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Aims
These subject design initiatives aimed to explore ways in which new technologies can be
used in the classroom setting to enhance the teaching and learning of modern foreign
languages.
Specific aims were:
- for teachers, in partnership with researchers, to develop MFL design initiatives which
focus on particular learning outcomes and make appropriate uses of ICT;
- to investigate the process of teaching and learning a foreign language;
- to explore the ways in which the use of ICT affects the language learning process.
Subject Design Initiatives
Enhancing language learning through the use of tailored writing frames
Catherine Harvey and Muriel Saffon developed French writing frames for use with a top
set year 8 class on the topic "Ma maison". Pupils learned to extend what
they have written through the use of drop down menus which contain further details (for
example, adjectives). They are also prompted by questions beside each box of the writing
frame.
E-mail exchange with German partner school
Linda Bridgeman, together with a colleague Tim Davis and helped by the school's
Foreign Language Assistant Katrin, set up an e-mail exchange with two year 8 classes
in their German partner school. The aim was to see whether the use of e-mail motivated pupils,
giving them a sense of audience for their written work. It also aimed to look at
confidence-building and accuracy in written German. An important long term goal was to set
up an exchange between English and German pupils once they know each other better.
The exchange continued for the two years of the InterActive project. The students were able to practise the past and future tenses in a real setting as soon as they were introduced in class. Grammatical accuracy improved and students also gained confidence in using cases, adjectival endings and a range of vocabulary. In relation to cultural awareness, the two schools exchanged packages of laminated work with photos and details of their interests. Linda's class also sent a video of a fashion show and a video tour of their school, both in German.
What Linda said:
My teaching started to become more live. I started to think of ways of presenting my work which would then be useful to them, which would give them confidence to be able to communicate with their partners at the end of the week. They were keen, particularly the boys. They were running past me to get into the computer room to send an e-mail. That's what students enjoy doing. They like to have a partner who has the same sort of interests as they have; this takes the language beyond the classroom walls.
What the students said:
You've got to be extra careful with your vocabulary because it's going to someone! And you've got to be careful with accuracy and stuff like that because you know your partner's going to read it.
I tend to make the sentences a bit more detailed and longer on the computer ? more interesting for them as well.
Accuracy through the scaffolding structure of writing frames
Judi Johnston-Hubbold and Catherine Robertson worked respectively with a year 10
German and a year 8 French class to investigate whether the support provided by tailored
writing frames encouraged pupils to write at greater length and with more accuracy. A
particular aimwais to highlight the use of linking words in order to see whether pupils'
writing became more fluent and accurate as a result. Catherine's year 8 class were
taught through Talk Project methods; this project enables pupils to communicate more
spontaneously in the target language. A further aim of the design initiative was to see how
these pupils used target language in the IT room.
Creative presentation for school web
Richard Shotton and Zoe Hibbert worked on a design initiative with their respective
year 10 classes. The aim was for pupils to create something personal, individual and
creative to post on the school web site and to send to the German partner school. This
took the form of a video diary or Powerpoint presentation and covered the topics
of Home, School and Daily Routine in an imaginative way.
More fluent and accurate German through structured support
Ruth Cole and Elisabeth Lazarus at the Sir Bernard Lovell School explored and exploited the potential of ICT and came up with a new way of improving their students' writing skills in German. They created simple drop down menus in Word (using the route View - Toolbars - Forms) which give students opportunities to create their own sentences within a writing frame. The students then use this model, sometimes with a picture stimulus, to inspire and support their own writing in a separate text box.
In the first year of the project they tried it with a bottom set year 11 and top set year 10 class. The positive outcomes encouraged them to use the strategy with a mixed ability year 7 group, as part of the KS3 Strategy, and also with a fast track class in year 9. It was equally effective with these groups. Students of all levels of attainment were writing more fluently and accurately with this new approach.
What the pupils said:
Making a sentence..it's a challenge for everyone. But it's a challenge that with the drop down menus, can be met because the drop down menus set it out. (Boy, 15)
What the teacher said:
The most exciting thing for me was seeing that this could be transferred to other subject areas.
I really feel I've learnt something and I feel the students have benefited. It's something I'd like to take further because I think it's very exciting still ? it's not just a one-off project, it's really opened my eyes to learn about learning
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