You ask a question in French. Thirty faces study the carpet. Every languages teacher knows that silence, and it is rarely about laziness. Speaking in front of peers in a language you half know is genuinely exposing.
What the evidence says
The Education Endowment Foundation rates oral language approaches, which put spoken language and classroom talk at the centre, as high impact for very low cost, with an average of about six months' additional progress. Ofsted's curriculum research review for languages calls spontaneous use of a language central to pupils' ability, while noting that speed and accuracy often drop when speech is spontaneous. So mistakes are expected, not a sign of failure.
Five low-stakes routines
1. Whisper first. Pairs rehearse an answer quietly before anyone speaks to the room.
2. Choral warm-ups. The whole class says a phrase together. Nobody is alone.
3. Sentence builders. Give the frame, let them choose the chunks. Success is built in.
4. Mini whiteboards. Write it, show it, then say it.
5. Praise the attempt. Reward the brave wrong answer as loudly as the right one.
Small steps, loud room
The aim is to make speaking feel routine rather than risky. Once a class has spoken every lesson for a few weeks, the silence starts to break on its own. You will know it is working when the chatter is in French and you have to ask them to stop. That is a lovely problem to have.
