Newbridge Learning Community MFL Policy Subject Leader: Clare Burns Policy current at: September 2015 To be reviewed: September 2016
Newbridge Learning Community Modern Foreign Languages Policy Introduction We are now are living in a global village. Europe is becoming an ever more integrated mosaic and so the politics, values, beliefs, culture, economy, religion of any European country all have an ever greater social, economic, political impact on Britain than ever before. Learning foreign languages is increasingly important in a global economy and also has great value in terms of cultural and linguistic richness in our society, personal fulfilment and global citizenship and understanding. At Newbridge Learning Community we follow the Framework for teaching modern foreign languages which underscores the vital importance of giving all pupils the tools to make direct and personal contact with other people and their cultures. The Framework and its associated training programme support our National Languages Strategy and will help to create language learners. A key feature of the Foundation Subjects strand is the emphasis it gives to the teaching of thinking skills and to assessment for learning. These help pupils to reach higher standards and become independent learners. The Framework for teaching modern foreign languages: Years 7 and 8 is the principal component within our MFL programme. Aims /Objectives On a more interpersonal level more and more of us travel to Spain for holidays, own property in Spain, go to live and work in Spain and so Newbridge Learning Community now have both a great responsibility and a wonderful opportunity:
to increase our cultural awareness by learning about Spanishspeaking countries and their peoples to work with materials from Spain and communicate to empower themselves with the ability to communicate with the peoples within real life contexts. The ability to express themselves and communicate in Spanish will certainly make any stay in a Spanish speaking country a richer and more enjoyable experience as they converse with the locals and make Spanish friends. Mission Statement To maximise the achievement and progression of each pupil by developing mutual respect, trust and co-operation between pupils, staff and parents. Aims and purposes of Spanish Spanish offers opportunities for pupils to: become increasingly familiar with the sounds, written form and grammar of a modern foreign language; use their knowledge with growing confidence and competence to understand what they hear and read, and to express themselves in speech and in writing; develop language skills and language-learning skills, including applying their knowledge of grammar and structures, so that they become increasingly independent learners and users of Spanish;
develop listening, concentration and social skills through partnership and group work; use ICT to access and communicate information; use Spanish as the principal means of communication within the classroom, and beyond it where opportunities exist; increase their cultural awareness by learning about Spanishspeaking countries and their peoples, and by working with materials from those countries; develop an awareness of similarities and differences in people, countries, communities and cultures; improve standards across the curriculum as there are links in the scheme of work to inclusion, literacy, numeracy and thinking skills. understand the importance of speaking Spanish and to offer the opportunity for children to increase their cultural awareness; form a sound basis for further study in key stage 4 and beyond. Organisation, delivery and assessment Spanish is taught at Key stage 3 by the MFL teacher Each class has one lesson of 50 mins a week. As a KS4 option pupils have two 50 min sessions. To ensure our programme is meeting pupils needs Monitoring and Assessment reflects the principles of inclusion by involving our pupils themselves in the assessment process. In this way, the programme meets the range of pupils learning styles and levels of intelligence enabling all pupils to demonstrate their achievement. Pupil assessment influences the planning process and future teaching
so that pupils continue to grow in their knowledge, skills and understanding and rigorous monitoring of our programme ensures that the needs of our pupils are being met. We assess the quality of teaching and learning through the following monitoring and evaluation processes: - Pupils are included as partners in the assessment process e.g. through self-assessment - Teacher Summative Assessment document - Self-assessment from pupils (Knowledge, skills and understanding, process outcomes) Pupils are given the opportunity to give an receive feedback on their progress and achievements, helping them to identify what they should do next - Self-assessment pupils evaluate their increase in knowledge and understanding by evaluating the depth of their knowledge by filling in a self-evaluation can do task sheet. - Pupils are involved in discussions about the learning outcomes and desired outcomes. Group assessment pupils reflect on how well they as a group, the problems they faced, how they overcame them and the roles each individual played. -photo evidence - Marking sheets - Pupils portfolio of evidence - One to one conversations - Observation of role plays - Written or oral feedback in lessons
- Individual written work - Surveys and questionnaires Assessment Opportunities for assessing pupils' progress are built into each entry level unit. Pupils complete written, spoken., listening and reading assessment tasks in each unit. These are both formative and summative. Firstly, because their assessment tasks inform future planning and secondly, because these tasks do actually count towards their final grade. The objectives and expectations are used to help pupils review their own progress at the end of each unit each pupil completes a can do sheet. In order to be able to state that they have developed the knowledge, skill or understanding necessary to achieve the can do task they must have demonstrated success over the whole unit and must find examples within their portfolios of evidence. The expectation statements for each unit are related to the level descriptions in the national curriculum and the tasks set, and allow pupils' overall progress to be monitored. Feedback to pupils ranges from providing informal oral comments to a whole class to closely marked individual work which relate to the objectives set. Teaching and learning methods Slower learners often begin their learning of a foreign language with enormous enthusiasm which falters when they perceive that it is not within their power to go beyond a knowledge of single words. They find it hard to recall vocabulary, to transfer words and phrases to a different context and to write more than a few words with any degree of accuracy. They are also daunted by foreign language texts of more than three or four sentences.
