This week, we are beginning our French speaking incentive program.  This is how it works:

Each student receives 2 popsicle sticks with their names written on them.  If the teacher hears a student speaking primarily in English, the student will lose a stick.  Students have the opportunity to win back a lost stick by making a concerted effort to speak in French throughout the rest of the day.  Only teachers can take a stick away.  If a student has been able to keep their 2 sticks until the end of the day, we will add a check mark next to their name.  Once they have 5 check marks, they will receive a small candy (individually wrapped and nut-free) as their reward.

In the past, we have tried all kinds of different incentives such as extra centre time, extra outdoor play, bookmarks, pencils, erasers, etc.-those incentives yielded mediocre results.  One year, we decided to try using a small candy as a reward.  The results were better than anything we could have expected!

The students are excited and nervous about speaking French in class.  We understand that we have a class of students at very different stages of their French speaking journey.  We take that into account when we ask a student to give us one of their sticks.  We have explained to the students that we don’t expect them to know every word in French.  What we expect is that they make an effort to use as many French words as they know in their daily conversations with their teachers and classmates.  As their vocabulary grows, speaking French in class will become easier.  If they lose a stick one day, it’s okay!  They get to start again the next day with 2 popsicle sticks.

Just to get the students prepared, we had a practice day on Monday so that everyone could get a feel for what it’s going to be like.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.