If you have a native speaker in your classroom, you can take advantage of it in advanced classes by using the following sequence when dealing with an authentic text (Le Petit Prince in my case which I am doing with my 8th graders).
Normally I would just use R and D but that only works when the text being read is slightly lower than the capacity of the class to read. With more difficult texts, this is the sequence I’ve been having a bit of success with:
1. Native speaker reads a paragraph in L2.
2. We read sentence by sentence while the right student* blurts.
3. Translation/Grammar – this is my time to shine. I translate and point out grammar things. This may lead me to the board for some old style grammar lecturing. I have to watch that but usually the kids in advanced classes want to learn it, so I let my grammar teacher freak flag fly. Oh boy! Remember, it’s not about teaching CI, it’s about getting through class with our mental health intact. (We lose our mental health when we put the CI car in gear but the students are not engaged – better to teach the old way and keep the car in neutral. Otherwise we burn up the clutch. That is what I think is happening with some in our group. They try so hard at CI but don’t have the right group of kids. And the only “right” group of kids is the one which has never had traditional instruction.)
4. L2 Discussion – gotta really go slow here.
5. L1 Discussion (optional) – Heaven.
6. Next paragraph same process.
*This is like a barometer but has to be a student who can really self advocate. Each time in step 2 above when the readers (we just go around the room and each kid gets to read in French a sentence or two – something I never would have allowed before but they love it so fine) are reading their sentences in L2, this kid blurts out every single word he or she doesn’t understand and we translate it.