So this week Zach and I have been working on his Basic French badge! Throughout the week, whenever we would Facetime, or see each other, we would only start the conversation in French! This allowed Zach to familiarize himself with different expressions and words, in a real-world context! He has been doing awesome!
At the beginning of the week, I was a little nervous because he needed a lot of support. Once I went over some common phrases, and had him repeat after me, he has been doing SO much better! I can actually start off a conversation, and he understands and can respond to me! How cool is that?
Using the research from last week, it was important that Zach and I went over some of the basic phrases. I would say them, and also translate them into English, so that he could start making connections between the translations. What seemed to work really well is working on this every day this week. He is killing it (in a good way).
For badge 4...
be able to say basic greetings (hello, goodbye)
be able to say how he is doing (I am doing well, and you)
be able to communicate if he doesn't understand/has a question
Zach has done well earning this badge! He very well knows how to greet someone in French and start off the conversation! Towards the end of the week he learned "je ne comprends pas" which means, I don't understand.
Here is a video showing that we are able to have a basic conversation together!
Badge 4- EARNED!
It has been helpful because Zach remembers some French from school when he was younger, so he picks it up extremely fast. I know that the next badge we will really have to work on though! If I were to continue this, or start from scratch, I would do a test to see where Zach was at, so that we could pass some of the stuff he remembers. I feel that even though Zach might be a very easy student, I am still developing some great teaching tools and skills while learning to work with technology.
Where do I go from here?
For next week, Zach and I will be working on badge 5. I have a feeling that this badge may take 2 weeks, which is definitely okay! I left an extra week for room in case Zach was having trouble with a badge!
This week I was pretty disappointed because I learned that Zach knew more than I thought he did, which made me feel like I was cheating this project. I should have done diagnostic testing so that he was learning more. Even though I have been super hard on myself about this, I recognize that he is still improving his French skills (we try and speak in French as much as possible), and I am still learning about strategies and technology. I feel awful that he passed the badges so easily as he remembers things from school. This has also showed me the importance of assessment for learning and how crucial it is before creating lessons and plans.
Moving forward, Zach and I are going to work on his final badge. Using past research I have compiled a list of resources that I can use for the next few weeks!
Zach seems to do well when we practice speaking back and forth. I will correct him or help with his translations. He has a great memory, so this usually helps the information stick! I also added word reference to the list so that when I am not around, he has a good resource to help him!
Throughout this project, Zach has been using Duolingo. This has been great for his vocabulary. I now notice him saying different words, and understanding me a bit better when I speak in French.
Stay tuned to see how Zach makes progress towards his next badge!
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