In New Haven, there is a well-established world languages curriculum for grades 7 and 8, but the 5
th
and 6
th
grade curriculum is very open. At my school, we focus on vocabulary acquisition and basic question and answer interactions to develop linguistic skills and fundamental language understanding. A big part of how I hook students is through the sound of the words; by over-enunciating and emphasizing the unique sounds of the vocabulary, I try to instill in students an understanding of the similarities and differences between French and English. I use a lot of cognates to build bridges to linguistic understanding, and stressing the sound of the words in French helps to reinforce that bridge. For example, the word
orange
is the same in both languages, but in French it is pronounced "oh-
rahnj
" instead of "
orr
-enj." When I emphasize the sound of the word, it sticks in students' heads better. And by stressing the sound of word parts (like
–ique
and
-eur
in French instead of
–ic
and
–or
in English) I hope to create a sound memory for students from which they can draw when they are learning or hearing new vocabulary.
This unit will provide students with opportunities to experiment with French vocabulary while embedding it into their knowledge base. I hope that it either nurtures the place in them that loves rhyme and song and sound or perhaps introduces them to that place through the practice of linguistic elements. It will also introduce basic dictionary skills, so that students may guide their own vocabulary acquisition process appropriately.
Be sure to talk with the Language Arts teachers at your school about what students already know, what things you can help reinforce, and areas of possible collaboration.
