11 ways to include dictionary skills in Primary Languages

Kate hosts a Languages leadership twilight every half term to PLN members

At our most recent Leadership twilight, we looked at the most effective ways to introduce and embed dictionary skills.  As Attainment Target 9 says, pupils should be using dictionaries to ‘broaden their vocabulary and deepen their ability to understand new words’. So, if the attainment targets say it, we must do it, right? But who uses an actual dictionary anymore? Don’t we all just google?! I’m being facetious of course (hmm facetious/fasecious…just let me google how to spell that). 

OK, so it turns out an online dictionary tool is much faster and let’s face it, saving time in lessons is all good.  I would recommend www.wordreference.com as a quick look up tool for the primary languages classroom.  People also recommend www.reverso.net to me.  What these two sites do is present words as though they were in a physical dictionary: word class is denoted (noun, adjective, verb); the gender of the noun is clarified (masculine, feminine, neuter); examples of the word in context are given; other words in the same word family and synonyms. I would probably advise against relying on Google Translate – it can be fine for the odd word but when phrases and sentences and punched in, all manner of inaccurate translations are offered which take a much higher linguistic knowledge to spot. (We’ve all seen the Google Translate parodies on You Tube, haven’t we?)

So whether online or physical, most of us would agree that being able to use a dictionary effectively is a skill we want our pupils to master, expanding vocabulary and promoting curiosity about language, and there are several tried and tested ways below to do this:

1. Allow time to explore

When first introducing a dictionary, allow time for children to explore it. This might be in Stage 2 (second year of language learning) or maybe even at the end of Stage 1 (although glossaries and word banks may be more appropriate here…more on these later) Ask children what they notice after five to ten minutes exploration. Firstly, it is two books in one! Janet Lloyd saw a great trick in a school once where the teacher marked the middle of a bilingual dictionary with a post-it note. Children then worked out if they had a Spanish word and they needed to find the English, they had to look in the first section and vice versa for the second. So maybe establish this post-it rule. Bilingual dictionaries have an intriguing middle section with loads of word lists on many different topics and some fascinating cultural info too. Pupils may spot the abbreviations like m/f/ adj/v What could these mean? If children are familiar with an English dictionary, they may recognise these as the ‘word class’ but the concept of noun gender (masculine or feminine, plus neuter in German) may be new to them. 

2. Model how to use a dictionary

It is probable that children do not see parents and carers using a physical dictionary at home today and we cannot expect them to know how to do it straight away. Lauren Boon (PLN network member and coordinator) uses her class visualizer or webcam to show and talk through the process of looking up a word. Consider the fact that some children may not have alphabetical order embedded yet so they will need practice in selecting the correct half of the dictionary, scanning through the alphabetised pages, skimming down the pages to find the word they need. 

3. Use to teach new vocabulary

Language detectives!

Lauren also cleverly uses dictionaries to teach a new set of vocab! At the start of a topic, she will present the new vocabulary in a word bank or knowledge organiser without the English translation for the children themselves to look up. This means one lesson less to teach by combining dictionary skills with exploring new words.

4. A last resort

Children need to know that using a dictionary is a last resort in the list of ‘language detective skills’.  There are several other strategies before picking up a dictionary such as thinking what you know already, using knowledge of cognates/semi-cognates and using the context to make educated guesses.  Children should be instructed that they don’t need to know every word in a sentence or extended text to understand its meaning. They need to know not to look up tiny words like un/une (a) as they won’t add to meaning. There is also a real skill in knowing if the word you found is the word you need. For example, if looking up the word bat, be careful you select the right kind of bat (the animal or the thing used to hit the ball in cricket) The word sweet could be a noun or an adjective. Both will be in the dictionary but pupils will need to be selective.  They will also meet false friends (words which disguise as cognates but have other meanings).  So having that critical eye when looking at a foreign word’s context and knowing when to look up a word to be doubly sure is important. 

5. Glossaries and word banks

As mentioned before, differentiated glossaries/word banks or knowledge organisers may be less time-consuming and overwhelming as an effective research tool for Lower Key Stage 2.  You can make these yourself, presenting a list of the key vocabulary needed for the task or topic in alphabetical order and choosing whether to add the abbreviations such as v, adj, m/f depending on the age and stage of the class. 

6. Practise the skill of using a dictionary

Every so often, dedicate part of a lesson to practising dictionary skills such as skimming and scanning, being selective with word choice, looking up a list of words which all start with the same letter.  Speed challenges in mixed-ability pairs or teams go down very well!  As it is a skill in itself, I personally allow dictionaries to be used in assessments.  You’ll find most of the PLN Puzzle It Out assessments say to use a bilingual dictionary in one of the tasks to assess this skill.   

7. Reinforce GAPs

As a year 6 class teacher, I am really keen to make reference to grammatical terms in MFL lessons (noun, adjective, verb, etc) as they reinforce all the work done in English grammar lessons.  Even the term ‘term’ can sometimes be confusing for children so to hear it referred to often, helps make those links.

8. Dictionary detectives

I Spy Nouns and dictionary detective activities make dictionary work fun.  I Spy Nouns works well in pairs (You can find the picture sheets online). Partner A looks up one of the words pictured and writes the translation in the target language on a whiteboard. Partner B looks up this word reading from A’s board and writes it in English. Both colour the picture and choose another to look up. Points can be scored for how many words have been looked up by the end of an allotted time.  Extend this challenge by looking up an adjective or verb associated with one of the pictures or by providing a sheet with images all starting with the same letter (spider, snake, snail…). 

9. Inclusion

Lauren Boon also says that the act of looking in a dictionary can work as a self-regulating activity for children she teaches who have ASD and other learning needs. If a child is struggling to engage in the class activity, offer a bilingual dictionary as way of focusing their attention on an individual task or even just a browse through the words and pictures – they are still engaging with language.  For more able and native speaker children, a bilingual dictionary should always be on hand in order to challenge them to broaden their word choice beyond the key vocabulary taught in the session.   

