French Language Teaching Pedagogy: A Reflective Report

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TEACHING IN A SPECIALIST AREA

Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 KEY AIMS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN FRENCH LANGUAGE......................................4
1.2 PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES RELATING TO EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN YOUR OWN
SPECIALIST AREA........................................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................ 7
3.1 ANALYSE THE INCLUSIVENESS OF OWN APPROACH TO THE PLANNING AND PREPARATION
OF A LEARNING PROGRAMME FOR FRENCH LANGUAGE..........................................................7
3.2 HOW THE APPROACH TO THE PLANNING AND PREPARATION OF A LEARNING
PROGRAMME IN OWN SPECIALIST AREA TAKES ACCOUNT OF KEY CURRICULUM ISSUES,
INCLUDING THE ROLE OF NEW AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.............................................8
TASK 4.......................................................................................................................................... 10
TASK 6.......................................................................................................................................... 19
6.1 REVIEW THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OWN KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN FRENCH LANGUAGE 19
6.2 IDENTIFY OWN STRENGTHS AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN RELATION TO PRACTICE
IN FRENCH LANGUAGE............................................................................................................ 20
6.3 IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE AND UPDATE OWN KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN
FRENCH LANGUAGE.................................................................................................................22
REFERENCES-............................................................................................................................... 23

INTRODUCTION
The aim of this study is to understand the importance of teaching and specialising in own area
to teach the subject to the students in the best manner. The aims and objectives of providing
education to students are studied in the research. The philosophy issues are studied regarding
education and training in the field of the French language. The effectiveness of the approach is
studied by preparing the teaching and learning material and including the key curriculum
issues. The teaching and learning issues are understood with the help of presentation to
highlight the issues, learning resources, including the technological issues and advancements
and the importance of learning the French language is also included in the study (Richards and
Schmidt, 2013).

TASK 1
1.1 KEY AIMS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN FRENCH LANGUAGE
Education is vital in today’s world as the person who is educated can earn a living for himself
and live a decent life. The field of education is ever expanding as the horizons of education are
reaching new bounds. The French language is one of the most beautiful and one of the most
spoken languages in the world. The French language is taught to students so that they learn the
culture of the language and understand its literature (Johnson, 2013).
The aim of education and training for the French language are as follows-
To impart Knowledge- The aim of teaching French to students is that they should get
knowledge about the language and to make them aware of the French literature. The
students who are keen on learning the French language are taught using the techniques
that are simple and easy. Over 200 million people speak French in the world and French
is spoken in more than 5 continents. French is the second most widely learnt language in
the world after English that makes it so much in demand everywhere. If a student knows
French as a side language then they are given preference in colleges and further in their
job roles.
To inculcate Vocational Knowledge- The vocational aim of education is to give
vocational training regarding the language and to familiarise the students about the
importance of French education. The application of French language like in French-
speaking countries and in avenues like hospitality, travel and tourism, guiding, schools
and colleges is studied. The scope of learning the French language is vast and the
students are taught French so that they become equipped with the skill and use it for
earning a livelihood for themselves (Vandergrift and Goh, 2012).
To build the Students’ Character- Learning French has a positive impact on the
character of the learner. They become more open to possibilities and look at art from a
different perspective. The students' artistic taste is enhanced by learning French and
they are able to appreciate and acknowledge the art and beauty around them. While

learning the French language, the art, paintings and notable works by French
philosophers and artists are also studied which shape the mind of the learner and the
knowledge in all domains is expanded while learning this language (Vandergrift and Goh,
2012).
Cultural Aim of Education- The students who are learning the French language become
more knowledgeable about the French culture which is vast and has a number of
historical facts and events attached. The culture of France encompasses the beautiful
galleries, artworks, museums, festivals, food and the traditions which define the French
culture. The French culture is learnt by the student and the student develops his
competencies regarding the French culture and heritage (Richards and Schmidt, 2013).
These are some of the aims and objectives of learning the French language. These are the
reasons why the French language is taught to students at the school, undergrad and postgrad
levels.

