TK's Enhanced French Students: A Cultural Evening to Remember!
by Tonia Whyte Potter-Mal, PYP Coordinator -
On Thursday, December 10, Grades 3 and 4 students in the Enhanced French Language programme celebrated a French Soirée, a unique evening of preparing and tasting student-made food, with French the only language of communication. This full immersion experience with French teachers, Ms. Nandini and Ms. Helene provided a practical extension of classroom learning.
In celebration of the Learner Profile attributes 'Communicators and Risk Takers', students were encouraged to apply their knowledge and skills in practical ways through authentic French dialogue and team tasks. The students explored the roles of verbs, nouns, adjectives, prepositions and conjunctions in an everyday situation. Evidence of language learning goals included making sense of instructions, measuring ingredients, preparing mini-pizza delights, baking a savoury cake, keeping track of time and preparing a fresh salad with student-made dressing! Although not home made, ice cream with cake was a memorable finale for students to end the evening.
With a broad variety of ingredients, tools and instructions, students had authentic opportunities for transdisciplinary learning. They enthusiastically pursued a range of ‘culinary’ goals in the canteen, which became an environment not just for eating but also for preparing food, cooking and most importantly communicating in French.
In keeping with the holiday theme during transition times, students and teachers sang French songs, created crafts, watched short videos and even explored a few percussion instruments during the evening. Fantastique!
This celebration a la francaise got others’ attention on campus: a number of curious teachers, on their way home after a long day, stopped by the canteen to observe. They were impressed as students demonstrated their impressive French vocabulary.
In a nutshell, the dynamic energy and interest on this evening is captured well in this quote by one of the French students who while engaged in craft-making gleefully exclaimed, "C'était la meilleure soirée de ma vie! (This is 'like' the best night ever!)"
French Soiree
A heartfelt ‘merci beaucoup’ to the French team for making this evening such a meaningful and memorable experience for our Grades 3 and 4 Enhanced French Language students!