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When less is definitely more: integrating planned and spontaneous target language use with content teaching�

Rachel Hawkes

Date updated: 26/03/20

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Rachel Hawkes

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Using the new (‘target’) language in the classroom provides an essential dimension of practice and reinforcement, including building familiarity with rhythms, sounds and intonation.

In the examples we saw, it was most effective when it was planned as part of a systematic programme of teaching grammar and vocabulary,

and supplemented by the use of English where needed for clear explanation or the introduction of some new material.

Where new language used by the teacher, and elicited from pupils, builds on previously taught language, it is a highly effective way of embedding language in the long term memory, practising recall and encouraging use for real and creative communication. p.14

TSC (Teaching Schools Council). (2016). Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review.

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Rachel Hawkes

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Aims of the session

Understand the rationale and potential for classroom TL use, particularly in relation to the need for its careful planning
Examine in detail how classroom and content language can best be integrated
Understand and evaluate the recommendation for uses of English in the languages classroom
Become familiar with, or more confident in, using a checklist to plan teacher and student TL use

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Rachel Hawkes

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Share ideas

What specific L2 classroom language do you use with your early KS3 classes?

How do you introduce this language to students?

Do you (and students)use more L2 as time goes on, or less?

Why do you think this is?

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Rachel Hawkes

Ideas/practice sharing: 10 minutes (7 minutes discussion, 3 minutes feedback)

Ask teachers to pair up to discuss their usual practice with regard to the use of classroom target language. There is likely to be quite a lot of variety with respect to this. This discussion time is to share current practice and ideas relating to L2 use in the classroom.

To get the most from this first discussion, ask teachers to:

brainstorm the language they use with classes and teach students to use with them, so that there are some specific language examples collected.
Again, ask teachers to be concrete, here. Do they have one or two dedicated classroom language lessons at the start of Y7, when they ‘teach’ a set of classroom language? �Do they give it out to students on a sheet? Posters round the room? Do they have a ‘classroom language structure’ for each week? Do they plan their TL use for their own instructions? �Do they treat the classroom language in the same way as any other language - i.e. teach it, revisit it, test it etc… Are there any systems in place to encourage students to use the classroom language they’ve been taught?�E.g. incentives, checks, reinforcement from the teacher?

Additional thoughts for bullets 3 & 4.

3) Often teachers report that they start off with high hopes and expectations in Y7 and then things tail off, with students often using less classroom language themselves at the end of the year than they did at the beginning.

4) If teachers report to the contrary that their students increase their use of TL, ask them to suggest why? High focus on it from the teacher, and a consistent approach are likely to feature in the responses, here. If teachers say that their and student use of TL decline as time goes on, the reasons are likely to include:�i. it just gets overlooked as time passes - the language drops off teacher and student radars and is forgotten. As it’s easier for students to use English, and teaching time is always tight, it is natural for use of target language in the classroom to decrease.�ii. too much was introduced too quickly and it wasn’t embedded firmly enough with practice and revisiting.�ii. the language was too complex and varied, students couldn’t unpack the chunks and the messages themselves were a bit limited. Students weren’t able to adapt them confidently to say what they needed/wanted to say, so they quickly get into the habit of using English.

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Teaching Schools Council p 14

The most effective teachers adapt and select the language they use in the classroom continuously to take account of pupil learning and capability, and to ensure pupils understand enough of the language for the purpose intended. The teacher simply talking the new language in an undifferentiated way will do little to assist the learning process, and can cause demotivation and confusion. Carefully planning use of the new language will create more opportunities for pupils to operate in the ‘learning zone’, where they are being stretched but can still sufficiently understand the message and do not become disengaged. p.14

TSC (Teaching Schools Council). (2016). Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review.

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Rachel Hawkes

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Vocabulary introduced

�New words presented [with frequency rankings]. The NCELP Y7 scheme of work is based on 36 teaching weeks, with an average of 10 words taught per week (360 per year), assuming two lessons (of 45 - 60 minutes) per week. We allow 10% either way (more or less) on this total for any given year. Over the whole of KS3, we allow 5% either way (more or less) on the total number of words. Most words are among the 2,000 most frequent words in the language. Frequency rankings of individual forms of verbs are not available. Includes highly irregular verbs as lexical items (as learners usually store and access these forms as lexical items). Words and phrases in purple bold font feature in classroom interactions (communication strategies) and instructions in materials.
être [5], suis, es, est, je [22], tu [112], il [13], elle [38], anglais [784], français [251], grand [59], petit [138], et [6], au revoir [1274], bonjour [1972], oui [284], non [75]

French SOW Y7 Term 1.1, Week 1

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Rachel Hawkes

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¿Dónde está…?

