First oral interviews and a string of absences

Good day parents and families of FSF1D1 students! It has been too long, and I know I am already breaching my pledge to keep you frequently updated.

We are working through the first unit of the course, Moi-même.com and we will be doing our first mini-culminating activity this week. It is an oral interview, using the three language conventions learned during the course of the first couple of weeks: irregular adjectives, reflexive verbs and expressions of activity.  This exercise will give students the chance to express themselves orally about a topic they know best; themselves. What we are looking at working towards is a confidence level in spontaneous oral fluency. Granted, the exercise isn't entirely spontaneous as there will be some advance preparation, students are encourged to converse with the interviewer (ie. me) rather than merely read from a prepared script.

Ultimately, we want students to be orally proficient in French, a tall order even for someone going through to grade 12. To this end, we encourage students once they hit grade twelve to challenge the DELF (Diplôme d'études en langue française), which is a test given by the government of France that certifies students at levels of proficiency in the French language. It is a great thing to earn going forward into post-secondary studies and into the workforce.

I must also apologize in advance for absences occurring Friday, February 23rd, Tuesday, February 27 and Wednesday, February 28, as I will be at various school sporting events (Indoor track and field and OFSAA swimming). Work will be left for students, available on the HUB.