KS2 MFL: 'Talking About Myself' in French with Mwaksy Mudenda

Super Movers > MFL

Blue Peter presenter Mwaksy Mudenda introduces some simple French phrases in this special song.

Teacher notes

After viewing, singing and dancing along, your class could try some of these activities to further explore their learning:

Meeting and greeting:

• Ask the children to introduce themselves to their partner using Je m’appelle followed by their name. If children are reluctant to speak, you could use puppets or a giant toy microphone for encouragement.
• Practise the question Comment t’appelles-tu ? with the whole class. It often helps to do an action while saying the question to help to it – you could draw a big question mark in the air while saying it.
• Ask the children to move round the class, asking each other Comment t’appelles-tu ? and replying Je m’appelle and their name. They could shake hands with each person they speak to. You could also encourage them to say bonjour and au revoir at the beginning and end of their “meeting”.
• Find out what people in do when they meet each other.

Giving your opinion

• Practise j’aime and je n’aime pas with the children. Doing an action while saying the phrases will help children to them. You could hold your thumbs up for j’aime and put them down for je n’aime pas.
• To practise listening, say the phrases j’aime and je n’aime pas and ask the children to do the correct action. To increase the challenge, you could add other words or phrases (for example bonjour, au revoir, très bien) which don’t require an action and so children have to sit still.
• To practise speaking, do the actions and then children have to say the correct phrase. Again you could increase the challenge by adding some actions that are neither j’aime nor je n’aime pas and so for which the children will have to stay quiet.
• Ask the children if they can the English meanings of the French verbs danser, dessiner and chanter, which Mwaksy sang in the song. Practise the verbs with the children, miming each activity to help them to .
• Put your thumbs up, and then mime dancing. Ask the children if they can say the whole sentence – an opinion and a verb. They should say J’aime danser. Practise in the same way with je n’aime pas and the other verbs. The children could practise in pairs or mime a sentence for their classmates to work out.
• Ask the class to use their bilingual dictionary to find some other useful “action” verbs in French. The verb forms will need to end in -er, -ir or -re. They can use your phonics package or a reliable text-to-speech app or site to help them to work out the pronunciation. They can then formulate some sentences with their new verbs, including miming them!

Where are you from?

• In the song, Mwaksy says Je viens d’Angleterre – “I am from England”. How many other countries can the children name in a time limit of 3 minutes? They could use atlases or a globe to check their answers.
• Using atlases or other information sources, children could find out which countries are French-speaking, and which continents they are in.
• They could also research and find out more information about the French-speaking countries, such as their capital cities, the size of their populations, their flags, and any important geographical features they have.
• If it’s appropriate to your class, they could also find out about the different countries that the children come from, where they are on the map and which language they speak.
• Ask the children to use their bilingual dictionaries to find the names in French of some more countries. They can use your phonics package or a reliable text-to-speech app or site to help them to work out the pronunciation.
• Ask the children to practise the question D’où viens-tu ? They could write a big question mark in the air to help them to it.
• Ask the question and ask for volunteers to tell you where they are from, using je viens de and one of the new country names that they have found.
  NB if the country name begins with a vowel, they will have to say je viens d’.

Language introduced

Curriculum notes

The Super Movers song 'Talking About Myself and these activity notes address the following learning objectives from the curriculum guidance of the four UK nations.

England
From the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum programme of study for Foreign Languages:

• listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by ing in and responding
• explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
• appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
• engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions […]
• speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
• broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
• understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): […] conjugation of high-frequency verbs (venir, aimer); key features and patterns of the language (question forms, making a verb negative);[…] and how these differ from or are similar to English

Northern Ireland
It is not statutory for primary schools to teach a language other than English or Irish (in Irish-medium schools).

Scotland
Modern Languages - CfE Experiences and Outcomes, Second level:

• I explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and show understanding and enjoyment by listening, ing in and responding. (MLAN 2-01a)
• I can listen to and respond to familiar voices in short, predictable conversations using straightforward language and non-verbal techniques (MLAN 2-02a)
• I can take part effectively in prepared conversations by sharing information about myself…or interests of my choice, using familiar vocabulary and basic language structures. (MLAN 2-03b)
• I can participate in familiar collaborative activities (MLAN 2-05b)

Wales
It’s not currently statutory to teach a language in KS2. However, it will become so in September 2022.