Applying ICT Appropriately to MFL: Web Skills

Home

Web Skills: Text & Graphics

Web Skills: Files

French primary school pupils spend many hours mastering the national style of cursive handwriting. Research in France suggests that intensive handwriting practice may also boost the fine motor skills associated with activities as diverse as Physical Education and Creative Writing.

Several instituteurs — French primary school teachers — have developed PC handwriting fonts simulating the national script. These fonts are available as freeware on the World Wide Web and may be installed on any machine without infringing copyright.

Authentic handwriting fonts provide MFL teachers with technological solutions to decoding problems that beginners in general and dyslexic pupils in particular, experience when confronted with unfamiliar scripts.

Problem: Your Year 7 French pupils have just received pen-pal letters from a school in France. Delight quickly turns to dismay when they cannot decipher the handwriting.

Problem-solving:

  • Access the search engine Alta Vista using your web browser.
  • Change the any language box to French.
  • Type the keyword cursive into the search box and click on Search.
  • The Polices d'écriture cursive Web page should be the first "hit". Click Translate.
  • The Translation with SYSTRAN Web page appears. Click Translate.
  • A Web page entitled Les Polices d'écriture cursive (freewares) appears.
  • How good is the computer-assisted translation software? Click Back twice.
  • The Alta Vista Simple Query cursive Web page reappears.
  • Click on Polices d'écriture cursive en freeware. The Web page is now in French.
  • Scroll down to Télécharger la police d'écriture cursive de P. Tassel (27,7 Ko). Click it.
  • Follow the downloading warnings and instructions on your screen.
  • The compressed ("zipped") file Tassel.zip "downloads" on to your computer.
  • This file contains a TrueType (PC) French handwriting font that can be freely installed.
  • Load Word and try out the Crayon and Plume fonts already installed on your machine.

 

Access Alta Vista

Access Polices d'écriture cursive en freeware

 

Home

Web Skills: Text & Graphics

 

© 2002 David R. Wilson