mfl fiona cottonks3 2

Session 5 ‘A KS3 perspective’ (Fiona Cotton): 

Session 5 ‘A KS3 perspective’ (Fiona Cotton) Fiona Cotton is the KS3 Strategy Foundation Subjects Consultant for the Solihull Local Education Authority (LEA) which was one of 16 pilot authorities for developing the Key Stage 3 Strategy in MFL. Formerly a Head of MFL in a large comprehensive school, she is at present involved in implementing the Key Stage 3 Strategy across the curriculum in Solihull. She outlines some of the successes and shortcomings of the teaching and learning in MFL in Key Stage 3 which needed to be addressed before the Key Stage 3 Strategy was introduced and shows how this Strategy is refocusing teaching and learning.

The key stage 3 perspective: 

The key stage 3 perspective The future of language teaching and learning for 11 – 14 year olds

Objectives: 

Objectives To understand the historical context of language teaching and learning in England and Wales To gain insights into the current key stage 3 programme To see examples of how teachers are making it work in their classrooms

Starter activity 1: 

Starter activity 1 Read the text and answer the following questions What is a grib? Where do gribs live? How often and why do gribs twindle? Name three types of grib munch.

Starter activity 2: 

Starter activity 2 Read the word list and make the following sentence: This badminton racquet is not correctly stringed

Starter activity - discussion: 

Starter activity - discussion What do these two exercises tell us about: a] the understanding of grammar and b] the value of the acquisition of vocabulary?

Audio-visual methodology: 

Audio-visual methodology World War 2 – needs of billeted soldiers Links with grammar-translation method Use of slide shows/cartoons Importance of repetition and drills Meaning to structure Little reflection Confident speakers but inauthentic contexts Lack of response skills

Communicative methodology: 

Communicative methodology European dimension in late 70s Outcomes driven Emphasis on use of TL Meaning first, form later Tricolore course Importance of context recognised in GCSE 1988 – equity of GCSE marks for skills Positive assessment scheme for GCSE Reading and writing suffers Lack of transferability of knowledge Lack of ability to construct own language

What was the impact of this on standards? : 

What was the impact of this on standards? Read handout 1.1. What sorts of difficulties were pupils having? Why do you think this was?

The Key stage 3 challenge: 

The Key stage 3 challenge Rate of pupils’ progress often slows after year 7 Pupils poorly equipped for Key Stage 4 Wide variation in quality of teaching

The positive effects: 

The positive effects Motivation Early gains / feelings of success Lower ability learners Departmental cohesion Target language in the classroom Purposeful communication Interactive teaching strategies

“The Invisible Child”: 

“The Invisible Child” Research project findings showed pupils had great difficulty with: Meanings Spelling Pronunciation Memory Accents Little words Putting sentences together Working out what they were supposed to learn in their lessons

“What were you supposed to learn from your last lesson?”: 

“What were you supposed to learn from your last lesson?” Read the transcript. What sort of problems are the pupils experiencing? What do you think the teacher thought the lesson was about?

Key Stage 3 framework: 

Key Stage 3 framework Part of set of national strategies Strong similarities with primary literacy framework Word, sentence, text [reading and writing, speaking and listening] and cultural objectives Supported by training on pedagogy

Is it working?: 

Is it working? Rate of progress is speeding up through year 7 Teachers are reflecting more systematically on pedagogy Consultant support was effective in supporting changes to teaching style TL may be suffering......... Planning focused more on objectives and outcomes than activities Lesson structure more universally applied and understood

Examples of classroom practice: 

Examples of classroom practice Making concepts explicit Improving rates of progress Involving pupils in reflection The use of focused games

Plenary discussion: 

Plenary discussion Think of an aspect of the presentation that interested you. Think of something from your own experience as a teacher or a learner that links to it. Share this with your partner or group. Do you now have any further questions?

Thank you!: 

Thank you! ficotton65@hotmail.com