Category: primary languages

What do the Kaiser Chiefs, The Bangles and the Pink Panther have in common? Not much you might think, but all provide the backing to French songs demonstrated today by Steph Hopkins at her conference Creating a compelling curriculum.

In a session entitled Phonics, music and rhythm – developing confident speaking, Steph talked of the enhancement of creativity, engagement, independence and communication skills achieved through the use of song and rhyme in the MFL classroom. Citing Heather Rendell and the work of Leigh McClelland and Rachel Hawkes at Comberton Village College as her starting point, Steph quoted research pointing out that a child cannot read aloud effectively in another language if they cannot decode single words using phoneme –grapheme links. Starting from that point, Steph showed us some examples of synthetic phonics in French – complete with very amusing animations – which she has used in her classes.

Steph went on to talk about the rhythms of French, clapping phrases to enable the cadences of the language to be more apparent, and to enable good intonation as well as pronunciation. I’ve always found this effective in PLL as it is something with which pupils are familiar from literacy. I liked the use of ‘encore’ by the pupils to ‘boss around’ the teacher that Steph cited – shows that they have engaged with the task.

And then to the Kaiser Chiefs! With one of her groups in need of practice of the French alphabet, Steph put it to a karaoke track of Everyday I love you less and less by the boys from Leeds – and off we went! Next up, the verb etre to the theme tune of Pink Panther, followed by Eternal Flame by The Bangles for the verb avoir, complete with lines about brown rabbits and mischievous hamsters :o) Certainly works as I’m sitting blogging on the train humming Je suis, Tu es, Il est, elle est, on est etc – and we were also shown video evidence of a class singing – and dancing! You can download powerpoints of these songs from here on Steph’s blog ( I know that Chris Fuller uses song in his Spanish classes – he blogged a lovely video of one of his classes singing the verb ir to Kumbya – and here’s another group recording it on their mobiles!)

Pigloo then made an appearance with a couple of exercises to complete as we listened to the little penguin’s take on YMCA Moi j’aime skier – ordering a text, grouping words from the song and a gapped text with all –er verbs missed out. A comment was made that there was more interest in learning the dance than the lyrics, but, as Steph pointed out, if you’re watching it enough times to learn the dance, something must be going in of the lyrics!

Some great ideas that can easily be adapted for use in any classroom – I feel the need to raid my record collection for inspiration!

In the previous post, I suggested some ways to use items from IKEA in my teaching. Storage, cushions and soft shoes were all mentioned. This post focuses on items to enhance and facilitate speaking and listening in PLL.

One of the main obstacles I find in getting pupils to speak Spanish (or French, German, or any other language) is the ‘hang up’ that it sounds funny. Whilst this is not such a big problem, in my experience, in PLL, there is still some reticence on the part of some pupils to speaking the foreign language. Using puppets is one way of getting around this. Puppets come in all shapes and sizes – you can download patterns for card finger puppets here and here: you can use sock puppets – see Jo Rhys-Jones’ video in which pupils converse using their alien sock puppets; you can use glove puppets – I have a HUGE collection of those (including Ana and Jaime); and you can use finger puppets.

As well as charity shops , jumble sales and my childrens’ toyboxes, IKEA are the main source of my finger puppets. TITTA are sets of 10 finger puppets, costing £5. I have three sets (about time they brought out a new set!) – a sea set (right), a fairytale /royal court set (not pictured) and a jungle set (left). Pupils prefer the animals and give them names and different voices. By using the puppets they are distancing the ‘funny noise’ that some of them associate with speaking Spanish etc and displacing it onto the puppet. Using silly voices is another useful ploy – and is encouraged – as long as the voice doesn’t make understanding impossible! Additionally, puppets seem to increase confidence and encourage creativity in a way that ‘turn to your partner and practice the phrases’ doesn’t. Not hard to see why when you’re dealing with kids who associate role play with using props and dressing up and having fun.

