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Team work to develop deeper learning in primary languages.
I work alongside 12 wonderful associate language teachers.You can find out more about these teachers here Associate primary language teachers and assistants.
Each half term we hold a CPD twilight and get together to discuss where we are all up to with our primary language teaching and learning.
The notes below may be of use to others but are really intended as a aide memoire to ourselves as a team and the discussions we held yesterday evening at CPD
Some of us have worked together now for over seven years.We worked previously as a team for Warrington LEA .Since 2011 the team has grown from 6 to 7 to now 12 associates,providing a variety of weekly language learning services in 37 schools.The associates have patiently worked alongside me, have contributed to and helped me to build our teaching and learning materials for KS1 and KS2.
What is now very apparent is the insight and knowledge of effective practice and dare I say it "deeper learning" that the team is gaining.
Yesterday evening at our associate CPD twilight this was very evident.In the room we had amongst us the following experience: five ex- secondary teachers, one HOD,two A'Level teachers,one languages consultant ,one leading teacher,4 primary QTS language specialists, 4 native speakers of French and Spanish,one HLTA ....
Normally we meet and discuss what comes next and what we will be using.As per usual we did look at lessons, resources and new ideas yesterday,but we are now quite clearly sharing as a team activities and strategies to encourage "deeper learning".
During the CPD session we began to informally discuss:
Each half term we hold a CPD twilight and get together to discuss where we are all up to with our primary language teaching and learning.
What is now very apparent is the insight and knowledge of effective practice and dare I say it "deeper learning" that the team is gaining.
Yesterday evening at our associate CPD twilight this was very evident.In the room we had amongst us the following experience: five ex- secondary teachers, one HOD,two A'Level teachers,one languages consultant ,one leading teacher,4 primary QTS language specialists, 4 native speakers of French and Spanish,one HLTA ....
Normally we meet and discuss what comes next and what we will be using.As per usual we did look at lessons, resources and new ideas yesterday,but we are now quite clearly sharing as a team activities and strategies to encourage "deeper learning".
During the CPD session we began to informally discuss:
- The need to make the teaching and learning of sound -spelling explicit,be it a 5 minute focus or a whole lesson learning objective.the necessity is that the children take over the investigation and learning.the need to plan for this and keep on revisiting and building on this
- The need to help children to have ownership of language learning tools to the learner(such as bilingual dictionaries)
- The need to look at written text and allow the children time to explore, so that they grow in language learning confidence
- The need to unpack language learning stage by stage so it isn't just a string of sounds, a song , a game and then that's the end of the lesson!
- The need to make progress and to encourage children to see how they can move from word, to sentence, to complex sentences to text level
- The need to track the progress the children make and the need to communicate this to the children and the class teachers
- The need to unpack grammar in a primary friendly way and to create puzzles and problem solving activities to enable the children to understand and manipulate the language and its structure.
- The need as the children grow older to make them more aware of important technical language so that they aren't frightened by this.
- The need to make links between languages to prepare children for the changes at secondary level and maybe the change in language.
- The need to allow the children to be creative in their learning and to celebrate this creativity from the manipulation of text, to original thinking or sharing ideas about language function/meaning or a performance with singing and dancing!
The CPD should last an hour but it started at 4 pm and at 5.45pm we were still sharing and discussing.What we all seemed to be acknowledging was the need to make our practise effective.We want the children to see the point and purpose of learning languages and to make progress in one language and be proud of this- ready for the next language or becoming a linguist!
Language Learning for Everyone .Second term's report
Firstly a huge thank you to absolutely everyone who has taken part or trained or supported us on this CPD journey so far!
We are delighted to say that we have secured the DFE funding for next academic year too and that these LNM CPD twilights will continue once per term in at the moment 8 different local venues throughout the next academic year.This is just one part of the CPD that we are offering as part of the DFE WTSA/JLN project.
It's time to review last term's CPD and reflect on our success, next steps and what we can do to improve the CPD.We have now reached over 500 local North West teachers and have run local network meetings each academic term this year as well as upskilling in French and Spanish and pedagogy and cross phase CPD.Each meeting is different and the size of the audience varies, but the enthusiasm,determination and commitment is obvious!
Local Network Meeting Review
We have realised that it suits teachers and schools to have the LNM CPD if possible in the first half term of an academic term.The coordinators that attend these meetings can then go back to school and plan to share and use the resources and activities effectively in the second half term.
As always the opportunity to network and share is popular.
Below are two examples of how activities we share at the CPD has an impact on the local delivery of languages in primary.The activities we share are intended to help all colleagues focus upon the ways that they can adapt and use the ideas to deliver effective language learning back in school in line with the Learning Objectives from the DFE POS.
Our carnival stretchy balloon to focus on sound spelling links proved very popular .I loved the fact that teachers at later CPD events brought their class stretchy balloons to show and share - where they had taken the original content , changed the content and created their own learning resource.Brilliant! Exactly what we hope will happen!
Here is one teacher's take on this idea- based on fantastical animals! She shared this with me at our Literacy and Phonics session in March with Julie Prince .Thank you!
The carnival triaramas to develop speaking and writing in full sentences were a great hit!
So many of your children created their own versions!Everyone reported that the not only was the activity enjoyable but you found links with culture and primary creativity.some of you felt that the activity allowed you the chance to demonstrate and collect evidence about how the children could independently say ,write and understand purposeful target language. Here is just one example of children's own work!
