At the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, did you notice regression in your French students because of COVID-19? Did they seem more timid to speak? Less confident with their French skills?
Jason noticed right away that his French students were exhibiting such behaviors. As we reflected the reasons behind their speaking reluctance and low confidence, we landed on potential reasons. First, for some of the students, they didn’t get a strong foundation at the beginning of their French career. Then, all students missed a huge chunk of their class time in the spring of 2020 due to eLearning. But that was not an epiphany; we could see that coming as we scrambled to figure out how to effectively teach our students from a distance in the spring due to the pandemic. (We created a webinar for language teachers if you’re interested in learning some tools for teaching languages at a distance). So, how do we combat the regression, timidness and low confidence? We came up with the following solutions: 1. Encourage them and build them up 2. Meet them where they are and show them where they can go 3. Don’t give up on them To further explain…
2. We meet them where they are. a. Jason felt like there weren’t many strong language speaker leaders in his French class, so no one knew where they could go with French. They didn’t have upperclassmen who had experience with immersion and who could carry on complete French conversations. Those who would inspire, lead and motivate the rest of the class were not there. b. So, Jason decided to meet them where they are…he started at the beginning with some pronunciation instruction to get them back to speaking French. This slowly started getting their minds and mouths used to the French sounds once again. c. Next, he had some audio recordings from last year’s advanced students. He took a recording from a previous student and shared it with his current students. This student was not the best or strongest in the class, but “average.” Jason wanted to show them where they could go if they were willing to trust his teaching and put in the effort to learn and speak the language. For some, it helped motivate. For others, it was discouraging…but what a great way to open honest and vulnerable dialogue in the classroom. One girl told him honestly that ‘there was no way’ she could ever speak like that and it was so intimidating to hear. That was the open-door Jason needed to reassure her that the student she listened to used to be in her seat, with her SAME language abilities. But by trusting him and attempting to learn, that student progressed to that recording by the end of the year. And she can, too! They all can. They need to believe in themselves and they need to believe their teachers believe in them, too. d. In light of masks and video conferencing, it is important to recognize and acknowledge that these two realities can hinder communication. There is value in stopping and acknowledging these difficulties. Giving suggestions and encouragement to be able to communicate well is beneficial to all. Being patient with one another, speaking more loudly, and understanding that we have lost a communication piece by covering our mouths are good reminders for teachers and students. It may seem obvious, but our students don’t necessarily recognize the hindrances of masks and screens, and sometimes, as teachers, we forget, too. 3. We don’t give up on them. a. Plain and simple. We don’t give up on them. They don’t know l'imparfait like they should? Instead of sighing and stressing, go back to the basics of l'imparfait and raise them up to the knowledge they need to move forward successfully. Sure, they may have had a tough introductory French year OR regressed during quarantine and the summer OR gave up on what they can attain in the French language. But we CANNOT give up on them. b. Believe in them. Believe in ourselves. Believe and hope in the good that is to come. This school year is full of learning for BOTH teachers and students. It is never too late to help our students grow and learn despite their circumstances. As hard as it might be, persevere and don’t give up as teachers, too. Don’t grow weary in doing good, for there will be fruit eventually in your French students. Bonne chance et courage, nos chers collègues!
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Who are the Hobbs?Originally, we are from the Midwest and the East; however, our paths took us to Angers, France where we met and fell in love. Archives
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