Here at friLingue, we are not operating as a high school, therefore the lessons should be different and more fun. Teachers have a lot of freedom when planning lessons, and you are encouraged to draw upon your own experiences, hobbies and expertise when preparing your courses. Unlike schools, we don’t have a programme or syllabus to adhere to, therefore individual improvement is key – and is aided by our smaller class sizes. Your general (impossible) mission: to do everything so that the kids gain confidence in their language skills and improve them BUT without feeling like they have classes during their vacation; that the parents are aware of it and send the kids again next year.

We recommend that at the beginning of the very first class, you encourage them to tell you whenever something is not 100% clear to them. Regularly check that each of them understands every word and follows the conversation.
Although our teachers are given a substantial amount of freedom when it comes to their classes, we do have a loose guideline that teachers should follow:

• ⭐ Engage with the children

This sounds obvious, but is important that you engage with kids during the lesson; don’t simply hand out constant worksheets and exercises and have the children quietly working on them. Of course, worksheets are good in moderation, and often necessary to assist the understanding of something that has been explained, but they shouldn’t dominate the lesson. It’s also important to get the kids to interact and engage with each other, as it makes of much better atmosphere in the class.

• ⭐ Speak in the language that you’re teaching

With some of the lower levels, this isn’t always possible, but in general, you should always try and speak in the language that you’re teaching; kids won’t learn French very well if you’re speaking English or German most of the time. Of course, sometimes, small translations might be necessary and some difficult explanations might be better delivered in the kids’ mother tongue, but always explain the language you’re teaching first and only translate it if there are some kids who haven’t understood. Often, it’s quite good simply to pretend that you don’t speak their mother tongue.

• ⭐ Encourage the kids to talk

Sounds simple, but most people’s biggest fear when they start learning a language is to talk, usually because they are timid about their accent or fear making mistakes. The small class sizes give them a real opportunity to express themselves in a carefree environment. The most important thing when learning a language is to make mistakes, and encourage everyone to speak without fear!

How NOT to speak English to kids who come to learn French or German
DURING THE CAMP
Always speak:

1. clearly
2. slowly
3. articulately

Do not interrupt her/him and show with facial expressions and gestures that you understand what she/he is saying. When possible, make comments such as "Oh yeah?!", "I agree", "Really?” etc. in order to motivate her/him to keep talking.
Don't be tempted to translate when there are difficulties in communication.
- repeat very slowly
- use other words
- use google images
- ask for help from a colleague who already understands
And yes, of course, if the kid has a serious problem or if we see her/him crying, for example, we need to use whatever language is most comfortable for her/him.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Always speak:

1. clearly
2. slowly
3. articulately

Ask questions to make sure they understand. Examples: "What are we going to do now?", "What time did I say the break is?" etc.

1. repeat, repeat, repeat...! and repeat very slowly
2. use different words
3. draw on the whiteboard
4. always have a dictionary on the table and don't be afraid to use it. It really works!
5. use google images
6. ask the kid who has understood to explain the language they are learning. And, when this is not possible, in their mother tongue.

When possible, give compliments. But be careful to have a balance between the participants of the group. ;)
And ask lots of questions and play lots of games! When they see that they can express themselves and make themselves understood, they are very proud and motivated!

• ⭐ Videos and visuals

Visual aids and videos are very important and can often capture a child’s interest in class, so you’re encouraged to use them. It is, however, important to ensure that you keep it relevant and somewhat educational; use film scenes or episodes to help with understanding, or make them relevant to the theme or concept that you’ve been doing in class. Don’t show an entire film for the whole lesson; kids can watch films at home so this doesn’t make for a constructive class. If you’re going to do that, you’d be as well to hand them a copy of War & Peace and tell them to spend the whole week reading it! Here are some examples:

1. Caricatures, comic strips without texts, famous paintings: you can have them describe any kind of image and tell you what’s happening in it. It can also introduce the subject you want them to talk about
2. Stories and texts: sometimes your pupils need to relax, so you can have them read a story every day. When you have 6 pupils in your class you can use whatever text adapted to their level, when you have fewer then you can write yourself something about their favorite band or any other subjects they’re interested in. Texts can be related to the Saturday excursion.
3. Songs, video: you can teach them the lyrics of a song, and if possible have them sing the song. For video, silent movies are perfect: they have to describe everything that’s happening on the screen, and since they want to know what will happen next (because you’ve pressed on “Pause”) they try to do it as quickly as possible. Besides, they might discover classic movies they never knew about.

• ⭐ Grammar

Whilst it is important to explain the grammar in order to use a language, you should always try and teach it in an interesting way; follow up the explanation and worksheet with a game or role-play exercise. The kids are on vacation. So it’s not the point (except if they ask for it) to spend more than 15 minutes every day explaining the difference between the past perfect and the simple past. They usually have seen it at school, so you remind them of the rules and then help them to use them. If possible, adapt the teaching material to them. It’s a good idea to give them a few documents so they can prove to their parents that they did learn something during the week.

