ELA Observation Day

Summary of topic: be prepared to chat and take notes!

I had one observation day at each school. I can confirm that it was not just me observing, I did have to present and get involved but it was really fun and the teachers were all nice. Here are some of the key things I did and some tips for you.

Talking to kids

Its actually not as daunting as it seems. In fact, kids are actually really understanding and won't judge you if your French isn't great. Sometimes they would even rephrase things for me if I had to ask what they meant. I won't lie though, they do speak fast and don't really pronounce things clearly... On my first day I asked them to repeat things as I genuinely didn't understand or hear. It's okay to ask. It was also a lot more difficult for me as we all had masks on but hopefully for you that won't be the case.

Teachers will help you out as well. When I really did not understand after a few repetitions, the teachers would chime in and either explain or ask the kids themselves. For the youngest ones who were 6, even the teachers didn't understand sometimes and they are native French speakers so don't worry if you don't understand!

Talking to teachers

I didn't prepare much for actually talking to teachers in French.  My level of French was not that great for using "vous" so I would have liked to have questions like "where are you from" and "what would you like me to do" prepared so I knew. I felt really silly not knowing how to ask simple questions like this, but don't worry if you're like me you will get the hang of it! A lot of the teachers were chatty with me and also started planning lessons with me that day. Even though I didn't say as much as I'd have liked, they were all understanding and nice though so don't worry. 

What you should prepare in advance

My school was quite last minute. I didn't know what time to go in or what I was supposed to do until literally a day before I was supposed to go in. If this happens to you, this blog will come in use! I got asked to prepare a short powerpoint about myself. I had both the French and English phrases and lots of pictures on my powerpoint.

It would have been much better, but I had no time to prepare! Also, be prepared because kids have A LOT of questions. Bring your powerpoint on a USB stick and definitely bring a notebook to take notes. If you don't have a USB stick, download it in PDF format and send it to the school. My schools computers didn't support powerpoint format so always bring documentation in PDF. I prepared everything on google drive so you can easily convert it to PDF there.

What kids ask

I am Indian but have lived in Scotland my whole life, and the kids were actually more interested in my Indian background... we had to steer the conversation back to the UK as that is what I was there for haha! They asked a lot about the Queen, the kids even knew the Loch Ness Monster! They asked about if it snows in Scotland.

They did ask random things like my favourite animal, what the national animal is of my countries and what the national dishes were. I had a very hard time explaining Haggis.... 

Don't worry about this though. Kids will always ask something unexpected so don't feel the need to over prepare. The teachers will help you out.

Also if you are Scottish, they get a bit confused between l'Ecosse and La Corse. Just be prepared to say that Scotland is in the United Kingdom!

Getting Involved

On my observation day, one of the kids from the youngest classes had a fall in the playground and the teacher had to continue the lesson so she asked me to sit with him while he was crying. I asked him if he wanted a tissue (un mouchoir) and got it for him and was just chatting to him and helping with his colouring. Don't worry my level of French wasn't that impressive! I just happened to learn the word for tissue a few days before that. Thankfully a few days before I was testing out makeup on my hand and had to ask the shop assistant for a tissue and thats how I knew.... good timing eh?