Where is…?

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Rachel Hawkes

Classroom target language example from Term 1, Lesson 1, Spanish.�

We envisage that this is the first lesson with a new Y7 class, and that the teacher doesn’t know the students, and the students will likely not all know each other, either.�Teachers can use “¿Dónde está + name of student?” to identify the students in the class. Teachers may choose to do this after they have got underway with the lesson material OR alternatively they may use this situation to introduce it. This is an opportunity to use the L2 clearly and successfully for a communicative purpose. Model 'Dónde‘ (with gesture/supported by picture, as preferred) and ‘está’ and the response of raising a hand. The teacher can then say ‘hola’ and wave.

Then, having done the register, the teacher can continue with the next slide, having primed them thoroughly with 'está‘.

Note: the learning objective of this lesson is ESTAR for location. In this way the use of L2 is fully planned and integrated into the language learning objective of the lesson, and primes students for it.

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Deutsch - Y7

�Wo ist der / die / das…?�Definite articles: the words for ‘the’

Term 1.1 - Week 1 – lesson 1

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Rachel Hawkes

Here is a similar example from the first lesson of the German SOW, which teaches ‘Wo?’, ‘ist’,’hier’ and ‘da’.�

Learning aims for Week 1:

1. Definite articles (singular) der, die, das - Row 1 (nominative); ‚words for ‚the‘ and the concept of grammatical gender�2. SEIN / ist; focus on the 3rd person singular ‚is‘�3. Question word ‚where‘ and asking and answering the question ‚Where ist the X‘?�4. Capital letters for nouns

The new language can be used by the teacher to learn the names of the new class; this acts as a ‘prime’.�Teacher has register but doesn’t know the students – Teachers may find it helpful to ‘mime’ gesture of looking as they say ‘Wo ist David?’ When David puts his hand up, teacher models answer ‘Hier’ and writes it on the board. Ensure all students are clear that ‘hier’ means ‘here’ (seems obvious but it might not be and it’s important that all students understand, so quickly elicit the English, saying ‘’Hier. Auf Englisch?’ and students will (probably) volunteer ‘Here’. Teacher continues to find out where all the other students are – they respond ‘Hier’. It is possible to do this very quickly or elaborate the routine further and introduce ‘da’ – e.g., teacher pretends (may not even be pretence!) that it’s hard to remember where different students are and s/he needs the help of the class. This produces the need for ‘da’ as they will point towards a student in response to the teacher recapping ‘Also, wo ist David?’ and as they point they will naturally want to say ‘Hier’ but realise it doesn’t quite fit, so the teacher provides ‘da’. By the time the attendance of all students has been ascertained, the teacher will know all/almost all of the names of the class, and students will have begun to learn each other’s names, too. This is an important first step is building the classroom ethos that we need for language learning. In addition, many will now already know the words for ‘where’ and ‘is’ in German – they will often be surprised that they already know this when we go on to present the language more formally in the next slides.

Source: Jones, R.L. & Tschirner, E. (2006). A frequency dictionary of German: core vocabulary for learners. Routledge

Frequency rankings (1 is the most common word in German):

sein [3] ist [3] das Heft [3594] das Fenster [634] der Tisch [492] die Tafel [3656] die Flasche [1758] wo? [94] hier [71] da [35] der, die, das [1]

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wo?

where?

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Rachel Hawkes

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wo?

where?

Wo ist Niko?

[Where is Niko?]

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Rachel Hawkes

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wo?

where?

____ ist Niko?

Wo

[Where is Niko?]

