Here is something you have all been waiting for ...

... there is a new Berthe the Witch French story book out now!

And guess what? The Berthe stories now come with access to an audio recording of the story. So now your pupils can listen and follow the story with you or for themselves.

You can order a copy of Berthe Va à Paris on our website - our stock of the new books is on its way to us. Your book will be despatched as soon as possible.

In the new story - Berthe Va à Paris - Berthe decides to visit Paris with her cat, of course.

Her broomstick is broken so she has to take public transport. She visits famous places, and we learn something of the history. Her cat, however, has other plans.

Berthe Va à Paris is written in simple French as it is meant for beginners. It contains a QR link to an audio recording of the story and at the

Why stories?

... because stories are a good starting point for learning a foreign language.

We are delighted to say we have managed to interview Barbara Scanes, the author of Learn French with Luc et Sophie a story-based approach to learning French. In the interview Barbara explains why including stories is so important to her.

The interview supplies an interesting insight into how Barbara used her knowledge and expertise from teaching languages to a large age range to produce the Luc et Sophie resources.

"Make learning fun and the children will want to learn and they will learn effortlessly." Barbara Scanes, author.

Along with the stories the Learn French with Luc et Sophie resource includes a comprehensive teacher book with flashcards, activities, games, role play and songs as well as interactive whiteboard files.

T

Learning Languages from Home Q&A: Tips and Advice from the Experts

In this article, experts in language learning give you the best insights to encourage yourself and others to learn languages from home.

https://porch.com/advice/learning-languages-home-tips-advice-experts

Whether you are considering the benefits of learning at home, if music can help, how to practise pronunciation and even whether you will need a teacher for support, these tips and advice will help you.

The more senses, the better the learning

What is the simplest way of enhancing the speed of learning a foreign language?

It is a simple but powerful observation, that the more senses a child engages while learning, the more embedded and meaningful that learning will become.  Which inevitably means that what is learned becomes more and more likely to be available for immediate recall.

Easter eggs taste the same in any language

Chocolat, Schokolade, chocolate – whatever language you are teaching, Easter eggs are bound to get your pupils' interest!

Challenge your pupils to design and play an Easter Egg Hunt game. Not only will it provide them with lots of opportunities for practising speaking, it will also help them to intercultural understanding.

Designing a game is just one of the many activities in our Festivals and Traditions resources, which are available for KS2 French, Spanish and

When is Poisson d’avril, and what should we do about it?

Europe has festivals and traditions, lots of them. Many of these play a significant part in the lives of people across France, Germany and Spain.

We’ve developed a series of books for KS2 pupils about the major festivals and traditions that can be used to develop discussions on cultural similarities and differences, and can be used as a basis for language teaching.

But that’s only the start.  The books also include background information with key vocabulary and teaching activities for each event.  The activities range from making cards and writing poems, to playing games and cooking traditional recipes.

We have found that focusing on festivals and traditions is an ideal way to get children interested, engaged and motivated about different cultures, as well as learning key vocabulary.

Let’s take for instance Poisson d’avril.

On this day in the UK we play practical jokes on each other, but only in t

Music is the food of knowledge

What is the most efficient way of teaching French words and phrases?

Just as there is an inbuilt propensity for young children to learn the language they hear around them in infancy, so there is a similar inborn inclination to respond to music.

The technical reason for this is that music activates the limbic and paralimbic areas of the brain which are connected to the reward response systems. And quite simply when those areas are activated, we feel good.  That’s all there is to it!

Children of course realise that they feel good when music comes their way, and so they respond through movement as a way of expressing their pleasure – which in turn is the origin of dance.

All of which explains why we generally see children re

La Chandeleur, Pancake day: free French teaching resource

What are the differences between Pancake Day in Britain and La Chandeleur? Let your pupils explore the different traditions with this worksheet.

Saint-Valentin wordsearch: free French teaching resource

It snowed at about this time last year. Does anyone remember? It was at a time when we could all just go out and have snowball fights without worrying about masks or social distancing. So, as we start to dream about warmth and spring, perhaps we should also think about love - well actually Valentine's Day!

Why not practise the French vocabulary below and then try to find the words in our wordsearch?

Joyeuse Saint-Valentin (Happy Valentine’s Day)
Je t’aime (I love you)
Veux-tu m’épouser? (Will you marry me?)
Sors avec moi! (Go out with me!)
mon petit copain (my boyfriend)
ma petite copine (my girlfriend)
un bisou (a kiss)
un coeur (a heart)
un cadeau (a present)
une carte (a card)
des fleurs (flowers)
de