English Cow at Agricultural High School

Magali Rambert-Bugeia teaches English among others. English is known as “cow English” by his agricultural high school students. For three years, he has been innovating in teaching, especially being a fan of flexible classes. Looking for students' interest and their progress, Magali Rambert-Bujia presents her methods at the Education Café, “With my students, I try to do something. A drop of water in the sea… I took a step towards them, they towards me, towards English. It created motivation. I was able to interest them and make them succeed.»

A fruitful journey and developments: Teaching letters and English in an agricultural high school

He started his career as a literature teacher at Magali Agricultural High School. Because of her skills and her hunger for English, when the high school opened a Euro English section, she got involved. Later, along with the entire faculty, Magali passed the DNL certification and gained dual skills in teaching literature and English. He now teaches letters and English to Vocational High School, Agricultural High School and BTS students. It was then that Magali developed what the students called “Cow English”. He explains how the project was born: “It is something that responds to talking to them. I took a step towards them, they towards me, towards English. This created excitement among the students. I was able to interest them and make them succeed.»

What is Cow English?

Magali visits the high school's farm with the students and organizes practical work on the farm in English to measure the growth of the calves. This is an opportunity to recreate numbers, figures and questions. For Magali, English on the farm site”Allowing us to reorganize“His students. In his class, he follows an operation in four seasons. He teaches the students about the soil, the cows, the life of the farm, the operations of the farm in English.

She notes: “All activities are varied and based on active involvement of students. Even to understand writing, they work in groups, they manipulate. Workshops are running. I see the growth of students. At the terminal, they acquired an important technical vocabulary.”

Magali's students report their practice in English. In second grade, the sentence structure is simple, with restrictions on the use of modal verbs, and then in first grade, reporting is more in-depth. In the final year, students develop a master plan and take an oral guided tour of the farm. The course allows you to consolidate, memorize and deepen knowledge.

A Pedagogical Transformation: Teaching in the Flexible Classroom

Based on the observation that her professional undergraduate students need to travel, Magali tried to rely on their motivation to foster their discovery of the professional world. “Initially, I did texts with reading comprehension, classics, tractors, and cows. Gradually, I created other things to help them learn by moving and doing.” And then, according to her “ You put them in a small group, independently, and you put them into action, which works well with a project. It is a method that pays off in terms of learning, commitment and self-confidence, which speaks to their courage“.

Magali presents one of his tools, which allows you to put cow parts, words in English and put them in an image.

Advantages of Rigid and Flexible English

For 3 years, after training there, Magali teaches through “flexible classroom” and autonomous classroom teaching. With a flexible class, Magali wants to make her students active participants in their learning. Active engagement promotes concentration and long-term memorization. According to Magali, the flexible class helps to adapt to the students' level: each student can progress at his own pace while respecting the work plan (deadline, objectives, assessment) Location and format (in a group, alone). A class group works differently.

Magali describes cooperative work among students who help each other correct and develop psychological skills with flashcards. All workshops are self-correcting, allowing for immediate feedback on errors. Also, island work allows more timid students to “Dare to speak in English, speak to the teacher or their restricted group, they are not afraid of judgement, speaking in class is difficult for some students.“.

Work on an islandAllowing you to spend time with students in need, flexible teaching allows you to work on your subject in a protean way. It gives you a lot of tools. It is an assertive pedagogy that is free within frameworks.»

Magali's excellent English and flexible class make teaching the English language truly “alive” from the point of view of content and method, as well as from the bond established with her students. Magali's shift in teaching posture allows the student to fully engage in learning at their own pace.

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