Over the Dr. Matin Luther King Jr. weekend, January 17-21, 2009, I attended a conference at the Dallas International School as part of on-going training and professional development offered through our membership with the Mission Laique Française. The focus of this training was to learn more about how to best teach oral language in early childhood classrooms. The conference was particularly intended for directors and curriculum coordinators of Maternelle programs interested in the challenges of teaching oral language. This training was part of an on-going series of training offered to French schools in America affiliated with the MLF. Beginning with the Maternelle, and in future years continuing this work into cycles 2 and 3 (elementary grades), the focus of our training is in the area of oral language development.
The objective of this training was to identify and address the challenges associated with oral language development, of both French and English, in early childhood classrooms and particularly in our bilingual environments. Topics presented included practical instructional methods and techniques, resources and tools to build vocabulary and accelerate articulation development, and a thorough presentation of the syntax development of the young child- beginning with first sounds mastered and moving into to more complex blends. We learned when to expect the mastery of each of the sounds, (sometimes different in order than in English) and also when and how to intervene - should concerns arise in the areas of syntax, vocabulary and articulation.
The training was presented by Philippe Boisseau, Inspecteur honoraire de l'éducation nationale, conférencier.
For many years, Mr. Boisseau was a Maternelle teacher, first in the XXème arrondissement de Paris, then in the suburbs and north of Paris, and finally in the ZEP in Bezons. ZEP (Zone d'éducation prioritaire) schools in France are those schools identified to have the greatest needs and challenges. In 1985, M. Boisseau became an Inspector for the Ministry of Education in the south of Rouen, then he went on to become a coordinator for teacher training. Today, retired, Mr. Boisseau gives conferences on the development of oral language in Maternelle (70 conferences per year) and continues his research. He has published many books on his area of expertise.
It was an honor to participate in this training. Like all of the participants, I went away from the experience motivated to share my discoveries with our teaching staff. I am looking forward to ordering some of the classroom materials presented, such as the Oralbums, also created by M. Boisseau, which are books of fairy tales, written in oral form, and which target the specific oral vocabulary destined to each section of Maternelle.
I am pleased Elodie Lenezet and Valerie Legentil will also receive this valuable training, which will be presented by Soizic Bonnet of Awty International School, Houston, at the Boston International School in April, 2009. Soizic is a teacher trainer for the AEFE. As for Elodie and Valerie, this will be part 2 of their training in Orale en Maternelle this year. They attended Part 1 at the Awty International School in Houston, in November, 2008.
Elizabeth LeBihan
The objective of this training was to identify and address the challenges associated with oral language development, of both French and English, in early childhood classrooms and particularly in our bilingual environments. Topics presented included practical instructional methods and techniques, resources and tools to build vocabulary and accelerate articulation development, and a thorough presentation of the syntax development of the young child- beginning with first sounds mastered and moving into to more complex blends. We learned when to expect the mastery of each of the sounds, (sometimes different in order than in English) and also when and how to intervene - should concerns arise in the areas of syntax, vocabulary and articulation.
The training was presented by Philippe Boisseau, Inspecteur honoraire de l'éducation nationale, conférencier.
For many years, Mr. Boisseau was a Maternelle teacher, first in the XXème arrondissement de Paris, then in the suburbs and north of Paris, and finally in the ZEP in Bezons. ZEP (Zone d'éducation prioritaire) schools in France are those schools identified to have the greatest needs and challenges. In 1985, M. Boisseau became an Inspector for the Ministry of Education in the south of Rouen, then he went on to become a coordinator for teacher training. Today, retired, Mr. Boisseau gives conferences on the development of oral language in Maternelle (70 conferences per year) and continues his research. He has published many books on his area of expertise.
It was an honor to participate in this training. Like all of the participants, I went away from the experience motivated to share my discoveries with our teaching staff. I am looking forward to ordering some of the classroom materials presented, such as the Oralbums, also created by M. Boisseau, which are books of fairy tales, written in oral form, and which target the specific oral vocabulary destined to each section of Maternelle.
I am pleased Elodie Lenezet and Valerie Legentil will also receive this valuable training, which will be presented by Soizic Bonnet of Awty International School, Houston, at the Boston International School in April, 2009. Soizic is a teacher trainer for the AEFE. As for Elodie and Valerie, this will be part 2 of their training in Orale en Maternelle this year. They attended Part 1 at the Awty International School in Houston, in November, 2008.
Elizabeth LeBihan
