It was established that léger is an adjective. We then challenged them with a sentence in which léger was used to modify a feminine noun. This whole exercise allowed us to revise noun-adjective agreements, and remind students of verb endings for particular tenses.
The exercise was particularly fun because both students and teachers were participating equally, asking and answering questions, arguing why or why not something might be the case. They know enough grammar and grammatical terminology at this stage to competently put a case for their point of view.
At the end of the lesson we asked for a show of hands as to who enjoyed the lesson and every student put up their hand enthusiastically. As did we. There was a real buzz in the room.
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