Tips for Running a Successful World Language Club
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Do you run your school’s French Club, Spanish Club, Italian Club, or German Club? Welcome to the club! (pun intended). I’m sure you are searching for great ideas for activities and ideas for how to spend meaningful time with the students who join. So check out our Pinterest Board for Language Club Ideas, and read on to get our favorite tips and tricks for running a successful club this year.
Social Media is your Friend!
The students who join your club will almost always be overbooked. They will also be in sports, other clubs, carry part-time jobs, and at the very least have homework. This means that it is best to give them many reminders about your club meetings, because you cannot assume that they will remember or prioritize. It is best to use a “school-safe” option like Remind or Google Classroom, or your school’s announcements. I like to remind students a week before, the day before, and the day of. This always helps me get great attendance and minimize no-shows!
Give Students Leadership Positions
Not only are students fantastic in leadership positions, but they can take on many age-appropriate responsibilities that you may not have the time for. They can create reminders for upcoming meets, prepare playlists to play during meetings, reach out to classmates, recruit at Club Fairs, or come up with fantastic ideas! They can also be in charge of taking and curating great photos of the activities you do as a club.
Make it an Extension of the Classroom
As a World Language teacher, there are always a million things you wish you could do with students. However, there doesn’t ever seem to be enough time to do the “fun” cultural activities that don’t quite align with the curriculum, or the arts and crafts activities that certainly don’t align with your current unit! Enter, your Language Club! Make those macaroon tree ornaments, create that Eiffel Tower out of popsicle sticks, or watch their favorite movie in French!
Advertise
Don’t be shy to shine a spotlight on all the amazing things you are doing as a club, and, by extension, in your classroom and department. Not only should you advertise in the traditional sense to make sure that students know what you’re about and where you meet, but you should be advertising how amazing you are, too. Invite other colleagues and administrators to meetings, or gift them items your club members have made. Appoint a student to be the club photographer and send those pictures out to your administrators in the building and in Central Office, to whoever manages the newsletter, or put them up on a hallway bulletin board.
Collaborate with other clubs
This is a great opportunity for some interdisciplinary collaboration! One year, a school club was sending care packages to Haiti, and our students in the French Club translated the messages they sent (with some heavy editing by yours truly). And every year, our French Club collaborated with the Italian Club to play bocce (pétanque for those of us in the French Club!)
What do you do in your Language Club? Did we miss any great ideas? Comment below or comment on our Instagram @esteemlearning!
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