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Rachel Hawkes

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Classroom language checklist

Identify the opportunities to use content language referentially as classroom language (within SOW/resources)
Include classroom language as explicit learning (e.g., within the weekly vocabulary set)

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Rachel Hawkes

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Y7 Term 1 Classroom Language from the NCELP SOW

French	German	Spanish
être [5] anglais [784] français [251] et [6] au revoir [1274] bonjour [1972] oui [284] non [75] excellent [1225] ou [33] voilà [524] merci [1070] ce (c') [12] mais [30] avoir [8] chose [125] idée [239] liste [924] livre [358], règle [488] écris/parle en anglais date [660] titre [399] Comment ça s'écrit? parle en français professeur [1150] ami/amie [467] intéressant [1244] faux [555] vrai [292] garçon [1599], fille [629] mot [220] phrase [2074] bon [94] faire [25] activité [452] devoirs [39] d'accord [736] comme [32] aimer [242] numéro [766] question [144] réponse [456] cocher [<5000] donner [46] trouver [83],solution [608] uniforme [1801] aujourd'hui [233] demander [80] montrer [108] parler [106] penser [116] regarder [425] travailler [290] nous [31] partenaire [1077] avec [23] chanter [1820] écouter [429] jouer [219] écrire [382] fermer [757] lire [278] mettre [27] ouvrir [257] vous [50] classe [778] fenêtre [1604] porte [696] salle [812] silence [1281] tableau [1456] bien [47]	sein [3] das Heft [3598] das Fenster [634] der Tisch [494] die Tafel [3660] die Flasche [1762] wo? [94] hier [71] da [35] Hallo! [1375] Tschüs! [>4034] die Klasse [619] richtig [211] falsch [638] nicht [12] oder [30] ja [27] nein [120] Ist das klar? bitte [547] danke [778] wie geht's? die Nummer [1048] aber [32] ich weiß nicht [8/79/12] wie sagt man [28/48/36] wie schreibt man [28/247/48] das ist (nicht) klar das Wort [243] nicht wahr? [14/662] Ist es warm/kalt heute? Wer hat einen Grund / eine Frage / ein Beispiel / ein Problem? Wer ist der/die/das erste? Lieblings- [>4034] schreiben [245] spielen [197] reden [356] lernen [203] machen [49] die Aufgabe [317] im Klassenzimmer [609/619] im Unterricht [1107] in der Schule [208] mit Freunden [13/327] ich verstehe (nicht), nochmal, bitte Hausaufgaben, arbeiten [200] zu Hause [6/159] die Liste [1975] hören [1557] zeigen [154] zuhören [1946] sprechen [157] lesen [323] wiederholen [1044] die Antwort [707] freiwillig [1714] Wie viele? [28, 60] spät [171] erklären [250] die Idee [641]	estar [21] ¿dónde? [161] en [5] ¡hola! [1245] ¡hasta luego! [N/A] deberes [2187] ¿cómo? [151] hoy [167] ¿cómo se dice ... en inglés/español? ¿cómo se escribe? seguro [407] listo [1684] sí [45] no [11] y [4] marcar [993] correcto [1467] opción [1175] tener [19] libro [230] ¿qué? [50] nuevo [94] bolígrafo [>5000] leer [209] frase [1036] letra [977] papel [393] amigo [210] teléfono [866] pregunta [507] palabra [192] tarea [995] también [49] ¿quién? [289] hablar [90] llegar [75] escuchar [281] tarde [392] bien [78] con [14] otra vez pareja [892] necesitar [276] usar [317] ayuda [784] voluntario [2732] gracias [275] de nada [nada-87] luego [150] cosa [69] español [262] inglés [583] señor [201] señora [509] verdad [176] o [29] falso [1599] entiendo [entender-229]; silencio [518]; grupo [200]; perdón [1729] autor/a [513] profesor/a [501] director/a [592] número [324] hay [13 - haber] mirar [125] mesa [525] silla [1271] ventana [752] puerta [274] chica [1129] persona [108] chico [727] aquí [130] allí [197] clase [320] respuesta [488] equipo [373] interesante [616] quiero, querer [58]

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Rachel Hawkes

Group task. 15 minutes.�Note: For this task it will be most useful if teachers work in language specific groups.�Going back to the sorts of TL that teachers identified that they teach and use with their classes, how does this compare?��What sorts of �a) instructions�b) talk / chat�c) questions�could they and students engage in, using this language, which is taken directly from the sets of 10 vocabulary items students are explicitly learning in lessons.��Note: we are deliberately neither overloading with too much new language nor leaping ahead of grammatical understanding to introduce lots of chunks that cannot be unpacked effectively by many learners, especially at this early stage.�It’s for that reason that we are choosing a limited number of chunks very carefully.

