Cuisenaire rods are a deceptively simple tool. Once you see them in use they are very easy to build into your own teacher toolkit. You do not need to be a mathematician; though maths departments around the world have used them with success in the Singapore Bar Modelling Method.

In the Modern Foreign Language Classroom, in primary schools, secondary and with adults, there is much to learn from 10 coloured bars. They can be used in a very structured, prescriptive way to model language, but equally have the power of suggestion, able to take the teacher and their class into unchartered, unplanned territory.  Emergent language will abound when you open a box of rods, students don’t even need to be terribly imaginative to get involved. 

In the first workshop we explored icebreakers; describing places; comparing things – colour, size; assessing level, working on error; helping with grammar; functional English practice and exam work.  This session will look at storytelling in depth, pronunciation, controlled practice, ways of checking progress, The Silent Way and Dogme, potential pitfalls and benefits of rod use.

This second workshop is a great stepping stone into DELTA and the Professional Development Assignment (PDA) in which you need to choose an area for Experimental Practice.  Cuisenaire Rods and the Silent Way are a popular area to choose.

Presented by Anna Cuccia – CELTA & DELTA Trainer School Governor @United Learning Trust.