Language learning resources

The aim for using learning aids and resources isMillionaire’ which I record from French
for the student to learn and to enjoy thetelevision for them.
resources at same time. In many of theseBasically, anything that works well and is
resources, he or she might even learn without‘fun’ in English, may also
realising it. If there is a particular aspect of, say,work well in another language. Board games, for
French life that the student should be able toexample, are often useful. Scrabble is a very
cope with, such as understanding a menu, thengood example, but one will probably have to buy
perhaps a game can be constructed around it tothe foreign language version as the mix of letters
make it more fun (and yes, I knowin the English game does not work well when
I’m beginning to sound a bit like Maryusing, for instance, vowel-laden French, and, of
Poppins).course, the scores attached to each letter are
One way to consider which resources to usenot the same (the ‘W’,
would be to identify which concepts the studentsscoring only 4 in the English game, is practically
particularly need to know more about or need toimpossible to get rid of in French).
practice.Parlour games: the old game of Consequences
Dealing with numbers For example, one thingcan help learning (write down a man’s
some of my students have found tricky is givingname, fold the paper and pass it on; subsequent
and receiving French telephone numbers, especiallyplayers write a woman’s name, where
over the phone: these are (locally) of the formatthey met, what he said, what she replied, what
23-45-67-89, which is easy enough in English, buthe replied, and then the consequence, before the
it’s more difficult to cope with inwhole patchwork story is read out).
French, especially when one gets toRecipes: my class have enjoyed reading and
‘four twenties plusdiscussing recipes (which also helps in
nineteen’!BR>I have tried to teach myunderstanding foreign culture); wine-tasting can
class how to cope with this using a form of Bingo;also help here, especially in relaxing the class,
basically simple number recognition.although the age of the student will certainly have
Role-play still works The old favourites ofto be taken into account!
role-playing and information-giving are certainly stillPeople: it is questionable whether this should be
relevant. One student might play the shopkeeperconsidered as a resource, but it’s so
and the other the customer (although one shouldeasy to forget; a class can easily become so
try and stop this degenerating into a continentalconfident and used to the accents of their
version of Monty Python’sparticular class that they become less able when
cheese-shop sketch). This might seem a goodconfronted by others speaking (especially
attempt to simulate real life, but foreignnative-speakers). You might not have a foreign
shopkeepers rarely reply as simply as an Englishrelative, but there’s often someone on
student would in class. A simple request for aa foreign exchange who would relish the chance
croissant by an English visitor to France usuallyto revert to their native language –
seems to elicit a long recommendation of theeven for an hour or so! In this context, my
quality of the croissants, and indeed of the entiremother’s visit to one of my classes
range of the baker’s wares. Thewent down particularly well, also perhaps because
teacher acting as a rather more verbosely helpfulthe class felt closer to me afterwards.
merchant might be preferable (if less welcomedDiscussing resources with my colleagues has
by the student). And then of coursethrown up a number of new ideas in teaching
there’s handling money, asking the waylanguages. One example is Talking Dice, which I
to the railway station.have not yet had a chance to evaluate, but has
So what modern resources have I found workmet with some success when tried by others. It
with my students?shows it pays to talk and to search the excellent
There are many photocopiable resource booksweb-sites devoted to teaching.
available with games the class can play. TheFinally, perhaps the most important, and yet the
pages can be copied and distributed around theleast obvious, are the actual books, or rather the
class, making the initial high cost more palatable.choice of books used for reading in class. The
However should there be someone in the class‘Petit Nicolas’ series by
who can draw a little, perhaps these ideasGoscinny and Sempé seems to work well
— often the sort of game or puzzleat many levels. Surprisingly, Marcel
you might find in a British child’s puzzlePagnol’s work, especially for the more
book — can be created within the classadvanced, has also been well received (one of the
or school itself: they can even be adapted tobenefits here is that most of his works are
relate more to your students’ particularreadily available as films, so that students can
needs.ultimately see what they have been reading).
Quizzes, especially those the class know, can beMany of the above may not suit your particular
good fun and instructive (especially about foreignclass. But it’s important to talk about
culture), but perhaps ‘fingers on thethem to find exactly what is available and then to
buzzers’ quick-fire questions may leavetry and tailor this to the needs of your own
the slower learner trailing. My class particularly likeparticular class. They might even begin to enjoy
‘Who Wants to be alessons!