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Group task

What exact classroom language could you and students be expected to use after Y1 Term 1, based on the NCELP SOW?
List any:

a) instructions�b) talk / chat�c) questions

List any obvious gaps (when compared with what you want/need to say to classes

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Rachel Hawkes

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The reproduction of memorised chunks of vocabulary or fixed phrases without understanding does not by itself promote pupils’ ability to use the language for communication. Where fixed phrases are taught initially, at the earliest opportunity pupils should be taught to manipulate the words and grammar they contain. p.14

TSC (Teaching Schools Council). (2016). Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review.

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Rachel Hawkes

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Salut! Je m’appelle Luc. J’ai douze ans. �Quel âge as-tu? �As-tu des frères ou des sœurs? �Je suis fils unique.

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Rachel Hawkes

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Use of formulaic language / ‘chunks’

‘Chunks’ make speech sound fluent (faster than ‘creative’ speech)
Some, not all, learners can begin to break chunks down

= use them ‘creatively’, not necessarily accurately, but in their own way

Learners differ in whether they can do this by themselves

‘Chunks’ can be both motivating and demotivating

Teachers could occasionally select one or two ‘chunks’
Chunks that function as communication strategies are the most beneficial

initiate and extend interactions for learning

…But teachers should actively help learners to understand the component parts of the chunks and then use them creatively
So…chunks with clear and simple component parts are helpful

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Rachel Hawkes

Handout 2: What is the relationship between the knowledge of chunks

and creative language use? OASIS Summary of Myles et al. (1999) in Studies in Second Language Acquisition. https://oasis-database.org�https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/c534fn92g?locale=en

�Give out the summary and allow 5 minutes to read it.�

What is the role of chunks? How can we best make use of them?

It’s important to think about the sort of chunks to include and the sort to avoid……..

Summary: Müller, L-M., Myles, F., Mitchell, R. & Hooper, J. (2018). What is the relationship between the knowledge of chunks

and creative language use? OASIS Summary of Myles et al. (1999) in Studies in Second Language Acquisition. https://oasis-database.org�https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/c534fn92g?locale=en

Original article: Myles, F., Mitchell, R. & Hooper, J. (1999). Interrogative chunks in French L2: a basis for creative construction? Studies in Second Language

Acquisition, 21 (1), 49-80.

�

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‘Chunks’ as communication strategies

Chunks are most beneficial when they:

lead to more interaction
increase comprehensibility of the input

They will typically:

be questions that seek clarification [Is it….? �How do you say / spell? Repeat, please]
indicate comprehension breakdown [I don’t understand, I don’t know, I am not sure]
extend interactions [I think… And you? What do you think?]
Include simple and clear component parts that beginner learners will be able to identify and re-use
contain high-frequency language�

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Rachel Hawkes

Additional information for presenters:�Interaction (e.g., between learners, between learner and teacher, or between a learner and native speaker) is thought to lead to better learning than conditions where there is no interaction (see Loewen & Sato, 2018 for a review). This is thought to be because breakdowns and repairs in communication then lead to better understanding, and if you understand something you are more likely to learn it (Long, 1985, 1996). Where learners are able to interact they understand more and learn better (Pica, Young & Doughty, 1987; Vos et al., 2018). It is important to encourage learners to ask questions (e.g., Can you repeat X? What does X mean?). Teachers can make good use of contexts that arise spontaneously for this kind of practice, both for known language and/or occasionally the introduction of new language.

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SPELLING BEE

Comment ça s’écrit?��Wie schreibt man das?��¿Cómo se escribe?�

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Rachel Hawkes

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Word	Translation
estar	to be \| being [location /state]
está	is [location / state]
¿dónde?	where?
en	in, on
estoy	I am
yo	I
¿cómo?	how?
hoy	today
nervioso	nervous
tranquilo	calm
serio	serious
raro	strange
tonto	silly, stupid
blanco	white
muy	very

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Rachel Hawkes

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Integrating content and classroom language

Scheme of work content

Y7, Term 2.2, Week 5 - ne…pas with previously taught verbs/vocabulary
Y7, Term 3.1, Week 5 -�modal verbs with dependent infinitives
Y7, Term 3.2, Week 1- savoir (with ‘able to’ meaning)

Classroom language

Je n’ai pas de cahier, stylo…

Je veux (travailler avec…)
Je peux (aller…)?
Je dois (écrire en anglais…)?