• ⭐ Games and interactive lessons

Again, quite an obvious thing to say, but kids do enjoy games. There are many educational games to choose from (such as Times Up, Stop the Bus, Taboos etc.) that can be very good for testing and improving grammar and vocab in a fun way. Interactive lessons such as role-plays or group exercises are also great ways to make lessons more interesting. Here are some examples of popular games:

1. Neither “yes” nor “no”: you have a conversation with them but it’s forbidden to use these two words: when they do, they lose one point (you can play with them and let them try to trick you). It forces your pupils to make sentences and it’s supposed to be funny (it can be helpful to do it on the first day so that you can evaluate their language skills and “break the ice” and learn more about them).
2. Time bombs: you give them a word, the first pupil has to make a correct sentence about it, then the second does the same, etc… until 2.30 minutes have passed so they have to be quick (you can use a ball to materialize the bomb). They have to use all the vocabulary they know to describe the “concept”.
3. Post-it on the forehead: if you talk about animals, professions, or objects in a house and then you write a word on a post-it and stick it on your pupils’ foreheads. Then they have to ask questions that can be only answered by “yes” or “no” to figure out what animal/profession/ object they are. They use the vocabulary they’ve just learnt and usually have fun (especially when they have to guess that they are a unicorn or Santa Claus).
4. Cards with pictures: you’ve taught them how to use the past tense or conditional (like 5 minutes), and afterwards you give them two cards with images down. When it’s their turn, they discover the two images (for instance a cat and a swing) and they have to make a sentence, even if it doesn’t really make sense. So - they laugh because the result is sometimes very poetic, but they have memorized the grammar structure (can be played also with the chronometer).

• ⭐ Use your skills & hobbies

If you have a particular hobby or skill set, don’t be afraid to use it in your lessons. If you study journalism, perhaps you could make a class magazine or newspaper; if you’re good at art, you can always try to implement it into your lesson. Anything you can do that you think can make lessons more fun, don’t be afraid to try using it in some way – we love new and innovative teaching methods here at friLingue!

• ⭐ The kids’ interests

Find out what things the kids are interested in and try to use that in the lesson. If you find out that some kids like a particular type of music, perhaps you could use this in the lesson. Or perhaps you could centre a lesson around celebrities or hobbies, giving the students a chance to express their interests and passions in the language they’re trying to learn.

• ⭐ Creativity

Being creative is a great way to get into a language; story-writing classes and other creative lessons can develop language skills in a captivating way that inspires the imagination. Lessons that require the class to create their own superheroes or summer camps (or whatever) can really capture a kid’s imagination and help set our lessons aside from the rudimentary programmes that they’re used to in schools.

• ⭐ Your culture & nationality

It’s always a good idea to use your background and culture in a lesson as it helps the kids to learn about the culture and life behind the language, in places where it is spoken natively. If you’re from France, the UK or Ireland, teach the culture and customs of your native country – even if you’re from Switzerland, you can teach the class about traditions from your home Canton. This also helps the class get to know you better as they discover a bit more about where you come from.

• ⭐ Homework

Just don’t give them homework, the kids are also on holiday whilst at the camp, you’re not their high school teacher so let them enjoy their free time!

• ⭐ Inappropriate topics

Don’t use inappropriate topics. Some ‘controversial’ topics can be all right as long as they’re used responsibly; just use your common sense. For example, a debate about whether or not marijuana should be made legal for medical use is all right, but a debate about whether joints or bongs are better is, quite obviously, not OK. The same goes for sex and violence – don’t do lessons about sex positions and the best ways to kill people. If you thought that any of these things were OK, then teaching is probably not for you and I’d advise you to seek some form of psychiatric help.

• ⭐ Inappropriate language

Once again, very obvious stuff here; don’t swear or use threatening and abusive language towards the kids.

❌ Do not

1. Reapproach/scold them if you see that they are not focused. 3 hours is a long time, so if one pupil looks through the window for 10 seconds - it’s normal, or it’s because you’re not entertaining enough. Ask him/her what he sees outside, make a joke, throw a ball, jump on the table, try something else or simply let him/her breathe.
2. Use learning games on the internet or anything that your pupils could do on their own.
3. Panic if they don’t want to participate at the beginning. Try to change your techniques, and ask them what they would like to do.
4. Try to organize everything: as long as your pupils are talking, let them talk. Forget about your program and encourage them to develop.

We hope that this guideline has been useful for you and that you now have a better idea of how to plan and deliver your courses here at friLingue. At the end of the day, there are three important things: That the kids like you; they have fun; and they learn something. We look forward to welcoming you to the friLingue family and hope that you’ll enjoy working with us!