1.2 PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES RELATING TO EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN
YOUR OWN SPECIALIST AREA
The key issues that are faced by the teachers in teaching the French language to students are:
Difficulty in learning and understanding the language- Most students find the language
very difficult due to their past learning failures or bad interactions regarding the French
language. Students are not willing to learn the language which becomes a serious issue
for the teachers as they are clueless as to how to make the students learn the language.
The students have to be familiarised with the language and to make them understand
that it is not a difficult language. It is easy to understand and those who know how to
read, write and speak English can easily learn the French language (Johnson, 2013).
Limited Resources and Support- The resources available to teach the French language
are limited which makes the teachers helpless regarding the teaching of the language.
The availability of resources like proper books for students where they can learn the
language with ease and simplicity and the online material for the teachers which they
can use like online journals, availability of internet. When these resources are not
available to the teacher then it causes trouble and the teacher is unable to lend her
knowledge to the student (Byram and Hu, 2013).
Awareness Regarding learning of French- The society where the students live does not
regard French as an important language. The language is ignored by the society which
focuses on only English and the regional languages. The language is not given enough
importance which sets the mind of the learner that the language is not that important
and the students develop a lax attitude towards the language. The importance is not
given to learning of the language and the demand of French learners declines
(Vandergrift and Goh, 2012).
These are some of the philosophical issues regarding the learning of the French language. These
issues must be addressed so that the French language becomes common and the learners show
enthusiasm in learning this language.

TASK 3
3.1 ANALYSE THE INCLUSIVENESS OF OWN APPROACH TO THE PLANNING AND
PREPARATION OF A LEARNING PROGRAMME FOR FRENCH LANGUAGE
The planning and preparation of the activities include devising plans and procedures for
teaching the language in the best possible manner. The planning structure provides meaningful
resources for the teachers and the learners who are able to understand the language well.
While planning to teach the French language to the learners, it is important to consider the
following points-
 Who am I teaching? Who are my students and what are there learning requirements
that I have to comply with?
 What am I teaching? What are the topics that I have to teach to the student’s and how
am I going to teach them the topics and the concepts?
 How will I teach? What teaching methods will I use? What are the teaching resources
available to me like charts, boards, projectors, etc. and how can I make the best use of
them in imparting the required knowledge about French subject?
 How will I measure the success and performance of the students? How will I assess
them like tests (oral and written), presentations, speech and other ways of testing
student’s knowledge about the subject?
These are the points to be considered while framing the planning process for the students.

3.2 HOW THE APPROACH TO THE PLANNING AND PREPARATION OF A
LEARNING PROGRAMME IN OWN SPECIALIST AREA TAKES ACCOUNT OF KEY
CURRICULUM ISSUES, INCLUDING THE ROLE OF NEW AND EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES
The planning process to teach the French language can include the latest technological
advancements which can make the learning and understanding of the language easy. The
advancement of technology is huge and the technology is used in almost all spheres of life
including teaching and learning. The students learn better in smart classrooms where instead of
the conventional board, a large screen is present where the teacher explains the topics on the
screen in a visual format. The students are engaged and interactive in these kinds of learning
sessions and understand the concepts in a better way (Vandergrift and Goh, 2012).
The various uses of technology in the field of teaching and learning are through the following
methods-
1. The students can be taken to a virtual field trip using Google Cardboard which gives real
like the experience of travelling. The students and teachers while sitting in the
classroom can go on a virtual trip where the teacher can show French artefacts,
museums, places and points of interest to arouse the student’s interest in the language.
Fig. 1- Google cardboard in classroom study

Source- (Richards and Schmidt, 2013)
2. Use YouTube videos for mini-lessons- The lessons tutorials are available on the internet
so the teachers should make the most use of it. The lessons of almost all topics can be
found on the internet and for teaching French too, the similar patterns can be used.
Fig. 2- Using mini-lessons on the internet for studies
Source- (Johnson, 2013)
3. Add multimedia events to the PPTs- the PPT is an effective means of teaching as it can
include written material, pictures, audios and audio-visual material too. The students
learn in an effective manner when a combination of these features is used for the study.
The PPTs should include images, graphs, pictures, podcasts, sound effects, short video
lessons and news or movie about the lesson which makes the learning of the lesson
relevant. The use of these features will make the learning and understanding of the
French language easy for the students (Guido, 2017).
These are some of the methods of using technology in the planning process for teaching the
French language to students. These technological processes can make the learning of French
easy for the students.

TASK 4
Slide 1

Slide 2