Article | Published in The TES on 18th May 2012 | By: Catherine Paver - Modern Foreign Languages - Resources
Use some regal facts to spice up your language lessons
How do you plan a foreign language lesson about a British Queen? Well,
you could start with the fact that the Queen speaks French. Fluently.
And she loves animals. Why not get pupils to pretend they are French
journalists writing a piece on "La Reine d'Angleterre et ses Animaux".
Another imaginative task which lends itself to a light or serious lesson
approach is "Queen for a Day". Would you eat gateaux all day,
or give your money away?
For even more fun with the subject of kings and queens, explore the
connections between the French language and the British monarchy. Trace
this back to William the Conqueror, who made French the language of
the ruling class for centuries after he invaded and conquered Britain
in 1066.
18 May, 2012
This is why French appears on the Royal Coat
of Arms, on a blue and gold garter: "Honi soit qui mal y pense".
This is the motto of the Order of the Garter, founded by King Edward
III. King Edward apparently said these words when he was dancing and
his partner's garter dropped to the ground. He picked up the garter,
put it on his own leg and said, "Shame on him who thinks evil of
this."
Another example of quick royal wit is William the Conqueror himself,
just before he became king. Legend has it that when he disembarked on
the beach at Pevensey he tripped and fell on his face. Knowing his men
would see this as a bad omen, he grabbed handfuls of sand, stood up
and said, "Look. Already I have England in my hands."
Take these stories and sayings as the basis for a fun group activity.
Each group invents and then acts out a story in which a king or queen
says something clever that turns an awkward situation around, just as
William the Conqueror and Edward III did. This will become their group
motto.
Use this activity to revise key points of French grammar. Before the
groups start work on their royal stories, give each one a piece of grammar
that the class keeps getting wrong. This might be the future tense of
an irregular verb such as "voir". The motto must use this
grammatical rule correctly.
Some groups aim at word play, but a memorably silly motto works just
as well. "Le ver vert verra le verre vert vers Versailles"
reminds pupils of the future tense of voir. The king declares this line
about a green worm at a key moment. His subjects look awestruck. At
the end, the groups recite the motto and a herald proudly holds it up
on a card.
For homework, pupils design a coat of arms featuring their new French
motto. These form a colourful display for future reference.
Catherine Paver has taught French in England and English in Italy and
South Africa
What else?
Explore French literature with royal characters, from La Princesse de
Cleves to Les Trois Mousquetaires, in a resource from krishkanth.
Watch Les Rois Maudits - short, gripping films with English subtitles
introducing pupils to Maurice Druon's novels about murderous medieval
monarchs.
Check out the official website of the British monarchy for details about
their family pets.
Catherine Paver has taught French in England
and English in Italy and South Africa
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