The Government’s plan to give every seven-year-old an “entitlement” to learning a foreign language may fill some primary teachers with dread. Yet teaching languages to young children can be rewarding and fun .

“Bonjour Edouard.”

“Bonjour Celine. Ca va?”

“Non! Aie! J’ai mal a la tete. Aie! Aie!”

This simple dialogue is typical of many invented by pupils of Berkhampstead School, a prepara-tory school in based in Cheltenham. The performers - Edouard the elephant and Celine the cat - belong to a large family of puppets and soft toys which inhabit the classroom of French teacher Maggi McConaghie. They serve as props in all sorts of ways, from presenting new language (a teddy with a bandaged head) to adding an extra dimension to conversation practice. “The children find talking to the animals much more exciting than talking to the teacher,” she says. “It also demonstrates that language is an exchange between two or more people.”

The dialogues may be simple, but no child is let loose on an activity without thorough preparation. That is the secret of effective language teaching. The progression from passive understanding to active use demands constant repetition and you have to find a hundred different ways of recycling the same material. This is where young learners have a huge advantage. Although she’s primary-trained, Maggi McConaghie has spent most of her career coaxing recalcitrant adolescents. Uninhibited and very keen to learn, her current pupils throw themselves into every activity. Lessons are generally varied, fast-moving and fun.

Before sitting down, each child says something in French, or they may be required to mime, and their neighbour identifies the action or object before doing their own impersonation until everyone has performed. “It gets them into the mood and helps them throw off whatever lesson went before,” says their teacher. “Miming is one of their favourite activities and they are always asking for more.”

Playing noughts and crosses helps to consolidate new language and Maggi McConaghie has built up a bank of overhead transparencies with a picture in each square. Teams take it in turns to choose a square and respond until the winners achieve a line. For listening practice, she presents a blank grid, issues instructions in French and invites pupils to draw. “You must insist on quick sketches, otherwise the pace slows down and the others get restless,” she warns.

Pair work games are equally versatile and give individuals the chance to practise more intensively than during whole-class activities. One simple game requires them to turn over picture cards one by one and question each other in French. The language can be basic or complex. To spice things up, the more confident children can compete against the clock - how many cards can they identify in a minute?

The words of a song stick in the mind and when she can’t find one to suit her objectives she makes up simple ditties or adapts familiar tunes. The following version of “The Wheels on the Bus” is accompanied by cycling movements, the honking of horns and other appropriate actions and noises:

“Je viens en autobus (... veloen voiture etc) comme ca comme ca” times three, “Viens - j’arrive.”

Maggi McConaghie prepares her own materials. However, help is at hand for less confident primary teachers. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has brought out a scheme of work, and the NACELL (National Advisory Centre for Early Language Learning) website has information on resources, good practice and more. CILT offers information sheets with a list of resources including games and songs. (Numbers 52, 53, 93, 94: French, German, Italian, Spanish respectively.) Scheme of work: www.standards.dfee.gov.ukschemesprimarymfl or contact Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 83 Piccadilly, London W1J 8QA. NACELL: www.nacell.org.uk. CILT information sheets: www.cilt.org.ukinfosinfo0.htm or send a large SAE to CILT, 20 Bedfordbury, London WC2N 4LB