Language Upskilling Review
As well as our local network meetings we offer teachers from the North West the opportunity to attend CPD with our native speaker primary specialist language teachers.We have offered Beginners and Intermediate French and Spanish during Spring term.(In the first term we offered Beginners French and Spanish and Intermediate French)
Teachers take away from this CPD a year's worth of language teaching and learning resources too - for themselves and also so that they can help their staff back in school to make a start or progress.
The teachers at the sessions practise the spoken language with Emilie and Ana and then take sound files and pod casts back to school so they can listen to Ana and Emilie independently and revisit what we practise.
It's been a delight to watch Emilie and Ana grow in confidence as teacher CPD trainers! The response from the teachers at the Beginners French (delivered solo this time by Emilie) was overwhelmingly positive- a native speaker starting right from basics and making sure that the CPD is linked to effective primary practise!
Intermediate upskilling is really rewarding as teachers go away feeling confident about their understanding,use and ways to explore in a primary context nouns, adjectives and frequently used verbs in the present tense.
Below is our Cinderella and the verb "to be" dice game that we play.
Making a potion with the verb to have and animals to create our wizard allows the teachers to explore how they can use a variety of content to link grammar with a primary approach!
We delivered sessions in French and Spanish at intermediate level during Spring term.Here is a review of what we explore.
We look forward to working with colleagues next year as we roll out the second year of Beginners and Intermediate French and Spanish.Some of our colleagues have requested conversational upskilling too!
The great news is that we are now establishing a German primary sub-network too, run by one of our local colleagues,Barbara Foerster,a native German primary language teacher and teaching assistant at a local primary.Barbara has worked with us for seven years! The first informal meeting is planned for this Summer term ,so do get in touch if you would like to go along to the meeting!
Pedagogy and Cross Phase CPD
We want to bring KS2 and KS3 colleagues together.We have established dialogues with secindary schools and colleagues and Jo Gierl has begin to keep a record of her observations,conversations and reflections in her blog: JoBeeG73.
To bring primary and secondary together we are offering CPD that we feel ,has value to both primary and secondary colleagues.In Autumn term we invited Joe Dale to share his vast knowledge of APPs and technology and how we could use this as ,a shared language learning tool between stages and ages of learners.
To bring primary and secondary together we are offering CPD that we feel ,has value to both primary and secondary colleagues.In Autumn term we invited Joe Dale to share his vast knowledge of APPs and technology and how we could use this as ,a shared language learning tool between stages and ages of learners.
Cross Phase Spring Term CPD
This term we invited Julie Prince to share her vast knowledge and understanding of phonics and literacy.she helped us to look for a continuum in skills and learning activities and helped us make those links between key stages of language learning.Brilliant sessions! I say sessions because we offered either and afternoon or a twilight session to keep numbers at a level where the teachers could be really hands on and engage with the activities! This picture shows a primary and a secondary colleague learning together! Thanks Julie!
Here is my Storify report of all the wonderful activities Julie shared.Phonics and literacy in KS2- KS3 .Easing transition and JoBeeG73 wrote her own secondary blog post on the CPD too An afternoon with Julie Prince
We all received training and our developing trainers and native speakers learned so much too.Can you spot Emilie and Beatriz? If you know who they are of course!
Ensuring Primary Progress CPD
This term we ran a repeat session of "Fit for Purpose and getting started with the new DFE POS". I then delivered a more in depth and "moving on" session for coordinators on progression.
I have to say that I am always amazed by my teaching colleagues determination to make sure that primary language learning is effective and addresses the needs of the primary language learner.We have been working closely with our Warrington colleagues as a network since 2011 and before that as a Warrington network led by myself as a Primary Strategy Consultant.I think in total if you add in the years when I was a Primary Languages AST,it's actually over 14 years- if not more!
Over the course of this time we have watched some young linguists flourish and are now in the position to be able to share how we track,collect evidence across 4 skills and assess progress.Our Ensuring Primary Progress CPD was oversubscribed and we had atleast 42 delegates in what was really a small room (sorry!).
It was however a chance to consider what progress and the assessment of progress can look like in line with the new DFE POS (and without levels).
We shared ways we track and record progress.Here is a blog post on keeping a creative spoken record of progress
It was CPD that posed and raised questions and what was wonderful was that some colleagues felt confident enough to ask difficult questions and challenge ideas!
We were all learning and sharing!
It's led to us setting up a small working party to look at what and how we assess work.It's also led to colleagues being able to go away and set up activities that allow schools to make a start with primary language tracking and assessment.It meant that we were able to take a look at how the DFE POS ,the CEFR, the KS2 Framework Objectives can all dove tail together to create a more comprehensive picture of progress- even if we need longer to reflect upon best ways forward in our own school settings.
Here is one simple activity we tried to see if we could use this to demonstrate and collect evidence of progress with more advanced KS2 listeners:
This CPD will be offered again next academic year and we hope to have new elements that we can offer as follow up CPD for example to feed back from the small working party or to share ways local schools have been trialing assessment as an integral part of the classroom teaching and learning.
Making Links Abroad
We will also be offering "Making Links Abroad CPD" a second time too! Thanks to Erzsi Culshaw, Graham Butler and Odette Hunt for making this twilight CPD so effective and informative.
Teachers learned so much in a short time about Erzsi's ETwinning projects....
Opportunities to take part in Erasmus Plus CPD in the target language countries......here is Odette and PQ France
.....and ways to link classrooms and schools through funding from the British Council , through the International Schools Award, Connecting Classroom projects and global learning CPD. Thanks to Graham of course for sharing his immense knowledge!
I think it's really important to share the key CPd more widely so i have been Storifying our guest speaker events. Here is the Storify report of the session Making Links Abroad.
