Puppet Play for Language Learning
I’m just going to come out and admit it: I’m one of those weird puppet people. Even as a kid, I fancied myself the next Jim Henson. In fact, I’ve been gluing buttons and pompoms on old socks for as long as I can remember. My puppet collection numbers nearly 40 so far. My favorites are by a company called Folkmanis, which offers THE most unique and creative puppets I have ever seen. Boy, am I glad that I’m a teacher and a Mommy so that I can justify all these little guys!
I employ my puppets as French-speaking teaching assistants in my preschool and elementary language classes. Especially when meeting kids for the first time, nothing puts them at ease like a puppet. I usually begin a new class with a “French friend” who is too frightened to come out of his shell, so the children must coax him out with a friendly Bonjour. Puppets also provide me with a speaking partner so that I can model conversations in the target language. There’s magic in puppet play. Let me introduce you to a few of my favorites:
There’s Jacques, who I mentioned in a previous post. He’s brown and white with long floppy ears and a yippy little bark. The kids adore his fun-loving personality and sense of humor.
Pierre S. Cargot is a nervous sort, frequently hiding in his shell. He has a terrible fear of chefs. (Pierre is the Folkmanis puppet pictured in this post. He’s a must for any French teacher!)
Fromage is a well-bred, dainty, and ladylike little white mouse with a fondness for Brie.
Alouette is pleasant enough, but if you sing any song involving the plucking of “la tete” or “le bec”, you’d better watch out. She’ll squawk and give you a ferocious peck.
Guillaume is a shy little turtle who hides in his shell if children are loud. He says hello with turtle kisses on the cheeks.
If you’ve cared enough to read this far into the post, I feel I can divulge another embarrassing fact. I have even been known to use puppets with middle and high school students. It all started when I taught grades 1-8 a few years back. I stored the puppets I used with the younger kids in my classroom. Whenever the middle schoolers entered, they consistently made a beeline to play in the puppet basket. With puppets on hands, inhibitions disappeared and French alter egos blabbed away.
Are you a puppet person, too? What’s your favorite puppet or puppet activity?
Visit the Foreign Language Fun Puppet Store to see some of my favorites.
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