10. Creative writing

I just love the potential of primary languages in PLN’s ‘Rainbow of Love’ or the Mother’s Day poem where children can make use of dictionaries to look up unfamiliar words to add to their writing.  Both of these lessons allow children to use a repeated set of phrases (I see… and You are like….) but to change the way they end e.g. I see hope, I see courage and You are like the golden sun, you are like the flowers.  The result is children writing figuratively in the target language! Another simple yet effective idea is to write a series of antonyms with the greetings Bonjour___Au revoir ___ looking up two words with opposite meanings to fill the gaps. 

11.  Beat the teacher!

Lastly, never underestimate the power of a child finding out something that you, as the teacher, did not know.  Steve Eardley allows his classes to look up additional vocab based on their current topics which they think he will not know.  And a spontaneous idea by a pupil at tidy-up time in my class prompted children to challenge me to translate the words they found. They were equally impressed with the words I did know as they were humbled by how many they were teaching me!

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To book one of our trainers for a twilight or full day session for your school or Trust, get in touch with sylvia@primarylanguages.network

Kate Percival runs MFL consultancy sessions for co-ordinators which can run virtually and can cover areas such as: starting out with primary languages in your school, putting together coordinator documentation, preparing for an MFL deep dive, and looking for the next challenge. You will be given a full report of the discussion which includes working points and this can be shared with your Headteacher.  Also included is a shorter catch-up session at an agreed future date where we can celebrate progress made and support with anything further. 

If you would like to book Kate for a consultancy session, contact sylvia@primarylanguages.network

For more info and booking click on the link below

What makes an effective languages lesson

PLN HQ Reading through questions

What makes an effective language lesson?

We received a very good question at PLN HQ last week, ‘What makes an effective languages lesson?’

Amidst the swirl of new information, resources, ideas, and concepts, we thought a discussion over what is actually required of Primary Languages at a principle level is required.

What does effective mean?

Before discussing what compiles of an effective languages lesson in Primary schools, it is important to establish what effective means. Without diving too deep into this, essentially an effective lesson should be moving you towards your long-term ambitions with primary languages.

At PLN, we have a firm stance that we are trying to create a solid foundation of lifelong language learning, past GCSE and well beyond. We want to build children’s curiosity in foreign languages, develop language learning skills and overall enjoyment of the subject. Therefore our lessons and schemes reflect and promote this.

Nurturing these ideas are paramount for a successful languages lesson, and should all contribute to the idea of an effective languages lesson. Below are some useful suggestions.

Retention, retention, retention

Learning a language requires consistent, and layered practice. That means revisiting key topics frequently through learning. Assuming that all children will learn, and then retain the information provided in a lesson is wildly optimistic, therefore planning for forgetting is paramount, therefore some form of retention practice is paramount. At PLN we like to introduce this in the start of the lesson, and it could be found in in the design of a ‘Go fetch!’ retrieval question, or a phonic/ listening activity. The principle is to practice what you have practiced, and to practice frequently enough to remember it.

Teach at the right level and focus on the fun

Students, classes, and schools will move at different speeds through schemes of languages depending on; demographic; bilinguals/ second language at home; interest in languages; school drive for languages; coordinator understanding; teacher understanding, and many, many more reasons. You can’t control these variables, but you can control what and how you teach languages.

Your role as a coordinator and teacher is not to achieve the last module of languages of the scheme of work you have chosen to teach but to provide students with the right content at the right time, have fun and promote language learning.

Languages is not assessed like Maths or English and primary school, and therefore does not need to be taught like so. Focus on fun, engagement, and pitch content at the right level, without the pressure of feeling the need of pushing the level up. Focus on quality of learning, a rich curriculum and enjoyment levels in the class. Take regular student and teacher surveys, find out if your school is enjoying the challenge of learning a language or not.

In simple terms, make sure what you are teaching is at the right level for your class. Don’t be afraid to turn it down a notch

Don’t be afraid to sing

Greetings song from the video lesson scheme of work

I’d be the first to accept some level of anxiety when it comes to singing in front of a class, especially in another language. But, unfortunately for me (and some of you) songs are a highly effective way of getting languages into your children’s heads, and sticking. So, let go of your ego, embrace your indie (out of tune) style of singing, and get your class singing. PLN recommends using the greetings song as a start to most, if not all languages lessons.

If singing really isn’t your thing, then ‘stickability’ should be a key focus, find something else you can do, frequently that will help language stick. It could be games, actions, or many more techniques to make sure that the language doesn’t leave just after it has arrived.

Learn something new

We learn numbers 11-15 after learning 1-10 earlier in the year

Without stating the obvious, the aim of every lesson is to learn something new. It could be new vocab, understanding of grammar, phonetic or sound, cultural understanding or geographical concept. Students should be gaining more information about the language they are learning on a weekly basis, and this should be measurable. You should see a difference in what students know over the long term, if you aren’t, you probably need to get that sorted out. At PLN, we like to layer progress over a long period time, although we teach a lot of new vocab, it isn’t paramount and instead focus on developing a greater understanding of the language as a whole over the 4 years of learning, in all areas of potential learning.

Emilie, the Video2Teach star, swears by the motto

‘Achieve the learning objective, and move on’

Keep it simple and achieve learning every lesson. It doesn’t need to a be a lot, but enough.

Play games

A memory game found on the SoW

As previously established, retention should be a key focus, and playing games really is an awesome way of practicing without feeling like you are practicing, so, find yourself games that work with your students, that also promote learning languages. If you are a PLN member you have the benefit of using all the classroom based games introduced through the schemes of work, or on the interactive games page. Either way, games are your friend with languages, and every lesson should have a game in, figure out what your class like to do, and do it until they are bored of it, then switch to another game type.

