You’ve used immersion the first few days of school. Students have not heard you use English yet. Now what? 

Now, you explain why you do what you do and you convince your students that it is the best way to learn a language. And you do that by using English. For an entire week. Yes, you read that right. You do not teach any French for an entire week while you talk about how people learn their first language, immersion, proficiency levels, the brain and so much more.

And this English week is just as important as the immersion experience was the first couple days of school. Do not skip this—any of it. This lays the groundwork for students speaking in the TL for the rest of the year. 

Use the following lesson plans during your English week. I recommend using them in this order as you ease your students into why immersion is so powerful.

I will break up the lessons into activities, not days, since how many activities you get through in a day will depend on the length of your class. Also, feel free to add games in between these activities whenever your students need a brain break and/or have been sitting for a long time.

Activity #1: Ask to Speak in English
Activity #2: T-Chart of Emotions Related to Immersion
Activity #3: How You Learn Your First Language
Activity #4: Why You Teach This Way Compared to a Traditional Classroom
Activity #5: Explaining Circumlocution
Activity #6: Language Proficiency Levels
Activity #7: Syllabus
Activity #8: How to Stay in French and Not Use English
Activity #9: Google Translate vs. Wordreference
Activity #10: Class Procedures
Activity #11: Making Mistakes
Activity #12: Class Rules
Activity #13: Interpersonal Communication Skills Rubric
Activity #14: Hire Student Jobs
Activity #15: Co-Create Useful Phrases
Activity #16: Practice a Listening and Reading Activity
Activity #17: Setting Up Getting in a French Mindset When Entering the Classroom
Activity #18: Wrapping Up English Week

Activity #1: Ask to Speak in English

Start your class how you do every day in the TL: say “Hello” and review vocab. Then, pause for dramatic effect. Ask (in the TL) if you may speak in English. I do this as follows:

Français: Bonjour (wave “Hi” with right hand). Anglais: Hello (wave “Hi” with left hand). Est-ce que je (point to self) peux parler (put hand in front of mouth and open and close fingers like a duck quacking) en anglais (put left hand up with palm up)? Oui (point to head and nod up and down) ou non (point to head and move head back and forth)?

You may need to repeat this a couple times. You are just trying to get someone to say “Yes” in the TL. Once someone does say, “Thank you. I was asking if I could speak in English.” After this, pause again for students to freak out. Students normally gasp and say things like “I didn’t think you spoke English,” etc. After the shock has taken effect, tell students that you will be having an English week to discuss how people learn a second language.

Activity #2: T-Chart of Emotions Related to Immersion

• Have students stand. 
• Split students into groups. 
  • Have heritage speakers and students who speak another language at home stand in one area of the room. Ask the students what language they speak and write it on your attendance sheet. (Note: If you are in a district where you do not have heritage speakers, then skip this group.) 
  • Have students who have studied another language in school stand in another area of the room.
  • Have students who only speak English at home and who have never studied another language stand in a third area of the room. (It is good to note who these students are, too.)
• Ask students to form new groups with partners from the other groups (i.e. there should be one student who speaks a language other than English at home, a student who has studied a language in school before and a student who only speaks English and has never studied another language).
• Tell the students that they will discuss how immersion made them feel, what they liked and what they didn’t like.
  • At this point, students will demonstrate that they are confused about what immersion means, so ask them “What’s immersion?” Help students to figure it out with references to the first couple days of school.
• Explain the procedure.
  • One person will speak for a minute and the partners will listen. They are not allowed to speak or comment in any way. If the person speaking is finished before a minute is up, they all wait in silence. (This is really important to set the ground rule for listening and showing respect when others are speaking and for normalizing silence in the classroom. If groups do not do this, then remind them again when it’s the next person’s turn to speak.)
  • You will have the students speak in this order:

1. Student who only speaks English and has never studied another language
2. Student who has studied a language in school before
3. Student who speaks a language other than English at home

• Repeat that they will discuss how immersion made them feel, what they liked and what they didn’t like. Start a timer on your phone. While the first person is speaking, write a T-chart on the board for the categories “How Immersion Made You Feel,” “What You Liked” and “What You Didn’t Like.”
• Circulate while students are speaking, reminding them who will speak next when the timer goes off.
• If there happens to be groups of four, tell students that for groups of four, the fourth person will speak now while their partners listen and for groups of three, everyone may speak for a minute and comment on what each other has said.
• Ask students to sit in the circle.
• Have students share out what they discussed and write their responses in the T-chart. Take your time with this. This could easily take 10 minutes. Allow for students to share negative emotions they had about immersion. If no one offers anything negative, bring up some yourself, such as by asking “Did any of you feel frustrated?”
• One important question I ask when students say they didn’t understand is “What do I do to help you understand?” Students will say things like me pointing to things, acting things out and repeating myself. Prompt students to recognize these things if they do not offer them. Tell students you will be talking more about that in a little bit.

