Hullo, this is Olive, the Founder of Private Joke ®. ☺️ I invented this card game in 2023 to make languages more fun, accessible & relevant. With a 1st Class BA in French & Chinese from the University of Birmingham and an MPhil in Education from the University of Cambridge, I have taught students around the world and experienced first-hand how languages can lead to a life of adventure and fun.
In this 1.5 hour workshop, students (Years 7-13) will:
🎲 Play a live game of Private Joke® (Franglais edition) inventing words, guessing meanings, and battling it out for the funniest, cleverest, and most outrageous definitions.
🌍 Discover untranslatable French words, quirky gems that textbooks skip but French people actually use. Get ahead of your French classes at school and impress your teacher!
🗣️ Learn expressions and mannerisms that help you sound more natural (and less like Google Translate). We will cover body language, mannerisms & colloquial expressions too.
💡 Unlock memory tricks & speaking techniques to boost confidence in class, exams, and real-life conversations. In your follow-up resources, I will share top tips for learning languages.
😂 Have fun! This is French with humour, creativity, and collaboration at its heart. Even if you don't feel confident, it doesn't matter! In Private Joke ®, a large element of the game is inventing words and messing about with the letter tiles.
Who it’s for:
- Students in Years 7–13 who want to sharpen their French, get exam-ready in a fresh way, or just enjoy the playful side of language. I don't believe certain words should be shoehorned into different "levels" and having a group of mixed-age and mixed-ability students can be a huge benefit to all students. The game is also highly collaborative.
- Perfect for anyone who thinks “I like French… but it could be more fun.” I myself had to battle at French & convince my A Level teacher to let me take her subject! I know how hard languages can be, but after 15 years of struggle, I want to share my learnings and experience with the next generation of British students in a way that is ultimately, FUN. 🤩 💸 Pricing:
- £20 per student.
- Includes a set of printable follow-up resources + a discount code for Private Joke ® in Franglais, Spanglish & Britwit.