Je ne sais pas (traduire…)

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Rachel Hawkes

Integrating content and classroom language, as much as possible. Slides 22 - 25. 10 mins.��When planning our classroom language, we need to balance ‘communicative need’ and ‘usefulness’ with linguistic complexity.�As we have seen, we ideally aim to limit the number of chunks and prioritise those which increase interaction and clarify understanding.�We also want to help students to unpack those chunks as soon as possible so that they are in a good position to use the individual building blocks to build new sentences.��Here are three examples from the French SOW, showing where the grammar structures that feature in three typical sets of classroom language ‘chunks’ are actually taught.�Teachers might plan to teach these concurrently. Alternatively, teachers might plan to teach one or other of these ahead of the SOW, but either way, the rationale for doing so must be clear.�If, for example, teachers judge that the usefulness and frequency of the phrase ‘je ne sais pas’ is such that students will have the chance to learn it thoroughly as a chunk and use it in the classroom ahead of the summer term teaching of SAVOIR, then they may decide to teach and use it early with students. However, they will want to ensure that the two are explicitly connected, when the use of SAVOIR is taught.

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Je peux…?

aller
chanter
chercher
voir
aider
porter
continuer
montrer
prendre

dire
utiliser
ouvrir
écrire
mettre
écouter
travailler
parler

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Rachel Hawkes

Slide showing the POUVOIR example in more detail.�

Integrating the L2 classroom use with the SOW learning has the advantage that it creases students’ use (comprehension and production) of the new target feature and also that it spaces out the L2 classroom language introduction in a more manageable way, rather than having a couple of lessons at the start of the year to learn lots of phrases, some or which are either then forgotten and not used, or only used and chunks and not broken down so that they can be used more creatively/independently.�

For example, at the start of Y7 Term 3 SOW students learn ‘pouvoir / peux’. They already know how to form raised intonation questions.�They can then be encouraged to formulate their own requests using any of the verbs they already know. ��Here is a list of the main verbs they have met during terms 1 & 2:�aller / chanter / chercher / voir / aider / porter / continuer / montrer / prendre / dire / utiliser / ouvrir / écrire / mettre / écouter / travailler / parler

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In summary: When deciding which language to teach as chunks…

Seeking clarification = good ☺
Those that are easiest to break down are good = ☺
Those that have high-frequency language in them are good = ☺
Integrating into the SOW/content language as closely as possible is good = ☺

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Rachel Hawkes

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Classroom language checklist

Identify the opportunities to use content language referentially as classroom language (within SOW/resources)
Include classroom language as explicit learning (e.g., within the weekly vocabulary set)
A few, carefully-chosen, high-frequency ‘chunks’ that lead to more interaction are valuable
Other typical ‘chunks’ are better integrated into content teaching, so that students are more able to break them down and use them creatively

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Rachel Hawkes

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The use of the target language is…

supplemented by the use of English where needed for clear explanation or the introduction of some new material.

TSC (Teaching Schools Council). (2016). Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review.

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Rachel Hawkes

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Use of English: principled and planned

unequivocal English:L2 meanings [Schimitt, 2008]

i.e., with non-concrete language [e.g. estar (to be)]

grammar explanations

key but minimal metalanguage (grammatical terms), using terms from KS2

maximal examples of the grammar feature (target language with English translation)

task scenarios

invite interest

inject humour

endow plausibility

oral / written translation

L2 at sentence level = assessment of grammar and vocabulary
English = assessment of L2 understanding of grammar and vocabulary

respond to learner questions, in English or TL as most appropriate (no blanket rule)

