Action Plan

Warning – FSL Jargon Ahead!

Written by Myriam Lafrance

I became a DELF correcteur in the summer of 2015… Denis Cousineau (a.k.a. the DELF guru from Ottawa Carlton District School Board) and Josée Boutin (from Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board) were amazing facilitators who helped me learn about the DELF and understand the four different CEFR levels. What do B1 students’ French skills look and sound like? I can still hear Denis’s voice: “Le B1 c’est la débrouillardise.”

It was the best professional development course I had ever taken and it completely shifted my understanding of my role as an FSL teacher.  By preparing them to pass a DELF exam, I would be helping my students speak with more spontaneity, be better prepared to deal with real-life situations, and help them set attainable goals towards learning the language.

However, since that week-long course, I am nowhere near where I want to be in terms of implementation in my classes. I have made some progress but have had a few roadblocks along the way.

Some of my achievements include:

  • Creation of posters for all skills: (P.O., P.É., C.O., C.É., I.O.) posted in all language classrooms (K-12)  so that students always know what skill they are practising during every lesson
  • Implementation of a language portfolio for students to self-assess their skills and set goals
  • A change in my assessments towards more authentic tasks
  • An increase in the number of oral and listening lessons
  • Using Sesame HQ to record evidence of students developing their oral skills

They’re good first steps, but I still have a long way to go. As I work on my Cohort 21 Action Plan, I want to take it even further. Here’s the question I will be working on resolving over the next few months:

How might we provide students with authentic learning opportunities so that they are all engaged and working at their respective CEFR levels in the FSL classroom?

9 thoughts on “Warning – FSL Jargon Ahead!”

  1. While I am not as familiar with DELF, there is something magical about recording evidence in a program like Sesame. Even jus creating categories for the individual skills helps you shine a spotlight on all of them.

    When you take tag an artifact and you choose a category or make a choice ‘against’ another category, you are prompted to consider them all. It’s subtle, but can make a valuable impact on students as they aim to round out each of the skills with proof of their learning in those areas.

    1. Thanks Adam for your comment on the benefits of being forced to choose a type of skill and the impact it can have on students. I hadn’t thought about it that way before but I completely agree. See you tomorrow!

  2. @mlafrance You are very critical of yourself Myriam! I look at those accomplishments you’ve already implemented in your classroom and think “Wow, I really need to step up my DELF/CEFR work!” Just the fact that your students know which category they are working on in each lesson is so important, and something I need to get better at. I tried to let my classes know the learning goals at the beginning of the new unit we started, but as for daily goals or the skills required for each activity I have seriously let the kids down! It’s so easy to get caught up in covering the lesson or making sure the activity goes smoothly that I forget to include those crucial pieces of information.

    I am looking forward to talking to you more tomorrow at the F2F about Sesame – my school is beginning to pilot it and I want to see if I can use it to build portfolios for my boys.

    Nice work!

    1. Merci Mackenzie! I have to admit that bringing myself to make a list of what I’ve brought to my classroom so far this year was useful… Sometimes we don’t take the time to celebrate small successes.
      It’s true that there’s so much we have to think about during our lessons… it’s often hard to keep track of it all. That’s why it’s great to be able to share best practices!
      I can’t say enough good things about Sesame – I’m looking forward to chatting tomorrow.

  3. Hi Myriam,

    I’m really interested in what you’re doing here. I’ve been teaching French for over 20 years and have had some DELF training, but haven’t had any experience implementing it. We are an AP school and thus prepare students for the AP exam, but I remember seeing a lot that I really liked in the DELF categories.
    I’d love to talk to you about how you’re doing this, and most especially about the oral and listening activities, and the authentic evaluation you’re doing with your students.
    Hope to talk to you tomorrow!
    Kelly

    1. Hi Kelly! My understanding of AP is that many of its components are already directly related to the DELF… I’m looking forward to chatting tomorrow and sharing ideas. À demain!
      Myriam

  4. Wow – I don’t know much of the “FSL jargon” but those are some serious accomplishments in a short period of time!

    Not only did you plan for some fantastic instructional strategies, you created structures to support them and implemented them.

    It sounds like you are well on your way and I encourage you to take a moment and celebrate all that you have done!

  5. Myriam!!
    This post brings back memories of our DELF training together.
    It’s so great to see your C21 posts and I really hope we can gather just the two us (or as a group of CIS teachers) sometime soon to share what we’ve been doing to incorporate the CEFR in our classes. Let’s be in touch and keep up the great work here!

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