It’s now common practice for me to search YouTube for my lesson content and theme.  Here are a few examples of video clips that can enrich language and culture for kids.  I hope this short list will inspire you with ideas for using video to support your lessons :

• This week I was teaching about pigs and other farm animals as a prelude to “The Three Little Pigs.”  This clip of pigs on a farm provided lots of needed repetition of the new word, “cochon.”  I also shared this song about farm animals.
• When we read Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I found a school’s video about the lifecycle of the butterfly and this authentic song about caterpillars.
• Zoo and wild animal themes were enriched with authentic songs by children such as “un éléphant” and even movie trailers like Georges le petit curieux.  I had never quite understood the appeal of Bébé Lilly until I showed “Dans la jungle” to mesmerized toddlers and preschoolers.
• Teaching family members?  Listen to this French boy talk about his family.
• Fall pumpkin theme?  Visit a pumpkin farm in Quebec.
• Transportation lesson about trains?  Little boys will LOVE watching France’s TGV!

I hope this list has sparked some ideas for ways you can use YouTube video clips in French or any other target language.  There is a wealth of material out there . . . songs, rhymes, vocabulary & grammar presentations, not to mention videos of the target country and customs.  I like to show my students how crepes are made on the streets of Paris, an insider’s view of the Eiffel Tower, and lots lots more!

Enjoy exploring language and culture through the authentic video clips on YouTube!

p.s.  Always, always, always do your initial YouTube surfing far away from little eyes.  You never know when you might stumble upon something that is not rated G.  Another family-friendly place to find teachable moments on video is TeacherTube.

I have a 2/3 year old mom-tot group of French learners, mostly boys.  Well, if there’s one thing this set is crazy about, it’s TRAINS!  Today I’d like to post a few ideas for a train-themed French or Spanish lesson.  It incorporates hands-on activities & play, TPR, trains vocabulary & verbs, numbers, colors, and culture.

First, begin with your usual circle time warm-up.  Mine includes a hello song, greeting a puppet, ball toss, how are you? song, and TPR.  Next, it’s time to establish the theme of TRAINS.  You can pick and choose from the following list of activities for a couple of days:

TOY TRAIN PLAY: I pulled out my kids’ old wooden train set.  Mine’s from Ikea, but any will do!  Include a track with a hill if possible.  My little ones counted tracks, helped put it together, counted train cars, and identified colors.  Then each child had a turn pushing the train around the track while reinforcing verbs.  I would narrate:  Le petit train roule, monte, descend. (Roll along, go up, go down.)  Tons of repetitions with a lot of expression!  I was also able to scrounge up a toy train station, so we could talk about arriving at and leaving the station.  If you don’t have a toy station, you could make one.

BUILD A NUMBERS, DAYS, COLOR PATTERN, OR ALPHABET TRAIN: I printed, colored, cut, and laminated a locomotive and several train freight cars.  My cars had numbers 1-10, but you can also use days of the week, alphabet, or create color or shape patterns.  After a demo, mix up the cards, pass them out to the children, and help them to build a train in the correct order.  Here are a few free printables out there on the web that you can use:

Le train de la semaine from Tomlitoo.com

Le train de la semaine & des mois from Maternelle de Moustache (Look up T)

Alphabet Train from First-School.ws

You can also find a Spanish numbers & alphabet train at PrimeraEscuela.com.  Type a search for “tren.”

I used this blank train printable from teteamodeler.com, printed the number of freight cars I needed, and customized the content myself.

TRAIN VOCABULARY SLIDE SHOW: I made this PowerPoint to introduce train vocabulary.  It can easily be adapted for Spanish or you can create your own.  I teach completely in the target language, so I reinforced a lot of concepts on each slide (counting wheels, identifying colors, etc.)  The expressions I used include:  train, locomotive, conductor, tracks, station, whistle, freight/passenger car.  I wouldn’t use all of the vocabulary at once on Day 1 . . . just a few at a time.  Print the PowerPoint slides into small flash cards for the following games, or create your own flash cards.

EITHER/OR IDENTIFICATION: Place two or three picture flash cards on the floor and give a student a pointer, magic wand, or fly swatter (IF you are confident in the child’s self-control!)  Say a word and help the child to point to it.  Cheer a lot and keep this activity completely NON-competitive!

GUESSING GAME: Place all of the cards upside down.  Take a card, but don’t let the children see it.  Describe it in the target language and see if they can guess!

MATCHING GAME: Print two sets of flashcards and place them face down on the floor.  Children take turns flipping over two cards as you help them to identify them in the target language.  Ask if the cards are the same or different.  Take out matches once you find them.  Make this a full-group activity . . . children do not keep their matches.  There are NO winners or losers.

STORY TIME: Share a simple book about trains in the target language.  Here are a few suggestions:
Mon petit train avec Mimi

Ou Est Mon Train (Les Tout-Doux Usborne) (French Edition) (Price is really high . . . maybe available from a reseller somewhere??)

Ada y Max viajan en tren (Ada y Max series)

OSITO O TREN? (Elige La Cara! / Pick & Choose) (Spanish Edition)

Este No Es Mi Tren: Tiene Las Ruedas Lisas (Toca, Toca!) (Spanish Edition)

RHYMES AND SONGS: Sing a song about trains.  I made up a simple song to the tune of “The Wheels of the Bus.”  We called “All Aboard!”, turned our wheels of the train, and formed an actual train going “Tchou! Thou!”  I’ll include a podcast-linked post with the French song one day really soon.  You can do a Google search for train rhymes and songs from the target culture or make up your own.