Lean into a certain skill

Every lesson should be weighted more towards one skill of learning a language s(speaking/ listening/ reading/ writing). In an ideal world we would have 30 mins each lesson to spend on each skill, and make equal progress every lesson. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, so instead, teach lessons which focus on one of the skills and balance it out over a term, it doesn’t mean you can’t do bits of each, instead focus on a certain one. In fact it is actually quite difficult to some skills without the other, for example writing without reading or speaking without listening.

We are not saying don’t focus on all skills, but instead taking a long term process to building all 4 skills to learning a language. Schemes like ours already has this built in perfectly for you

Here is the opinions of some others at the company

Last but not least native speaker exposure

Phonics and native speaker exposure are real strengths of the Video2Teach scheme of work

At the very bare minimum children should be exposed to listening to a native speaker in the language being taught. The ideal situation is to have a native speaker teaching the lesson, but this isn’t always realistic. A middle ground of video interaction with native speaker is where we recommend. And through the video2teach scheme of work is our best alternative. It is essential to see how native speakers use their mouths to create sounds, and also to see what words they will use in certain situations. Watching native speakers talk is a wonderful way to imitate and adopt the language

Here is what Primary Languages consultant Kate Percival thinks about effective languages lessons….

Children having fun, being engaged in the learning, and feeling they can achieve are all key in making language lessons effective in my opinion.  I find songs and rhymes make language memorable – even if you put the words or phrases you’re learning to a rhythm or tune yourself! You can play around with the dynamics: speed up, slow down, add actions.  I always find pupils are more engaged if the activities are pacy and sometimes, the simpler the activity the better! Yet, a safe culture where ‘it’s OK to make mistakes’ also allows all children to feel they can participate and make progress. Another tip is to try and squeeze out every opportunity to use the target language. For example, scoring a game using target language numbers, allowing to accept ‘help’ from friends in an activity but only in the target language, greetings and asking: ‘how are you?’ or saying ‘I’ve finished’ gives communication a real-life purpose. 

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Be Proud of your Primary Languages

At PLN we want you to be proud of your primary languages. We have schemes of work which is tailored to all teaching ability, from the ground up! We also pride ourselves on our training and support and have everything in place to support yourself and your teachers

To gain more information about PLN and its Schemes of work, why not try us out! Click on the button below to have a free trial of resources and receive emails with info and access

Languages on display

Insights from a Primary MFL Consultant

I’m Kate Percival, a primary teacher and MFL consultant here at Primary Languages Network. In this blog series, I’ll be sharing top tips and inspirational ideas from the schools and coordinators I’ve been working with. Read on to find out more.

Passionate about languages

Michael Drayton Junior School have been longstanding members of Primary Languages Network and it was a pleasure to catch up with their MFL coordinator Steve Eardley for a PLN one-to-one consultancy session.

Steve is pleased with the way both the Premium Plus and Click2Teach Schemes of Work are working in parallel at his school.  Steve has responsibility for teaching the Spanish throughout the 5-form junior school and so makes less use of the video lessons himself as he feels supported to deliver using the Click2Teach PowerPoints and resources. The beauty is that when other members of staff cover language lessons, the Premium Plus video lessons become an invaluable tool, especially for non-specialists.

We discussed that in his role, it is important that the class teachers themselves are aware of where the children are at in their learning. This can be a quick in-person chat or email each week and, what’s nice is, this is where you can pass on a little 5-minute recall task for the children to practise before their next session. We talked about maybe nominating a couple of Language Ambassadors in each class whose job is (amongst others) making sure that the task - which could be a short game or song - is slotted into the school day for that all-important recall practice. 

Book work

We discussed written work and Steve explained that the children’s Spanish workbooks follow them up through the school from Y3 to Y6. This is a great way of demonstrating progress in writing during the four years of KS2. Also, the children can use their books to retrieve language and learning from previous years which is what I think workbooks should be about.  Steve agreed that the best way of ‘marking’ work is by discussing any errors or misconceptions either at the time or at the start of the following week.  Steve was very proud that the culture of ‘it’s OK to make mistakes’ is firmly established in lessons which gives children permission to have a go and not to worry if it isn’t quite right.  Also included in books were half termly Puzzle It Out assessments in all four skill areas (listening, speaking, reading and writing).  Steve explained that he chooses to do the writing task slightly earlier - just after the children have covered the content - as it makes assessing more manageable and the children feel more confident that they can achieve.  I love it when subject coordinator feel empowered to adapt PLN ideas to best suit their school and context – that shows real leadership.

Languages on display

Steve uses stickers for rewarding effort in lessons and for those showing language detective skills. PLN also has language detective certificates saved with every lesson which can be printed and awarded to children.  A nice idea if you teach many children per week is to print and even laminate much smaller versions of the certificates so you have a stock ready to hand out.  These make great bookmarks or can go home and be proudly displayed on the kitchen fridge or a bedroom wall, encouraging discussion at home about what the children have learnt in Spanish. 

Steve has managed to gain a regular slot in the school newsletter promoting a Spanish ‘Word of the Week’ (upskilling the school office staff at the same time!) Another spotlight on language comes on the ‘Star Board’ in school where a ‘Linguist of the week’ is proudly displayed with a mention in Year Group assembly too. 

Steve has taken the idea of displaying children’s Spanish work to a new level and we are a real fan of this idea here at PLN: a whole-school year-long display of work which tracks progress and experience from Y3 to Y6.  What a fantastic snapshot of language learning at the different stages of KS2!

Whole-school year-long display of writing in Spanish - Michael Drayton Junior School

Michael Drayton Junior School has recently been awarded the Primary Languages Development Award which is testament to Steve’s passion to drive Spanish forward in the school and fly the flag for his subject for all to see – congratulations Steve!