Once again thank you!
So my reflections as we set off in to Summer term 2015 and begin to plan for "Language Learning for Everyone" for the next academic year are:
- We need to keep sharing, and the network meetings will allow us to do this.
- We need to keep on supporting colleagues to feel more confident in their ability to deliver or reinforce a specialist teachers delivery of the target language - so we look forward to offering language upskilling next academic year.
- We need to keep moving forward,so the CPD in "Ensuring primary progress" and a possible follow up session for those that attended the CPD this March are both really necessary.
- We all need to keep learning and to keep on exploring language learning.New teacher led CPD trainers need to continue to be nurtured so that fresh approaches are shared and also the impact of projects like this are long lasting and ensure that language learning from age seven is sustainable!
- We need to keep primary language learning "primary" .Creative activities and outcomes appropriate to the age and stage of learner will remain a key focus of this project.
- We need to share our CPD and learn from others too,so links via social media- Twitter,Facebook, blog posts and You Tube are vital.
- We need to continue to strengthen our cross phase work.Languages need to be seen as a learning continuum from KS2 Y3 to KS3 Y9 and beyond.Content,context and skill development needs to be age and stage appropriate.To this end we need to be continue to offer discussion seminars and workshops to strengthen dialogue and "listening"/ "sharing" between KS2 and KS3 colleagues.
Beginning with languages blog 6
Across our network we work with schools who are all at different stages of setting up and delivering primary language learning and each year we welcome new schools who want to set off on their own individual school's language learning journey.
This year these specific
"Beginning with languages "
blogs will try to offer "bite size chunks" of indirect help and support to schools, who are doing exactly that .... just setting off and implementing a language learning curriculum
.
Take a look back at"beginning with languages" blogs
,
,
,
and
Your checklists so far have been:
Sept - Oct ,(first half term) Checklist
- It's all about establishing a whole school support system for all your staff
- It's about small steps and simple language learning
- It's about children and staff beginning to enjoy language learning
Mid October (end of the first half term), an additional new checklist bullet point!
- So how are you all getting on? How do you know that primary languages are being implemented in all the classes and are the teachers and children having fun in their learning?
November (moving in to the second half term of language learning),we added a couple of new challenges to your checklist!
- How successfully have you been able to build in "revisiting" opportunities to build the children and staff's confidence with the language you introduced last half term?
- Are you introducing,revisiting and re-using familiar games with familiar and unfamiliar language for example (e.g Bingo or Splat or maybe a game of Quiz Quiz Swap?)
- Have you encouraged all staff to practise key language using sound files and songs?
- Can all staff and children practise and learn a Christmas song or carol in the target language? (In beginning with languages blog three you can find links to You ~tube clips of a Christmas song lin French, Spanish and German
December-January (moving forward) your checklist:
- Did all your staff try out a simple listening and speaking Christmas activity based on a Christmas song?
- Have staff considered and been able to identify the links between activities we may use in KS1 when encouraging children to read and KS2 beginners language learning (sound-spelling links and activities)?
- Are KS2 staff building opportunities in to activities in the New Year to help learners to "broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words ...."- Are staff in KS2 exploring nouns with their KS2 foreign language learners?
February-March moving forward your checklist:
- Try to deliver sequences of lessons based on simple content and language learning skills
- Are your children beginning to participate on basic role play activities , asking and answering questions about themselves?
- Can the children ask a question politely and give an appropriate response?
- Can you see evidence of signage and display created by the children in the target language?
- Has school celebrated a festival or whole school event (Carnival/World Book Day) and added a target language learning or cultural element?
And now we are at the end of the Spring term?
As a coordinator or the teacher in charge of developing primary language learning in school you need to reflect on what you have achieved,no matter how small the steps are.
- School has completed two terms of language learning.What does the overall coverage picture look like now in KS2?
- What successful activities have been shared with you by other members of staff?
- Has school has begun to develop a formalised pattern of language learning.What are your next steps to build capacity and sustainabilty? For example do you need some language upskilling, pedagogy CPD input or to buy resources to support staff?
- The children have enjoyed a celebration or event where some target language and target language country culture has been explored. Can you now plan for an end of year celebration whole school focus and celebration in languages?
- Teachers have introduced the children to simple language learning based mainly so far on listening,speaking and some very basic reading and possibly writing.Can you now begin to introduce an element of story? Try using familiar stories to aid comprehension in a new target language and add an element of creative writing - a mini book, a poster, display of word art or caligrams? Here is one example that might genrate ideas of your own !Caligrams and holiday suitcases
So your next steps as you return after Easter could be ....
- Organise and lead a staff meeting/part of a staff meeting in the Summer term,where all staff can share,try out and discuss some simple games and activities that colleagues have all tried and enjoyed with their own class.
- Ask colleagues to take a learning walk around school during one staff meeting to look at target language class display and signage.Can they think of ways that they can develop new signage with the children or produce a display created by the children in the target language?
- Introduce staff to clips online of famous stories read in the target language.Discuss how they could use these in their classrooms to explore a story book.For example here are three French,German and Spanish clips of the "Hungry Caterpillar".Discuss possible spoken and written activities that the teachers could try linked directly to the video clips e,g a diary of food eaten, a card concertina model of the hungry caterpillar and alternative fruits he could eat etcetra.
- This blog post may help you as coordinator to begin to forward plan for future effective story reading in target language learning classes (in line with the DFE POS Learning Objectives). Reading in the target language is great!