They find it hard to conceive of a different language having a set of conventions which they could personally grasp and use to help them communicate in and understand that language. As a result, they tend to feel that any success they experience is the result of what their teacher does, rather than of their own ability to learn and do things for themselves. For these pupils as much as for any, progress hinges on a degree of mastery of the underlying conventions of the language. I try to promote this by: showing pupils how to help themselves giving them regular opportunities to do so selecting carefully the vocabulary, phrases and verbs which permit maximum language production Certain aspects of the MFL Framework and its objectives are used for our pupils so that they can learn to master. These include work on: high-frequency words and sentences common letter strings phrases for classroom routines techniques for learning sounds, meanings and spellings, for substituting words in sentences, and for using connectives and cognates The more general approaches to teaching and learning, include:
Effective teaching techniques: activities which involve a physical response or which demonstrate a concept in a visual way routines which guide pupils to transfer words and phrases activities which give a range of purposes to listening activities, other than to check factual understanding, and which build a link to improving speaking intensive work on language which gives pupils maximum value in producing their own sentences and every opportunity to take part activities which help pupils to recall and fix vocabulary written frames and models and demonstrations of how to use them with emotional and behavioural difficulties, the strategy for teaching and learning is to emphasise short-term goals and provide highly specific outcomes. Kinaesthetic activities Bingo Mallets Mallet Using artefacts from Spain, touch, taste, smells Use of action and signs Songs and music Using gestures Comparing words to well known English words
Miming games Vocalising words to a well-known tune Rhyming Repetition of simple words and phrases Use of facial expressions to communicate feelings Matching pictures to words Paired dialogue Inclusion The National Curriculum handbook for Key Stages 3 contains in its introduction a statutory statement on inclusion, which sets out guidance for teachers on the provision of effective learning opportunities for all pupils. Three principles are established as essential to the development of an inclusive curriculum: 1. Setting suitable learning challenges 2. Responding to pupils' diverse learning needs 3. Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils
I have adapted the scheme of work from the framework to ensure it takes account of the different experiences, strengths and interests of their pupils. The scheme of work is designed to cater for pupils working at levels 1-4. It is also designed to be challenging and raise expectations. Rapid progress across the levels is expected in key stage 3, but some pupils may not achieve this, and differentiation will be necessary. In modifying the whole scheme, I have considered which: The type of support provided for our pupils with difficulties in communication, language and literacy are : To overcome any potential barriers to learning in modern foreign languages, some pupils will require: language, including the use of ICT, particularly when they are unable to express themselves orally develop language skills and understanding language to compensate for difficulties in hearing the sounds of a particular gestures when developing conversational language. Planning for progression To progress in their language learning, pupils need opportunities to reapply what they have learnt (in terms of grammar, structures,
vocabulary and skills) in an increasing range of contexts. Initially, they are shown how the same language structures can be used in different contexts. As they become more competent in using Spanish, they are encouraged to manipulate language more independently. This principle of constantly recycling language is the key to becoming a proficient language learner and forms part of a planned scheme of work. The scheme of work from the National Framework draws together parts of the programme of study to create a framework that shows how pupils might be helped to progress Marking All pupils work is marked for their understanding, ability to express their opinions and their effort and participation. Pupils are told which criteria have been assessed and the grade awarded. Reporting & celebrating The pupils Records of achievement can provide a summative picture of the pupils personal development. This picture is informed by evidence from a variety of sources : the pupils views of themselves; the pupils files; teacher assessment; self-assessment; teacher s knowledge of the pupils and their performance; reports to parents; monitoring sheets to parents;