Activity #3: How You Learn Your First Language

• Have students stand. 
• Ask students to find a partner with whom they have not yet spoken.
• Ask students to discuss how they learned their first language. Do not give any more explanation for this. If students ask for you to clarify, tell them to interpret it in whatever way they want and that you will discuss it more in a little bit.
• When it seems like most groups are finished speaking, ask students to sit in the circle.
• Have students share out what they discussed and write their responses on the board. Again, take your time with this; this activity could also easily take 10 minutes. 
  • The discussion could go one of two ways. Students may have interpreted your question as how their parents helped them learn their first language. Or, students may have interpreted it as how a baby learns a language. You will want to elicit both sides of the discussion. 
    • Try to elicit the following words from students about how their parents helped them learn their first language: parents, immersed/immersion, talked slowly, pointed to objects, children’s shows, children’s stories/books, games, school, songs, repetition
    • Try to elicit the following words from students about how a baby learns a language: listen, gestures, sounds, simple words, phrases, simple sentences, complex sentences, conversations, paragraphs
    • Getting students to share the words in the “baby” category in the order above is really important. Students need to know that for about a year to a year and a half, babies only listen to the language their parents are speaking. Then, the next thing they do is gesture. Yes, there are some babies that can sign before speaking. My nephew, for example, who is a year old just points at what he wants. Then, babies start making sounds, then they start forming simple words by combining those sounds. Before they start speaking in perfect sentences, they use phrases where a subject or verb, etc., might be missing. Then, they start using simple sentences, and later complex sentences. Conversations can really start happening at any point on this spectrum, but explain to students that when they’re telling their friends about what happened to them over the weekend, they’ve started speaking in paragraphs.
• Once all of those words are written on the board, ask the next very important question: “How does this all relate to this class?” 
  • Help students figure out that you will be doing all of those things in class this year to help them learn the TL. They will be immersed in the language. You as the teacher will be speaking slowly, pointing to things and repeating yourself. The class will watch children’s shows, read children’s books, play games and sing songs to help them learn the language. They will learn the language just like babies do: first they will need to just listen, then they will be using gestures, sounds, simple words, phrases, simple sentences, complex sentences, conversations and eventually paragraphs.

Activity #4: Why You Teach This Way Compared to a Traditional Classroom

• Have students stand. 
• Ask students to find a partner with whom they have not yet spoken.
• Ask students to discuss why they think you want to teach this way compared to a traditional classroom. Again, do not give any more explanation for this. If students ask for you to clarify, tell them to interpret it in whatever way they want and that you will discuss it more in a little bit.
• When it seems like most groups are finished speaking, ask students to sit.
• Have students share out what they discussed and write their responses on the board. Students now will say things like “It’s fun” and “It mimics how we learned our first language.”
• Ask students what you meant by a “traditional classroom.” Try to elicit the responses of things like desks and a lot of handouts or computer work.
  • I ask students why they think I don’t have desks, which I highly recommend for setting up your classroom for immersion, and I try to elicit the response of how we all move around a lot.
  • If they talk about a lot of handouts/computer work, ask why they think you don’t give a lot of handouts or computer work. Then, ask them why people normally learn another language. And the answer is people normally learn another language because they want to be able to speak it and communicate with others, so that’s what you all are going to be doing.
  • Ask students why they think you have them sit in a circle. They will say things like “Because we can all see each other.” Then, ask “Why do you think I want you to be able to see each other?” Try to elicit the responses of students staying focused more because they’re not in a corner of the room away from everyone else and looking at each other for learning or for help. Also, try to get students to figure out that you want them to be comfortable with each other and that you are building community (which you will talk about more in a little bit). Ask “Why a circle, though? Why not a square or a triangle or some other shape?” Students will most likely say again that they can see each other. If no one brings up respect, or when someone does, share the story of the knights of the round table:

  A long time ago, there was King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Both King Arthur and all of his knights would sit at a round table and make decisions. Why did they sit at a round table? What was King Arthur trying to communicate by having both himself and his knights sit at a round table?

  The answer you want students to figure out is that it showed that they were all equal. Then, explain that that is why you all sit in a circle—because you are all equal and you are all learning. No one is better than anyone else.

  I did have a student this year ask me why I don’t stand in the circle then. (I do often stand in the circle, but I often don’t, as well.) So, I had to explain that because I am up at the front of the class pointing to things and acting things out like we discussed earlier, that I need to be in a position that allows me to easily access the board/screen, etc. However, you can ask your classes to leave a space for you in the circle, so whenever you’re not at the board or screen, you can be speaking to them from the circle.