In German this clip is accompanied by music
In French the children retell the story below
In Spanish the clip is quite quick so the music helps to tell the story too
Activities to take a closer look at nouns,adjectives and verbs and understand basic grammar
Below are some of the activities that we used during our Intermediate French CPD , read all about it in our storify report here
We offer intermediate French and Spanish with native speaker input and support.
If you would like to attend the CPD then you can find out more about possible events here.
We enjoyed sharing with the teachers the following sequences of activities:
Developing our listening skills:
Making progress with listening
Sound spelling links
Hunting Easter egg sounds
Nouns:
I spy nouns
Adjectives used in simple sentences (noun,verb,adjective with correct agreement)
Shape sentence jungles (Rousseau)
Verbs
The verb to be and Cinderella
Cinderella,masks and carnival time
The verb to have and a wizard's potion
The verb to have and a wizard's potion
Sorting and correcting sentence structure
Putting all your eggs in one basket
We offer intermediate French and Spanish with native speaker input and support.
If you would like to attend the CPD then you can find out more about possible events here.
We enjoyed sharing with the teachers the following sequences of activities:
Developing our listening skills:
Making progress with listening
Sound spelling links
Hunting Easter egg sounds
Nouns:
I spy nouns
Adjectives used in simple sentences (noun,verb,adjective with correct agreement)
Shape sentence jungles (Rousseau)
Verbs
The verb to be and Cinderella
Cinderella,masks and carnival time
The verb to have and a wizard's potion
The verb to have and a wizard's potion
Sorting and correcting sentence structure
Putting all your eggs in one basket
Primary Language Learning and practical primary pedagogy using the new POS 2014
Primary Language Learning and Strategic Focus for September 2014 and beyond.
So this is my final blog of the Summer term and it's all about readiness and starting off on the right foot with primary languages. How can schools build successful strategic teaching and learning focuses for the individual school/ and understand and build toward successful primary language learning embraced by the whole staff within the school?
First a little context to my ramblings ..........
This academic year the JLN subject coordinators and I have spent our coordinator CPD sessions considering how we can prepare , use and move on with the new DfE POS for KS2 primary language learning.
51 colleagues(divided in to two smaller groups ranging from established, building or just starting off schools) and I have met one afternoon per term to discuss the new POS. The new DfE POS is not so "new" now as we have had sight of this for at least 12 months ,certainly 12 months in its completed state). It's the official document from which we must all work in state education and has to support beginners , moving on and established primary and KS3 language learning school programmes.
Who should teach primary languages?
We discussed delivery and sustainability and came to the conclusion that schools find their own delivery models - in school PPA, visiting teachers, language assistants ,experienced and target language speaking HLTAs,class teachers supported by SOW and sound files etc. all of these have value and should be valued! What is key is that there must be a strategic vision in school, a long term overview, medium term planning and appropriately selected next steps are in place. why? The role of coordinator is a vital one.We felt that there is staff buy in and a collective feeling that the school values primary language learning when it is an integral part of the whole school learning programme not seen as an "add on "!
These are our conclusions (from coordinators ,young and old, experienced and new to the role, specialists and non-specialists) and we hope that they may be useful and support our schools and other networks and individual schools and teachers to develop or tweak sustainable and successful language learning models.In our opinion ,after reflection ,the POS may be brief (in amount of paper) but it is not a fluffy document.You need to look for the opportunities within it too! We know there will be other points to be raised and discussed etc but hopefully here are some good starting points!
A school vision
Firstly we took a look at the "Purpose of Study".The first sentence talks about the "liberation from insularity" !
What a phrase. We deliberated..... and then Robert (a wonderful Spanish coordinator) declared it's the "WOW" factor! It's the moment a child speaks a word in the target language for the first time or tells his/her carer/ parent about the facts s/he has learnt in school about the country etc today. For us,it's the conversations we have with target language speakers and the adventures we can have too.We felt that from here we could all begin to tweak, maintain or build our picture of the school vision from Sept 2014 onwards. This picture inspired us!
.
We identified in the paragraph core focuses for the coordinators and core challenges that needed to be unpicked back at school to create a school vision statement:
Making substantial progress,using bi-lingual dictionaries are already part of the school focus and on the agenda in lots of the schools I work with
Substantial progress makes language learning more valuable and respected in our opinion.(We aren't just singing a song or repeating numbers 1-10 ... we are going on a learning journey,often revisiting familiar language but also trying to build upon it or use it in a new way).Schools find that long and medium term planning gives them the bigger picture and allows them the opportunities to weave new activities and resources through their language learning year, still ensuring progress in content and skills.
It seems sensible and good practice to the teachers that they share with the children tools that make learning more accessible and this links so well with phonology and independent use of language. Indeed lots of the co-ordinators identified that some simple staff CPD input about pronunciation,intonation,rules of phonology in the target language and then very importantly how to use and access the bi-lingual dictionary help staff buy in as well! Stumbling blocks for staff are often not knowing where to access language and sound files, uncertainty about pronunciation or not knowing how to use a bi-lingual dictionary and as they progress not being sure about which definite article they should be using and how to find this out.Simple in- school teacher led or consultant/trainer led CPD input can allay the fear factor and then all staff can embrace to a certain level language learning!
Grammar
Grammar is a challenge not an obstacle for teachers.Once they see how it links to the need to structure sentences accurately to develop competent clear communication skills and they recognise that this is what they are already promoting in literacy then it becomes an exciting challenge.In fact I think it allows primary language learning to become more meaningful and powerful for lots of primary class teachers - it's not just a lot of words or a silly rhyme,but there is point and purpose and sometimes the teachers learn alongside the children and feel more and more confident in their use of language. I have spent a lot of this academic year creating resources and materials to explore grammar and structure appropriately and creatively with young children and can get very excited about what we really can achieve with the young learners and grammar! Again there is need for staff CPD and there is need for a guiding hand and making those links between literacy and language learning and how they are all part of exploring language and communication,which helps to remove the fear factor.