AQA certificates; can do task certificates; Entry Level certificate. We do not have a homework policy at school. However, many pupils ask for work to take home. These activities suggested for out-ofschool learning are not intended as set homework activities, but rather as wider, optional pursuits that might encourage pupils to see the relevance of Spanish outside the classroom. Most Able Students are initially identified based on their KS2 results and are students who achieved a level 4 or above. Most Able- Modern foreign languages Indicators an early awareness of the second language as a separate system; curiosity in how language works; the ability to extrapolate general rules from samples; the ability to identify, memorise and reproduce new sounds; awareness and use of a range of strategies for learning. Giving depth, breadth and pace to second language learning means a progressive focus on: ensuring that pupils have access to key grammatical structures and to language that has transferability value and makes a difference to meaning;
Most Able Strategies for MFL differentiating task, text and pace, for example to elicit higher responses or more complex outcomes, or to add to challenge and enjoyment by using authentic materials and materials intended for older learners; extensive reading and listening to extend linguistic and cultural understanding; creative and imaginative use of language; encouraging greater independence and flexible access to a range of resources; explicit development of language learning skills; increasing general cognitive challenge, for example through more demanding content and problem-solving approaches; introducing interesting and challenging contexts in and beyond the classroom. Literacy Pupils are regularly reminded of the importance of correct spelling, punctuation and grammatical accuracy. Pupils are also encouraged to use bilingual dictionaries and other reference materials to proof read their work. The classroom displays useful language. Key grammatical elements include nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, tenses, adverbs and connectives.
Key Literacy Skills in MFL that can be developed include: Speaking to explain and present ideas Active listening to understand Reading for information Writing vocabulary Writing short and extended sentences. Numeracy Transfer of numeracy skills in MFL; Dates Counting in a foreign language Use of basic graphs Birthdays Ages Currency Basic addition and subtraction when introducing numbers Spiritual, moral, social, cultural development through MFL Cultural : Pupils increase their cultural awareness by learning about Spanishspeaking countries and their peoples, and by working with materials from those countries and develop an awareness of similarities and differences in people, countries, communities and cultures. Social : Pupils develop listening, concentration and social skills through partnership and group work. Spiritual:
Increase pupils awareness and appreciation of the religions in Spain and how they express and celebrate their faith. Moral: Improve pupils capacity to make the moral choice in any given situation through the application of behaviour strategies aimed at modifying their behaviour and helping them choose the behaviour that is encouraged through their IEP targets. Equal Opportunities in Spanish Equal opportunities issues are divided into three main areas: Ability Multi-cultural Gender The MFL policy has been devised by the department and is in line with the school policy on Equal Opportunities. Work is differentiated by outcome and task. Mention should be made of links with SEN department and staff awareness and use of IAPs. Extra curricular activities provide equality of access to all pupils as we run entitlement trips. Our displays and all our resources celebrate the achievements of all pupils from all backgrounds.
Pupils read true stories/interviews with Spanish celebrities and people encouraging exposure to different cultures aimed at engendering positive attitudes towards foreigners. Health and Safety It is the duty of MFL teachers at Newbridge Learning Community take care for the health and safety of themselves and other persons who may be affected by their acts during work at school and to cooperate with members of staff in promoting health and safety. Risk Assessments Risk assessments are carried out in line with whole school policy. All staff who take pupils out on educational visits will be aware of the Governing Body s policy on school trips. All field trips will be checked against the requirements specified in the educational visits procedure Sept 2015