  • Ask students why you do those weird activities where they’re probably thinking “What does this have to do with French?” Give them examples from the first couple days of school, such as the wave and the “Down by the Banks” hand clapping. Sometimes students will say things like “Because it’s fun” or “Because it’s cultural” or if they’ve already guessed that you want them to get to know each other they may repeat that, too. Tell them that, yes, those are all reasons why you do those activities, but the main reason you do those weird activities is for brain breaks. Ask students if they’ve ever heard of brain breaks. If they have, ask those students to explain. Afterwards, though, I always give this speech:

  Brain breaks are literally breaks for your brain, so you can transfer what you just learned from short-term memory to long-term memory before you forget it. Your brain can only hold about seven to 10 new pieces of information at a time, unless you transfer it to long-term memory. Those weird activities that we do give your brain time to transfer what you just learned to long-term memory, so you can remember it better and faster in the future. So, realize that when we do those weird activities, that’s why we’re doing them. They will normally involve some sort of movement and you are supposed to be silent during them.

  • Finally, ask students why they think you do not have a seating chart. Here is another time when you want students to realize that you want them to get to know each other. Tell them that there will be activities that you will do where you will ask them to speak with every single person in the class and for assessments, you will be pairing students up at random, so you want them to be comfortable speaking with anyone in class.
    • However, tell students that you will move them in the circle, if necessary. If sitting by their friend is distracting to the rest of the class, then you will ask them to move, but they will get a fresh start the next class.
    • Also talk about students refusing to sit in the circle. Tell students that if they’re having a bad day, that’s fine, but ask “What should you do if you’re having a bad day?” They should tell you! Then, you can allow them to sit outside the circle or go talk to an administrator, counselor, social worker, etc. However, if students have not communicated anything to you, then they need to be sitting in the circle and you will not start class until they do. If students refuse to sit in the circle, give them the options of either joining the circle or speaking to one of the administrators (who I usually say by name). Then, wait and keep repeating the options until they choose one.
    • Finally, tell students that with the flexible seating, they may choose whether they want to sit in a chair or on the floor in the circle. However, I tell students that in the past, the classes that complain the most about standing up when I ask them to are the ones that sit in chairs, which is funny because they have half the distance to stand than those students sitting on the floor. So, tell students that if they choose to sit in a chair, you should not be hearing any complaining about them standing up.

Activity #5: Explaining Circumlocution

• Tell students that you’re going to play a game and you’re going to talk about why you’re playing the game after you play the game.
• Have students pair up with a partner with one person facing the screen and the other person with their back to the screen.
• Explain that you will show a word on the screen and the partner facing the screen will describe the word to their partner without saying the word. The first pair to guess the word in 30 seconds gets two points. Any other pair that gets the word before 30 seconds is up gets one point.
• Show the first word of the Salad Game. Set a 30 second timer. Point to the pair who gets the word first, so they know they won, then when 30 seconds is up, ask who else got the word. Remind them that the two students who won got two points and the rest of them who got the word got one point. Tell students to keep track of their points.
• Have students switch roles. Then, repeat with the next word and the same rules.
• For the third word, tell students that during this round they are only allowed to say one word at a time. They are allowed to say more than one word, but they are only allowed to say one word at a time. For example, with the word “robbery,” they could say things like, “stealing,” “thief,” etc., but not phrases or sentences to describe the word.
• Have students switch roles. Then, repeat with the next word and the same rules.
• For the fifth word, tell students that during this round they are not allowed to speak at all. They are only allowed to use gestures.
• Have students switch roles. Then, repeat with the next word and the same rules.
• Have students share out how many points they won, and if there is a tie, have those pairs play again with the next word and only using gestures. The first pair to get the word wins.
• Ask students to sit in the circle.
• Ask why they think you played that game/how does it relate to this class and learning a language. Try to get students to repeat what was discussed earlier about how you learn your first language. That as a baby, you would use gestures, then are able to say simple words and then later form phrases and sentences. So, you played the game backwards for how a language is learned.
• Next, ask if anyone knows what it is called to describe a word without saying the word—essentially what they did in the first round. If no one does, share the word “circumlocution” with them and explain the following;
  • Repeat that circumlocution is when you describe a word without saying the word because you either forget the word or you don’t know the word.
  • We do the same thing in English—when we’re talking and we forget a word we say something like, “What’s that word? You know,…” and then we describe it.
  • The prefix “circum” (say this while drawing a circle with your arm) means circle, just like “circumnavigate” and “circumference.”
• Tell students to try to remember that word; that you will be talking about it more during English week.

