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The Language Show

Was great to meet so many enthusiastic teachers yesterday at The Language Show, even at 6 o'clock on a Saturday during half-term!   If you are interested in following up any of the ideas for differentiating and personalising the curriculum opportunities in languages at KS4 or using a phonics approach to accelerate language learning, the presentations can be downloaded here:

Download a_language_is_for_life_blogversion.ppt

Download PhonicsPresentation_blogversion.ppt

For anyone who didn't get a flyer for Wednesday 19th November for the teaching & learning conference at Comberton Village College, please also download here - details of how to book on are on the flyer.

Download LPEvent_flyer08.doc

The USPs (Unique Selling Points) of languages

Great to meet you all at Alderman White School & Language College!  If you would like to make use of the slides accompanying my keynote from the conference, please download it here:
Download the_multiple_usps_of_languages.ppt

If there are any of the teaching ideas that you would like to know more about, scroll down to other entries and they are also available for download here.

Jollyphonics - the French version! Les Franco-phoniques!

As I said on 19th February in Cambridge at the New Secondary Curriculum Regional Event, I have had a French version of the jollyphonics approach to teaching pronunciation on my list of things to do for a very long time.  Our discussion there got me thinking again and I hope that I may have got something worth using now!  As French pronunciation is much more complex for English speakers than either Spanish or German, the basics can't be done in just one lesson!  Instead I have made 3 introduction lessons for the main sounds and then some follow up starters.  Following these, extended opportunities to read out loud can be provided aplenty by visiting the excellent anthology of texts on the Sunderland MFL resources website.  I still need my native speaker colleagues in the department to 'road test' these, but I would also welcome all of your feedback if you download and use them!  I have put notes with each PowerPoint slide to say how I envisaged the teaching.
 

As ever, when you finish writing something new, you lose perspective and at the end have no idea if it's good or not!  I thought it was when I started - please do let me know what you think!

Assessment for improving teaching and learning

It was good to meet colleagues today at the Cambridge Assessment Network seminar, New Hall, Cambridge, who were keen to look creatively at the role of assessment in teaching and learning and ideas to improve standards by interpreting assessment as broadly as possible.  My role in this was to provide one department's approach over time to making use of assessment practices that have had a significant impact in raising achievement in MFL from 40% A* - C to 70% when still compulsory and to 90% with 70% optional uptake at KS4.  As requested, a copy of the Download AfL170108.ppt can be downloaded here.

Assessment for Learning

It was really good to meet so many like-minded languages teachers last Friday at the Cambridge Assessment Network seminar on AfL.  As requested (and promised!) here is a copy of Download AfL161107_blog.ppt from the session.