If you were at the IoW conference in October, or even read about it, you may have seen a picture of me as a cat! For the benefit of those who haven’t, here it is!
The previous week I had popped over to our nearest IKEA in search of gingerbread for Christmas and come across these lovely animal masks and ears! There’s cat, a dog (with floppy ears on the mask), a rabbit (ears on a headband as well as mask) and a bear. I’ve used these in a similar way to the finger puppets – these give pupils even more to ‘hide behind’ as they are masked! We’ve used them for storytelling and for songs like El granjero tiene una granja. Always a clamour to wear them so there’s the incentive to take part and contribute to the lesson too, as ‘I only choose people who are working hard and trying their best’ ;o)

Well today, I made another discovery – more masks and this time not just animals! An alien with antennae, a flower, a spider, a princess, a dinosaur, a ladybird and a bumblebee form the latest set of play masks. This time I managed to find two ‘willing’ volunteers to model them for me (although I didn’t completely escape as you can see!).

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

As well as using these masks for the activities mentioned above, I’d like to use them to encourage pupils to be creative and make up their own (simple) stories that they can act for one another.

You’ll notice that some of the pictures are framed by a green and blue ‘stage’. Today IKEA were selling puppet theatres for 49p – made of cardboard admittedly but nonetheless worth a small investment! As demonstrated by my ‘dos voluntarios’, they can be used as a stage for conversations using the masks, and would work equally well with finger, sock or stick puppets.

Can’t wait to have a go in the classroom! But until then, I know two people who’ll be having fun giving me more ideas!

Anyone who knows me will vouch for my ability to shop ’til I drop – not necessarily buying lots but always on the lookout for something new and exciting. And anyone who has been in one of my lessons, or attended a session I’ve led will also know that I love IKEA. My first outing after having #2 son was not to a restaurant, or even a pub, but late night shopping at IKEA. And, if you ignore the wardrobes, beds and sofas, and look at the smaller items, there are many things that can be used to inspire and facilitate PLL.

GLIS boxes are great for storing bits and bobs – and are different colours so allow for spontaneous questions: ¿Qué hay en la caja verde? ¿Los dados, las tijeras o las cartas? or instructions: Dame la caja azul por favor. Pon los dados en la caja blanca por favor.

Also good for storage are MINNEN velvet bags. I have a collection of these – I keep my finger puppets in one, and my paper puppets in another. I also use them for games such ¿Qué hay en la bolsa? – hide a number of small objects in the bag and children name an item by touch. I’ve recently done it with small farm animals and also fruit. Note to self – next time use plastic fruit to avoid a soggy bag smelling of strawberries! The element of wondering what’s in the bag adds to the exercise and keeps the class on its toes. It also allows for self differentiation as a child can pull out an item that they are pretty sure they know rather than be put on the spot.

And finally on the storage front, NOJE storage boxes are collapsible so saves space – important at the best of times, but when your storage cupboard is the boot of your car, all the more vital – and, like the bags, have a use beyond the intended. I use mine for simple games.
A favourite is throw the beanbag into the correct box. For the youngest children, I ask them to throw the beanbag into the same coloured box, reinforcing the colour vocabulary: el saco rojo en la caja roja. Then, to make it harder, I ask them to throw it into a different coloured basket: el saco azul en la caja verde. Teaches and reinforces colours as well as enhancing motor skills.
I also used them to separate food into ‘healthy’ – es bueno (green), ‘unhealthy’ – no es bueno (red) and ‘undecided’ – no sé (blue) The physical act of moving food adds movement to the lesson and was again tactile, reinforcing the groupings.
And you can play memory games too – ¿dónde está la manzana?

What about these UNDERBAR discs – my boys use them as frisbees although they are intended to be seat cushions. Why not use them as stepping stones, or for dancemat activities (they are textured so no danger of slipping) – both these activities allow sequencing and enhance memorisation skills.

When I ask questions, I like to throw things! I think it goes back to my early days of learning Spanish when my Colombian teacher had the habit of throwing someone’s pencil case around the room to keep us on our toes. It certainly did that, especially as it was a well packed case! Anyhow, the theory make sense to me although I prefer to avoid the danger of knocking out my pupils and so favour a small soft ball. I bought one from IKEA that contains a bell, so we could play with our eyes shut to work our auditory skills! I find it adds to the pace of the lesson, and pupils love being the teacher and getting to throw the ball. Recently, I got fed up of the ball and decided to go for something a bit more exciting – cue BÄSTIS! Actually dog toys, but I now own a pair of shoes
(trainers) that fly around the room. I wanted the pink boots but was informed by #1 son that they were not aerodynamic enough and #2 son that they are too girly!

