Following the recent subscriber survey I am continuing to develop the adult student section of the site. Recent additions include video listening on the 20th anniversary of the Channel Tunnel (doing very nicely now after a shaky start) and the National Garden Festival in Chaumont-sur-Loire (wacky and interesting). I have also done a text with execises on tea drinking in France which, apparently, is on the rise, although the French have a taste for slightly finer teas than the standard British PG Tips with milk.
I have also, in response to one or two requests, added some more translation work to the Y8 and Y9 (near beginner/low intermediate) sections. You may know that I am not that keen to develop this type of work too much since I value comprehension work and contextual grammar in the target language, but since I am running a (small) business I am reluctantly responding to customer demand and the upcoming new curriculum (at least in England and Wales!). The site does reflect a pedagogy I believe in and know from long experience works for many children.
With business in mind, I am aware that there will be a rising demand for primary French resources in England and Wales, given that languages are compulsory from September 2014. Now, as it happens, there are already useful resources in the Y7 (beginner) section. Almost all of these could be used with Y5/6 children at primary (elementary) school and in independent prep schools. However, I am going to beef up this section considerably and have started to do so with new crosswords on classroom objects and fruit and vegetables.
Although there are already lots of good free resources out there some schools may like the style of my resources and be willing to stump up the paltry sum of £20 to access them all! At the moment I am resisting the temptation to raise the subscription fee, but as the site has grown a lot since the site went behind the dreaded paywall, I may look at this in due course. My policy has always been to keep the site cheap (some have said too cheap) so that as many people as possible will use it. To do the site for nothing now that I am no longer teaching would probably be bordering on the insane!
I have also, in response to one or two requests, added some more translation work to the Y8 and Y9 (near beginner/low intermediate) sections. You may know that I am not that keen to develop this type of work too much since I value comprehension work and contextual grammar in the target language, but since I am running a (small) business I am reluctantly responding to customer demand and the upcoming new curriculum (at least in England and Wales!). The site does reflect a pedagogy I believe in and know from long experience works for many children.
With business in mind, I am aware that there will be a rising demand for primary French resources in England and Wales, given that languages are compulsory from September 2014. Now, as it happens, there are already useful resources in the Y7 (beginner) section. Almost all of these could be used with Y5/6 children at primary (elementary) school and in independent prep schools. However, I am going to beef up this section considerably and have started to do so with new crosswords on classroom objects and fruit and vegetables.
Although there are already lots of good free resources out there some schools may like the style of my resources and be willing to stump up the paltry sum of £20 to access them all! At the moment I am resisting the temptation to raise the subscription fee, but as the site has grown a lot since the site went behind the dreaded paywall, I may look at this in due course. My policy has always been to keep the site cheap (some have said too cheap) so that as many people as possible will use it. To do the site for nothing now that I am no longer teaching would probably be bordering on the insane!
Comments
Post a Comment