RLRA Principle #1 : Keep things in the Target Language
In my personal life, I have been influenced by Kendra Adachi’s The Lazy Genius Way. I’ve read her books and listen regularly to her podcast. I love reflecting on the sixteen principles that she lays out, and I apply them to my every day living.
I wondered if there were principles that were guiding our teaching and our use of the Real Language right away curriculum. As we have created French and Spanish resources over the last 14 years, we have developed a method, a way of teaching language that is unique. Denise and I sat down and distilled our approach to four key principles that are the pillars of our teaching. They guide the way we plan and carry out our lessons on a daily basis.
This is the first installment of a series of four posts, which we will be releasing monthly. We hope you will find them helpful and that they may be helpful in the way you teach a language as well!
Without further ado, let us introduce…
RLRA Principle #1 : Keep things in the target language.
I am not going to lie, there have been a lot of ups and downs in my journey with using as much TL as possible in my class. When I started this job as a 23 year-old (back in 2004!), Denise told me to ONLY speak French with my students, and I was religious about this. Especially with my elementary students. Every now and then, some young student would catch me speaking English with the librarian, and they would literally FREAK out because they had never heard me speak it.
Now in my forties, I have become more relaxed about using some English in my classroom and in casual interactions with students. This was in part due to Covid. We went through a year of teaching where everyone was spaced 6 feet apart and wearing masks, and it was impossible to make oneself understood or understand anyone in ANY language. Some of my classes were conducted outdoors using a bullhorn. It was a special time, and somehow, as we returned to “normal” the following school year, we realized that our students had in fact made progress in French, even in those circumstances. Through that season, I enjoyed connecting with my students more as “myself,” and I saw some benefits to talking to them candidly about how the process of learning a language works and coaching them through it. As I result, I now give myself more freedom in using English with my students.
Even though I am now more flexible about this, I am still convinced that the more I speak to the students in French, and the more I hold them accountable to speaking it themselves, the more empowered they feel to use their skills and the more progress they will make. When too much English becomes an option for them or for me, the “spell” is broken, and they are not stopping to ask themselves how they would perhaps say what they would like to say in French. In all honesty, I would say that my current use of TL can vary from 60% to 100%, depending on the age of my students and the particular dynamics of a class. I have to recommit daily to my goal of using the TL as much as I can.
But, how? What are our tips and tricks for doing this? What strategies do I come back to make 90%+ possible? There are many, and here I will share a few.
My favorite is our accountability system, which you can read about in detail here. The short of it is that we have a consistent system that we use which motivates our students to use the target language and prevents them from speaking in English. We use this with our middle school student in the classroom, and we have also found it to be a great system to use for our yearly immersion trip to Québec.
Français/Anglais Sign
On my board, I have a sign that I can turn around when it’s time to speak English. It’s a good visual reminder for me and the students, and it makes it clear which language is expected at different moments of my lesson. Another way to hold me and the students accountable! : )
Reinforcing meaning through gestures
Non-verbal communication can go a very long way. Once in a workshop, we were challenged to complete tasks in a group without speaking at all, and it’s amazing the meaning you can convey without using words at all. When we introduce new vocabulary, pairing it with an action or a gesture will reinforce the meaning. Having students play charades with this type of vocabulary will help them acquire it more quickly!
Reinforcing meaning through English translations (written and spoken)
To ensure that everyone is following along, especially when the language is abstract, there is nothing wrong with simply letting students know what it means. You will notice that there are English translations available in our Partner Conversations. We have included these when language is first introduced and when it is not easily represented by an image. If the students are practicing a dialogue but do not know what it means, it is not going to be very helpful to them! It’s also helpful to ask a student to translate something to make sure that everyone in the class is clear on its meaning.
Reinforcing meaning through Paraphrasing
If it’s clear that some or all of the students are not understanding, it’s very helpful to find simpler or different language to convey the same meaning.
Reinforcing meaning through Visuals
Having clear visuals to introduce new vocabulary is another way we can introduce new language without having to use English. In creating our lessons, we spend a lot of time selecting visuals that will be compelling to young learners; the quality of the visuals goes a long way in keeping students interested and making the meaning of new vocabulary obvious.
For further reading on this topic, we recommend this book by our friend and colleague Caleb Howard, who has reflected extensively on this topic!