Activity #6: Language Proficiency Levels

• Show the ACTFL proficiency levels. 
  • Explain that there are different proficiency levels when learning a language: novice, intermediate, advanced, superior and distinguished, but that within those levels, there is novice low, novice mid and novice high, etc.
  • Discuss how—like the game you just played and how you learn your first language—being a “novice” might mean only being able to communicate by using gestures and isolated words, and moving up in proficiency will mean putting words together in phrases and then communicating through more complicated sentences. 
  • Ask students why they think it is an inverted pyramid. If they are unsure, tell students, “Imagine pouring liquid into the pyramid. How much water is needed to go from novice low to novice mid versus going from advanced low to advanced mid, for example?” Once students answer that a lot more water is needed to go from advanced low to advanced mid than from novice low to novice mid, explain that it takes longer to move up in proficiency levels the higher up the pyramid you go and that you need to “learn more French” to move from advanced low to advanced mid than you need to move from novice low to novice mid.
  • Then, explain to students that the majority of native speakers are only in the advanced category—in any language. It isn’t unless you have an advanced degree, like a PhD, that you move into the superior or distinguished categories.
• Next, show the following video of an English-language learner at a novice low level. 
  • Ask students what proficiency level they think he is and why. After students guess and give reasons, point out that he is absolutely a novice low proficiency level because he is answering with one-word answers, the topic of colors is very basic and he has trouble understanding when the interviewer asks “What else?” and she has to repeat herself and say “What other colors?”
• Then, read through the proficiency level descriptions from Organic World Language as another explanation for the proficiency levels. 
  • Other details I include are that the term “parrot” for a novice means that they are really only able to repeat back what they have seen or heard, that as an intermediate, you can start to “create” original sentences with the language—structures that you have not seen or heard before—and that “control of all time frames” for advanced means that you can speak in the present, past, future, etc. 
• Then, ask students what proficiency level they think they are currently. For French 1, point out that they are absolutely novice low because they are only able to respond using gestures and/or simple words and that the vocabulary they know so far is very simple, such as colors and numbers.
• Next, show the proficiency levels expected for students after each level. 
  • Explain that by the end of the first year, students are only expected to reach novice mid proficiency. However, within novice mid there are levels novice mid 1, novice mid 2 and novice mid 3 and what level you end up at depends on how much you pay attention in class and how much you participate. 
  • Ask students why they think that after completing level 5 they may be intermediate mid to intermediate high and not just intermediate high. If they need help, show them the inverted pyramid of the ACTFL proficiency levels again and remind them that it takes longer to move up in proficiency levels the higher up you go.
  • Ask students how this chart would be different if they were living in a French-speaking country. Try to elicit the response that because they are only spending (typically) 45-minutes a day in class, they move up in proficiency levels a lot more slowly than if they were immersed in the language 24/7.
• Finally, connect this to participating in class. Explain to students that the more they are paying attention in class and listening to French and participating, the faster they will accelerate moving up in proficiency levels.
  • Tell students that if they resort to English, their brain switches languages and it takes their brain seven to eight minutes to switch back to thinking in French. Then, repeat yourself. Also, tell students that, right now, they probably are doubtful that they will be thinking in French, but that they will start to think in French and that you will prove this to them halfway through the year. Tell students that you will be talking about this more during English week.
  • Lastly, say that you will be using French the whole year and ask students what they think you want them to do. After they say, “Use French,” tell them that you will be discussing strategies to do that later during English week.

Activity #7: Syllabus

• Show your syllabus. The syllabus I give my students is very basic. I include information about the benchmarks they hope to achieve by the end of the year, a little bit about grading categories and supplies they will need this year.
  • First, discuss the benchmarks. Say the mode of communication and what it means. For example, that “interpretive” refers to reading or listening, that “interpersonal” could be speaking or writing and that “presentational” also refers to speaking or writing.
  • Read the description for each mode. Then, ask students what words indicate that this is a novice level. Try to elicit the following words from students: general topic, basic information, very familiar/everyday topics, practiced or memorized words, phrases and simple sentences, survival level
  • Next, briefly discuss how you will assess students. This will depend on your building and department guidelines; however, if you have leeway to choose how you assess students, I believe Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) are the best way to summatively assess in an immersion classroom. At this time, all that students need to know is how the formative and summative categories are divvied up, that summative will be divided equally between listening, speaking, reading and writing and that for the summative category, IPAs will evaluate students’ proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing based on a rubric.
    • I briefly describe what it means to grade based on proficiency. I tell students that I do not take off for what they do wrong, but rather I want to see what they are able to do with the language. For example, are they able to write in complete sentences? Are they able to understand the main idea of a reading or listening? Things like spelling, grammar and pronunciation are less important at a novice level. They are still found on the rubric, but if a student has terrible spelling, that does not mean that they will necessarily fail the assessment. For a listening assessment, I tell students that if I can understand what word they are writing, that it will count. To demonstrate this I write the letters “twa” on the board and ask students what word I’m writing. If you follow the “What to Teach During the First Couple Days of School Using Immersion” guidelines, students should know what word this is by now and will answer with “trois.” I then ask them if that is how it is spelled. When they say no, I then ask them if they knew what word I meant, which they did.  
    • Tell students that you will discuss formative assessments during the next class.
    • Tell students to bring a three-subject notebook in the next couple of days.

