1. Language Learning

2. Je ne sais quois
Teaching a language that you don’t speak can feel incredibly daunting. However, teaching children about a few key principles can set them up well for language learning and can take the stress out of teaching it when you’re not completely confident.
There’s also a bonus ‘False Friends’ French quiz at the end of this presentation that you could use at the beginning or end of this meeting.

3. Cognates
Looking at a page full of words that you don’t understand can be overwhelming, but an excellent strategy to break this down is to go looking for cognates.
Cognates are words that are the same or similar in another language, such as:
Musique (Music)
Nombre (Number)
Univers (Universe)
Spotting just one familiar word can help you make sense of the entire text!
But beware of false friends! These are words that look similar but actually have different meanings, for example veste actually means jacket, not vest.

4. Sentence Makeover
Much like in English, a great way to develop children’s understanding of sentence structures is by teaching them a few and getting them to use them and adapt key bits of vocabulary to change the meaning.
For example, they can use the structure of...
There are seven green cars - Il y a sept voitures vertes
But can change the vocabulary to make it...
There are two black dogs - Il y a deux chiens noirs
This also helps to develop children’s understand of different word classes.

5. Shades of Meaning
An important part of language learning is the understanding that not every word has a direct translation. Physical objects often do because when each language developed, these things needed a word assigned to them for people to refer to. Abstract concepts however, have more variation.
For example the word judgemental has no French equivalent.
The French word voilà has no English equivalent.

6. Dictionary Skills
While new vocabulary is often learned much better in context, it’s still important that children are able to find and use the words they want. Dictionary skills are much more than knowing the alphabet, pupils need to know what type of word it is, what its gender is, check they have the correct meaning and much more.
Give opportunities for children to enjoy finding the words they want and to have fun with dictionaries.

7. Pronunciation
Learning a new language includes mastering new phonemes. Teach your class to read unfamiliar words with accurate pronunciation by simply looking for familiar graphemes and pronouncing them in French. This uses their pattern recognition skills.
If you know your own pronunciation is a bit ropey, there are plenty of websites and videos to model it for you, enabling you to practise and improve alongside the children.

8. Questions?
Hopefully this whistle-stop tour of language learning strategies will have left you feeling a bit more confident in teaching them to your class.
Remember, all of these are consistently and repeatedly referred to in all of the Kapow Primary languages lesson packs and videos.
Do you have any questions about teaching languages?

9. Cognate or False Friend?
Although cognates can be an incredibly useful tool in recognising unfamiliar words, be sure to look out for false friends- words that look like cognates but mean something completely different!
Can you tell the difference? Work with a partner to figure out which is which!

10. Cognate or False Friend?
Coin
Travail
Bras
Nombre
Absolu
Joli
Pain
Posséder
Blesser
Journée
Traditionnel
Location
Éventuel
Actuellement
Seize
Bloquer
Logique
Habit
Four
Finir

11. Answers Coin means corner Travail means work Bras means arm
Nombre means number
Absolu means absolute
Joli means pretty
Pain means bread
Posséder means to possess.
Blesser means to hurt
Journée means day
Traditionnel means traditional
Location means renting
Éventuel means eventual
Actuellement means currently
Seize means 16
Bloquer means block
Logique means logical
Habit means cloth
Four means oven
Finir means finish
How did you do?