Barriers and Strategies to Ensuring a Cohesive MFL T eam

1. Barriers and Strategies to Ensuring a Cohesive MFL Team Andrew Adamski Languages Specialism Presentation February 2014

2. Overview • Barriers • Lack of a school-wide vision for MFLs • Lack of competence and confidence of staff • Alternative means often become short-sighted solutions • Strategies • Show clear interest at the top • Have a clear long term plan when training staff • Provide resources to enable effective teaching

3. Barriers

4. Barrier: Lack of school-wide vision for MFL “A school-wide vision for the learning and teaching of languages was important for successful provision.” Longitudinal study done by Open University (January, 2010) Schools have yet to be scrutinized on language teaching Fear of staff focus being shifted away from core subjects Fear too much stress on ‘extra’ subjects might exhaust students

5. Barrier: Lack of Competence and Confidence in Staff Why do staff find teaching MFLs difficult? • Lack of subject knowledge makes it difficult to prepare • 23% of schools have no staff members higher than GCSE level (The Guardian, 2013) • Staff often have inadequate support in schools • Lack of confidence in pronunciation • Most common shortcoming in teachers subject knowledge was pronunciation and intonation (Ofsted, 2011) • Justified worries: If primary teachers have poor command of the sound system, then some damage may occur in students speaking (Johnstone, 1994)

6. Barrier: Alternative means often become shortsighted solutions What are some problems associated with hiring outside? • Don’t know the pupils well – differentiation less likely • Lack of liaison with staff makes language period an ‘add on’ • Lack of integration of languages into the wider curriculum • Assessment for learning and progression becomes unlikely (Cynthia Martin, 2005)

8. Strategy: Show clear interest at the top • Head teacher’s endorsement is key to motivation • Specialist can then begin devise a plan • Class teachers can get help to develop subject knowledge and pedagogy over time

9. Strategy: Having a clear long term plan when training staff • Establish a regular scheme of work • Provides a ‘base’ for planning • Gives teachers a better understanding of where their subject knowledge needs to be • Provides a clear framework for progression • Train up the levels

10. Strategy: Having a clear long term plan when training staff Training up the levels – 1st year of training Adapted form Ofsted Report, 2011

11. Strategy: Having a clear long term plan when training staff Training up the levels – 2nd year of training Adapted form Ofsted Report, 2011

12. Strategy: Having a clear long term plan when training staff Training up the levels – 3rd year of training Adapted form Ofsted Report, 2011

13. Strategy: Having a clear long term plan when training staff Training up the levels – 4th year of training Adapted form Ofsted Report, 2011

14. Strategy: Provide resources to enable effective teaching • Create a bank of resources for the teachers to access and to add to “Some non-specialist teachers preferred interactive whiteboard resources, which provided structured support in the form of ready-made lessons.”A Longitudinal Study by Open University (January, 2010) • Ensure that resources include audio of native speakers • Better schools provided access to native speakers through technology to help with pronunciation shortcomings (Ofsted, 2011)

15. References Guardian (2013), Available: http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/may/15/ languages-primary-schools-2014[12 Feb 2014] Johnstone, R. M. (1994) Teaching modern languages at primary school: Approaches and implications. Edinburgh: Scottish Council for Research in Education Martin, C. (2005), Evaluation of the Key Stage 2 Language Learning Pathfinders, pp 17-21 Martin, C. (2001), An analysis of national and international research on the provision of modern foreign languages in primary schools Report, pp 26-55 Ofsted (2011), Modern Languages: Achievements and Challenges 2007 – 2010, pp 4 – 17 Open University (2010), Language Learning at Key Stage 2: A longitudinal study final report, pp 1-149

16. Questions?