Activity #8: How to Stay in French and Not Use English

• Tell students that, just like earlier, you’re going to play some games and you’re going to talk about why you’re playing the games after you play the games.
• Play charades. Search prompt ideas online. Look for simple things, not movie titles or famous people. Play this for several rounds. Feel free to give the actor help, if they need it. 
• Play pictionary. Again, search prompt ideas online and feel free to give the artist help, if they need it. Play this for several rounds. 
• Next, ask students to think about the three games they’ve played today. (You may need to remind them about the game earlier where they were describing the word to their partner without saying the word.) Ask them what they can do to stay in French in class and not use English. You want them to figure out that they can act stuff out (like charades), draw it (like pictionary) or use what they know to describe a word (like the first game). Now is a fun time to see if they remember the word circumlocution. 
• Repeat again that students can act it out, draw it or use what they know (circumlocution) to stay in French and not use English in class.
• Lastly, show students that another way that you all can communicate without using English is by using Google images. Go to google.fr (or the Google for whatever language or country you want to use) and type in a word that the students will not know. I usually type in “chiot,” which means “puppy.”

Activity#9: Google Translate vs. Wordreference

• Tell students that you are now going to talk about Google Translate.
• Show Google translated songs (from beginning to 2:35).
• Tell students that, as the video shows, if Google Translate were perfect, you could translate something from one language to another and then back to the original language and it would be the same thing, but obviously that is not the case.
• Tell students that you are going to show them something else that you would prefer they use instead of Google Translate.
• Open up two tabs. In one, search “Google Translate” and actually click on the link that takes you to translate.google.com. I tell students that I know they would never do that, so I’m taking it even one step further than they would. In the other tab, go to wordreference.com and select the appropriate language.
• Search any word on both platforms. I usually search the word “blanc” (meaning “white”) because it is a color that I know they know, and for several other reasons that will be explained below.
  • First, show that in both Google Translate and Wordreference, you can hear the pronunciation of the word. However, Wordreference also has the written pronunciation (from the International Phonetic Alphabet). I tell students that I know they don’t know what those symbols mean right now, but that I will be using those symbols with them throughout the year to help them learn how to pronounce words, and they will start to recognize what sounds they make. So, I say, that’s one point for Wordreference for something that Google Translate doesn’t have.
  • Next, I tell students that they may not realize this yet, but that French has masculine and feminine forms of words. Show students how Wordreference lists the different masculine, feminine and plural forms for “blanc”: f: blanche, mpl: blancs, fpl: blanches. Then, show that Google Translate does not. That’s another point for Wordreference.
  • Next, show how Wordreference has over 100 entries for the word “blanc,” but Google Translate only has about ten. I tell students that that’s a lot to search through on Wordreference, but if they’re searching for something in particular, they can do the Command F keyboard shortcut (or whatever it is for their device) to search for something specific. That’s another point for Wordreference.
  • Then, explain that on Wordreference there are essentially definitions in parentheses that give context to what word they are looking for. For this, I would click on the English word so that the dictionary goes from English to French so that the students can see the definitions in English. Show that when students are looking up words they need to look at the definitions in parentheses to determine if they are picking the right word. For example, with “white,” are they looking for the “palest color” or “skin: pale?” The word they choose might be different because of that. Next, show that Google Translate does not have definitions to help you determine what word you are looking for. That’s another point for Wordreference.
  • Then, show that Wordreference has expressions that words might be used in. For example, do Command F to show “egg white” or “blanc d’œuf.” Google Translate has a couple expressions, but not nearly as many as Wordreference does. That’s another point for Wordreference.
  • Next, tell students that if they search through all of the expressions and they still haven’t found what they’re looking for, that Wordreference has a forum where native speakers can answer questions for how to say things. Show that Google Translate does not. I tell students that I use the forum all the time. That’s another point for Wordreference.
  • Then, show that Wordreference has example sentences for each entry that can help students know how to use the word in context. Again, show that Google Translate does not. Another point for Wordreference. 
  • Finally, show what happens if they do not know how to spell a word. I tell students what the word for “14” is in French, but I spell it “katorz” in Wordreference, which I tell them is spelled wrong. Wordreference recognizes that the word is spelled incorrectly and gives a list of possible words, one of which is “quatorze.” When I type in “katorz” in Google Translate, however, it does not recognize what word I am trying to look up and it gives me the same word. Another point for Wordreference. 
  • Ask students if we can agree that Wordreference is better than Google Translate. Then, ask them, when you use Google Translate, are you typically trying to look something up quickly or actually learn the language. After they respond with “look something up quickly,” tell them that they are here to learn the language, so you are going to want them to use Wordreference instead of Google Translate.

