Creative ideas for classes from AFMSP Friday, October 20, 2017 USAF Federation meeting New Orleans Alix Lewis-Sadrant

Examples from Minneapolis/St Paul Topics classes Workshops Mini-session Review classes New cooking program

5-week Topics classes French for Travelers Literature classes Region or city (châteaux de la Loire, La Bretagne, Lyon) Linked to an event or anniversary Can be taught several times on several sites

3-hour one-shot Workshops Pronunciation or a grammar theme (temps du passé, les pronoms) Link to a holiday/ special occasion Connection to a cultural event at AF Highlight an event in the community Food and wine

3-week Mini-session Chance for returning students to try something new Opportunity to take a class for under $100 Way to test a new class Shorten break between longer sessions

Review classes 3 or 5 week grammar brush-up Good starting point for new AF students with French experience Bridge between class levels, students gain confidence before moving on

Cooking classes New program (Fall 2017) Identified community interest in classes Conducted member survey Offered a variety of themes and class times Reaches a new audience

Tips for successful classes Define focus/goal: in most cases the main goal is to learn and use/make progress in French (FLE class, topic is the tool, not the be-all-end-all) Classes need to be interactive, not a cours magistral, with numerous opportunities for interaction and practice You may need to give a class several tries before finding the right formula (required French level, format, timing, resources)

Tips for successful classes Tap into your teams’ knowledge and interests Look to your students and community-members for ideas and for feedback. Follow up on student (and instructor) feedback to improve a concept or class and make sure it continues to evolve

Tips for successful classes Be open to expanding beyond your core mission/activity For successful themes create proprietary resources that can easily be used by other instructors

Merci!