Creating stimulating content

A criticism sometimes levelled at language lessons in secondary classrooms is that the non-linguistic content of lessons is not very stimulating. Very often, the context of the language may be related to the students' lives and/or the exam syllabus (think of daily routines, likes and dislikes, hobbies, food and drink, school), but the material lacks challenging, interesting content. Textbooks do attempt to overcome this to an extent, by providing traditional cultural content and increasingly diverse and inclusive content. But the syllabus still places a large emphasis on everday material. By contrast,  in history, English or science lessons there is conceptual content which gets students thinking in a different way. It is inherently more interesting to most students than the content of MFL/WL lessons.

An obvious reason for the use of mundane content is the students' lack of language development. It's hard to take on more interesting material when you have little language to exploit.

The CLIL movement has recognised this issue over the years and encouraged a greater focus on content than just language. The main reason it has not caught in in UK schools, is the perception that it neglects intensive exploitation of language, so acquisition or skill development may be slower. The nature of compulsory syllabuses, e.g. GCSE, also play a role.

So.... from a student's point of view, if they are not particularly interested in the workings of language or playing communicative games, lessons in French/Spanish/German may seem mundane compared to lessons in history, geography or science.

(As an aside, one concern I have with TPRS lessons - and one no doubt felt by some students - is that 'story-asking', while potentially fun, personally engaging and linguistically productive, may seem trivial in terms of content. I'm sure TPRS teachers are aware of this risk and attempt to compensate for it in various ways. No doubt a story can lead to weightier content.)

I was aware of the issue of trivial content, especially with students aged around 14-16, who are often less willing to 'play the game' of communicating or practising language about everyday activities and the like. That's why I sought interesting texts or videos which provided useful language input alongside stimulating content. 

A good example of this type of input are the French portrait d'enfant videos produced by Arte and availbale on YouTube. These are typically about two and half minutes long - a good length for thorough exploitation -  and present the lives of children around the age of 11 who live in a wide range of geographical and social contexts. The short films may feature the child talking (if they are French speakers), or, more often, have a voice-off commentary. The latter can be adjusted for speed on YouTube. (I sometimes recommend choosing 0.75 as a suitable speed, but it depends on the narrator.) If you choose the video wisely, you have language input at a level students can handle (Krashen's i + 1, if you like to think of it in those terms) set in genuinely interesting contexts. The videos are suitable for students with about three to five years of French under their belts, though you could use them with beginners if the aim is primarily cultural rather than lingusitic.

Needless to say, there is tremendous intercultural content in these films, a genuine glimpse into the lives of children around the world. Relatively well-off students in the UK, for example, get to see what life is like for children in developing countries, often living in modest cirumstances. Typically, the films depict the food children eat, the schools they attend and their living conditions. They often feature te child's favourite pastime.

It is easy to design activities based on these videos, which can be played with captions on if necessary. I tend to scaffold the material by designing exercises which contain written language drawn from the recordings. The result is a lesson conducted almost wholly in the target language. For example:

• True/false
• Correct false statements
• Gap-fill (with options provided)
• Target language questions (harder)
• Ticking off correct statements
• Completing a vocabulary grid (English to TL)

I rarely use comprehension questions in English in my worksheets, since I like the idea of integrating listening with reading. Remember that the written target language reinforces and supports the language the students hear.

It is easy to go beyond the exercises above, by introducing comparisons with the students' lives, school, hobbies, homes, etc. A video could easily be the basis of a sequence of lessons, CLIL-style, around the lives of the children or the geographical area.

Below is an example of a video, with the exercises I made for frenchteacher.net. It's about a young boy called Yayi from a village in Togo. The original worksheet is on the site.

Portrait d’enfant : Yayi au Togo

Écoutez et complétez les phrases en utilisant des mots dans la case.

 

attache         déjeuner         voudrait          rencontre         cours         préféré           fait tradition      avec       riz     préparer       drapeau      aller      faire     habitants       devenir

 

1.    Il habite un village ________ sa mère et sa grand-mère.

2.    Sa mère est en train de ________ le petit déjeuner.

3.    Elle prépare un plat avec des boules de ________ dans une sauce à base de poisson.

4.    Sa mère vend sa nourriture (food) aux ________ du village.

5.    Elle lui donne de l’argent pour son ________ à l’école.

6.    Il met cinq à dix minutes pour ________ à l’école.

7.    Quelquefois il ________ des copains sur la route.

8.    En arrivant à l’école on hisse (hoist) le ________ et on chante l’hymne (national anthem) togolais.

9.    Ce matin ils ont un ________ de maths.

10.  Yayi adore ________ des calculs en maths.

11.  Il ________ la danse sur échasses (stilts) avec ses copains.

12.  On fabrique les échasses dans le village. C’est une ________.

13.  Il ________ les échasses à ses jambes avec de grosses cordes (ropes).

14.  Son mouvement ________, c’est Hakouda (?).

15.  Son rêve, c’est de ________ danseur sur échasses professionnel.

16.  Il ________ le faire en Europe et au Canada.

Vous pouvez regarder la vidéo une autre fois avec les sous-titres.

Réponses

1.         Il habite un village avec sa mère et sa grand-mère.

2.         Sa mère est en train de préparer le petit déjeuner.

3.         Elle prépare un plat avec des boules de riz dans une sauce à base de poisson.

4.         Sa mère vend sa nourriture aux habitants du village.

5.         Elle lui donne de l’argent pour son déjeuner à l’école.

6.         Il met cinq à dix minutes pour aller à l’école.

7.         Quelquefois il rencontre des copains sur la route.

8.         En arrivant à l’école on hisse le drapeau et on chante l’hymne (national anthem) togolais.

9.         Ce matin ils ont un cours de maths.

10.       Yayi adore faire des calculs en maths.

11.       Il fait la danse sur échasses (stilts) avec ses copains.

12.       On fabrique les échasses dans le village. C’est une tradition.

13.       Il attache les échasses à ses jambes avec de grosses cordes (ropes).

14.       Son mouvement préféré, c’est Hakouda (?).

15.       Son rêve, c’est de devenir danseur sur échasse professionnel.

16.       Il voudrait le faire en Europe et au Canada.