Activity #10: Class Procedures

• Discuss class procedures with students. Ask them what they think your expectations are for the beginning of class. What should they do when they come in?
• If you followed the “What to Teach During the First Couple Days of School Using Immersion” guidelines, then one class procedure that students should already know that you expect is for them to come in, put their stuff down along the walls and then sit down in the circle. At this time, you can also point out that as they come in, they can look at the wall to see what supplies they need for the day. I tell students that they will almost always need their notebook and a pencil, but that I will put up when they need a computer and that means I want them to have it by them when class starts. However, I tell students that we typically will not be using a computer the entire class period, so I would like them to keep their computers shut until I tell them to open them. I also tell students at this time that I would like them to be sitting by the time the bell rings, so that we can get started right away.
• Next, I ask students what they think my expectations are of them during class. If students are unsure, tell them to think about what you have been discussing during English week. You want students to repeat that you want them to stay in French and not use English. Then, ask them why. You want them to repeat that if they resort to English, their brain switches languages and it takes their brain seven to eight minutes to switch back to thinking in French. I also remind students that they should be silent during brain breaks to allow their brain the capacity to transfer what they just learned from short-term memory to long-term memory. 
  • I point out to students that in class, we can talk about anything they want to and/or play any games they want to—as long as we stay in French.
  • I also share a story about how students in the past have said things like, “How does she expect us to know how to say that?” I tell students that I don’t expect them to know how to say long, complicated things in French. I expect them to… then ask the students, “What? What do I expect you to do?” Get students to repeat that you want them to act it out, draw it or use what they know. I ask again “What is that big, fancy word for this?” Get students to say the word “circumlocution” again. 
  • Then, go a step further and ask students what they should do if they choose not to act it out, not to draw it or not to use circumlocution. This may take some time, but get students to figure it out… you want them to realize that if they don’t do any of those things, they should be silent! 
  • Finally, ask students why you don’t expect them to be able to say long, complicated things in French. Say, “Because you are what, in French?” Again, students may need reminders about what you discussed on the first day of English week. Tell them to think about how they learned their first language if they don’t give the answer right away, but you want them to say that they are babies in French, which they normally get a kick out of.
• Discuss other class procedures like asking to use the restroom, etc.
• I point out other things in the classroom that they should be aware of, like where to turn in papers and where I will put papers I have graded or where handouts are if they’re absent, etc. If you want ideas for how to set up your classroom, check out how I organize my classroom.
• Lastly, ask students what they think you want them to do at the end of class. Students may say things like put supplies away, clean up after themselves, etc. I tell students that I will always give them at least three minutes to pack up and put their chairs away before the bell rings, so to please not pack up until I tell them to. I tell them that this is a pet peeve of mine and that I will get very angry if they start doing this. Then, just like we did during the first couple days of school, I tell students that after they pack up, I would like them to sit back in the circle, so that we can write words on our easel pad. 
  • I tell students that I know writing words on the easel pad for the last couple minutes of class might seem like a time waster, but that it is actually really important for their brain. I tell students that research has shown that there are two times during a class period where students remember the most and I ask students what they think those two times are. Students should guess that the beginning and the end of class is when their brains will remember the most. I tell students that that is why we review vocab every day at the beginning of class and why we write words on the easel pad every day at the end of class, so that activity is actually really important for their learning.

Activity #11: Making Mistakes

• Ask students to find a partner.
• Ask students to discuss why they are afraid to make mistakes.
• When it seems like most groups are finished speaking, ask students to return to the circle.
• Have students share out what they discussed. 
• After students have shared out, ask students “Why do teachers say it’s important to make mistakes?” Students will most likely respond with that you “learn from your mistakes.” Then, follow that up by asking students, “What does that actually mean to ‘learn from your mistakes?’” You are not looking for any specific answers here, just to get a discussion going and for students to participate. After students have shared out what they interpret “learning from your mistakes” means, I share that one thing people do not normally talk about when they discuss making mistakes is that when one person makes a mistake, they are actually helping every other person in the classroom not make that same mistake. So, by making mistakes you are actually helping others with questions that they might not have known they had, which I tell students is actually pretty cool—that by making mistakes, you could be helping other people.
• Then, I ask students what the alternative to making mistakes is. This typically takes students a while to figure out. 
  • One answer might be getting it perfect, which I respond with, “Yes, one alternative to making mistakes is doing something perfectly, but we are human. We can’t do things perfectly 100% of the time. So, if you’re not making mistakes and you’re not doing it perfectly, what are you doing?” Students still may struggle with what you want them to realize. 
  • One hint I give, if they need it, is to tell them, “Think about it from my perspective (as the teacher). If a student isn’t making mistakes and they’re not doing it perfectly, what are they doing? What does it look like to me?”
  • The answer you want students to figure out is the alternative to making mistakes is simply not trying. If a student isn’t making mistakes, that means they’re not doing anything.
  • After that, I tell students, “In this class, it is really important just to try.” Then, I repeat myself.
  • I explain that what that means is that, for example, throughout the year I may ask students to pronounce something even if they’ve never seen it before and that they should just try it! It does not matter if they pronounce it wrong because the most important thing is that they tried.
  • I follow this up with asking the whole class, “Can we agree that we will not laugh or make fun of people who make mistakes because we are all learning here?”
  • If you have heritage or native speakers in your class, you may need to add a comment directed at them that this concept (when they hear a student saying something incorrectly) might be difficult for them. Tell them that they do not need to correct every error that their classmates make.

