Summer courses for teachers of French as a foreign language

How can I get my students motivated? My textbook is not adapted to my students, it's out of date, what can I do? How can I be more creative, how can I deliver a differentiated pedagogy? Why?
You keep on asking yourself these questions and much more?

Public

This training program aims to improve teachers’ didactical and language knowledge and practice – whether they have recently graduated or are experienced French teachers.

Duration: from 1 to 4 weeks

Didactical approach

We have adopted a thematic approach: one theme developed each week, joined with language and phonetic courses, conferences and workshops.

Every day, you will be offered a mix of courses, talks, practical sessions, analysis on concrete questions: how to motivate students, deal with heterogeneity, develop individual creativity and interaction in the classroom, reinforce students' confidence, and so on.

General training objectives

  • To diversify and develop one’s practice in class
  • To improve one’s theoretical and practical knowledge in a thematic context
  • To discover new teaching materials and/or create material to use in class
  • To access numerous suggestions of activities in all language skills
  • To develop and improve one’s own language and phonetics proficiency
  • To interact with university researchers on questions that are central to our profession and concern us all on a daily basis: how to motivate students, the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), building sequences and curricula, how to evaluate students, etc

 Our teachers and lecturers

 The team at the Institut de Touraine includes experienced and Masters graduated teachers, pedagogical advisers and coordinators, experts and renowned university lecturers.

 Specific training content

1/ Courses, workshops and conferences

Each day is organised around a combination of courses, workshops, exchange of practices and reflection on concrete questions in order to improve one’s theoretical and practical knowledge with:

  • Simulations of classes
  • Innovative and practical demonstration of sequences and sessions
  • Analysis of practice from sequences on video
  • Demonstration and creation of pedagogical material
  • Exchange and analysis of one’s own practices
  • Language and phonetic reinforcement
  • Elaboration of sequences in teams
  • Didactics initiation or reinforcement
  • Differentiated instruction

2/ Language and phonetic reinforcement course

3 weekly sessions of reinforcement in the classroom and/or in the language lab with one of our experienced teachers in order to:

  • View or review certain points of the French language, develop one’s knowledge in grammar, syntax or vocabulary
  • Correct one’s recurrent mistakes
  • Work on one’s pronunciation, improve prosody and intonation
  • Learn by doing and develop one’s own teaching skills by observing an experienced colleague’s techniques and by using techniques and documents from a learner’s point of view

Resource center, language lab, multimedia lab, online platform

Throughout your stay, you will have access to a wide range of materials in our resource center: magazines and books for teachers of French as a Foreign Language (methods, exercises books, books on didactics, university publications, etc.), to our readers corner offering local and national press, whether general or specialized, as well as to our internet-connected computers.

During your training course, you will also have the opportunity to use and get familiar with our language and multimedia labs. You will benefit from an access to our online platform and be able to download all working documents used and presented during the program, during and after your stay at the Institut.

Cultural activities and excursions

After class and in the evening, you will be invited by our activity leader to different cultural activities and guided tours of the city. On Wednesdays and on weekends, you will have the opportunity of going to excursions conducted by our teachers, specialists in culture/civilization and art history. This will allow you to discover our wonderful region and world-famous sites: Chenonceau, Cheverny, Chambord, Amboise, Blois, Langeais, Villandry castles, Mount Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo, Le Puy du Fou, and so on

Organisation of your tailor-made training course

Choose the best theme(s) for you from a range of options offered in accordance with your expectations, needs and objectives.

Choose between 2 options:

  • 20 hrs. per week: You will follow an intensive didactic course and will be free most afternoons to discover our region or to work autonomously on your personal projects
    • Morning classes from 8:30 to 12:45
    • + Optional personal work in the resource centre from 1:30 every afternoon
  • 25 hrs. per week: You want to take advantage of your stay to reinforce your language and phonetic skills
    • Morning classes from 8:30 to 12:45
    • + 1 unit “Linguistic and phonetic reinforcement” three afternoons per week in the afternoon
    • + Optional personal work in the resource centre after class

 Certification

At the end of your stay and provided you came to every class, you will be given a certificate of attendance.

Our training sessions are eligible for to the European program Erasmus +. PIC code: 943276792

Contact

Mr. Thierry PELTREAU, Course Director: thierry.peltreau@institutdetouraine.com