Edited Oct. 15:  Here’s the French Little Train Song!

CULTURE: One of the biggest hits of the lesson was simply watching this short YouTube clip of the TGV in France.  The kids were fascinated seeing the trains from both the inside and the outside.

THOMAS LE TRAIN: Of course, if you’re a preschool boy you’ve probably encountered Thomas with either fanatic obsession or at least mild interest.  Do a YouTube search for short Thomas clips in French or Spanish.  This French Thomas clip includes nice counting and colors practice.

COLORING SHEETS: Free train coloring sheets abound online!  I created my own Train French Coloring here with labels in the target language.  Happy to share!

Hope this post has provided you with some nice ideas for creating a train themed lesson in French or Spanish.

Tchou! Tchou!

Image by clipart.com

I decided to write my first ever “techie” post to help teachers use the wealth of authentic materials found on YouTube.  I recently began using an iPod Touch and some cheap speakers in my classroom.  (I am done with my boxes and boxes of CD’s and cassettes, not to mention the bulky boomboxes of years gone by!)  So, I was planning a nice little immersion cooking lesson for French camp tomorrow, when I thought how nice it would be to show a clip of crepes being prepared by a Parisian street vendor.  This is camp, so I don’t have computer/Internet access, just my trusty little iPod.  Here’s what you do:

1.  Locate the YouTube video you wish to use.  I look for authentic sorts of clips–nothing that broke copyright in any way!

2.  Copy the url at the top of the screen.

3.  Go to:  KeepVid.com, copy the url, and click “download.”

4.  Save as MP4.  Once it downloaded, I did a “Save as” onto my desktop.

5.  Open iTunes and select “Video.”  Drag in your new video.

6.  Plug in your trusty iPod.  Click “Devices”, then “Movies” and select the new movie you want synced.

7.  Sync your ipod.  Ta-da! Authentic video clip for teaching tomorrow.

p.s.  I haven’t tried this procedure on my PC, just the Mac.  I “heart” my Mac!  Please comment if you know something I don’t about getting this to work on a PC!

Image by clipart.com

Tres Deseos . . . Three Wishes.  How many wishes do you have?

You don’t have to speak Spanish to love this.  Enjoy!

I’ve been blogging for over a year now, so I think it’s about time I got over my self-consciousness and nerves to make my video debut!   Watch me on this clip and learn the adorable French comptine and fingerplay, Monsieur Pouce.  It’s perfect for preschool and kindergarten French classes.

Monsieur Pouce est dans sa maison.

Madame Pouce est dans sa maison.

Toc toc toc!

Qui est là?

C’est moi.

Chut . . . je dors.

Mais . . . toc toc toc!

Qui est là?

C’est moi!

Ah, je sors.

Image Credit: by voodoo4u2n at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1195513

The kids and I have been playing around with my new Flip video camera.  I am proud (?)  to present our first official Foreign Language Fun language video!  Woo-hoo!  Okay, okay . . . I’m no professional film maker.  Or singer.   But I love to create silly little songs to help teach language, so I hope someone will find this useful.  I wrote these French hand washing songs just the other week.  You’ll have to tell me what you think of our film debut.  Like it?  Helpful?  Silly?  Embarrassing?  Goofy?  Fun?  Want to see more . . . or not?  Please comment!

Je me lave les mains . . . c’est bon,
Avec de l’eau et du savon,
Je frotte et frotte et puis je rince
Au revoir, microbes!

Lavez-vous les mains, lavez-vous les mains,
Faites mousser, frottez, rincez
Lavez-vous les mains.

French:  Joyeux Noël

Spanish:  Feliz Navidad

German:  Frohe Weihnachten

Italian: Buon Natale

Kids can color a festive Merry Christmas sign in five languages. Just click the link to get your FREE coloring page, compliments of Foreign Language House.

Coloring Page: Merry Christmas in Many Languages

Watch this video to hear Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in these languages and more:

Please comment and share a Merry Christmas greeting in other languages, too!

ESL Thanksgiving Activities

Another great Thanksgiving resource for ESL is the Charles Schulz classic–A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  Talk about American culture!  As a child of the 70′s, this cartoon was as much a part of my holiday as turkey, parades, and football.  Linus’ telling of the Thanksgiving story is an enjoyable history lesson.  And who can forget the Thanksgiving dinner of popcorn and jelly beans?  Great music, too.  Enjoy!

Download the full program on demand: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Chocolate (chocolate)

Leche (milk)

Vainilla (vanilla)

Canela (cinnamon)

And for a more authentic experience, you’ll have to use a. . .

Molinillo (Mexican hot chocolate whisk)

Watch this video, check out the molinillo, and listen to the Bate Bate Chocolate song:

Uno, dos, tres, CHO

Uno, dos, tres, CO

Uno, dos, tres, LA

Uno, dos, tres, TE

Chocolate, chocolate,

Bate, bate, chocolate!

For more practice learning numbers in Spanish, download the latest e-book from Foreign Language House:  Spanish Numbers 0-20.  You’ll find word lists, flash cards, workbook pages, and lots of games.  Visit the Foreign Language House storefront at Lulu.com.  French and English versions available, too.