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Plymouth Regional Support Group |
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Regular sessions are held at different venues
around Plymouth. The objectives were
to develop competence in French and build up confidence in starting teaching
MFL (KS1/2). Part of the sessions included basic grammar appropriate to
the classroom and much emphasis was put on pronunciation. (Everyone had
a go at those French “R” and terrible nasals!) Feedback: All
delegates found the sessions had met its aims and the tutor to be approachable. Session 2:
Wednesday 1 November, 2006 (2pm to 3.30pm, 4.00pm to 5.30pm) Attendance: 12 delegates for 2.00pm session and 15 delegates for 4.00pm session The main objective
of this course was to equip teachers with some finger rhymes and songs,
which they could incorporate in their lessons, with specific reference
to the development of oracy.
Feedback: All
delegates found the session had met its aims and the tutor to be approachable.
Session
3: Tuesday
7 November 2006 Twenty-nine teachers attended this course, which ran from 1.30 until 4.30pm. The main objective for this session was to explore the ICT resources available on interactive whiteboard or which could be downloaded for free from the Internet. In addition, we explored the use of Powerpoint Presentation and of the Internet to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. The primary resources that we demonstrated were: the numeracy ITPs, Sebran, Art Rage, the SEALs materials on the Excellence and Enjoyment disc as well as Widget Resources. We demonstrated a sample of free PowerPoint Presentations, songs, games and stories all available on the Internet. Although this was not a hands-on session, we taught the participants how to embed sound files, flash animations, BBC clips as well as motion pictures in PowerPoint presentations in order to make the MFL resources stimulating. It was a very packed programme and the evaluations for this course were extremely positive. Feedback from participants included comments such as “It was good to see a more integrated approach to the curriculum, more creative”, “a lively, thought-provoking session, jam packed with ideas immediately available."Session
4: Thursday
23 November 2006 We ran two identical sessions: one between 2 and 3.30pm and the other between 4 and 5.30pm. There were 15 delegates at the first session and about double this amount at the second. Both sessions were very successful in giving teachers a background in Christmas time activities in France, Spain (and Latin America) and Germany. The foreign language assistants were excellent in delivering this part of the session due to the fact that as natives they are the experts in Christmas in their own countries and could answer the wealth of questions posed to them by attending teachers. Then Kate Lyon and
myself, with the aid of the FLAs, presented the teachers with a host of
activities to help teachers celebrate Christmas with their pupils and
give a deeper understanding of traditional Christmas culture in these
countries. These activities included modelling traditional marzipan figures
(Spain), playing the lottery ‘El Gordo’ (Spain), singing carols
from all three countries, slipper making to leave under the tree (France),
Advent candles and calendars (Germany). During the break I supplied a
variety of traditional Christmas foods and drinks from these countries
for people to try along with recipes for them to try out with their pupils. From looking at the evaluations I found out that the sessions were found to be very enjoyable, informative and great fun. The delegates appreciated having the chance to speak to native people from the countries and they liked the range of activities that they were presented with. They found them practical and easy to introduce into their own classrooms. Some constructive criticism was feedback too. For example, some people felt that the sessions were too late in the year and should have been done earlier in the year to allow time for thorough planning and delivery of the Christmas activities they learnt. Another idea is to invite TAs to the training we provide for MFL and also to make the courses better advertised for student teachers. All in all, it was a great afternoon where everyone enjoyed learning the intercultural aspect of MFL and went away with many ideas to put into practice. Session
5: Tuesday 20 March 2007 24 teachers attended this session. The session was an exploration of the many ways in which primary languages teachers can use inspirational display to raise awareness of and complement language learning in their schools. The session began with an introductory presentation, which illustrated the numerous ways in which display can be used in a language learning environment. Teachers were encouraged to think about using display in main corridors, reception areas and the main hall in order to promote an international ethos in their schools. Many examples of good practice were shown from a range of primary schools which have successful language teaching models. An explanation was given as to how teachers can recreate similar ideas with one example that works especially well being the ‘Alphabet of languages’ as explained in CILT Young Pathfinder 11: ‘A flying start’ Teachers were then
asked to think about making the central focus of their classroom languages
learning environment a ‘languages corner’ which should be
a permanent dedicated area but with display updated frequently to reflect
the current teaching topic.
A more detailed presentation
was then given on many practical ideas for creating display to incorporate
children’s language work, displaying it to the best possible advantage. Hooe
Primary School
Following the tour teachers then explored the excellent publication, ‘French on display’. They were asked to discuss how examples from the book could be used to fit in with other areas of the curriculum in particular themes which they themselves are doing in the coming terms. A valuable discussion followed with suggestions such as the beach themed display being ideal to fit in with a trip to Wembury Beach. The session came to a close with teachers being given many resources. Each school was given a free copy of the book, ‘French on display’ plus several different borders and posters to kick-start their displays. They also received booklets from Alison with many further ideas including an Easter, Montgolfier Brothers and ‘Claude le clown’ birthdays displays. Several teachers were also given PowerPoint presentations on a number of themes. Session
6: Wednesday 18 April 2007 This was a lively and practical session linking MFL to PE in the primary classroom. The speakers presented this session to a group of 14 participants, using PE equipment such as coloured hoops, toys, and a large parachute. The activities required learners to listen to instructions in French, German and Spanish and carry them out individually, in small groups or as a large team. The activities were appropriate to use in either KS1 or KS2. The session was divided into 3 parts:
The response from participants was extremely positive. People felt it was something they could take straight back to their classrooms and use effectively without too much difficulty. There was positive feedback about the practical ways of incorporating MFL in a cross-curricular way and therefore solving some of the timetabling issues that people are experiencing. Session 7: Wednesday 6 June 2007
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Coordinator: Neil Vasey, MFL Strategy Manager, Salisbury Road Junior School, Salisbury Road, St Judes, Plymouth PL4 8QZ