Project Planner – Language Futures
You can use this to help you to design your project, and to help you to explain the project to your
colleagues during the project tuning.
Project name: _______Language Detectives___________________________________________________________
Teacher(s):_______________________________________________________________
Subject(s):_MFL, English, Citizenship___5 week project Beginners – Term 1
1. Project Summary
What are your students going to do, and why are they doing it?
Students are going to
 carry out research in small groups into language scripts,
 to look at how languages travel between different cultures,
 do some research into their own chosen languages
 explore language learning strategies that work for them
 find out and share some basic greetings and common words in their language.
 Peer assess each other’s performances
The reasons for doing this are
 to get them to think about the nature of language and the way that words are transferred
from one language to another;
 to get them to develop their research skills both as part of a group and individually
 to enable students to explore their own preferred ways of language learning
 to decide on the first phrases that they will need to know and to share these with their peers.
 To support each other to improve their work
2. Essential Questions
An essential question should inspire students, require them to conduct serious research,
and relate to a real world issue
Why are there so many different languages in the world? Do you think that the language
a person speaks says something about the way they view the world?
3. Products
What do you want students to do/write/create/build?
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A group presentation about the processes they used to discover the origins of texts
A sharing of language learning strategies with the others in their group
Conversations around the class greeting each other and saying key words
A reflective journal where they comment on the language learning strategies (LLS) that
they are beginning to use plus the beginnings of a way of recording good LLS and
vocabulary
Posters to display to explain what has been involved in this project
4. Learning Goals
What do you want students to learn?
Identify the curriculum content that students will learn in this project.
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To understand that languages are fluid and changing and borrow words from each other
To find out, learn and say basic greetings and phrases to start off their language learning
Identify key skills students will learn in this project. List only those skills you plan to assess.
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Develop research skills – to be able to use the internet including google translate and the Newbury
Park website
To be able to work in a group
To be able to summarise in a poster the content and processes used in their research
To develop Language learning strategies
To be able to write a reflective journal
To be able to design ways of recording good LLS and basic phrases
5. Timeline/Milestones
List the key dates and important milestones for this project.
(eg check-ins, critique sessions, deadlines for drafts and specific product components)
Timeline
Content/deliverables
Week 1
Introduce a real life situation – e.g. a Production Company has asked you
to solve the mystery of an artefact discovered with an unknown script.
Students in groups have to use the internet to try to discover what the
script is and what is the mystery of the artefact. Students share
knowledge of own languages with each other. Students then look at the
English language and identify where words in English are borrowed
from. Out of school challenge is to watch an episode of “Who do you think
you are?”
Maps and a globe are used to plot migration routes across the world.
Week 2
Students share the script of languages that they speak or ones that they
plan to learn. Whole class discussion on comparisons and contrasts,
sounds and scripts.
In language groups, using maps, identify the geographical areas where
your home and chosen languages are spoken. Language mentors present
to their language groups aspects of culture, food and traditions
associated with their language.
Week 3
Students use the section on the website on Language Learning and Skills
to explore ways that they want to learn. Each student to identify 5
strategies that they feel they will use. They record these in their
reflective journal and prepare a presentation to their language group as
to the reasons why they have chosen these. Peer assessment
Week 4
Students work in their language groups to identify key features of their
chosen language. Groups agree a list of key features and do a
presentation to the other language groups. Record these in the reflective
journal.
Week 5
Students use the Worksheet on Basic language in the Classroom
Resources section of the website and record basic greetings and words
needed to start communicating in a new language. Learn these greetings,
words and phrases and circulate around the room talking to different
members of the class. Teacher to assess speaking. Produce a poster to
summarise the work that has been done and use this to advertise a
presentation to teachers, other students, possibly parents.
6. Personalisation
Say how you will personalise the project, especially for individual students who will need
specialized support
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Since differentiation will be by outcome, each student will have the opportunity to show
what she/he can do at their own level
Students will receive support from their mentor
Students will work in groups for much of the project and will support each other.
All students will have the chance to reflect on their own favourite language learning styles
and to work in ways that suit them best
7. Exhibition venue and plan
Where will the exhibition take place?
The “exhibition” will be in the form of group presentations of processes used to uncover the
language; individual presentations on own preferred language learning strategies; and greeting
audience and saying other key phrases. Posters will be produced to explain the essence of what
has been done; parents, teachers, mentors and other interested adults and students will be
invited. Each group will display their posters – other ways of presenting will be decided by the
students.
8. Resources
The following websites and other sources are suggested for aspects of the project work:
www.newburypark.redbridge.sch.uk
- A wealth of ideas for promoting
language learning. Of particular interest is the
Language of the Month section. Enter site, select language of the month, resources for
schools and teachers - select language - basics (first words)
Hawkins E (1987) Language Awareness: an Introduction, CUP
http://www.alistairsmithlearning/tag/independent-learning-and-thinking
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Alistair Smith is one of the foremost thinkers and trainers on ways of becoming
independent learners
Worksheet in Classroom Resources on Language Basics
Worksheet in Classroom Resources on the origin of words
Power point slides on Spanish animals in Language Learning and Skills section
Article on being a polyglot in Language Learning and Skills section
www.mylanguages.org
9. Assessment Criteria
How will you be assessing each of your learning goals you identified?
Curriculum content:
Assessment methods
To understand that languages are fluid
Through discussion
and changing and borrow words from
By use of a quiz on where words were
each other
borrowed from
By showing that they can identify the
movement of languages on a globe
By completing the worksheet in
Classroom Resources on the origin of
words
To find out and learn basic greetings and Through the round robin greetings with
phrases to start off their language
peers
learning
By completing the worksheet on
Language Basics in Classroom Resources
Recording of basic phrases in journal
Assess speaking either on the CEFR A1
level “I can use simple phrases and
sentences ….” Or the Language Ladder
Grade 1 “I can say and repeat single
words and short simple phrases”.
Skills:
Develop research skills
Be able to work as a member of a group
Be able to summarise in a poster the key
content and processes carried out
Develop Language Learning Strategies
Be able to write a reflective journal
Be able to design ways of recording good
LLS and basic phrases
Assessment methods
Observations and outcomes
Observations and discussions
The design and production of a poster
Peer assessment when explaining
chosen strategies
Notes in reflective journal
Scrutiny of reflective journal
Scrutiny of reflective journal plus other
recording formats
(Note: Once you’ve completed this section, make sure you add all the
assessment points to the project timeline)
Suggested assessment format to be used by peers as each student explains
their own preferred Language Learning Strategies
Please tick the most appropriate category and give your reasons
Excellent Very
good
What do you think of
the student’s
presentation?
Which strategy do
you think you will try
out? Why?
Suggest a new
strategy that the
student could try out.
Good
Notes, feedback, comments