How to study French in a group

October 16, 2008 4:33 PM

I'm in a French class with a bunch of college (mainly) freshmen, and I've talked a bunch of them into meeting for a study session on Monday afternoon. How can we best study together? I always studied alone when I was an undergrad.

I've got a possible source of old tests -- I checked, and the school views this as ethical. I've found a couple of pages on the excellent French.about.com which might be helpful.

But what's the best way to take advantage of having about 10-12 people all _in the same place_ wanting to get better at this language? Drilling somehow? Having people make up tasks for each other on the spot? Some kind of not-stupid game?

We'll probably be broken up into at least two groups of 3. We'll have maybe 2-3 hours together, maybe 4, maybe with a meal break in there.

Yes, I may be over thinking this, but I don't want to end up with me telling everyone what to do just because I'm older (I'm a special part-time student), and at the same time I don't want it to be some kind of lame session where we don't get anything done. I realize that the other students may well have many ideas of their own -- I hope so, and they are very bright -- but having got through a difficult undergrad program on my own, I know it's possible to be "bright" and still have no clue how to study in a group.

Specific activity / process recommendation? Thanks!

posted by amtho to education (7 comments total)

A no spoken English rule, on top of whatever paper drills you come up with. Either for the whole session or a small period of it if you're just starting out. It's the easiest and best way to learn, just make sure there are dictionaries handy.
posted by fire&wings at 4:42 PM on October 16, 2008

If you've received papers back or have some to turn in, proofreading is always helpful.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 4:57 PM on October 16, 2008

The main benefit of studying a language in a group is to practice speaking. Maybe break into pairs to practice talking about the vocabulary of the week? When I was in college, the language departments sponsored afternoons at a local coffeeshop where students could drop by to practice chatting in the foreign language.
posted by donajo at 5:06 PM on October 16, 2008

Make a rule that everyone has to speak french, and if they run up against something they don't know how to say, or no one can understand, you must try it three times before using english.
posted by blue_beetle at 5:16 PM on October 16, 2008

I find that I remember the strange and outrageous things I learned to say in French better than the the "normal" stuff.

you could translate movie quotes and try to identify the correct movie there are thousands of interesting ways to speak a foreign language rather than

Je Sous Tu est ....whatever!! Conjugation sucks ...Conversation rocks./
posted by Megafly at 7:00 PM on October 16, 2008

Make dinner/build model airplanes/play doctor/go on a scavenger hunt together; a set of vocabulary is easier to remember in context. If you've just done the textbook's food/places in town/shopping unit, try to refresh that vocabulary in meaningful utterances.

I teach English abroad, and would find it impossible to give my students a task to accomplish without a goal in mind - "do page 14 in the workbook" is way less interesting, and way less meaningful, than "you are trapped in an elevator with these seven items - discuss how you will use them to escape and make it to the wedding on time." Review quantifiers and ordinal numbers by writing out your favorite cocktails on cards, then making the cocktails and rating them in a contest: a shot of this, a teaspoon of that, plus 300 milliliters of blah; first place goes to yadda yadda.

Not everyone will cotton to this - it might not feel like studying - but you'll all be speaking French a lot more, and in the course of the evening you'll get in way more practice than you'd get in a class anyway.

There is also the ultimate French study guide here, from the University of Texas.
posted by mdonley at 10:52 PM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

You could try to write something in pair work / both students write something (just pick up any topic you like : music, science, movies...), then give the text to the other one who makes linguistic suggestions. I'd gladly correct some of these texts (send me some mail).
Speaking French during the full session might be a little difficult, but you could decide to have a discussion (involving all the students) during which no english word is allowed. You can also turn it into a game : each time one of the student says something in english, he is excluded from the game. The goal is to stay as long as possible.
Don't forget to change pace and activities : speaking, writing, working alone, working all together, working with only one other student. Create situations but decide from the beginning to respect some (time) frame, so any student cannot stop the whole working that's going on.

(For instance : you've been elected President of the U.S.A., you have to write a speech which is to be pronounced in front of the highest French authorities in a week. You have an assistant to help you. I gather that you're 6 : makes three groups. Each group gives a performance of the speech in front of the others, who then discuss the (linguistic) content. You have to look for a number of things : who are "the highest French authorities" ? how is one supposed to address them ? (hi man how ya doin' ? or M. Le président, M. Le Premier Ministre, etc...) What formulaic sentences should one say in such a setting...? and so on...) You can search for that stuff on Youtube. It can be much more precise : USA and France are both involved in Afghanistan : imagine that you discuss with a French "freshman" about the way the war is evolving... (If you want to write to French students, I'll be at the University in a few days, I can place an ad for you in the English department).

About the "older" thing : you don't have to use authority, just ask everyone, at the very outset of your sessions, to make suggestions about the way work should be done in the group. Then, give your own suggestions. Keep all the best ones as a starting basis. You'll adjust through time. Ask (suggest that) everyone (is) to think about such suggestions for the next time. You can also suggest that each one of you is going to enforce "respect the frame" in turn. This way, you'll be all equally responsible for the choice of activities and the way they're carried out.
posted by nicolin at 2:10 AM on October 17, 2008