That’s just the start of my IKEA inspired ideas – the best comes in the next post! Back in an hour or so :o)

My current fascination with Youtube continues! There will be no doubt be more posts later in the week with more of my discoveries, but here is the first ‘joya’.

The ideal for Primary Language Learning (PLL) is that the learning is embedded in the curriculum.

During my browsing, I discovered some lovely little videos of tables in Spanish. Some are chants and some are drills, ranging from 47 seconds to 1 minute 55, but all have captured the interest of my 6 year old – ‘I don’t know my tables’ – as well as 9 year old who is a maths whizz.

They cover the 2 to 10 times tables, multiplying by up to 10.

See what you think! My particular favourite is ‘tabla del 5’ but I’ve embedded all the videos in a custom player (fancy eh?!)

For more ideas on using Maths in PLL, check out Jo Rhys-Jones’ post on Talkabout Primary MFL.

I’ve had my boys with me all day – their school was shut due to industrial action but mine wasn’t so they spent the afternoon helping me teach Year 2 Spanish. Actually Isaac was so excited last night that he declared ‘I won’t be able to sleep cos I can be your TA!’ Jude just wanted to hand out books but Isaac was up for teaching – and he did, leading a rousing chorus of El granjero tiene una granja, complete with finger puppets of various farm animals.

As we have been looking at farm animals today, I was amused by this video I found on Youtube called La vaca Lola.
It’s really simple and very catchy! See what you think!

The words are –

At the first run of the Preparation for Transition conference in Birmingham, everybody I spoke to seemed to be talking about the session delivered by Jacqui Tilt, aided by Helen Leigh, on Practical strategies to ease challenge of Transition in MFL, so I was eager to attend this time around when the opportunity arose.

Jacqui, a secondary MFL teacher and Primary MFL AST at Hanley Castle Language College in Worcestershire, works with a cluster of 8 feeder primaries and shared her experiences of transition and the approaches taken by her school to ease the potential nightmare under the headings COMMUNICATION, TRACKING and PROGRESS. s highlighted the importance of COMMUNICATION between all involved parties is vital. Ways in which this has been achieved at Hanley Castle include

• regular network meetings, sharing effective practice, giving information and offering support with both primary and secondary colleagues attending.
• Language College newsletter – primary colleagues are encouraged to share in this letter too so there is a ‘joined up’ approach to sharing. Where it was initially just sent to be put up on the noticeboard, primaries wanted to share this with their parents so it is now electronically sent for distribution.
• an Annual Language Festival to which primary pupils are invited – the week before open days (good timing!)
• The cluster (8 feeders and the secondary) were awarded the Leading Aspect Award which recognized their hard work – always nice!
• Jacqui offers model lessons –although as she says, she is becoming increasingly redundant as primary staff have taken over the lessons to such an extent that they can be an example.
• The Language College’s FLAs are also shared with the cluster of primaries, working on things like intercultural understanding and storytelling.
• And there has also been the opportunity to observe one another thanks to funding from an external agency.

Something I liked about this was that it really is all inclusive – not just the teachers ‘plotting’, but pupils and parents are kept informed and involved too.

Pupils from the feeder schools all come with different experiences – so the Language College has a rolling programme with two of three language studied each year – French and Spanish, then the next year, Spanish and German, and the following German and French – so even if the child doesn’t do the language they’ve studied at Primary in Year7, there is the opportunity to pick it up in Year8, or at a lunchtime club.

TRACKING or Assessment is something that can be worrying – primary children often say that they enjoy MFL as there’s no assessment – but it does need to be done so how? The ELP is a long document to pass on to secondary colleagues – Jacqui pointed out that wading through 150 of them was unmanageable– and where to put them? I think there is a value to the ELP and that they can be used, but would suggest as a ‘show and tell’ document during the first week or so – this way, whilst the pupils share their portfolios of work with one another, teachers get a look too, gaining an impression of what has been included. A more manageable way of recording for tracking is using I can sheets and, with Helen Leigh, KS2 MFL Consultant in Worcestershire, Jacqui worked on some I Can statements based on the ELP and the KS2 Framework, and also a very simple proforma on which all the information from these statements can be synthesized into one A5 sheet. (Helen has kindly given me an electronic copy which you can download from My Box of Goodies)

And how to ensure PROGRESS? In the above way, prior learning can be seen at a glance and acknowledged, and children ‘buddied up’ with pupils of differing experience – eg a child with no previous French supported by a child who has done French for a number of years. Another way of aiding transition suggested was the use of the first few weeks for a cross curricular topic with pupils based in one place for most of the time so there’s less moving classrooms, enabling pupils to get used to the place – Jacqui is excited by this prospect as it allows collaborative planning with other colleagues at school and allows creative links to made between disciplines.

