MFL & INCLUSION | ||
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LEARNING & TEACHING | |||||||
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In order to be available to meet individual and small group needs, the teacher has to find ways to reduce those aspects of teaching which limit his/her freedom to respond to needs as they arise. This means finding ways of managing the classroom (learners, resources, tasks, relationships, responsibilities) which will facilitate the creation of conditions which free the teacher to work closely with groups or with individual pupils. Some of those facilitating strategies are indicated below. | ||
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The teacher gains time for interaction with individual pupils and groups by... | ... sharing with pupils some of the responsibility for planning and learning | ||||
... helping pupils to develop and use independent and collaborative learning skills | |||||
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... organising tasks and activities in ways compatible with the partnership approach | ||
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... developing and organising resources to facilitate the partnership approach | ||
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... developing monitoring strategies for ensuring regular feedback for all, assessing & recording, etc. | ||
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MAKING CHANGES Teachers are understandably afraid of 'throwing out the baby with the bathwater'. How can you know if any change you make is going to work any better than what you were doing before? Here are some ways of reducing the risk: Take small steps Neither you nor the pupils will be comfortable with whole-scale change. Take one step at a time, and prepare the pupils well, so that they are not upset by unexpected changes to usual practice. They need to know if your expectations have changed, and if so, why. Explain that small changes can often make a big difference to how well pupils learn, and involve them in evaluating the effectiveness of the new procedures. If they need to learn new skills (e.g. how to work in groups, engage in self- or peer- assessment, etc.) make sure that these skills are explicitly taught. Add breadth and enrichment Maintain the existing regime for the time being, but experiment with additions and/or alterations to one or two activities with a view to widening their sensory scope, to introducing more choice and more independent or collaborative or active learning, etc., thereby accommodating the needs of more learners. Offer choices First, try a range of approaches with your pupils so that you, and they, can find out which method works best for different individuals. Then, begin to offer choices, allowing pupils to choose whichever way seems to work best for them. Again, this begins to involve pupils in thinking about learning and encourages them to take on some of the responsibility. Vocabulary learning is often chosen as a vehicle for early experimentation, since it is relatively easy to evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches. Start with one unit One tried and tested strategy is to pick out for your experiment a theme or unit of work which seems to be particularly difficult to teach successfully, and to develop just that part of your programme in line with the new ideas that you want to try. Since you selected something which was working unsatisfactorily anyway, you have nothing to lose. Also, if it works, you know that success is due to the change in approach, and that will give you the confidence to experiment further.
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If you found this outline useful you might like to know that it has been further developed and now forms the basis for Unit 5 of the Maximising Potential programme on the Modern Foreign Languages Environment website. Go to: http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/maximisingpotential/unit5/index.asp | |||
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Teaching a Mixed Ability Class | ||
| Download article | ||
Susan has written again on this subject for the Autumn 2008 edition of the Scottish Languages Review: Some Thoughts On Teaching A Mixed Ability Class Find it here: http://www.strath.ac.uk/media/departments/curricularstudies/scilt/slr/issues/18/18_bremner.pdf | ||
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FURTHER THOUGHTS ON CONTENT AND APPROACHES | ||
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SOME ITEMS FROM AN IN-SERVICE ON EFFECTIVE LEARNING AND TEACHING IN MODERN LANGUAGES | ||||||
Just as there are many ways to make a successful cake, there are many ways to teach a language successfully. Each success uses a mix of ingredients and methods which is unique to the specific situation and the personalities involved. It may be possible, however, to detect some basic ingredients which successful courses have in common. | ||||||
| Three ingredients for successful language learning | ||||||
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| Checklist: Features of inclusive classrooms (pdf) | ||||
This checklist was compiled in the course of several in-school projects to improve access to the modern language curriculum. It lists features of the curriculum which were found to have a positive effect on access to effective learning. | ||||
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| What is language learning FOR? (Some quotations) (pdf) | ||
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Modern languages for all - or for the few? An article in Scottish Languages Review, Issue 5 (online). | ||
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| A possible teaching cycle (pdf) | ||
If you found the Teaching Cycle PDF useful. you might like to know that it has been further developed and now forms the basis for Unit 4 of the Maximising Potential programme on the Modern Foreign Languages Environment website where it is accompanied by a checklist you can use to audit your current practice. Go to: http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/maximisingpotential/unit4/index.asp See also Workshop 6 on this site. | ||
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LINKS | ||
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Cooperative Learning
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18.5.09 Language Learning Disabiliities: Theoretical and Practical Tools for English Teachers in Finnish Upper Secondary School | ||
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20.10.09 Assessment is for Learning | ||
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13.2.10 Improving langage learning through the strategic classroom: findings and applications of research | ||
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RELATED PAGES ON THIS SITE Modern languages and inclusion - Why? Why teach languages to pupils already struggling with their own language? Workshop 5 Meeting learning needs Workshop 6 Consolidating learning | ||
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SOUNDBITES Differentiation - Effective differentiation is any measure that allows a struggling pupil to succeed, Purpose - When planning an activity, always ask yourself, | ||
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"It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." | |||
Franklin D.Roosevelt | |||
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This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence. | ||
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Page last updated: 13.2.10 | ||||
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