……………..nala
nATIONAL aSSOCIATION of
lANGUAGE aDVISERS
Notes of a meeting, for NALA members’ information
Meeting
Venue
Purpose of meeting
OCR MFL Consultative Forum
OCR, Cambridge
Those present
12 participants representing a range of national bodies involved in
MFL education or training plus a range of OCR staff. [The
attendance was lower than usual (the Forum has 44 listed
members)].
NALA member
Alan Dobson
Date
08.03.12
Follow-on from two previous meetings but exploring more
specifically the knowledge and skills needed in MFL (14)1619.
Report (list main issues)
Updates by various OCR staff followed by open discussion sessions
Overview of Government Policy and Update on the National Curriculum Review
(John Plunkett)
This well presented overview covered matters raised at meetings elsewhere and
already reported to NALA members via ‘Stop Press’.
OCR updates
OCR Higher Education Engagement Research Programme (Sally Brown)
This was a brief summary of research in progress in HE to ascertain (among other
things) in which skills students are considered to be least well prepared at A level
(e.g. higher order skills; academic writing) and best prepared (e.g. ICT particularly for
presentational purposes; teamwork/collaborative skills). The results should be
available later this year.
Cambridge Assessment ARD Project - French/German/Spanish OCR Speaking
component (Martin Johnson/Sanjana Mehta).
This research (still at an early stage) was prompted by the various concerns
expressed about controlled assessment and seeks to address the Research
Question: ‘What is the most effective way of assessing speaking in MFL?’
Various methods are being employed to gather the views of teachers (focus groups;
case studies; surveys). The case study strand should be particularly interesting as it
involves teachers keeping an ongoing weekly reflective diary of the teaching
challenges faced etc.
A report is to be produced for OCR in 2013 to feed into its guidance/support
materials for teachers. It is hoped a research update will be presented to the Forum
at its next meeting.
Discussions
What should a course aimed at developing the knowledge and skills
previously identified include?
Is a common core for a 16-18 programme emerging?
The discussion drew upon the feedback from the previous two fora (see below). A
synopsis is being prepared by OCR staff and this will be drawn upon in a later NALA
update.
The discussion was wide ranging. There was a general view that developing the
skills needed at a level needed to begin in KS4, and indeed in KS3, and that greater
awareness was needed about which skills also relevant to MFL were a focus in other
subjects.
Next meeting
Wednesday 19 September 2012 at the Pitt Building, Cambridge [N.B. not at OCR]
Evaluation
A useful meeting. The Forum is an important contributor to the national networks in which
NALA needs to be involved and provides early access to research in progress.
Relevance to NALA members (including suggested action)
The results of the research studies when released should be of practical value to NALA
members in terms of MFL and the wider curriculum, particularly (14)16-19.
The outcomes of the discussions potentially offer a useful agenda for discussions among
NALA members.
Source(s) of further information (eg websites, publications, contacts)
FEEDBACK RECEIVED AT PREVIOUS OCR MFL FORA
FIRST FORUM
A Levels
AS topics in some awarding bodies’ specifications don’t stretch candidates
linguistically (teacher feedback).
Some A2 content in some awarding bodies’ specifications missing compared
with previous specification (teacher feedback).
Requirement for students to express opinions in target language is
problematic because they don’t have an opinion as opposed to not having the
language skills (teacher feedback). (Note: expressing opinions is and always has
been a requirement of GCSE and A level.)
Once at university, students not able to express themselves on topics
‘outside’ the topic areas they've covered at AS/A2 (comment by HEI representative),
because their vocabulary is so limited.
The range of provision in HE, e.g. single honours language degrees,
combined degrees (usually with a language element) and language teaching to
support main subject studied (often at a lower level than degree) means that it's not
always clear what is the most appropriate emphasis of a course of study at A level.
General
Too much repetition of topics both vertically (i.e. same topics in GCSE and A
Level languages) and horizontally (same topics being used across languages and a
range of other subjects).
Tension between assessment demands and good curriculum practice.
Tension between what's perceived as necessary in preparation for HE study
(even though requirements there are mixed) and what's needed in terms of skills for
a student not continuing with language study at 18 - 'If MFL qualifications are right for
HE, will they be right for general use?'
Enthusiasm for literature and using literary texts to deliver some of language
learning and, equally, cultural studies to be included, not just in A Level but in primary
language learning and GCSE. A clear statement from employer representative that
there also needs to be pragmatic/practical provision (meaning that literature/cultural
studies are not the only approach possible).
SECOND FORUM
Concerns expressed by HEIs
Students are entering higher education (HE) with poor English language skills
as well as a lack of other core academic skills.
Students’ lack of general knowledge and understanding about the country
and its culture.
Potential trend - elitism; traditional specialist language degrees are now
concentrated in the Russell group HEIs and 25% of specialist language students are
from independent schools (higher than any other subject). Therefore a possible
widening gulf in terms of types of skills needed for progression ranging from
functional transactional language skills to critical analyses/thinking, essay writing in
English.
‘What should an 18 year old language student be able to do?’
• Ability to learn how to learn; to learn independently and in a broader sense; to use
feedback to develop further
• Ability to use language independently and to apply knowledge, understanding and
skills in a variety of contexts, both familiar and unfamiliar
• Ability to spontaneously express self verbally (and for an extended period of time)
and in writing
• Have a secure knowledge of grammar; be able to manipulate tenses, paraphrase
and communicate; understand structures and how the language works
• Translation and interpretation skills (although different views expressed about what
is appropriate within GCSE and GCE)
• Ability to cope and ‘get self out of a hole’
• Intercultural competency
• Cultural curiosity
• Suggestion that the Extended Project qualification could provide the framework for
developing academic literacy and applying language learning
• Suggestion for a new A level comprising a common core at AS with two routes at
A2:
French and French Literacy or
Contemporary French Language and Culture