Megan Helgeson, OWLA Beginning Teacher Chair
French Teacher, Miamisburg High School

After I have had my “English Week” at the beginning of the year, it is time to start holding students accountable for staying in the target language. But how exactly do you ensure that only the TL is used? 

Here is a list of the many ways that you can ask students to speak in the TL. They are in order from what should be used the very first day you return to the TL to more random methods that will depend on the context of the interaction and the student.

1. Wait for every student to be seated and silent before beginning class.

I do this every single day, but this is extremely important the very first day you return to the TL. Waiting for every student to be seated and silent before saying “Bonjour” and beginning class sets the expectation that English is not allowed and you will only continue when English is not being used. Just stand, smile, and wait until everyone is seated and silent. If it takes you ten minutes to get started that very first day, so be it. Those are ten minutes well spent that will greatly impact the rest of the year.

2. Stop class when English is spoken, calmly walk to the “Class Expectations” poster, and point to the rule “Speak in French.”

This is very important the first day back in the TL, but also the first week or even the first quarter. You will not have to do this the whole year, but you do need to do it every single time English is spoken at the beginning of the year. Every. Single. Time. Then, you wait—while still pointing to the rule being broken—until everyone is silent. After everyone is silent, calmly walk back to the front of the class and begin again. 

If English is spoken again (even if you’re on your way back), you turn around and go back to the class expectations poster and do the routine again. Even if students are only speaking in English because they think it’s funny that they’re making you walk over and point to the rule, you do it as many times as necessary (while still smiling—do not show that you are frustrated, especially at the beginning of the year). Eventually, they will get tired of their game or their classmates will get tired of it. This is so extremely important for setting the expectation that only French will be spoken in class. 

This technique is from Tina Hargaden’s book Year One: A Natural Approach to the Year and is meant to help your sanity and emotional stability throughout each day.

3. Ask “How do you say…?” to the class.

Any time that a student says something that is on the useful phrases list, or is something that you know the students know how to say, stop class and ask how to say it in the TL. Then, wait for students to look it up (if it’s on the useful phrases list) and for someone to say it (it doesn’t have to be the student that used English in the first place). You may have to indicate that you want them to look in their notebooks or go to the bulletin board of useful phrases; they may not remember that what they said is on the useful phrases list. 

This tactic also works if a student says something long and complicated in English but uses at least one word they know how to say in the TL. At this point, you essentially ignore the complicated part and you ask the class how to say the one word they know how to say.

4. Ask “How do you say…?” to a student.

This is for the same situation as above, but toward the middle or end of the year depending on what was said and who the student is. If you ask the student and they can’t think of it, then either have them look it up or switch to asking the whole class.

5. Ask “How can we say…?” to the class.

This question is used when something is said that students do not know how to say in the TL. Ask the question, then encourage students to act it out, draw it, or use circumlocution by pointing to these posters in your classroom. Even though the English has already been said, make students use one of those three strategies to “repeat” what they said in the TL. 

If a student draws something or acts it out and what they’re trying to communicate isn’t clear, I like to pretend that I’m confused, even though I already heard them say it in English. Sometimes students may need help figuring out what they can use for circumlocution, so if they can’t think of anything after a while, you may have to suggest something.

This next part is very important: Do not tell them how to say the word in the TL! Have them use circumlocution to say a synonym or describe the word, or have them act it out or draw it—but do not say what the word is. You are setting the expectation that you will not be using English even if they don’t know how to say something in the TL, and you are showing them that they can still communicate even if they don’t know how to say something in the TL. 

Once students start asking you how to say something by drawing it, acting it out or using circumlocution, then you will tell them how to say it in the TL. Do not do that until one of those three strategies is used first.

6. Say “Huh?” repeatedly / hold up your arms as if you’re asking a question / just stare at the student.

These strategies are for when the student doesn’t realize they’re using English or they’re saying something simple that they clearly know how to say in the TL.