Using foreign language versions of well known websites in the MFL classroom can motivate pupils and provide authentic opportunities for them to be exposed to real language. Google Maps is an ideal example as it is available in French, Spanish and German and can be used to teach directions in a different and engaging way.
To get started in French, go to Google Maps France and click on the Itinéraire link. Put in the start and end point for your search next to the A and B boxes and click the Itinéraire button. The picture above was generated by running a search for Montpellier La Place de la Comédie and Le Polygone and selecting En Voiture as the mode of transport. The latter produced 7 results and I had to select the correct one by clicking the appropriate link under Essayez sur.
As you can see on the left hand side of the page each part of the journey is magically broken down in step by step chunks in easily understandable language making it suitable for comprehension exercises for KS3 students.
e.g.
Itinéraire en voiture vers Polygone
1. Prendre la direction nord-est 11 m
2. Tourner complètement à gauche vers Tunnel de la Comédie 15 m
3. Tourner légèrement à gauche vers Tunnel de la Comédie 54 m
4. Tourner à droite sur Tunnel de la Comédie 0,1 km
5. Tourner légèrement à droite sur Rue Michelet 0,1 km
6. Tourner à droite pour rester sur Rue Michelet 0,3 km
7. Tourner légèrement à droite sur Avenue des Etats du Languedoc 15 m
8. Tourner à gauche à Rue Jeanne d'Arc 37 m
9. Continuer tout droit sur Rue des Pertuisanes 0,1 km
10. Tourner à gauche 60 m
As Montpellier has undergone the Street View treatment, small camera icons appear next to each direction making you feel as if you are actually there travelling through the streets of a foreign city. You can also drag the markers into different positions and hit the Itinéraire button. This will automatically renew the steps needed on the left.
If pupils took screenshots of each movement they make, they could paste them into a presentation and add a voiceover describing how they got from A to B.
For further ideas on using Google Maps in the classroom, have a look at 50 Things to do with Google Maps Mashups, Google Maps Inservice, Podcasts meet Google Maps and Chris Betcher's video tutorials on Mapping with Google Spreadsheets and Personalising map data with Google MyMaps.
There's also Stweet a Twitter and Google Maps mashup which displays the location of the latest tweet sent in a particular city. If the destination you are interested does not appear in the given list, you can change the city and country code in the URL and that should do the trick. If it doesn't you will see the message -
Comments