Message in A Bottle

The Beginning of The Adventure

 The Leonardo Project 2012 began with a week’s intensive training in Howells School, Wales which involved First Aid, Teaching Young Learners and getting to know the group who we would be going to France with. After that we had two weeks to fine tune our lesson plans and make some resources before we were off to France! We arrived in Nice to be greeted by the owners of Autour des Langues, a private language academy in Saint Raphael, Christophe and Gemma.

I was placed in a small primary school with 60 students, so it almost felt like a small family and had a lovely atmosphere. I taught all ages in the school, from 5 to 11 years old in small classes of 10 students for 45 minutes to an hour. The lesson ideas that Carol and Jacque had showed us during training were amazing and just perfect for the age group I was teaching. I brought out worksheets, games, Scottish songs (does anyone remember The Singing Kettle or was it just a Scottish phenomenon?! Spout, handle, lid of metal, what’s inside The Singing Kettle or another favourite ‘You Canny Shove Yer Granny Off A Bus! For She’s Your Mammy’s Mammy! No, You Canny Shove Yer Granny Off A Bus!’) alongside some pictures, magazines and leaflets from the UK.

I found that with all of the age groups songs were an excellent teaching resource. Not having the most dulcet tones didn’t seem to matter as all the children were so keen to sing and dance that they didn’t seem to notice. With my 8 year olds I made a song describing their daily routine ‘I get up, I brush my teeth, I comb my hair.’ They loved making actions to it in small groups and then performing it to their teacher who beamed at their creativity and English skills.

One of my best lessons involved The Sweetie Game, which I’d carefully laminated before flying to France and used with the 7-8 year olds to practise making and answering questions. Another very successful lesson was with the 5-6 year olds in which we made books for them to take home to their parents describing things in the classroom, their family, animals and their favourite things. They all worked really well together and in two lessons produced beautiful books which they were really proud of and can now say they can write and read in English, which given some of them have recently learnt to do in French, is a great achievement.

La Vie est Belle

 We have been so lucky to have been placed in not only one of the most beautiful coastlines in France, but also in the world, La Côte d'Azur. We have been staying in Saint Raphael, a smallish resort town ‘au bord de la mer’ staying in a self-catering apartment complex just literally 2 minutes from the most stunning beach. There is nothing more refreshing after a long day teaching and planning to walk to the beach and jump in the crystal clear water!

Gemma and Christophe organised two great trips during our stay. The first was to the interesting city of Nice, where Jocelyn, Vanessa, Mark and I enjoyed ending the day dancing to a French jazz band in a big square alongside Nice’s finest octogenarians (who it has to be said had much funkier dance moves than us four!)

The second trip was to St Tropez, birthplace of the everlasting tan and playground of the rich and famous. Everyone enjoyed feeling like a millionaire for the day and the boat trip back as the light was fading and the sea breeze whisked through our hair I know Vanessa and I wished would never end!

The Suitcase Lesson!  

 As Lisa and I are sitting writing our blogs in the Maeva lobby, Brenda has just walked in with a brand new suitcase. Ever in the TEFL mindset, seeing her wheel it into the lobby made me think it would make for a fun lesson. ‘Where has this suitcase been? Where would it like to go?’ Where will it go next?’ ‘What has the suitcase seen?’ ‘What was its longest journey?’ ‘Design an itinerary for the suitcase.’ ‘Describe the trips it made last year.’ The possibilities are endless! Three weeks of the Leonardo Project and you are able to make a lesson out of anything!!!  I now find that I look at the world around me in a different way…from leaflets to maps to my passport, anything and everything can be used effectively to stimulate students’ interest, introduce a topic or as a visual aid in a lesson. This is all thanks to Michael’s ability to make you ‘think outside the box’ and be adventurous and flexible in your planning and teaching. I would say that the new found confidence I have in my teaching is mainly due to Michael’s relaxed and innovative way of making a lesson out of anything, and making it look easy and fun! Maybe in ten years time I will make my lessons look fun, interesting and relaxed too! For that I will be ever grateful.

All’s Well that Ends Well

 So, the final week is here, everyone is planning their final lessons, and making the most of their final days in France. The Leonardo Project has been an amazing experience, from the first day meeting everyone in Denbigh and thinking what a lovely group of people to be lucky enough to be working with through the ebb and flow like the tides on the beach of our time teaching in France, all good things must come to an end.

I leave the project feeling refreshed, rejuvenated in my teaching style, having bathed in the culture of another country and hoping that I will have left a positive and lasting impact on the children I had the privilege of teaching, like footprints on Saint Raphael beach never to be washed away.

Vive La France! Vive Leonardo 2012! Vive UKLC!