Activity #12: Class Rules

• Ask students what the importance of rules is. I typically ask this to the whole class, but if students are unwilling to participate, have them discuss with a partner first before sharing out to the whole class.
• After students share out, have students imagine if there were no rules in games—like board games. Help them figure out that if there were no rules, there would be no point in playing. It would not be a game, you wouldn’t know how to play, there would not be a winner, etc.
• Then, ask students to imagine if there were no rules in driving. Help them realize that people would literally die if no one had to stop at red lights, etc.
• Then, I say, “I think we can all agree that rules are important. What rules should we have in our classroom?”
• The list below is what I want students to come up with and that I have written in my classroom on a large piece of paper. I will go into more detail for each one:

1. Respect Yourself, Others and the Classroom
   1. Always Be Positive
   2. One Person Speaks and the Others Listen
2. Speak in French
   1. Or Draw It, Act It Out, Use What You Know
   2. Or Be Silent
3. Participate
   1. Be an Active Listener
   2. Contribute to the Conversation

• Typically the first rule students share that they think we should have in our classroom is showing respect. I ask students how they can show respect to others. Students might share “not laughing at someone” based on your previous discussion, but also get students to figure out rule 1b—that when one person speaks, either you as the teacher or another student, that they should all be listening. 
• However, you need students to go a bit deeper than just saying “respect each other.” Have students figure out that they should respect the classroom, too, by not destroying your materials, the desks, etc. In addition, they need to respect themselves. I tell students that I sometimes hear students say something like, “I’m so stupid.” I tell the students that “No, you’re not stupid, you’re learning and saying that is not respecting yourself.” 
  • Then, I tell students that we will have an “always be positive rule” (this is from Tina Hargaden’s book Year One: A Natural Approach to the Year) and that what that means is that anytime someone says a negative comment along the lines of either, “I’m stupid,” “You’re stupid” or “This class is stupid” that they will need to say three positive comments to counteract their negative comment. Tell students that attitudes are contagious, both negative and positive and that we only have room for positivity in our class.
  • I also tell students that this rule may sound stupid, but that each year there are some classes where this rule is really important. Because whenever one person feels disrespected, they can point out that something negative was said and there is an immediate consequence for the offender. (This will be explained more in the “Hire Student Jobs” section of English week.
• Next, have students remember what you have been talking about during English week. What is one rule that you as the teacher are going to want to have? Students will say “speak in French,” but have them remember what they should do if they choose not to speak in the TL. They should act it out, draw it, use what they know—have them remember the word circumlocution again—or be silent.
• Lastly, have students remember what you discussed when you talked about proficiency levels. That if they want to move up in proficiency levels faster, they need to participate. However, participating is not just what people typically think of when they say “participating” (i.e. raising your hand and giving answers to the teacher’s questions), which is covered in rule 3B. Have students figure out that being an active listener also means they are participating in the conversation.

Activity #13: Interpersonal Communication Skills Rubric

• Important: Whatever day you think you will get to this activity—and you will want to do it toward the middle or end of class—you need to tell students the following at the beginning of class: 

Today, anytime I point to my nose, I am going to make fun of someone. Don’t react, though, or tell them I’m making fun of them. We’re going to talk about why I’m making fun of them at the end of class.