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MFL consultancy sessions can run virtually or in person and can cover areas such as: starting out with primary languages in your school and putting together coordinator documentation, preparing for an MFL deep dive or looking for the next challenge. You will be given a full report of the discussion which includes working points and this can be shared with your Head teacher.  Also included is a shorter catch-up session at an agreed future date where we can celebrate progress made and support with anything further. 

If you would like to book Kate for a consultancy session, click the button below or contact sylvia@primarylanguages.network

Simply ‘get them writing’ with Rainbow Writing

Making writing mathematical

An example of rianbow writing frame used on PLN

I have always struggled when writing and understanding concepts regarding the writing process in both English and other languages, I have a relatively low attention span towards books and writing in general. Simply, I struggle to see what others can on the page, get impatient, and then completely stop from frustration. I just want to get on with the task, I want to practice reps.

I do, however, have a very mathematical brain, and remember enjoying doing sheets upon sheets of maths problems whilst at school, and being intensely engaged in the process of solving the problems on the page.

I wanted to create a writing frame that allowed myself, and therefore others like me, to see the maths behind writing in other languages. Simplifying the concept of writing to just putting colours in the right order of the rainbow allows students to get on with it, get writing sentences, and get writing them correctly.

Hence rainbow writing, we have split each part of the sentence in the order of the rainbow, students must select one from each of the colours to build their own sentences. Above you can see an example of a rainbow writing frame

At the primary level, students don’t need to understand why the red goes before the orange, just that they do. By using this concept, it takes out all of the heavy work done by the teacher in explaining why something appears on the page as it does, instead we just get on with writing, getting the reps in.

Instead of switching off, we just get on with it.

I also wanted to show students clear pathways that they can take, with examples (as seen in the picture). Completely clarifying the writing process. It’s just a simple equation to solve, over and over again.

It is widely believed in literature that imitating is the first/ lowest level of learning a skill or a language (see picture on the right), this is exactly what rainbow writing is. It is no different from imitating an accent, a trait, or a movement. Low student understanding but accurate production and end result.

Examples of work

Below are two examples of work produced by a year 6 class, the teacher said:

‘They’re a very able group but there are a few weaker pupils who sometimes struggle to keep with the others and they all had a really good go at this’

The impact rainbow writing can makes

I’m going to leave you with this passage, it was written by a PLN associate teacher, native French speaker and highly experienced in secondary and primary languages. I would paraphrase it, but I can’t take anything out

‘Hi Will. I d just like to share some thoughts about pln rainbow sentences that might be of interest: I would describe all the pln rainbow sentences activities at all stages in the new sow as purely magical.

As a mum to a child who was born with a severe genetic language disability, I know that for some children, ordering a sentence so that it makes sense is a huge challenge and a constant uphill struggle, whether it be in spoken or written form. For any kid with a language disorder or disability, traditional grammar and teaching do not make sense. Those with severe difficulties learn how to speak through a completely different code that involves shapes and colours. To my daughter, an adj is a cloud, whilst a subject noun is an oval or an object name is a rectangle. If it’s animate, it’s orange, if it’s inanimate, its green. Her brain is filled with shapes and colours and that s what makes sense. I do not teach her french, but I know rainbow sentences would make perfect sense to her and would help her learn. I have indeed noticed that in st peters where there is a big cohort of speech and lang sen kids, those very children excel at rainbow sentences. They love doing them and more importantly, they CAN do them without support. And THAT to me is the magic. So often those kids with special needs are made to learn like the norm with a system that does not work for them; so once in a while, doing smth aimed at them and teaching in a way that appeals to all but particularly supports the ones who struggle more is amazing. PLN has created magic with these as far as I’m concerned because the colours create the sparkle of understanding and recognition in those children, and the rainbow is the bridge that they need to link what does not make sense to what does. They can visualise it all and the sentence suddenly comes alive and has real meaning. Pure magic.

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This resource is just one of many resources we use at PLN to make language learning easier for all students. At Primary Languages Network we hear awesome stories of successes in schools that use our resources every day. We are passionate about keeping languages fun for students and staff and have schemes of work available to support even the most scared of teachers. If you are curious, why not sign up for a free trial of our video lesson scheme of work, taught by native speaker and experienced teachers.

Easy and effective tracking

Insights from a Primary MFL Consultant

I’m Kate Percival, a primary teacher and MFL consultant here at Primary Languages Network. In this blog series, I’ll be sharing top tips and inspirational ideas from the schools and coordinators I’ve been working with. Read on to find out more.

Inspirational work at Inspire!

I recently visited Inspire Academy in Manchester and discussed many aspects of their languages provision which is coordinated by MFL Lead Samantha Poole. Here is just a snippet of what we discussed. 

‘Floor books’ for showcasing

Samantha showed me some wonderful ‘floor books’ which showcased examples of work in listening, reading, writing, cultural experience and cross-curricular learning. They included photographs of games taking place in language lessons - a great way to evidence whole-class activities.  We talked about big books complementing the work shown in pupils’ workbooks, which will demonstrate progress made by individuals, especially if the same book is continued throughout the school.  Always a good idea to keep a couple of books back at the end of the year in case you are asked for evidence at the start of the Autumn term!

At-a-glance tracking and assessment

Traffic light tracking

Also included in the floor books was a really smart way of assessing pupils against each lesson objective.  A chart of children’s names down the side with lesson objectives across the top allowed teachers to use a straight-forward traffic light system to dot green, amber or red against each child’s name.  This is done across all subjects at the school straight after the lesson and provides a time-efficient way of building up a snapshot of assessment on one A4 page – brilliant! .   It is always great to see coordinator’s use their initiative when it comes to their subject, making it work for their school context. 

Supporting staff

Staff teach 30/40 minutes MFL lessons using the Click2Teach scheme of work and feel supported by the resources and CPD on offer from their PLN membership.  We discussed how language learning can be embedded into daily school life more and I shared the new Classroom Instructions PowerPoint (available in French and Spanish on the VLE) which contain audio files to support non-specialists. I suggested emailing colleagues with one phrase per week so that over time both teachers and pupils can build up their bank of instructions and saying and hearing them throughout the school day. Simple is often most effective when it comes to introducing something new to routine and can have huge benefits when done regularly for improving MFL recall.   Colleagues will also appreciate it if you drip-feed support and advice rather than overloading them at the beginning of term with your wishes!

As a relatively new school, Inspire certainly inspired me with some modern ways of thinking.  But what shone through was Samantha’s passion to support both children and colleagues in driving MFL forward in her school. 

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MFL consultancy sessions can run virtually or in person and can cover areas such as: starting out with primary languages in your school and putting together coordinator documentation, preparing for an MFL deep dive or looking for the next challenge. You will be given a full report of the discussion which includes working points and this can be shared with your Head teacher.  Also included is a shorter catch-up session at an agreed future date where we can celebrate progress made and support with anything further. 

If you would like to book Kate for a consultancy session, click the button below or contact sylvia@primarylanguages.network

5 unusual signs of effective languages coordination

Will Lloyd- PLN Director

As director of Primary Languages Network, I have worked with, talked to and trained hundreds (if not thousands) of languages coordinators. I have visited primary schools from every corner of the country and observed coordination from every step of the journey.

I have observed the good, the bad and the ugly. From whole school languages day fiestas, to parent complaints about Spanish being taught after a certain political decision.

At PLN, we have the privilege of seeing awesome action being taken in primary schools to promote language learning. I see passionate individuals fight their corner in the school, only to be left feeling that things still aren’t going so well in regards to languages.

In this post, I have highlighted 5 signs that indicate languages provision may be going better than you think…

1.      Staff enjoy teaching languages

Hitting you with a big one right out of the gates. Do your staff look forward to teaching languages? Do they tell you of something exciting in their lesson? Do you have an open dialogue with your staff regarding languages? Have you trained your staff, or been given time to train staff? If this is the case, then you are doing something right.

Whether or not the lessons they are providing are of the highest quality in terms of phonics/ grammar or literacy, if staff are enjoying languages, then its more than likely that your students are as well. And isn’t that what we are trying to promote in primary school language learning after all?

Of course, we should be looking at improving languages provision, but not at the cost of enjoyment. Have you done a staff survey? Have you done a student survey? Have you done a parent survey? Find out if they are enjoying their language learning, and if not, try to change that. Are you teaching the wrong language? Are you using a redundant scheme? Are your staff confused by what is needed to be taught?

All of these questions can’t be answered on your behalf, but the answer isn’t too far away from being found

2.      Students say hello to you in another language

Are your school walks accompanied by the sound of’ Warringtonian’ 10 year olds shouting ‘Hola!’ Or ‘Bonjour’? If the answer is yes, then you obviously are encouraging students to express their interest in languages. You have provided a positive environment in which students feel confident enough to sound different to others in the corridor.

 It also is a key indicator of the whole school appreciation of languages. I’m pretty confident that if you answered yes to this point, you will have also answered yes to at least one of these questions as well :

Do teachers do their registers in another language? Do you conduct languages days? Do you have regular meetings with SLT? Do you have a school languages challenge?

3.      ‘Expected progress’ isn’t occurring

Yes, you heard it right, if you have spotted that your students aren’t quite up to the curriculum you have chosen (especially UKS2), then there is a good chance you are coordinating effectively.

Nearly all schools that join the network at PLN, start off by realizing that their Y6 class is nowhere near Stage 4 on our scheme of work. Like learning anything, you must start…at the start. It doesn’t matter if you are 8 or 80 years old, if you haven’t learnt Spanish before, you will not know any Spanish.

When coordinators realize that it isn’t essential for all students to be making ‘expected progress’, there is an evident weight being lifted off their already burdened shoulders.

This equally takes some of the pressure off  teaching staff, as everybody in the school can start from a lower level, allowing the whole school to learn and develop together

This doesn’t mean that in the long term your school won’t make excellent progress (if planned for properly). It just means, that right now, you have identified that your school isn’t making expected progress. This information isn’t to be hidden or cried over. Instead, identify it in your next plan and use it to inform your next decision.

It is more than likely that if you can identify that your school isn’t where it needs to be, that you have a clear understanding of what is required and have performed assessments or checks to realize this. And that, is excellent coordination.

4.      Evidence of work isn’t perfect

I have spoken with many schools worried about the quality and quantity of evidence of work. Worried about accents, spelling mistakes and even paper not being cut correctly.

They are just kids, remember. Any evidence of work from your students is invaluable. Mistakes are fantastic. They show students are really pushing themselves to produce work, and it shows they really are completing it as well.

Yes of course, we want students to take care in their work, especially display work, but what if your class managed to memorise a tongue twister (see example below) one lesson and you were too worried to record it due to a word not being said correctly. You are missing out on so much to show off by worrying about the perfect. Instead, encourage your teachers, and yourself to show off any and all language learning that has been performed with care, enjoyment and interest.

In the Premium Plus videos lessons this week, Year 6 warmed up with a tongue twister 🤪lots of fun and excellent practice of tricky sounds in French (s and ch sounds and all the vowels too) @network_primary pic.twitter.com/Oqp8CyPH6H

— Emilie Woodroffe (@EWoodroffe) January 24, 2022

Don’t be afraid to present this on your website, in the form of pictures, audio files, videos etc. Put it in scrapbooks, use QR codes around the school, take pride in the learning that goes on in your school, irrelevant of its apparent quality or quantity. Remember that learning should be fun, and that doesn’t always mean perfect.

5.      Your languages day planning keeps you from sleeping

Its 2am, and you still have got 50 fake airplane ticket to laminate before you get to aldi first thing to pick up your mini-croissant delivery. You are wondering to yourself why on earth you are doing this.

If this is you, I want you to stop and appreciate the position you have been gifted. If you have the permission to conduct a languages day/ half day/ parents session, then something is going right in your school.

It means SLT and school staff actually care and want to promote language learning in your school. In the short-term, this may have detriment to your sleep and stress cycles, but, it is an opportunity to get the school buzzing about languages. Why not ask a keen TA or member of staff to help you, then next year maybe another. You want your school to see language learning like you do, and there’s no better way to do it than a languages day.

There are many schools that do not support languages days, so believe me when I say, if you are doing one, you are one of the lucky few! So embrace it, make it amazing and inspire your students (and teachers!) for a year of learning languages.

So there you have it, 5 signs, that you may not have thought of, that show good coordination of language learning. Celebrate them!

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At Primary Languages Network we support every one of our schools through helping them achieve effective coordination. We hear awesome stories of successes in schools every day. We are passionate about keeping languages fun for students and staff and have schemes of work available to support even the most scared of teachers. If you are curious, why not sign up for a free trial of our video lesson scheme of work, taught by native speaker and experienced teachers.

Rudolph And Your Nose So Bright: Christmas Guessing Game

These pictures of Rudolph make for a fantastic simple guessing game with a Christmas twist. To get a copy of this image, click on it to enlarge and then right click to ‘Save as…’ to get a copy on your device. Continue reading to discover this festive activity.

What you will need

One per child of a cut-out Rudolph

Three larger versions of any colour Rudolphs, made into finger puppets

Activity

Ask the class to greet the first Rudolph puppet you show them, and to ask him how he is feeling. Respond as if you are Rudolph.

Ask the children the colour of Rudolph's nose. Can the class guess the colour of the nose of the other two finger puppets you have made?

Now set up a simple game for the children, based on ‘Knock, Knock, Who’s There?’. The child with the Rudolph to be guessed says the phrases in italics, and the child who is doing the guessing says the alternate parts.

In French, we are going to say: 

Toc, toc, toc!

Qui est là?

Rudolphe avec le nez..?

Le nez…

Oui/non

In Spanish, say:

¡Pon, pon, pon!

¿Quién es?

Rudolph con la nariz…

La nariz…

Si/no

Adding extra challenge?

Have you noticed that the Rudolphs on the sheet at the top are also wearing ties? This adds a wonderful further challenge in French, as we can look at the adjective spelling change for some of the colours and the way we therefore pronounce them, when we use a ‘le’ noun or a ‘la’ noun.

This adds a DfE programme of study objective, based on understanding basic grammar too. This activity can be used across all our language learners, from KS1 and beginners to moving on learners with differentiated challenge!

And in Spanish? Well we can use ‘la nariz’ with adjectives that agree and change the tie to a soft neck scarf to use the masculine noun ‘el pañuelo’.

Finally in German! We will need to tweak the verse a bit for younger learners, but can add differing degrees of challenge with adjectival endings for more advanced learners.

Klopf, klopf, klopf!

Wer bist du?  

Rudolph und meine Nase ist…

.......

Ja/nein

To be more challenging, add the preposition ‘mit’ and practise the positioning of the adjective before the noun with the correct adjectival ending (e.g. Rudolph mit der ... Nase). Or to add even more challenge, introduce the changes in the definite article too by using ‘die Nase’ and also ‘das Halstuch’ (e.g. mit der ... Nase/ mit dem … Halstuch).

Making Meaningful Links on Remembrance Day

With Remembrance Day coming up, now is the perfect time to start thinking about how to mark the occasion. Many of our Network Schools, they choose to remember by focusing on the battlefields, and this naturally hands itself to links with French, both in terms of language learning and cultural awareness.

‘Les Poilus’ People Pillar Poems

Our native French speaker Associate Teacher, Steph Pierre, created a complete lesson PowerPoint which network members will have access to under Seasonal Specials Autumn 2.

Take a look at this example poem – get your class to look up the highlighted adjectives in bilingual dictionaries so that they can understand the poem about the soldier.

Then, use this as a gap filler exercise to create your own poems. Using bilingual dictionaries, they can create their own Armistice poem.

For the final step, decorate this template and write out the poem onto it. Together as a class, you will have created an army of soldiers with an army of poems to match.

Fields of Emotion

During a discussion on France and the battlefields, why not try to incorporate some language learning? Show the class Google Earth images of Normandie and Picardie, as well as cities such as Amiens so they can picture the areas where the history of World War One took place.

Videos like this one are another great way of showing what life was like during the war, with a nice focus on the French people whose lives were much closer to the front lines. Ask the class what it must have been like at the time to be living in the north east of France, whether in a city or the countryside; what would it have been like to be a child, mother or a soldier? What emotions would they have felt, and as an extension how do these link to the people who are currently living through wars throughout the world?

For the activity, ask the class to write down nouns and adjectives which describe these emotions you have discussed, and then get them in pairs to look up these words in bilingual dictionaries. Create four lists of the on the board of these words that the class has collected, divided into four categories: fear, sadness, courage and love and kindness. Use these words to create a ‘mime gallery’ of emotion, by pointing to individual words and asking the class to display an expression or silent action that fits. Then, add in pronunciation of these words alongside the actions to create a performance of emotion.

To finish this activity, show the class La Valse Des Coquelicots – this musical clip is a good way to round off, featuring images of les coquelicots (poppies) and les bleuets (cornflowers), which are symbols of remembrance in France. Using inspiration from these symbols, create a field of emotions with the lists of words gathered earlier. The blue, red and green colours of the fields shown in the video should be reflected in these creations.

Teach With A Bang This Bonfire Night

Whether your learners are beginners in primary languages, or more advanced, introducing or revisiting colours is a brilliant place to start if you are linking language learning to a school celebration of Bonfire Night.

Different activities will suit different stages of primary language learners. Consider encouraging other members of staff to do a specific activity with a class, or put the activities together and to create a short school assembly celebrating Bonfire Night combined with your target language!

Speaking For Beginners (KS1 and KS2): Word Association and Colours in a Spoken Poem

First, take a look at the video below - the drama game in here makes a fantastic starter.

Then, ask the children to create a simple word association poem in English, with the colours spoken in the target language and actions/mimes of their colours. For example, ‘blanco’ is white like snow, so children could mime snowflakes as they fall. Practise as a class and create a colourful performance.

Listening For Beginners (all year groups): Sounds of Colours Physical Firework Display

Creating fantastic firework sound displays with our Y3 Aut 2 lesson 1: colour sounds firework performances with ⁦@joanne_hornby⁩ pic.twitter.com/asDTnJlHMX

— Janet Lloyd (@JanetLloydnet) September 24, 2019

This is a tried and tested activity – our Associate Teachers have been using it for years. This Twitter clip shows Joanne leading a group of teachers through the activity at one of our PLN CPD sessions. It’s all about thinking about how the word sounds and asking children to create a physical representation of this sound as a firework. Joanne conducts the teachers as if they are a class, indicating when groups should join in, stop, restart, make loud sounds or small sounds, to build to a crescendo.

Practise with colours in the target language with your class. Divide them into groups and ask them to work together with a colour and build a performance. Practise and then execute a class performance of the sounds of the fireworks, nominating a child to be the sound orchestra conductor.

Reading (advanced learners): Firework Poem and Performance 

Since early in 2000s, we have been using this poem in French, German and Spanish to inspire young children. Teachers share the poem, unpack the meaning, and look for nouns, adjectives and verbs, so then children can practise and create a performance. The poem is used as a template to create their own poems with different colours, or (if more advanced) with a change of one of the verbs.

Although the focus is on colours, the poem also uses three key present tense verbs, and the phrase ‘there is’ or ‘there are’ with the noun for stars. The poem has two verses and repeats the three verbs and the phrase ‘there are a lot of stars’. The poem is very simple, but it opens up a lot of room for discussion – new words such as ‘montent’ in French are similar enough to the English that many children can recognise them, or the use of colours as adjectives without nouns next to them, and the difference this makes. You can challenge the students who are beginning to think about verbs to see if they notice any patterns in the ways they are used in the poem.

To extend the poem into a performance, get younger learners to add sounds and actions to match. For older learners, get them to write a further verse to the poem as well as adding in actions and sounds!

French poem:

Bleu 

rouge,

jaune, 

vert.

Zoum, zoum!

Ils glissent

Ils montent

Ils descendent .

Il y a beaucoup d' étoiles!

Violet,

orange,

or,

argent.

Zoum, zoum!

Ils glissent

Ils montent

Ils descendent .

Il y a beaucoup d' étoiles!

Spanish Poem:

Azul

rojo

amarillo

verde.

¡fantástico! ¡ fantástico!

Suben

bajan

hay muchas estrellas

violeta

naranja

dorado

plateado

¡fantástico! ¡ fantástico! 

Suben

bajan

hay muchas estrellas.

Premium Plus: 5 key updates for Autumn 2

For those who don’t know, Premium + is our flagship membership which provides video lessons with a native speaker teacher for every lesson in Key Stage 2. Irene and Emilie, teach Spanish and French schemes virtually.

I am happy to announce that Autumn 2 is now ready to view and use!

Feedback, Feedback, Feedback

Thanks to everyone who sent their feedback for Autumn 1. It was overwhelmingly positive, with some really good working points which we have addressed in the Autumn 2 scheme of work. Please keep the feedback coming throughout the year, this product is for your schools, and therefore your feedback is invaluable for it’s ‘fine tuning’

In this blog, I will go over the 5 key updates to the Autumn 2 Scheme, which we have built off the back of the feedback forms and our own review.

1.      Autumn 1 was really effective!

The product is working! 100% of respondents agreed that it is ‘good support for non-specialist teachers’ and that the product ‘functions effectively’. This is fantastic news, and something we (obviously) want to maintain throughout the whole year. Furthermore, 100% of feedback would ‘recommend Premium Plus to other schools as an alternative to a specialist teacher in class’. Interestingly, The key values that premium plus provides were ‘Pronunciation practice for students’ and ‘Quality languages Lesson modelling’ for staff

This is some of the written feedback from schools:

Early days for us but so far so very good. It has got the class teachers off the starting blocks'

We are really impressed by Premium plus. It is a huge jump on what was previously provided and invaluable for non-specialists.

Staff love it, I haven’t had a single excuse to not teach Spanish

Both staff and children love premium plus, I think we have finally found a solution for French in our school

2.      Increased pronunciation practice

Something we were adamant about was ensuring students practiced and improved their speaking. It was a gut feeling of mine before I saw the feedback (which reinforced this assumption), that we needed more opportunities earlier in the lessons just to focus on saying key sounds.

Therefore in Autumn 2, you will find a new slide ‘Speak’. These will usually start off lessons and will practice key phonetics in both French and Spanish.

3.      Shorter lesson length

Upon feedback from both schools and our own review, we have decided to be stricter with lesson length. We (Irene, Emilie and myself) agreed that the lessons were a little longer than we wanted, and we have planned appropriately to ensure that the lesson length will remain under or around the 15 minute mark. In result, you will find the lessons in Autumn 2 a little ‘snappier’ than Autumn 1. Finding the correct balance between information and action is always a little tricky, but the product has been refined and improved in relation to this, and I am confident that you will see this for yourselves.

4.      All Tasks relate to learning objectives

Something that we have improved upon is ensuring that everything in the video is related to the learning objective. Feedback indicated that sometimes the lesson went a little away from the objective, and upon reviewing ourselves we noted this. You will notice in Autumn 2, everything relates to the LO and lessons are more refined and concise.

5.      Speaker size on screen

Some feedback from schools was that the size of speaker was too small for too long, we know how important it is to see the speaker use their mouths when speaking another language, therefore we will endeavour to keep the speaker as large as possible in the lessons. This is a balance however, as we do want the information presented as well.