Subject Content
In considering the subject content,we had to consider also the Aims of the new POS. We found them pivotal to both the school vision, strategic planning and to the meat of the week on week lesson planning.They helped us to look at what we should access and use and how we should plan for teaching and learning activities.We saw opportunities for shared learning tools and resources across KS2 and also shared tools and approaches as pathways in to KS3 and beyond.Really important as we had already identified that we need to lay foundations for KS3 learning and that KS3 should pick up and develop further what primary have achieved.Shared learning tools could mean shared pathways to learning and knowledge of prior learning and how and why this has taken place.
Of course the co-ordinators are first and foremost teachers and so the subject content bullet point list was seen as integral to our subject content discussions on planning and progression.
Firstly we reminded ourselves that we must make sure now right from Year 3 September 2014 that there is appropriate balance of spoken and written language and that we practise with the children all four skills of listening,speaking ,reading and writing. This may seem like a big change for those of us who remember the early stage focus on listening and speaking,but ask yourself how many children need to see words and physically create words and sentences before they are internalised and can be used independently? (I have poor hearing now at 51! I am not certain I have ever had wonderful hearing but I do love languages and exploring the structure of language and definitely have always needed more than just listening and speaking to access language .)We did feel though that in the early stages there is bound to be more listening and speaking and those that teach languages as KS1 want to continue and see singing , joining in and listening and speaking as integral to that KS1 language learning.We all felt that writing must once again be planned as age and stage appropriate and that we have to find creative ways to write- in the air/ as a game writing with a finger on backs,writing in sand, using IT to record writing, "painting writing" etc.We are keen to remember as we plan for writing next term that scribing with a pen or pencil is often just the final product - what is happening inside the brain is the mechanics of writing and reading and listening are integral to how this all comes together.
The bullet pointed subject content in the POS embraces listening ,speaking ,reading , writing and grammar. Colleagues such as Clare Seccombe and Rachel Hawkes have collated and drawn up really useful lists of the five key elements on their blogs.Those of us who worked with or trained people with the KS2 Framework,know that we need to break down these lists and points into stages of learning to learn how to ....listen, speak , read, write , use structure and we identify the KS2 Framework objectives as the climbing frame upon which to achieve this. Great thing with climbing frames is you can go up,down , over the top, start again from the bottom or take a rest half way up and admire the view! We are going to try to remember that language learning skills spiral up and spiral down (very much like Maths can do) and our learners need to climb at their own best speed.
So after spending the year in CPD sessions, on email with colleagues,in meetings with local coordinators and SLT,training our local teachers and working with the associate language teachers what do I think currently about primary languages from September 2014 and the new POS? Clare Seccombe (@valleseco) asked us to describe the new POS in one word recently on Twitter and unusually for me it took me quite a while to decide upon my word but then I tweeted "opportunity".Why? We need to take this opportunity and help all the children in KS2 to become confident in their ability(at whatever level) to operate in a new target language.On Twitter recently I received this cartoon from @PatriciaDunn71
So this is my final blog of the Summer term and it's all about readiness and starting off on the right foot with primary languages. How can schools build successful strategic teaching and learning focuses for the individual school/ and understand and build toward successful primary language learning embraced by the whole staff within the school?
This academic year the JLN subject coordinators and I have spent our coordinator CPD sessions considering how we can prepare , use and move on with the new DfE POS for KS2 primary language learning.
51 colleagues(divided in to two smaller groups ranging from established, building or just starting off schools) and I have met one afternoon per term to discuss the new POS. The new DfE POS is not so "new" now as we have had sight of this for at least 12 months ,certainly 12 months in its completed state). It's the official document from which we must all work in state education and has to support beginners , moving on and established primary and KS3 language learning school programmes.
Who should teach primary languages?
We discussed delivery and sustainability and came to the conclusion that schools find their own delivery models - in school PPA, visiting teachers, language assistants ,experienced and target language speaking HLTAs,class teachers supported by SOW and sound files etc. all of these have value and should be valued! What is key is that there must be a strategic vision in school, a long term overview, medium term planning and appropriately selected next steps are in place. why? The role of coordinator is a vital one.We felt that there is staff buy in and a collective feeling that the school values primary language learning when it is an integral part of the whole school learning programme not seen as an "add on "!
These are our conclusions (from coordinators ,young and old, experienced and new to the role, specialists and non-specialists) and we hope that they may be useful and support our schools and other networks and individual schools and teachers to develop or tweak sustainable and successful language learning models.In our opinion ,after reflection ,the POS may be brief (in amount of paper) but it is not a fluffy document.You need to look for the opportunities within it too! We know there will be other points to be raised and discussed etc but hopefully here are some good starting points!
A school vision
Firstly we took a look at the "Purpose of Study".The first sentence talks about the "liberation from insularity" !
What a phrase. We deliberated..... and then Robert (a wonderful Spanish coordinator) declared it's the "WOW" factor! It's the moment a child speaks a word in the target language for the first time or tells his/her carer/ parent about the facts s/he has learnt in school about the country etc today. For us,it's the conversations we have with target language speakers and the adventures we can have too.We felt that from here we could all begin to tweak, maintain or build our picture of the school vision from Sept 2014 onwards. This picture inspired us!