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Rachel Hawkes

Use of English: What are the essentials? 5 mins

Explain the use that NCELP makes of English. List the main bullets with their sub-bullets, and say that there will be some examples of 1-3 on the following slides. �NB: I have not included examples of oral/translation as teachers will be very familiar with translation both ways, as a use of English.��Mention also the following principles:�1. 1^st rule - Do no harm! – students MUST understand or the time is wasted, whatever language we are operating in!�2. Accept and acknowledge student differences (examples of aspergers learners) and strong negative reactions to not understanding�3. In the time-poor classroom we need to find the optimum use of L2 – actually it’s less about English vs L2 and more about teacher talk vs student talk and even more about purposeful talk vs irrelevant talk. Number 1 priority is to ensure and support understanding.�Give some examples from NCELP resources…….. about the principles eg. in rubrics… brevity, clarity, minimal explanation (remember rule knowledge will be partial at best at the beginner stage, practice is what counts, lots of concrete examples�4. Fitness for purpose……. and always keep an open mind!

�Main message – we should not consider that English and the L2 are in tension all of the time.

��Original article: Schmitt, N. (2008). Review Article: Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Language Teaching Research, 12(3), 329-363. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168808089921

Summary: Hobson, V. & Schmitt, N. (2019). A review of current research on second language vocabulary learning. OASIS Summary of Schmitt (2008) in Language Teaching Research. https://oasis-database.org

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fahren

[to drive, ride / driving, riding]

fährt

[drives, rides / is driving, riding]

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Peer or self introduction

	Word	English meaning
1	das Auto	car
2	der Zug	train
3	spät	late
4	schnell	fast
5	langsam	slow
6	fahren	to drive
7	das Fahrrad	bicycle
8	nehmen	to take
9	oft	often
10	die Stadt	city

60

Sekunden

0

ANFANG

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Rachel Hawkes

Example 2: Use of English to provide L1:L2 meanings

Peer or self-introduction�Pupils either work by themselves or in pairs, reading out the words and studying their English meaning (1 minute).�Then the English meanings are removed and they try to recall them, looking at the German(1 minute).�Then the German meanings are removed and they to recall them, looking at the English (1 minute)�NB: It is not expected that they will be able to do them all. However, in a mixed ability class, some pupils will come close to being able to do this, whilst others may just manage one or two. It is important to have open-ended routines for first encounters of new words, where learners are ‘self-serving’, as it prevents the frustration hat can be caused by a mismatched pace of presentation.

Further rounds of learning can be facilitated by one pupil turning away from the board, and his/her partner asking him/her the meanings. This activity can work from L2 🡪 L1 or L1 🡪 L2.

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Estar: I am & he/she is

Y7 Week 1 Lesson 1

In Spanish, the verb estar means to be �when describing location.

Estoy

I am

Está

he / she is

Estoy en España

I am in Spain

Está en España

He / she is in Spain

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Rachel Hawkes

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Lire

Y7, T1.1, Week 3

Michel’s message tells us what he has, and what his sister Sophie has. The app has a bug! It deleted all the pronouns. Write the nouns (e.g. un animal) in English, in two columns: Michel / Sophie.
1	ai un animal.	5	ai une idée.
2	a un livre.	6	a une chose.
3	a une chambre.	7	ai un chien.
4	ai une règle.	8	a un portable.

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Rachel Hawkes

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Ich oder du?

Y7, T1.2, Week 3

lesen

Wolfgang and Mia want to help more often, but they can’t agree!

Wer macht was? Schreib ich (I) oder du (you).

a) @mia2008: ___ koche einmal die � Woche und ___ arbeitest im Garten.

b) @der_wolf: Nein! ___ putzt jeden Tag � den Boden und ___ koche manchmal.

c) @mia2008: Was?! ___ putze manchmal� den Boden und ___ machst das Bett.

Ich

du

Du

ich

Ich

du

d) @der_wolf: Das ist unfair! ___ machst � das Bett und ___ putze das Fenster.

e) @mia2008: Okay. ___ schreibe eine Liste.

f) @der_wolf: Nein! ___ schreibe die Liste � und ___ machst die Arbeit.� @mia2008: …

Du

ich

Ich

du

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leer

Amanda está en España.

Describe diez ciudades.

Marca la opción correcta.

Lee la segunda frase.

Marca la opción correcta.


1

2

3

4

5

Madrid

En Madrid

León

En León

En Mallorca

Mallorca

En Málaga

Málaga

San Sebastián

En San Sebastián

hay un monumento.

tiene unos parques.

hay una escuela.

hay unos coches.

tiene unas casas.


