As we welcome warmer weather and more in-person students, and as we enter the home stretch to exams and final projects, we've been making a point to get up and get moving, all while reviewing the high-frequency vocabulary and structures we've been acquiring since September. It's time to review, practice, reflect on our learning, enjoy the sunshine and remember our "why" for learning French.

Last week, we did a "Walk and talk" around campus, pointing out vocabulary and describing different objects and activities organically as they came into view. We also worked on final projects under the trees and did some retelling our class story. Science shows that we acquire information best when walking at a certain pace, so I encourage all MA students to study for finals whilst enjoying some fresh air this May!

Today, almost all French 1 students were in person, so we were able to bring back a class favorite: the "Running Dictation"! We recently created a class story using a variety of past tense structures.

We chose partners and decided who would be the "secretaire" and who would be the runner. Their task? Run out to the hallway, read and try to memorize each short segment of the story posted on lockers, and dictate each one to their partner back in the classroom. They had to use the language aloud, but also verify spelling. They ran back to clarify at times, and they switched roles whenever they wished. Our virtual student was brought out into the hall on Zoom as well to help dictate various lines, so everyone got equal practice with all four language skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The first group to have all sections of our story written down accurately and numbered in a logical order would earn extra credit.

This activity took almost an hour, but they agreed it flew by and they seemed grateful to be up and out of their seats! It was a true race to the finish line, but freshmen students Sunny Chen '24, Katie Lu '24, and Dhwaith Shyamkumar '24 came out on top in the end.

I was energized by their effort and laughter and pleased with what they've been able to acquire despite setbacks and adapted lessons this year. We ended class by noting that they would not have been able to do what they did today just a few months ago and that they should feel really proud of that. 

Bravo, mes amis!