Repetition to Passive to Active

• The key to effective MFL teaching

Remember you need to show progress…

1. Start with activities that are purely repetitive – Class choral repetition – loud / quiet / silly

voices / whispers / silent mouthingGroup repetition – girls,boys / different sides of

the class / different tables

Remember you need to show progress…2. Progress to activities that are passive, ie pupils have to understand the meaning of the words –

Mouthing the words – pupils say which one it isC’est quel numéro? – say a word, pupil gives

numberSlam – on the board or Individual Slam on a grid,

or with a partnerMindwaves – think of a word (or choose a

flashcard) – pupils guess which ones it isOh la la – point to a word and say it, if it’s

correct pupils repeat if not they say “oh la la”

Remember you need to show progress…3. Progress to activities that are active, ie pupils have to produce the words (spoken first, written last) –

Ping-pong – pupils say the words with a partnerQu’est-ce qui manque? – take one away and

pupils guess which one0/X or Connect 4 – words on a grid, pupils say

the word to ‘win’ that squareBattleships – hidden stickers behind squares can

be won if the correct word is said Beat the clock – say all the words on the grid as

fast as you can (only English/pictures showing)

Remember you need to show progress…

4. Writing should be the final activity, and never just copying the word from the board or a worksheet –

matching vocab exercises - French / English / pictures

fill in the blank – letters missingshade in the words so they can’t be seen

properlynever ask pupils to write a word unless they

have seen the spelling first

20 games in MFL…

• Slam (passive)• Individual finger slam /

snatch (passive)• Timed slam (passive)• Brain waves (passive)• Lotto (passive)• Sit-down lotto (passive)• Strip lotto (passive)• Oh la la (passive)• Read my lips (passive)• Order the cards (passive)

• Whiteboard Dictée (active)• o/x (active)• Connect 4 (active)• Blockbusters (active)• Beat the clock (active)• + / - points game (active)• Beat the mouse (active)• 1,2,3,4 points game

(active)• Last man standing (active)• Card race (active)