Target language in the Ab Initio / Language B classroom

For the Language B classroom this is probably a no-brainer - everybody uses the target language at all times, right ? And the students do the same.

Because, come to think of it, if the teacher doesn't use the target language in the classroom, where else are the students going to hear it ? And if the students don't use the target language in the classroom, where else are they going to use it ?

Right, that point has been covered.  

How about the Ab Initio classroom ?

Has anyone had the summer holiday thought that from day 1 we'll walk into that classroom and speak only in the target language, only to find during the first week of teaching that most of these poor wide-eyed students just stare at you and seem to be losing the will to live ? 
Yes, some of the students will easily pick up recurring instructions and phrases, and some will blur their lines and show that in fact they have a little bit more prior experience than what they claimed in their joining papers or surveys - so we send these ones to the Language B class.

For a good proportion of the students though those first few target-language weeks are tough.  If there are few cognates between the target language and their mother tongue, or if the teacher's speed of talking is a on the fast side, or if the textbook doesn't quite follow the structure of the class (or the other way round), it is possible for some students to become demotivated or to feel that they aren't up for the task … 

In order to prevent losing students to another language class, do you teach bilingually ? Do you first say every sentence in the target language and then repeat it in the school's medium of instruction ? Do you select which sentences you repeat in the students' language ? Do you differentiate between content sentences and 'explanatory' content (eg. all the dialogue is done in the target language ("How old are you, when were you born, please describe your family / your home town / your country / your daily routine") but the grammatical explanations are done in the target language (in order to ensure understanding ? in order to save valuable class time ?).  Do you explain the grammar in isolation ("this is how we conjugate all the regular verbs") or in context ? 

Across all our practices and experiences there are a multitude of ways to teach a language, and amongst the students there are a multitude of learning styles.  

How much time do you spend thinking about the individual student's learning style and adapting your teaching to these various styles ? 

How do you formatively look for learning ? How do you know that every student 'gets it' ? 

In his article "Back to school - my top tips for the new academic year", Dr Gianfranco Conti makes a strong case for putting the emphasis in language classes on listening and speaking, presumably in the target language, rather than on reading and writing.  In addition, he advocates for spacing out lots of smaller assessments instead of working towards a comprehensive unit test that may (and most probably will) not show a true reflection of a student's progress.  Continuous assessment, informal in nature, should guide the teacher in adjusting their plans, the speed of the lessons, the amount of revision and practice that's needed, and so forth.

What's your practice ? If your lessons aren't fully conducted in the target language, when and how do you introduce it ? At what point in the course do you speak exclusively in the target language and at what point in the course do you require the students to do the same ?

All contributions welcome !

​Thanks and till next time.

Reference : https://gianfrancoconti.com/2019/08/31/back-to-school-my-top-tips-for-the-new-academic-year/?fbclid=IwAR2YPUxuwkJUJXZz4un4BEuxn70bFSuiJiRCsaW3ayu4GtYvt5iwiIvXbvI