RLRA Principle #4 : Make it FUN.

And now what you have all been waiting for: RLRA Principle #4 — Make it FUN.

And what do we mean by fun? It’s a bit hard to pinpoint, but fun, to us, is an atmosphere. An atmosphere where students smile and laugh as they engage with the language. A space of interaction and connection. An environment where there is a sense of community and where students feel free to take risks and make mistakes as they bumble their way through the messy process of language learning.

How do we go about creating this atmosphere?

• Empowering students as we give them the tools to do what we are asking them to do.

• Holding them accountable to staying in the target language, and rewarding them for doing so.

• Taking pressure off by giving them lots of practice time with a partner.

• Allowing them to take their language to the next level through creative improvisation, role play, and skits.

• Celebrating their progress through positive reinforcement and encouragement.

• Keeping things light, encouraging humor.

• Allowing movement through mixers, music, dancing, and games.

We sincerely hope that using our resources will aid you in fostering this type of atmosphere, allowing you to connect with your students and have them connect with one another in the target language.

Because this atmosphere of “fun” is hard to describe, we leave you with this compilation video from our K-6 classes that show the kind of engagement that we are aiming at.