• Then, go about talking about the other activities, as planned. However, anytime a student looks at their phone, you are going to point to your nose with one hand and point to the person with the other hand and say, “This person has no idea I’m talking about them” really fast—before they look up at you. And you are going to do this for every person who looks at their phone. After you’ve said the initial sentence several times, you may be able to shorten it to “No idea” as you point to your nose and the student, if you think they may look up and see you before you finish the original sentence.
• By the time you get to this activity, hopefully it will be obvious to the students what point you’re making.
• Ask students what the main thing is that you’ve discussed during English week that is going to get in the way of them moving up in proficiency levels. The students should answer with “speaking in English.”
• Next, ask the students what else is going to get in the way of them learning and what point you’ve been trying to make today. Students should answer with their phones.
• Show the Interpersonal Communication Skills Rubric (again, this is taken from Tina Hargaden’s book Year One: A Natural Approach to the Year) and tell students that you are going to grade them based on this rubric every single day.
• Read the “Exceeds Expectations” categories out loud to your students. Then, ask students, “Does it say the word ‘phone’ anywhere in here?” After students say, “No,” then ask them, “But do you see how if you are on your phone, you are not ‘almost 100% of the time in class actively tracking the flow of conversation in class’ and you do not have your ‘eyes on the speaker or visual aid, hands free, sitting up straight and engaged in the conversation?’”
• After students agree, ask them why else you wouldn’t want them on their phones in class. Other than it being a distraction like you talked about above, you want students to figure out that their phones are in English! Tell them that, most likely, when they are on their phones, they are texting their friends in English or listening to music in English, etc. Repeat that anytime they look at their phones, their brain switches languages and it takes their brain seven to eight minutes to switch back to thinking in French.
• Next, ask students why they think you don’t want them listening to music in class. Students should answer with things like they’re not paying attention “100% of the time” and because it’s in English. Then, ask students, “What about French music?” Students should repeat that they still wouldn’t be paying attention 100% of the time. I then tell students that there will be times in class when it is appropriate to listen to French music, but that they need to be mature enough to realize when those times are and when they aren’t. I tell them that typically after assessments is a good time to listen to French music, but that they need to ask me to make sure.
• Since I have flexible seating in my class, one other point I make is about the “sitting up straight” part of the rubric. I ask students the following: “Can you be paying attention sitting in a chair?” (Yes.) “Can you also not be paying attention sitting in a chair?” (Yes.) “Can you be paying attention laying on the floor?” (Yes.) “Can you also not be paying attention laying on the floor?” (Yes.) Then, I tell students that it doesn’t matter whether they are sitting in a chair or on the floor, what matters is that they’re paying attention, and that I can tell when they’re paying attention or not.
• Finally, I ask students, “What am I actually grading you on with this rubric?” 
  • One response is typically “participation.” I tell students that no, I am not grading them on participation because they could never volunteer to answer one of my questions and they could still get a 100% for the day.
  • If students are struggling, ask them the follow-up question, “Am I grading you on how much French you learn each day?” After the students respond that no, you aren’t, you want to elicit some response related to “trying” or “effort.” After that has been shared, or if they can’t figure it out, tell them the following: “I am grading you on how easy you are making it for yourself to learn French. When you are on your phone, you are making it more difficult for you to learn French. When you speak in English, you are making it more difficult for you to learn French. When you listen to music, you are making it more difficult for you to learn French.” Then, repeat “I am grading you on how easy you are making it for yourself to learn French.”

Activity #14: Hire Student Jobs

• Tell students that you will now hire student jobs. You will hire the first position, which is the Human Resources Manager, and then that person will hire everyone else. Tell students that this will be just like real life—there will be interviews, and throughout the year, students can be fired if they do a poor job or they can quit if they want to change jobs.
• Reference the Human Resources Manual. (This is adapted from Tina Hargaden’s book Year One: A Natural Approach to the Year. You may want to reference her book for a more in-depth breakdown of hiring student jobs and for other jobs designed for a CI classroom.) Read the job description and the desired qualifications out loud to students and ask anyone who is interested to stand up. Then, ask each person an open-ended question based on the job description and the desired qualifications. Hire a responsible Human Resources Manager and have them come to the front of the room with you.
• Have them write their name on the Classroom Job Hires document that will be hung up in your classroom. 
• Then, the Human Resources Manager will go through each position and read the job description and the desired qualifications, ask those interested to stand, ask them an open-ended interview question (that you may need to help them think of), hire that person with your help and potentially the help of a closed-eyed vote from the rest of the class if the decision is very difficult and finally, write the new hire’s name on the list. 
• Once the person is hired, you may need to go through some of the training points to further explain what specifically they are being asked to do.
• The end goal is for everyone to have a job. So, depending on the size of your class, students may have more than one job or you may skip over some positions if no one is interested. However, there are some positions that are really important (at least, in my classroom), so you may have to come back to those positions at the end and convince students to apply to them.
• As expected, you will need to help remind some students to do their jobs at the beginning of the year. However, as stated above, if there are students who just simply never do their job or do it unsatisfactorily, either you or the Human Resources Manager/Training Manager should give them a warning and then fire them later, if necessary.
• Obviously, you can create any student jobs that you would like in your classroom. I would recommend that you think about the mundane jobs you have to do (that you also really don’t have time for) and ask your students to do those jobs. For example, at one school, it was the teachers’ responsibility to clean our white boards each day and that annoyed me because at my former district, the custodians did that each day. I finally realized, though, that I could just have a student in my last class clean the board, and then I wouldn’t have to.
• As a reward for students doing their jobs, I like to give them an extra treat at the end of the year. (I typically bring in macarons.) I do not tell them this, though.

Activity #15: Co-Create Useful Phrases

Coming soon!

Activity #16: Practice a Listening and Reading Activity

Coming soon!

Activity #17: Setting Up Getting in a French Mindset When Entering the Classroom

Coming soon!

Activity #18: Wrapping Up English Week

Coming soon!