We identified in the paragraph core focuses for the coordinators and core challenges that needed to be unpicked back at school to create a school vision statement:
- High quality teaching and learning
- Culture
- Preparation for future language learning
We unpicked the phrase "new ways of thinking and great literature " and with our practical hats on decided that in exploring the culture of the target language we would need to consider why and how festivals, traditions, cultural approaches,story,poems,daily routines occur in the way they do.We felt that the phrase(no longer a learning focus of language learning)"inter-cultural understanding" would still help us to explore with the children new ways of thinking and great literature.
We could see how we may want to explore the simple stories for example next year about WW1 or evacuees during WW1 and WW2 and how therefore we would need to encourage our children to empathise with circumstances and emotions that may be very unfamiliar.
We pondered long and hard over "great literature" and what that word "great " really meant. We talked a lot about all the lovely stories we have been using to colour in the learning in languages that is already taking place.
We can not throw away our story books such as "grand monstre vert" even if it is written by an american author nor can we not read "The Hungry Caterpillar" or "Going on a bear hunt" in the target language because they too are by non target language speakers. The children love these stories and it's the light bulb moments when they realise you can access, buy and read these stories in other countries and languages that is too precious! We will continue to share rhymes such as itsy bitsy spider in the various target languages with our very young learners too. we already explore authentic poetry and we know for example that we have already used poetry Jean de la Fontaine (le rat de ville et le rat de champs) in very much abbreviated form when for instance we have looked at my town your town and my house your house. We look forward to the challenge of simple poetry in the target language and building on the authentic rhymes, songs and simple poetry we already use from the target language.We want to offer the children "great " learning experiences and this will involve familiar stories and also new and exciting explorations of authentic and respected literature from the target language! We look forward to this challenge but will always try to work with texts that are learner age and stage of learning appropriate or have age and stage appropriate activities to unpack the text! During our conversations it was very clear that we are about inclusive learning and seeing all children progress in their communication skills.
Making substantial progress,using bi-lingual dictionaries are already part of the school focus and on the agenda in lots of the schools I work with
Substantial progress makes language learning more valuable and respected in our opinion.(We aren't just singing a song or repeating numbers 1-10 ... we are going on a learning journey,often revisiting familiar language but also trying to build upon it or use it in a new way).Schools find that long and medium term planning gives them the bigger picture and allows them the opportunities to weave new activities and resources through their language learning year, still ensuring progress in content and skills.
It seems sensible and good practice to the teachers that they share with the children tools that make learning more accessible and this links so well with phonology and independent use of language. Indeed lots of the co-ordinators identified that some simple staff CPD input about pronunciation,intonation,rules of phonology in the target language and then very importantly how to use and access the bi-lingual dictionary help staff buy in as well! Stumbling blocks for staff are often not knowing where to access language and sound files, uncertainty about pronunciation or not knowing how to use a bi-lingual dictionary and as they progress not being sure about which definite article they should be using and how to find this out.Simple in- school teacher led or consultant/trainer led CPD input can allay the fear factor and then all staff can embrace to a certain level language learning!
Grammar
Grammar is a challenge not an obstacle for teachers.Once they see how it links to the need to structure sentences accurately to develop competent clear communication skills and they recognise that this is what they are already promoting in literacy then it becomes an exciting challenge.In fact I think it allows primary language learning to become more meaningful and powerful for lots of primary class teachers - it's not just a lot of words or a silly rhyme,but there is point and purpose and sometimes the teachers learn alongside the children and feel more and more confident in their use of language. I have spent a lot of this academic year creating resources and materials to explore grammar and structure appropriately and creatively with young children and can get very excited about what we really can achieve with the young learners and grammar! Again there is need for staff CPD and there is need for a guiding hand and making those links between literacy and language learning and how they are all part of exploring language and communication,which helps to remove the fear factor.
Subject Content
In considering the subject content,we had to consider also the Aims of the new POS. We found them pivotal to both the school vision, strategic planning and to the meat of the week on week lesson planning.They helped us to look at what we should access and use and how we should plan for teaching and learning activities.We saw opportunities for shared learning tools and resources across KS2 and also shared tools and approaches as pathways in to KS3 and beyond.Really important as we had already identified that we need to lay foundations for KS3 learning and that KS3 should pick up and develop further what primary have achieved.Shared learning tools could mean shared pathways to learning and knowledge of prior learning and how and why this has taken place.
Of course the co-ordinators are first and foremost teachers and so the subject content bullet point list was seen as integral to our subject content discussions on planning and progression.
Firstly we reminded ourselves that we must make sure now right from Year 3 September 2014 that there is appropriate balance of spoken and written language and that we practise with the children all four skills of listening,speaking ,reading and writing. This may seem like a big change for those of us who remember the early stage focus on listening and speaking,but ask yourself how many children need to see words and physically create words and sentences before they are internalised and can be used independently? (I have poor hearing now at 51! I am not certain I have ever had wonderful hearing but I do love languages and exploring the structure of language and definitely have always needed more than just listening and speaking to access language .)We did feel though that in the early stages there is bound to be more listening and speaking and those that teach languages as KS1 want to continue and see singing , joining in and listening and speaking as integral to that KS1 language learning.We all felt that writing must once again be planned as age and stage appropriate and that we have to find creative ways to write- in the air/ as a game writing with a finger on backs,writing in sand, using IT to record writing, "painting writing" etc.We are keen to remember as we plan for writing next term that scribing with a pen or pencil is often just the final product - what is happening inside the brain is the mechanics of writing and reading and listening are integral to how this all comes together.
