Teaching Survival Phrases in a Foreign Language

Presenting and Practicing Functional Everyday Target Language

© Catherine Fortin

Learning how to speak a language is about learning practical communication. Students learn and use everyday phrases best when they not only hear them, but see them.

Foreign language teachers are now teaching students the everyday phrases of the language just as much, or more, than they teach how the language works i.e. grammar. Renowned researchers such as Jim Cummins found that students need to learn, use, and master the social communication of another language before they tackle the academic aspects of it.

Every day phrases, or functional chunks of the language, can be posted in the classroom, and they should be taught overtly to students.

Posting Classroom Phrases

Survival phrases are the phrases that are used daily to meet personal needs. They should be posted in a clear, legible list:

The phrases need to be posted the entire duration of the course in a central, highly visible area.

Students need to see the phrases when they forget them, or if they get tripped up. For beginners the phrases can be posted individually as the teacher presents them.

Providing Practice Activities

Practice makes it permanent in language acquisition.

Assessing Survival Phrases

Teach what you assess, assess what you teach.

Phrases can be removed from view for assessments.

Language learners must learn and use practical phrases in the target language. They are ultimately better target language speakers if teachers have taken the time to teach everyday language to them. Students should see and be surrounded by survival and classroom phrases in the classroom.


The copyright of the article Teaching Survival Phrases in a Foreign Language in Language Study is owned by Catherine Fortin. Permission to republish Teaching Survival Phrases in a Foreign Language in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.




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