Es muy antiguo.
Son muy antiguos.
No son muy bonitos.
No es muy bonito.
Son muy pequeñas.
Es muy pequeña.
Es bueno.
Son buenos.
Es cara.
Son caras.

Y7, T1.2, Week 4

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Nick Avery

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Classroom language checklist

Identify the opportunities to use content language referentially as classroom language (within SOW/resources)
Include classroom language as explicit learning (e.g., within the weekly vocabulary set)
A few, carefully-chosen, high-frequency ‘chunks’ that lead to more interaction are worth including
Other typical ‘chunks’ are better integrated into content teaching, so that students are more able to break them down and use them creatively
English should be used when otherwise meaning would be unclear
The use of English should be planned to decrease as student knowledge of TL increases

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Sometimes meaningful contexts arise spontaneously in the classroom, and when this happens the opportunity can be taken to introduce previously unknown language, e.g., where the circumstance facilitates understanding or increases the need to understand. p.14

TSC (Teaching Schools Council). (2016). Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review.

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Rachel Hawkes

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Integrating spontaneous language and the SOW

SOW

Wo ist…?
Was ist…?
Wer ist / hat…?
Use of ‘nicht’
Verb ‘wissen’

Classroom talk

Wo ist…? (Alfie, dein Heft, mein Kuli)
Was ist ‘X’ auf Englisch?
Ich habe ein Problem / eine Frage / eine Idee
Ich verstehe nicht
Ich weiß nicht

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

When judging whether to commit lesson time to spontaneous interactions, a good rule of thumb is to ask: Is it going to be useful? Is it going to be re-visited (relatively soon)?

If students are going to meet language incidentally in these memorable interactions, it will be most beneficial if it is language that will come up again (and fairly soon). If this is the case, then it is likely that the interaction will be of use to more than one learner, may in fact prime for planned learning in the future, and that meeting the new language ahead of time in this favourable context is likely to support L2 learning.

These are ‘on the spot’ decisions that have to be made by the teacher. However, coming at this the other way around can also be helpful.�I.e. what are we planning to teach / have then taught, which now can be usefully recycled as part of the classroom language, in different contexts. Pegging spontaneous classroom interaction to existing L2 knowledge is a very valuable way that the teacher can model spontaneous language use and encourage student use of the same structures.

These few examples show how what is taught in Y7 term 1 should easily find its way into the classroom discourse, if teachers remember to use it themselves and prompt its use from students.

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Teacher use of the target language

Carefully planned
Clear
Cumulative
Consistent
Checks understanding
Creative
Communicative

🡪 comprehensible

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Rachel Hawkes

Summary of principles for teacher use of TL.

1. Carefully planned

i.e. planned out to take account of the language students have already learnt, to avoid tricky language (e.g. idioms) and unfamiliar structures, to made judicious use of comprehensible cognates,