The bullet pointed subject content in the POS embraces listening ,speaking ,reading , writing and grammar. Colleagues such as Clare Seccombe and Rachel Hawkes have collated and drawn up really useful lists of the five key elements on their blogs.Those of us who worked with or trained people with the KS2 Framework,know that we need to break down these lists and points into stages of learning to learn how to ....listen, speak , read, write , use structure and we identify the KS2 Framework objectives as the climbing frame upon which to achieve this. Great thing with climbing frames is you can go up,down , over the top, start again from the bottom or take a rest half way up and admire the view! We are going to try to remember that language learning skills spiral up and spiral down (very much like Maths can do) and our learners need to climb at their own best speed.
So after spending the year in CPD sessions, on email with colleagues,in meetings with local coordinators and SLT,training our local teachers and working with the associate language teachers what do I think currently about primary languages from September 2014 and the new POS? Clare Seccombe (@valleseco) asked us to describe the new POS in one word recently on Twitter and unusually for me it took me quite a while to decide upon my word but then I tweeted "opportunity".Why? We need to take this opportunity and help all the children in KS2 to become confident in their ability(at whatever level) to operate in a new target language.On Twitter recently I received this cartoon from @PatriciaDunn71
Let's try to help all our young learners to explore the skills of language learning ... "speaking with increasing confidence,fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say ..... and learning how "to write at varying length ,for different purposes and audiences ". We need to combine this with the "liberation from insularity" and encourage all our children to have the confidence to develop enquiring minds that want to explore "great literature" and also understand different cultures, languages and "ways of thinking"
Time for a holiday I think - sorry for rambling on!
Nouns, definite and indefinite articles and colour card magic tricks
This last week @EWoodruffe and I have been busy training groups of
staff at individual school CPD sessions. We worked in one school
where the children in Year 4 to Year 6 are moving on in their language learning
and the staff were keen to find ways to support their growing inquisitiveness
about the grammar of the French language.
As part of the CPD we looked at nouns and how to practise knowledge
,recognition and application of definite and indefinite articles. Here are the
games, step by step. You will be able to revisit these games over and over again
as the children learn more language and hopefully this will increase the
children’s growing confidence in how to use articles before nouns.
All you need for the
games in French are six coloured paper squares to represent le ,la ,un,une, les
and des. (If you apply these games to
other languages then you will need n amount of different coloured cards to
represent the amount of definite and indefinite articles you are practising in
that specific target language)
You can reduce the number of coloured cards and still play the games if
you r focus is just on definitie and indefinite singular articles or definite and
indefinite plural articles.
Each child will need
their own sets of these coloured squares too.
We are making the assumption here that the children already
know a series of nouns within a context such as animals. The children also
already are aware that in French there are two singular definite articles and a
plural definite article and they have had exposure to the indefinite articles too . You can play the games below and go through the steps just to practise definite articles in the singular and plural or to practise the change between definite and indefinite singular articles . It's a mix and match opportunity to practise a grammatical structure :the use of definite articles "the " and indefinite articles "a/some " with nouns in the target language.
Step One
Discuss clearly with the class the noun magic trick the class have become aware of- whether this is different words for" THE"/ how to change "THE to A" in the target language or plural words for "THE and SOME" we have become aware of ….
Reveal an empty table on the flip chart.This table below has four rows and three columns…. because we are looking at the big picture and assuming that the children are ready to practise changing between singular and plural definite and indefinite articles .But why are there four rows?
Well all will be
revealed!
First we ask the class to go on a noun class hunt .In this instance we are looking for animal nouns and for three specific animal picture
cards concealed on the room . You can pretend to be explorers with language hunting binoculars and look
carefully around the classroom for cards that have been concealed e.g.
“Cherchez le serpent/la souris/les poissons”
Place the animal pictures in the second row of the table
and then remove and replace the cards when you have collected them all with the correct definite article when
the class are confident to tell the teacher the noun with the correct definite article.
Remember we were playing these games as part of staff CPD and the great thing is to have Emilie our native speaker teacher supporting too. The teachers loved hearing how Emilie is
teaching her own little boy to speak French and always says the noun with the
definite article in French when they meet new nouns together.This came about from a question by a teacher about “Well how
do children in France learn if it’s le or la?” Thanks Emilie – it’s great to
have native hands on knowledge like
that! We thought you may also like to know this and share with your children too.
So in the second row write the definite articles in
French after removing the pictures of nouns (le serpent/la souris/les poissons)
le
|
la
|
les
|
In the fourth row place the indefinite articles after discussing how you are now looking “a snake/a mouse/some horses”.
Go on your animal hunt using our imaginary binoculars…talk about
how this time you aren't specifically
looking for a specific snake etc.
As we are no longer looking for a very speicifc snake etc one of the teachers on CPD suggested that we should therefore have more
than one picture card of “le serpent” etc so that children could make a random choice not
an exact definite choice. Good idea!
Once again place your pictures on the chart,but this
time in the third row.
Remove the pictures and replace the pictures
with the correct written indefinite articles
le
|
la
|
les
|
un
|
une
|
des
|
So why have we got additional rows?
Well now we need to add our magic trick colour coded
guide! Take a look!
le
|
la
|
les
|
un
|
une
|
des
|
The colour blocks represent the article below them, green is
le , blue is la etc …..
Step Two
Practice your magic trick by checking that if “the
teacher” holds up a coloured piece of card the children can respond by calling out the
correct definite or indefinite article
Step Three
Look at a list of known nouns (e.g here our focus has been animals in French) with definite
articles, written as a list for the children.
