MFL & INCLUSION

LEARNING & TEACHING
cross curricular issues

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It is no longer sufficient in the modern world to study languages per se. Indeed, the study of languages might be seen as irrelevant if the programme of study does not also contribute substantially to a wider agenda that includes, for example, the personal and professional development of the individual learner, and national and international educational and social priorities.

So perhaps we need now to think in terms of Languages Plus, and the 'plus' can be one or more of a number of things. We need to select topics on the grounds of what they can contribute to personal, national and/or international priorities via their content and/or their methodology - preferably both.

We can do this by, for example:

o selecting new 'cultural' topics for language study,
o expanding traditional topics so that they incorporate a 'plus' element,
o aligning topics with learners' personal interests and aspirations, etc.
o managing learning (whatever the topic) in active and interactive ways that foster personal, social and vocational skills as well as language skills,
o harnessing new communications technology to foster communicative language skills within a global communicative context,
o teaching topics other than language learning through the medium of the new language being learned (Content and Language Integrated Learning - CLIL)
o combining elements of any of the above.

As it happens, the Languages Plus model has long been the one used in most special schools where languages are taught; indeed, special schools' notable success in inspiring interest in languages amongst learners for whom a foreign language is not an obvious subject for study, has been a catalyst for change in mainstream schools.

USING THE TARGET LANGUAGE FOR REAL PURPOSES

Sometimes it seems to learners that they are learning the language just in order to be able to do the exercises in the textbook. By applying the language learned to other topics and skills teachers can demonstrate that the prime reason for learning a language is to help us to understand and communicate with other people. This seems self-evident, and yet you can still find teachers and trainers who will advocate using the language for cross-curricular purposes yet who will see no link between that approach approach and the logic of teacher and pupils using the target language to communicate with one another in the language classroom!

On the vexed question of when and when not to use the target language, see Workshop 6, where the technique of switching clearly and publicly from Stage 3 of the proposed teaching cycle (consolidating new learning - where use of English is logically acceptable) to Stage 4 (using the language for real - speaking, listening, reading, writing in the target language) makes a clear-cut case for working together in the target language at Stage 4.

Notes

4.2.10 Increasing Use of the Target Language in Classroom Interactions
An excellent and helpful article from a Canadian website for teachers of Ukrainian, but will be of interest to teachers of any language.
http://www.oomroom.ca/resources/knop_article.PDF
 

LINKING THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CURRICULUM TO THE LEARNER'S WORLD

The theme of linking crops up in a number of places on this website. The idea of Modern Foreign Language learning taking place in an enclosed environment, with no links beyond the classroom door, is unthinkable - this is, after all a subject essentially concerned with the wider world - yet potential links with pupils' personal worlds are sometimes overlooked.

This may be because we tend to think of languages as foreign and alien - something over there, not right here. The result may be to distance learners from the subject to the extent that they find it difficult to comprehend its relevance for them. Any measures, even local ones, that bring the outside world into the Modern Languages classroom or take the classroom out into the world, help to counteract the feeling of detachment and contribute to a sense of relevance for the learner.

One way of expanding this aspect of the curriculum is to think in terms of ever-increasing circles whose centre is the classroom and whose outer limit is of global proportions.

Curricular activities can range from pinning up work or posters in the corridor outside the MFL classroom to taking part in community activities or an expedition to assist a third world country.

Access 2 in Modern Languages (in Scotland) introduced the requirement for pupils to make comparisons between aspects of life in a country whose language is being studied, and learners' own communities. Such linking of what is distant, foreign and alien with what is close, familiar and comfortable is relevant and reassuring for pupils at any level, but especially to those who are struggling with language and with motivation to learn. The items in this section of the website suggest ways of building such links into programmes of work at all levels.

For more on linking, go to Linking communities
For more on the SQA unit Life in Another Country, go to Qualifications
For more on the wider benefits of language learning, go to Why?
 

Some examples

A special school's programme for senior pupils was built around a projected trip to a similar school in France. This is how the overall programme was linked to the trip, including, of course, language learning for a real purpose.

Another school built its programme for school leavers around the Scottish National Unit Life in Another Country. Find out more about this unit, and this school's Life in Greece version on the Qualifications page.

Extensive advice on incorporating other subjects and core skills into language learning topics can be found in the Guide for Teachers and in the Life in Another Country Support Pack listed on the Qualifications page. The Support Pack includes materials for use with students. Although intended for students being entered for Access level exams, the ideas could be adapted for use with students of any age.

A case study describing a unit of work which incorporated a whole range of skills. This is described in the Guide for Teachers mentioned above, and was picked up by UNESCO as an example of good practice. Go to:
http://www.camsoftpartners.co.uk/docs/UNESCO_Grahams_Report.htm#_Toc36014715
 

Some ideas for those beginning to think about cross curricular work:

If you found the above ideas useful you might like to know that they now form the basis for Unit 6 of the Maximising Potential programme on the Modern Foreign Languages Environment website. Go to: http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/maximisingpotential/unit6/index.asp

Virtual Christmas presents
An example of a theme which can involve language learning, citizenship and enterprise:

Sit!
For an example of how items of news might be used to stimulate interest in language, see this item on the Lucky Dip page.

HELP WITH PLANNING

Items B2 - B6 on the Qualifications page offer help for those planning to use the Scottish Qualifications in Modern Languages at Access levels. They can be adapted for more general use at any level.

Cross Curricular Mapping Matrix ­ Modern Languages in Primary School:
Charting possible links between areas of the Primary curriculum and MFL topic areas; and between the Curriculum for Excellence capacities and MFL (Word document)

LINKS

Learning and Teaching Scotland's website for cross curricular themes is at:
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/crosscurricular/

Education for Citizenship - advice, information and resources for Scottish Schools, and a link to the European Portal.
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/citizenship/index.asp

This ALL website looks at how languages can work more closely with other subjects, exploring three aspects:
• Skills development • A multidisciplinary approach: slavery • Links to individual subjects
http://www.all-nsc.org.uk/nsc/?q=node/64

This portal provides a point of entry to information about languages from the European Union.
http://europa.eu/languages/en/home
 

Developing the four capacities through modern languages: focusing on successful learners in primary schools
Based on sample HMIE inspections May 2006-June2007
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/dmlps.html

NEW RESOURCE

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO resource for modern languages

'Citoyens Du Monde: La Vie en RDC' is an innovative global citizenship resource specially designed for Curriculum for Excellence. The resource, aimed at S2-6 level, has been built around fascinating video interviews. It is aimed at teachers of French but can be readily used in other subject areas.

Aims of this resource
• to help modern language teachers embed global citizenship themes into the classroom
• to help young people understand the importance of language and communication in our globalised world and to encourage them to learn French
• to raise awareness about life in the DRC and help pupils understand the reasons for the arrival to the UK of Congolese refugees and asylum families
• to support the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence guidelines for modern languages in Scotland.

Ideal for those schools wishing to develop interdisciplinary tasks or promote cross-curricular collaboration. Links to subjects including Modern Studies, Maths, Geography, Religious Education and English. ICT has also been integrated into the resource through the DVD-ROM, online video wall and interactive blog. The resource is available from the SCIAF website, or by calling 0141 354 5555 or emailing youth@sciaf.org.uk. You can also view the resource online on the SCIAF Youth website Citoyens Du Monde page.
 

Page last updated: 4.2.10

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