2. Clear

i.e. enunciated clearly, facing the class, not too quickly, allowing pauses for processing, supporting with appropriate gestures (e.g. to an example on the board, to an object or person in the classroom)�3. Cumulative�i.e. to build up gradually and incrementally over time, not trying to do too much too quickly, focusing repeatedly on one structure, but adding lexical variety where possible, recycling/ modelling previously learnt structures �4. Consistent�Vital. If you use a particular instruction in the new language (successfully) with a class one day, and then revert to English (easy to do), this is a missed opportunity for valuable input. Similarly, if we use the new language, then translate ourselves into English (sandwiching) as a routine, it takes twice as long to say anything and students get used to attending only to the English (it’s easier) – and the new language becomes redundant. We have to make our use of the new language task essential. It goes without saying that if our students do not yet have enough language to understand what we need to tell them, even once we have considered how we might simplify our language, then we use clear, succinct English. �Bottom line – our language and our message (whether L1 or L2) needs to be understood.�5. Checks understanding�This also applies, whether or not we use L1 or L2! It’s all too easy to forget to check that students understand. We all use expressions to check understanding – but sometimes they are used almost rhetorically. It is really important that we establish a culture of student response to our checks, so that we can be confident they at least really think they understand. Adolescent learners don’t always naturally flag their lack of understanding straightaway. One legendary (true!) story - In one class of lower ability learners one Y11 student, who had had the same teacher throughout Y10 too, and was used to his teacher saying to the class ‘Entendéis?’ suddenly asked her at Easter of Y11 – Miss, what is this about 10 days? What is going to happen in 10 days? You’ve been saying that since the start of Y10! It can be very useful for us to use our eyes as well as our ears to check understanding – scanning to check that students get straight on with a task, that their initial moments of activity correspond with our expectations, can help us be more confident that they’ve understood.�6. Creative�To get meanings across we also need ingenuity. Getting into the habit of using examples to get meanings across is invaluable, especially if they involve the immediate setting of the classroom. Referring to things that are too far removed from the classroom can lose beginner students. I watched a teacher come up with a very good way to tell her learners in lesson one that she wanted to know their preferred names, not just their register names, by using a member of the class who she imagined would prefer Kate rather than Kathryn. In this, as in other aspects of teacher talk, we can grow our ability.�7. Communicative�Not every instance of new language use will necessarily be communicative. In recall practice, for example, oral corrective feedback plays an important role (error correction has its own CPD in Y2, so we will not include a discussion of that, here). At other times, focusing only on the errors that produce genuine communication breakdown (i.e. you really don’t understand what the learner has said) may the most beneficial for learning. Teachers can signal a difficulty, and then follow up to resolve the communication. There is substantial evidence that negotiated interaction to resolve communication breakdown leads to language uptake (and later, learning).�Communicative can also refer to the ideal response when opportunities for spontaneous language use arise – we will come back to this a bit later.

As mentioned already, all of these ‘Cs’ add up to ‘comprehensible’ use of new language – the first priority is that students understand.�

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Classroom language checklist

Identify the opportunities to use content language referentially as classroom language (within SOW/resources)
Include classroom language as explicit learning (e.g., within the weekly vocabulary set)
A few, carefully-chosen, high-frequency ‘chunks’ that lead to more interaction are valuable
Other typical ‘chunks’ are better integrated into content teaching, so that students are more able to break them down and use them creatively
English should be used when otherwise meaning would be unclear
The use of English should be planned to decrease as student knowledge of TL increases
Spontaneous opportunities for using target language that meet communicative needs can be fruitful, when astutely judged
The golden rule for teacher TL use is comprehensibility

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Aims of the session

Understand the rationale and potential for classroom TL use, particularly in relation to the need for its careful planning
Examine in detail how classroom and content language can best be integrated
Understand and evaluate the recommendation for uses of English in the languages classroom
Become familiar with, or more confident in, using a checklist to plan teacher and student TL use

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

A brief introduction to NCELP – fusing research and practice more closely than has previously been possible.�The importance of both practitioner knowledge and research – one is no substitute for the other, both are necessary and complementary.

Quite a few people I’m meeting now have come across the website, but there’s that awkwardness when you encounter something in print that you’ve never heard said! �People who then want to refer to it say– N – C – E – L – P or NKELP or even worse, try to avoid the acronym altogether and say the whole long name!

Importance of prepositions: FOR not OF!

In November 2016, the Teaching Schools Council published the Report of the MFL Pedagogy Review .

The report noted that only a third of pupils achieves a languages GCSE at grade 4 or above and that less than a half of pupils even takes a language GCSE.

Research has shown that poor motivation in studying a language is partly due to pupils feeling that they do not know the language and feeling that they are not making progress.

The National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy (NCELP)’ s approach to FL pedagogy is both research- and practice-informed, taking into account the time-poor context of curriculum FL learning in English classrooms.

Anon. 2016. Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review. A review of modern foreign languages teaching practice in key stage 3 and key stage 4. (Chair: Ian Bauckham). Teaching Schools Council

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References

Myles, F., Mitchell, R. & Hooper, J. (1999). Interrogative chunks in French L2: a basis for creative construction? Studies in Second Language

Acquisition, 21 (1), 49-80.

Schmitt, N. (2008). Review Article: Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Language Teaching Research, 12(3), 329-363. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168808089921 �TSC (Teaching Schools Council). (2016). Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review. Published online November 2016, https://www.tscouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/MFL-Pedagogy-Review-Report-2.pdf

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes