MFL: Making the New National Curriculum work
for your Primary or Secondary School
insetcourses.com tutor: John Bald
Monday 20 October 2014
Please ensure your mobiles are switched off
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ANNE SWARBRICK, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION
FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING , 2012-13
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DR RACHEL HAWKES, ALL
PRESIDENT, 2013-2014
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AN OLD PROBLEM...
(FROM CHAUCER, G, PROLOGUE, LATE C14 )
And frenssh she spak ful faire and fetisly,
After the scole of stratford atte bowe,
For frenssh of parys was to hire unknowe.
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...AND A NEW SOLUTION...
Use the findings of brain research to inform
teaching
Identify what works, and build on it
Identify what doesn’t work, and cut it out
Reference: Language Understanding, Towards a Post-Chomskyan
Linguistics. Terry Moore and Chris Carling, 1982.
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BRAIN CELLS AND CONNECTIONS
(FROM THE LEARNING BRAIN, BLAKEMORE AND FRITH, 2005)
As we learn, brain cells form connections with
each other that build into networks. These
connections are strengthened with practice.
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SANTIAGO RAMON Y CAJAL: NOBEL
PRIZE 1906
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ERIC KANDEL
In Search of Memory: the Emergence
of a New Science of Mind (NY, 2006).
(www.bookfinder.org)
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BRAIN CELL
(FROM NEUROSCIENCE AND EDUCATION, TEACHING AND LEARNING RESEARCH PROJECT,
2007)
ROYAL INSTITUTION CHRISTMAS LECTURES 2011
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ROYAL INSTITUTION CHRISTMAS LECTURES 2011
NEWBORN
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ROYAL INSTITUTION CHRISTMAS LECTURES 2012: SIX
MONTHS
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ROYAL INSTITUTION CHRISTMAS LECTURES 2011: THREE
YEARS
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THE BRAIN ADAPTS ITSELF
TO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
Reading Aloud in English and Italian, evidence from brain scans (active areas in black)
Left: reading system of English and Italian combined
Centre: sound processing more active in Italian
Right: word form area more active in English
(fromThe Learning Brain, Blakemore and Frith, 2005)
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DYSLEXIA’S BROKEN BRIDGES
Centre image shows reduced functions in
isthmus and in temporal cortex
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THE AREAS OF THE BRAIN USED FOR WRITTEN AND SPOKEN
LANGUAGE ARE INTERLINKED AND OVERLAP
(DR. MATT DAVIS, MRC, LANGUAGES TODAY, SPRING 2013)
•
•
•
Hearing
Reading
Both
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WE PROMOTE THE FORMATION OF
NETWORKS IN CHILDREN’S MINDS
BY
Understanding the adjustments they need to
make to their thinking
Explaining these clearly in terms children
understand.
Clear and attractive presentation
Teaching spoken and written language together,
so that children can see the links between them.
Encouraging and answering questions
Encouraging them to practise
WE HINDER THE FORMATION OF
NETWORKS BY
Copying, which requires children to switch their
attention continually between the master version and
their own. These jerky movements thinking and the
formation of connections.
Overloading, by presenting too much new written
material at a time, or presenting spoken language that
is too fast for children to understand.
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COPYING, C1700 BC
(FROM THE HISTORY OF WRITING, S.R FISCHER)
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COPYING ERRORS FROM A YEAR 7 MIXEDABILITY CLASS
Quel as âge tu.
O habite tu
Ou j’habites-tu
Où habite a Londres.
Common t’appelle tú_
Je onzo age
Ja un douze
Quel âge as-tu?
Où habites-tu?
J’habite à Londres.
Comment t’appelles-tu?
J’ai onze ans
J’ai douze ans
(experienced teacher, pupils had models of the sentences
they were trying to write, from which they could copy.)
For more examples, see Heather Rendall, Classic Pathfinder 6, CILT 2006.
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THE NEW NATIONAL CURRICULUM
Uses the full capacity of the brain to build
understanding and learning
Allows teachers to take professional decisions
Expects all children to make progress
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ASSESSMENT WITHOUT LEVELS: COMMON
EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE.
A: Basic User
B:
Independent User
C:
Proficient User
Downloadable – enter Common European
Framework in any search engine.
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GRAMMAR FOR COMMUNICATION.
Presents the key features of the language clearly enough for learners
to use them while they are thinking about what they want to say.
Is based on sentence building rather than translation – translation can
then be used to provide reinforcement.
Should include positive and negative forms from the outset.
Should focus on verb and subject, and should treat “tense” (old French,
tens) as a synonym for time rather than a term denoting a different verb
form.
Must be introduced early, and is then practised as key patterns recur in
all subsequent work.
Needs to be combined with idiom, so that pupils learn to phrase things
as a native speaker would, and a systematic approach to learning
vocabulary..
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KEY FEATURES OF FRENCH…
The French like their spoken language to
flow, and their written language to be precise.
All nouns have a gender. (Very occasionally,
two – le or la professeur)
The form of verbs varies more than in
English, and the negative is tricky.
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... A SUGGESTED FIRST ORDER...
Colours have key features – vert, bleu, rouge,
blanc, jaune, orange, noir, violet, marron. Say
together, study, look away, write on sleeve.
Bonjour! (G’day). Drop the tongue to pronounce.
