Marple Hall Primary Languages

Autumn 2000 update

The Marple Hall project is directed at KS2, and specifically at Years 5 and 6. This carries with it, however, the fundamental implication of needing to contribute to future success in KS3. The aims of our project reflect this need: above all we want to motivate pupils to Foreign Language learning, to help them to acquire a variety of strategies for learning the FL, to give them a positive attitude to language learning, to improve their linguistic and cultural awareness and social development, to encourage them to communicate - and to understand that language is used to communicate - real things to real people. And all this in thirty to forty-five minutes per week!

We try to achieve these aims by making the children feel relaxed and secure, while their interest is engaged by stress-free,un-threatening, meaningful, enjoyable learning activities, which enable them to develop at their own pace. Lessons are fast-paced, very active, full of listening, participation in songs, games, and stories and enjoyable speaking and role-play activities with partners.

Reading and writing? We think it is important to relate the sound to the written word as quickly at possible for this age group so we introduce reading with large text flashcards, rather on the lines of 'look and say' with Infants. These are used to begin the process of understanding French sounds. We play games with them and use techniques such as hiding bits of a word while pupils guess it.

It is amazing how quickly Year 6 catch on to French pronunciation rules, for example they soon realise that the ends of most French words are silent (yes, I know it's more complicated than that). Maybe we should use large text flashcards more often with Year 10! We also learn the Alphabet and have fun with spellings (pairs make the shapes of letters with their bodies for class to guess; guess which famous person I am spelling; display banners made by pupils of the 'sounds' of the letters of their names, etc). Reading skills are also enhanced by seeing the text of songs the pupils have learnt, displaying key phrases that they have learnt.

With French it is essential that pupils have already thoroughly learnt the words before they see them displayed for any length of time. This is less important with German and, happily for the Spanish teacher, the Spanish written word can be brought into use almost immediately. Writing, as far as we are concerned, is the last skill to begin acquiring. When limited to, in some cases, 30 minutes per week, the emphasis in the lessons has to remain on aural/oral skills. Any writing required, as in a summative worksheet at the end of a topic, will be stress-free and guaranteed for success, eg colour in bubble writing; fill in own name and age. Copying a missing word is as hard as it gets.

This is not to say that pupils who are capable of achieving a higher level cannot be stimulated into extension work, often in their own time: thank goodness for home computers, I say. Our liaison between KS2 and KS3 allows input from the two sectors, thus helping to ensuring continuity and progression, in schemes of work and methodology. There is a logical progression into written work at KS3; the groundwork provided in KS2 enables this to happen more easily.

We consistently try to build on the transferrable language learning skills so far acquired: we are extremely pleased, again this year, to be able to provide teaching of our three languages (French; German and Spanish), distributed, albeit somewhat unevenly, between the feeder Primary schools. Some of the Year 6 are now following a second one-year language course having studied their first FL in Year 5. Marple Hall ensures that all Year 7 pupils can study 2 FLs, so building on the the main aims of the project.

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