Final notes

We really appreciated the feedback, this is a developing product and one that will continue to be shaped for your benefit. The feedback only confirmed our assumptions of the product and allowed us to move with confidence when preparing Autumn 2.

Finally, As a director of PLN I am very happy with how Autumn 1 has gone, and extremely excited for you to try out Autumn 2, as the improvements are there to see.

If you are interested in finding out more about premium plus or want a free trial or demo of the resources, click on the links below.

Harvesting Language Learning: Pumpkin Picks

The end of the first half term is about consolidating learning, so it’s time to revisit and reflect. This blog post details a range of activities and resources from Stage 1 to Stage 3 and 4 learners, who are now able to write descriptive sentences with nouns and adjectives, share emotions and feelings, and produce sentences with opinions. This activity pack is available in both French and Spanish in our shop. For network members, you can find this for free under Seasonal Specials on the VLE.

Pumpkin Picking

A sequence of activities for new starters (Stage 1) that encourages language detective skills. Listen out for sounds, recall and practise basic numbers 1-10 and play with the sounds of the new nouns.

Link this learning to ‘growing and ripening’ sounds and knowledge. You could play a simple voice control game with sounds.

As the teacher, listen to and observe how your young learners are developing their new language learning skills and retaining core language and content. Use this to reflect on the next steps.

Pumpkin Maths

A great cross-curricular activity to practise numbers 1-10 for Stage 1, and go higher for Stage 2 upwards.

This is a great follow-up task to reinforce numbers and link language learning in a purposeful way to Maths. Practise either addition or multiplication and re-use French or Spanish spoken language. Take this further to practise subtraction and division, and extend the target language number range to suit your learners’ knowledge. For a great further extension, create your own pumpkin vegetable plot diagrams to show their understanding of addition and multiplication.

Pumpkin Pages - read all about it!

A great way to revisit the content from Autumn 1 SOW.

Generate ‘The Pumpkin Pages’ booklets that allow you to take a look at the core content children have already learnt, and see what they can remember. Explore some common sound links shared in different target language core words.

Create ‘Pumpkin Personalities’ which allow the children (whether they are beginners or more advanced) to imagine and create their own written pumpkin personalities and explore how they can use limited language creatively. These ‘Pumpkin Pages’ can be shared to make a harvest of language learning display.

Pumpkin Lantern Parades

A fun activity which can be adapted for the classroom or the playground.

And finally, read, mime, play charades, design, and write a description of your own pumpkin lanterns. In this activity, there is a focus on writing descriptive sentences, using feminine nouns and adjectives that agree.

Why not take the activity a stage further in French and the placement of adjectives of size (e.g. grand/petit) too and how these adjectives come before the noun?

Parade those lanterns! Get out in the playground and hold a pumpkin lantern display, where the children show each other their pumpkin lantern designs and read aloud the descriptive sentences they have written. Why not film the children too and share them with other classes?

Highlights From European Day of Languages 2021

Now the dust has settled on this year’s festivities, we thought it would be a fabulous time to bring you a selection of highlights from how our schools celebrated European Day of Languages. This year, our theme revolved around Walk With Amal and her journey from Syria to Manchester. We have really loved seeing all that our network members have come up with, so here is a collection of the top highlights from the past couple of weeks.

Year 5 celebrated #europeandayoflanguages by learning to sing a sea shanty in French! A big thank you to @network_primary for a great song and to Fran @MedleyMusic1 for her musical expertise! pic.twitter.com/kbaYK2OSj4

— Our Lady's School (@ourladys_cps) September 27, 2021

Every year, we include a song with our European Day of Languages resource pack; this year, our very own Joanne Eccleshare wrote a Sea Shanty (which was available in both French and Spanish). Here is one of our favourite performances from Our Lady’s RC Primary School, a French network member. We love how they brought the celebrations outside of the classroom here to make a real event of it!

Year 1 had a great #EuropeanDayofLanguages day. We learned words for colours in Spanish with Irene and we enjoyed food from all over Europe including Swedish brownies! #cbvalues #friendship pic.twitter.com/PaScQmCcvo

— Canon Burrows CE Primary School (@canon_burrows) September 24, 2021

Our Associate Teacher (and native Spanish speaker) Irene had a fabulous time at network member Canon Burrows CE Primary School – we love the expansion of the celebrations into the canteen as well. Those Swedish brownies look delicious!

Year 5 spent time designing a footprint to welcome Amal in different languages. @walkwithamal #actsofwelcome for #LittleAmal. #EuropeanDayofLanguages #teamstphilips @StPhilipCEAP @network_primary pic.twitter.com/J7ayuKUUEk

— St Philips Year 5 - Miss Thwaites (@StPhilipsY5C) September 27, 2021

Lovely work from Year 5 at St Philips CE Primary School. Our focus on Walk With Amal this year has been a real success, and shows us how primary languages teaching is not limited to the languages themselves! It is also about culture and a shared sense of humanity, which Little Amal embodies perfectly. Her journey from Syria to Manchester to represent that of the many refugees who have taken the same route serves as an inspiration and a reminder of why we teach languages, and it is really touching to see this make an impact in schools.

This week KS2 celebrated the European Day of Languages 2021 in their Spanish lessons… what fantastic work ⭐️🌍#EDL2021 #primarylanguagesnetwork #ringway @network_primary pic.twitter.com/7yrtO5xvaY

— Ringway Primary (@PrimaryRingway) September 30, 2021

Students from network member Ringway Primary loved using the European Day of Languages resources from our VLE. Focusing on greetings is a great way to celebrate this event, particularly as it falls so early on in the school year. Great to see some more work from our Walk With Amal resources as well with the suitcase task.

To keep up to date with more posts like this and generally what we are up to, follow us on Twitter @network_primary.