Teach languages in the primary way!

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One of the most common questions we are asked here at Primary Languages Network is how can we teach languages at a primary level? Check out our list of top tips below.

1. Create a learning environment where every child feels valued and a ‘citizen of the world’

  • At primary level, we can celebrate diversity in the whole school community through cultural assemblies, practising simple greetings from around the world, exploring and learning about songs and stories from other cultures.

  • Enjoy the knowledge of children with home languages, which can help open the door to a wider world for children who have limited experience.

  • A very practical place to begin with teaching primary languages is to create a corridor display, where children can introduce themselves and the whole school can be proud of the shared learning environment.

2. Bring the target language country to life

  • It’s so important to see what the children know (or not even be aware that they know) about the target language country, as is celebrating any similarities and differences between nations.

  • Find opportunities throughout your teaching to highlight links to the target language and the countries. For example, highlight stories that are internationally loved, such as The Hungry Caterpillar or We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Also, watch out for cartoons and characters from films and stories that children both in your class and in the target language country like.

3. Educate the ear

  • Native speakers are super important when it comes to introducing children to the sound of the language and reinforcing pronunciation – if you don’t have one handy, the internet or visitors from the community are helpful.

  • Revisiting resources is beneficial, as it allows children to see their progress, whilst starting at a familiar point; if needed, you can tweak the activities to make them more challenging.

  • Take time to play sound and action games to reinforce good pronunciation and borrow techniques that you may already use in Literacy for sound-spelling practice.

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4. Start simple.

  • Primary languages are all about growing children’s confidence: we don’t know what languages they may need in their adult lives, so enthusiasm and a willingness to develop their language skills is the best thing to establish.

  • A good place to begin is with a song or game, and a focus on greeting each other. We know that both eye contact and speaking out loud can be a challenge for some young learners, so celebrate both the small and big strides forward.

  • Don’t be afraid of repetition: for example, singing the same song again and again over a period of lessons. Enjoy the process of your class growing more confident with the same material and bringing new energy to it with small changes.

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5. Let the children explore

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  • Wider cultural experiences are just as important as the language itself – by introducing kids to the food and festivals of the target language countries, you can develop their vocabularies as well as cultural awareness. With the help of your class, you could make a pictorial knowledge map to consolidate this learning as a display.

  • Further ways to aid the exploration of the target language countries include using technology – Google Earth is particularly useful, and we love seeing clips like the one below, which also make great additions to intranets or as welcome videos in your school foyer.

  • Encourage children to be language detectives – language learning should be fun, so let them play around with it to find solutions!

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6. Think of primary approaches to learning

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  • Primary level approaches to listening, speaking, reading and writing start in the classroom: children do not learn in isolation, so make links between other learning experiences, such as spelling memory tactics or what we learnt about nouns in literacy lessons.

  • Build language learning into your classroom routines - why don’t you sing the songs as you line up outside to come in from outdoor play or PE or greet each other in the morning or after lunch in the target language?

  • Art is a particularly useful way to embed languages into the classroom - we love seeing what your pupils come up with, so have a look at these examples below

These techniques are just the start – at its core, primary languages learning should be about having fun! Our VLE is setup to support you with this mission, and with over a hundred new games for the new year, there is so much to explore. If you are not yet signed up, get in touch here to arrange a free trial.

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