Call a colour and the children have to select a noun that
they can use to say the correct definite/indefinite article with that noun
e.g. If “blue “ is called in the target language , then the
response from children must be a feminine noun ( noun preceded by “la”) but if brown
is called in the target language then the children’s response must be a noun in
the plural with the indefinite plural
article “ a plural noun of the animal preceded by “des”
Step Four
Make this a pair game
Call a colour pair game. Simply ask the children to practise as a game "step three" but this time in pairs.
Step Five
Show a colour, say a colour and can a child give you a full
sentence with a correct article and noun?
Step Six
Make this a pair or group game
Simply play step five as a pair or group game .
Step Seven
Ask the children to order their coloured paper squares in
any order they wish and to challenge a partner to say animals with the correct
definite/ indefinite article in the order that has been arranged with the
coloured squares for them by their partner.
Step Eight
Ask the children to play last article standing.
They just
select a coloured square and stand up holding the square clearly in front of
them. The teacher selects one of his/her coloured cards from a bag and says a
noun which has a corresponding definite or indefinite article before it .
If the
children are holding the coloured square that corresponds to the definite
/indefinite article that the teacher has used,they must sit down. Who will be
the last children standing?
Step Nine
Play the game above as a table game.
Make this a pair or group game
Teachers at the CPD session felt that over time they could confidently grow n their own competent use of definite and indefinite articles by playing and practising the games and steps with their classes- not necessarily all the steps at one time or all the definite and indefinite articles singular and plural at one time.
We felt that over and over again we can come back to these
simple games and play some or all of them to reinforce children and teacher
knowledge of definite and indefinite articles with nouns.
Hope you find these steps and simple games useful too!
CPD and food for thought on primary language teaching and learning
So what did we learn yesterday at the conference?(JLN2014)
Well ....
Well ....
- First and foremost the importance of networking and working together and having strategic direction to support us.
- We have networks within networks but they are all held together and moving forward. We are fortunate enough for example to have networks of language learning teachers, networks of subject coordinators, some cluster networks,associate language assistant and teacher networks and schools.....
- Teachers need to meet , to share ,to listen , to learn . Yesterday demonstrated this so clearly.Emails this morning say how great it was to go away with practical ideas, to have taken a different look at an area that already exists in school or is a new challenge and to have met familiar faces and new friends.
- There is a great deal of good practice and knowledge out there around primary language learning that when it comes together in one place can allow everyone to see the bigger picture.
- The power of social media to share with colleagues who couldn't be at the event but can take a close look at the event and follow the strands of the conference back in school
- Teachers take ideas and make them their own- again this morning the emails say that teachers are thinking of ways to use Clare's mini-books, are already trying out Julie's phonics ideas, want to share with their class Emilie's two selected APPs for speaking and have practised Joanne's warm up greeting song in French, Spanish and tried to put it in German!
The big picture to take away from the conference:
- Song ,games and short burst activities keep all the children engaged and allow us to practise and revisit familiar language and build children's language knowledge.
- Songs are engaging for all ages and stages. It's what,how and why you use them in your lessons that matters.Delivery , joining in and performance bring them to life and make them stay in the memory!
- Phonics play a huge role in the development of both children and staff's confidence to be able t work with an unfamiliar target language
- Phonics should be a shared learning approach throughout KS2 and also in our schools where we teach languages in KS1
- Phonics is a one of the major keys to unlocking the reading code of a target language and helping to solve the mystery of |"I am no good at languages!"amongst teachers and children
- Physicality in learning and the use of drama and mime allow children to operate in a target language beyond repetition for repetition's sake
- Time to try, talk and share is paramount to disseminating good practice
- Teachers do focus on reading and writing and should b be encouraged to look for creative ways to read and write and this is not always reading authentic literature or writing the word down
- Creative written outcomes such as mini books lend themselves to whole class activities ,imaginative use of simple target language sentences and a focus by each individual child on basic grammar
- Teachers and children love story books that are engaging with great graphics ,well designed, have purpose,link to the learning content and contexts, lead to creative outcomes and can be read again and again!The raffle prizes had purpose below .. as each book links to a context and content that teachers will plan to teach next year and guess what they can share their teaching and learning at a Spring network meeting!
- APPs can make a difference to children's accuracy in speaking and writing, when they are chosen for a real and specific reason and the outcome is a quality product that can be shared and revisited. APPs can support teachers to encourage children to maximise potential in a target language.
- Using clips that are available to us on the internet to bring a city or a place to life for the children such as Emilie's virtual tour of Paris, add interest and purpose and a deepening understanding of the target language country at an age appropriate level.
Food for thought for myself and maybe for others about the future of primary language teaching and learning and the workforce we need to engage to achieve this.
- Yesterday at the conference there were colleagues who speak a foreign language well , are native speakers , have a degree in languages,were trained as specialist primary languages teachers, have an interest in languages,are keen to promote languages in their own schools, are improving their own language,identify their own strengths and weaknesses in a foreign language
- Each colleague was there because s/he has an identified role in school to deliver effective primary languages. Each of them was engaged, looking for own next steps, found support from colleagues, engaged in healthy debate about best next steps and left the conference with a positive next step in mind.
- Primary languages is about engaging the whole community of learners no matter what level or experience they have in language learning and allowing individuals to thrive with as much support as they need to do so.
- Networks within networks, support for everyone,clear goals and achievable next steps all come to my mind .... helping everyone to feel that they can be part of and contribute to the agenda and providing them with the building blocks to succeed.
