Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

Faster French with more understanding

What are the two activities that develop pupils’ ability with French far more effectively than any other? The answer is, as you may already know, through the use of stories and through singing. Because both stories and songs put the French the children hear and vocalise into a full context, Read more…

By Richard, ago

How did it all start?

Why knowing the origins of human communication helps us find better methods of teaching a foreign language. There is much debate as to the way in which human language developed as our species evolved.   But many would agree that an early part of the evolution would have been the calling Read more…

By Richard, ago

The habit of memory

What is the most effective way of helping children learn to use French phrases and grammar without thinking?  Although it may not seem always to be so, most humans forget very little.  In other words we don’t lose memories; we lose the habit of recalling that memory.  Fortunately this can Read more…

By Richard, ago

FREE Les problèmes logiques et latéraux for developing French reading & interpreting skills at KS3 and KS4

This is just one of the activities in the FREE worksheet series from the popular resource, Les problèmes logiques et latéraux. To request your copy of the FREE worksheet series, simply visit www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/pages/render_page/115. The puzzles in this book are a fun, challenging and engaging way to practise reading French, designed Read more…

By Richard, ago

Not when, but how.

A resource showing pupils HOW to use French Language whilst helping to deliver the KS2 Programmes of Study The older pupils get, it appears there is a shift from wondering HOW they will use the knowledge that they have learned to wondering WHEN they will use the knowledge that they have learned. Read more…

By Richard, ago

Sit still or wiggle?

Just because children are told to sit still, that doesn’t mean that’s the best way to study. “Put a group of 8 year olds in a room and play some music with a clear rhythm, and they will move.  Some will move gracefully, others may jump about waving their arms Read more…

By Richard, ago

Do you find logic puzzles fun?

Many children and adults are fascinated by the challenge of trying to understand the puzzle writer’s thinking and solving the puzzle in as quick a time as possible. Debbie Leadbetter has taken this one step further and has written a collection of puzzles in French as a fun and engaging Read more…

By Richard, ago

Get your FREE sentence builder PowerPoint from “Learn Spanish with Luis y Sofía”

Learn Spanish with Luis y Sofia is a story-based scheme addressing the Foreign Language Programmes of Study for teaching Spanish at KS2. The Learn Spanish with Luis y Sofía 1a Parte Starter Pack is based around a story featuring a young brother (Luis) and sister (Sofía) and their friends and Read more…

By Richard, ago

A vague curriculum needn’t mean vague progress

What is the most effective way of interpreting the requirements of the KS2 Programmes of Study for Foreign Languages? The requirements of the KS2 Programmes of Study for Foreign Languages are somewhat vague. Indeed, how do you translate ‘speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures’ into Read more…

By Richard, ago

What are the two most important factors that determine the success of French lessons at KS2?

For many years the answer to the question above came down to one factor: “the availability of a specialist teacher”. However, in recent years matters have changed. This is, of course, mainly because so many primary schools don’t have a specialist language teacher. As a result publishers have put a Read more…

By Richard, ago