As we learn, brain cells make connections with each other through thread-like tentacles known as dendrites. [i] The Spanish scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal, joint winner of the Nobel Prize of 1906 for making the first drawings of brain cells
Each time we pay attention to something we have learned, low-voltage electricity flows along the connection, stimulating the release of myelin, an insulator which speeds up the subsequent transmission of electricity and, over time, enables us to use what we have learned automatically. Repeated practice enables brain cells to grow new connections, much like buds on a tree. [ii]
For these processes to take place, connections must first be made, and then reinforced. Our awareness of these connections can be described as a combination of knowing, and understanding. The formation of connections is hindered if we go too fast, present too much information at once (see cognitive load theory) or if we have pupils jerk their attention back and forth through copying.
The role of practice in developing new connections is a good reason to begin with the most frequently used verbs, avoir and être, which can be used as hubs for building a wide range of sentences. As French verbs vary in their forms and endings more than English ones, it is also important to establish and practice their patterns clearly from the outset. I do this by means of a simple action song, to music written by my former Hackney colleague Joe Biswell:
This simple song works with any French verb, and I usually introduce the actions with pronouns.
Je (point to self, whole hand –finger pointing is rude)
Tu (point to a friend, whole hand – they can’t help smiling!)
Il (point to a boy, not your tu friend)
Elle (point to a girl, not your tu friend)
Note – we use one hand for the singular, two for plural pronouns.
Nous Big circular sweep with both hands
Vous Point to teacher with both hands – either explain that vous is a way of keeping formality with an adult one doesn’t know well, or, with younger children, that I’m at least as big as two of them.
Ils Point to two boys both hands
Elles Point to two girls both hands
I then put the conjugation of either être or on the board – which one depends on the speed of response in the first lesson - and we add to the pronouns, nodding as we complete the actions. Children generally enjoy doing this, but would modify if they didn’t. Looking at the verb on the board, note that all items have at least one silent letter at the end, and some two. Minimise or delete, then trace Je suis with finger on sleeve, and, when confident, write on miniboard or scrap paper. At this point, I’d take pressure off by practising colours, or using one or two songs from Zim Zam Zoum[iii], of which more later.
If I use être first, I follow it with avoir, and we build simple sentences around it, showing how the French say things differently from us. J’ai faim, soif, onze ans, un chat, trios chiens, deux frères, une soeur (or however many they happen to have). Once again, practising writing without copying, on mini board or scrap paper, returning to tracing on sleeve with finger if pupils find some parts difficult.
Sentences with être allow us to introduce the idea of gender, beginning, as French children do, with their own. Je suis/ne suis pas intelligent(e) prudent(e) sérieux(se) curieux(se) gentil(le) furieux(se) also show the pattern of feminine word endings being pronounced slightly more heavily than masculine ones. The idea of assingning gender to words that do not have a natural gender is a big jump for English speakers, and needs discussion and practice. While the origin of gender in language is not fully understood, its roots in natural gender are clear - in no language is "mother" masculine, for example - and it may well be reflected in the domains of ancient gods and godesses. I explain that, while most modern religions have one god, the ancient world had many, and this influence may well be one reason for the persistence of gender in language. We don't, however, fully understand this, and each language handles the issue in its own way. As we're learning French, we do things the way French speakers do, and not the way we do things in English. This issue usually needs to be revisited, and pupils encouraged to ask questions to bring out what they do and don't understand.
Zim Zam Zoum is the work of Monica Hyde, a teacher from Oxfordshire, with music from her husband John, a professional musician. Each song introduces a basic aspect of French with a cartoon background, sung by French-speaking children at a pace that makes it easy for a beginner to understand. Words appear in bubbles within the cartoon, so that written and spoken forms are taught together. Production costs were expensive and, like many small producers, the company, Taught By Song, found it impossible to sustain commercial production. It is, however, so good that I will not willingly teach beginning French without it. The songs stay in children’s minds, they often move around in their seats to the music – esp the theme song - and Hackney children would often be found singing them all day long, a tribute, as Monica Hyde taught in an Oxford prep school. I recommend getting in touch with Monica at the address below, as it may be possible to burn new copies on request. The original cost was £85 for each of two discs, for a permanent licence.
I particularly like the positive and negative constructions on the second disk, and will admit to having suggested this to Monica. In order to ensure that everything is fully understood at all times, I do not usually introduce more than one new item per half-hour lesson in the beginning. The next step is to introduce negative conjugations of être and avoir, using the verb song, and to make simple sentences with them, practising and reinforcing with the same techniques and games as above, including Pas Maintenant, Bernard. In subsequent lessons, sentence construction can be continued in whatever direction the teacher thinks best. Where possible I prefer to use Clicker software to continue to the next phase, and am happy to demonstrate.
[i] Blakemore SJ, Frith, U. The Learning Brain, 2007
[ii] Kandel, E. In Search of Memory, 2006
[iii] Zim Zam Zoum, Taught By Song, YewTree House, Berrick Salome, OX10 6JQ