Sing and point (to self and people) pronouns
Sing and point être. I usually do negative first.
Sentence building with family and pets introduces
gender and avoir, positive and negative.
MY FIRST STEPS IN SPANISH.
Colours. Rojo, azul, verde, amarillo, marrón introduce most
of the variations between Spanish and English
pronunciation, and the accent. As with French, say together,
study, look away and write on sleeve.
Explain ¡Buenos Días! as a greeting, and what it means.
Sing Ser to 10 green bottles, with actions, explaining how
Spanish takes advantage of its word endings to omit the
short words we have to put in front of verbs.
Introduce masculine/feminine, via the idea of boys’ and
girls’ words for younger children. Eg soy una niña/un niño.
Build sentences about family/pets, around tengo/no tengo.
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... AND BEYOND...
Extend outwards from family and pets to other areas of interest.
Encourage expression through recording, playbacks, blogging, podcasting.
Make and cultivate links to a school in a country that speaks the language.
Develop understanding of the shared Latinate and Greek words that are the
foundation of much European public language.
Explore software, internet connections and websites, Youtube, Wickipedia,
Taught By Song, Little Tails, BBC sites, news sites...google translate
...(discuss...)
Introduce children’s books, make talking versions using Mantralingua (or other)
talking pens, Mantralingua talking tablet, IPC.
Set up a languages section in the library.
Start a club. Please, start a club. And invite parents.
Think about Flame/CLIL, perhaps beginning with Take 10 (Devon)
Sign the staff up for British Council Comenius Courses in the holiday. Generous
grants, good teaching, good food, good learning.
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…AND A WAY OF TEACHING FLOW IN
FRENCH
Explain that vowels are voice sounds, and that two together
can be jerky – say je ai . Can they hear the jerk?
Demonstrate the technique of dropping the first vowel and
replacing it with an apostrophe. Write apostrophe on the board.
Who thinks it’s an English word? Explain that apostrophe comes
from the Greek word for gap, and that we have a gap when we
take out a letter. So, we have j’ai.
Have children study j’ai, then clean it off/minimise it, and have
them trace it with their finger on their sleeve or desk. Nearly all
will get it right. Praise.
Write and explain the sentence J’ai un chat, noting the letter at
the end of the word that is not pronounced. Repeat the tracing.
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WITH CLICKER…
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EXTENSIONS SUGGESTED BY Y4
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SENTENCE MODELLING…
Presents new structures clearly and simply
Extends opportunities for study, explanation and questions
Lets children compose written sentences as they do spoken ones,
Eliminates the to-and-fro brain switches involved in copying
Letting us teach written and spoken language together
Allows children to say what they want to say
Lets us present advanced language clearly and flexibly
Raises achievement in reading and writing
Is easy to use, and can be practised on mobile devices.
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YEAR 7, GIRL, ASSESSED AS DYSLEXIC,
BEFORE SENTENCE BUILDING WORK
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YEAR 7, GIRL, ASSESSED AS DYSLEXIC,
AFTER SIX WEEKS’ SENTENCE BUILDING
WORK
Year 7, boy assessed as dyslexic
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YEAR 4, HIGHER-ATTAINING GIRL
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SOME Y9 TOP SET SPANISH, LESSON 1.
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French Verb song
(song copyright ©Joe Biswell and John Bald)
Je
Tu
Il
Elle
(point to self, whole hand –finger pointing is rude)
(point to a friend, whole hand – they can’t help smiling !)
(point to a boy, not your tu friend)
(ditto a girl)
Nous Big circular sweep with both hands
Vous Point to teacher with both hands – explain that vous is a
mark of respect to a grown up.
Ils
Point to two boys both hands
Elles Point to two girls both hands
A POSSIBLE ORDER FOR VERBS
Pronouns only with actions
Etre (negative with shaking of head)
Etre positive (might try with nodding head)
Some regular verbs - eg regarder, écouter, jouer, penser,
manger (these bring out regular patterns)
Any other verb the children would need to use to say something.
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SOME PATTERNS IN FRENCH VERBS
Tu
ends in
s
ils/elles end in nt
Nous ends in
-ons
Vous ends in
–ez
(not nous sommes)
(not vous êtes and vous faites)
These patterns recur in almost all tenses, including those made
with auxiliary (helping) verbs, conditionals and subjunctives.
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FOOTNOTE: SPANISH VERBS
Spanish takes a shortcut – unless there is a need to emphasise
it, the pronoun is incorporated into the verb.
Spanish verbs can be sung to Ten Green Bottles, using the same
gestures as for the French
Negatives are easy – just begin with no.
Tengo is a good starting point, as it can be used to say so many
things, and the first person is easy to spell.
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SOME REFERENCES
http://richannel.org/christmas-lectures/2011/meet-your-brain
Clicker 6 + Acapello voices www.cricksoft.com
The Learning Brain, Blakemore S and Frith U Blackwell 2005
Zim Zam Zoum, Vale Venga Vamos. www.taughtbysong.com
Spell it Out. D Crystal, 2012
In Search of Memory. Eric Kandel, Norton 2006.
www.bookfinder.com
Learner English, Swan M and Smith B, CUP 2001
www.rachelhawkes.com
www.linguee.com (idiom in different languages)
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