Eliminating Failure in Language
Learning: Good Teaching meets
Brain Research.
Wellington College, February 2013
johnbald@talktalk.net
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.
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.
Brain cell
(from Neuroscience and Education, Teaching and Learning Research Project, 2007)
Brain cell connections
(from Neuroscience and Education, Teaching and Learning Research Project, 2007)
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012: Six months
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012: Three years
The brain adapts itself to
different languages
Reading Aloud in English and Italian, evidence from brain scans (active areas in black)
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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)
The areas of the brain used for written and spoken language
are interlinked and overlap
(Dr. Matt Davis, MRC, Languages Today, Spring 2013)
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Hearing
Reading
Both
As we learn a new language…
• We add to and adapt the structures formed in
our brain as we learned our first language.
• These structures influence the way we learn the
new language, both the parts we find easy, and
the errors we make (Swan and Smith, Learner English.)
English speakers need to adapt to:
• New relationships between written and spoken
language, including spelling and pronunciation.
• Gender in nouns that have no physical gender, and
in associated pronouns and adjectives.
• Greater variation in verb forms than in English
(except for Mandarin!)
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 practice
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.
Copying, c1700 BC
(From The History of Writing, S.R Fischer)
Copying errors from a Year 7 mixed-ability class
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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.)
Excellent Latin Teaching in Year 11 (Ofsted,
Maidstone Grammar School, 2004)
This very high-attaining group was taking a full GCSE course in the time allocated for a
half-course. This was made possible by the teacher’s deep knowledge and understanding of
the structures of Latin, which he explained to the students with great clarity, following this
up with printed notes and short exercises that were distributed to students and
built up into a personal textbook.
Each step built carefully on the students’ earlier learning, making it easy for them to adjust
Their thinking to take on the new structures. At the same time, the teacher skilfully
extended their vocabulary, carefully managing the level of support he provided to take
account of the students’ limited time for the subject, while retaining a strong element of
challenge. Written tasks were expertly designed to balance new learning with reinforcement,
and carefully marked.
Very effective time management left good time for students to work on poetry in the final
third of the lesson, during which they applied their developing knowledge of grammar to work
out complex, compressed language with a high degree of success. The teacher used his
expert knowledge of ancient history to put the verse in context, and to ensure that the
lesson contributed to students’ understanding of Roman culture as well as Latin.
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.
... 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.
... and beyond...
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Extend outwards from family and pets to other areas of interest.
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Encourage expression through recording, playbacks, blogging, podcasting.
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Make and cultivate links to a school in a country that speaks the language.
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Develop understanding of the shared Latinate and Greek words that are
the foundation of much European public language.
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Explore software, internet connections and websites, Youtube, Wickipedia,
Taught By Song, Little Tails, BBC sites, news sites...google translate
...(discuss...)
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Introduce children’s books, make talking versions using Mantralingua (or
other) talking pens, Mantralingua talking tablet, IPC.
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Set up a languages section in the library.
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Start a club. Please, start a club. And invite parents.
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Think about Flame/CLIL, perhaps beginning with Take 10 (Devon)
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Sign the staff up for British Council Comenius Courses in the holiday.
Generous grants, good teaching, good food, good learning.
…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.
With Clicker…
Extensions suggested by Y4
Sentence Modelling…
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Presents new structures clearly and simply
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Extends opportunities for study, explanation and questions
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Lets children compose written sentences as they do spoken ones,
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Eliminates the to-and-fro brain switches involved in copying
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Letting us teach written and spoken language together
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Allows children to say what they want to say
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Lets us present advanced language clearly and flexibly
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Raises achievement in reading and writing
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Is easy to use, and can be practised on mobile devices.
Year 7, girl, assessed as dyslexic, before
sentence building work
Year 7, girl, assessed as dyslexic, after six
weeks’ sentence building work
Year 7, boy assessed as dyslexic
Year 4, higher-attaining girl
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.
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.
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.
Some References
http://richannel.org/christmas-lectures/2011/meet-yourbrain
Clicker 6 + Acapello voices + app +dropbox: www.cricksoft.com
The Learning Brain, Blakemore S and Frith U Blackwell 2005
Neuroscience and Education, TLRP 2007
Spell it Out. D Crystal, 2012
Learning Disabilities, Fletcher J et al, Guilford Press 2007
Learner English, Swan M and Smith B, CUP 2001