‘Creative repetition’ is a phrase Jacqui uses to explain how the potential problem of repetition – revisiting things in different ways – can be addressed. She acknowledged that it isn’t easy, but with the focus on skills rather than content at KS2, the new ‘independent learners’ that will begin to arrive will be more able to take a lead in how they learn as they exercise their LLS.

That’s the way one cluster of schools has met the challenge – lots of good ideas there with the focus again on communication between Secondary and Primary. Parts of this model might be unworkable for a school with a vast number of feeders where a ‘cluster’ would be more like a ‘mob’, but I think the more ideas the better – no two schools are the same after all, so to a certain extent every school has to find its own way.

Coming up …. Language Investigators, and the Languages Bridge.

There’s no doubt that the implementation of Primary Language Learning for all pupils 7-11 via the KS2 MFL Framework will change language learning at KS3 – there’s no way it can be avoided. So, as worrying as it may be, transition and all related issues have to addressed.

Some of the issues that are generally raised include –

• wide range of feeder school = difficulty in adjusting languages on offer to provide continuity
• poor relationships between primary and secondary schools
• possible failure to acknowledge prior learning
• LAs failing to give information to secondary schools about PMFL developments
• Little awareness of the need to change practice in KS3, especially Year7
• Poor transference of information re languages studied and skills / knowledge acquired
• Inconsistent approaches and practices
• Children will soon arrive with 4 (or more!) years of MFL
• Need for HTs to be on board
• Change of languages
• Demotivated by new concentration on reading and writing
• Loss of novelty value
• Some distrust of teaching skills of Primary teachers in MFL
• Lack of consistency (skills, approach, quality) within schools and clusters of schools

The following question was posed today – do you think that by introducing language learning at an earlier age… pupils will be more motivated and enthused at KS3 and will they want to build on their language skills at KS4 and beyond?

Responses included

‘In year 7 but perhaps not by year8.’ ‘If teaching is of a high quality at KS2 that’s fine but poor teaching can be demotivating even before they get to KS3’

The overall opinion was that increased motivation would not been seen if pupils are not challenged at KS3 –‘starting again’ would demotivate learners. Pupils need to perceive KS2 and 3 as a continuum, which implies significant changes to the way MFL is taught in KS3. I think a lot depends on the quality of teaching and also on hard work now to ensure that there is a smooth transition, avoiding the feeling that pupils are starting again even if they cover the same vocabulary again. There’s no one answer – but lots of good practice across the country that can suggest models and ideas.

John Connor and David Mee both spoke about the challenges raised and highlighted the need for the following to ensure successful transition:

Communication (between all agencies involved – schools, LA, etc)

Collaboration (KS2 KS3)

Consistency (e.g. in quality of provision)

Consideration (e.g. of prior learning)

Change

Funding (I know – doesn’t start with C and spoils my pattern :os )

They talked from their experience in Wirral and Thurrock, giving examples of cross phase collaboration between clusters of schools, and suggesting ways of addressing potential problems of diverse experience such as ‘starter packs’ for independent work, a later start to the use of textbooks, ‘master classes’ for G&T linguists, early setting and fast tracking. One idea i thought sounded interesting was everyone in Year 7 starting a new topic presented during 2 of the 4 lessons, with the third lesson being used to support newcomers to the language whilst the others work on topic packs that revise and extend primary themes. Obviously this is dependent on having a number of lessons a week! The point was also made clearly that the focus at KS2 should be on the process and skills of language learning rather than the content, thus the gap should be more easily breeched.

Carmel O’Hagan from CILT picked up these themes as she made suggestions on how to welcome pupils with diverse primary language backgrounds. She began with a lovely animated French song – Il etait un petit navire. Using a similar approach to Paul Nutt (see Let’s get active part3), we were given an envelope with fragments of the song to wave when the words were heard in the song. The slips were differentiated by colour and also by the size of font, amount of information on it. She then went on to offer advice on how to make moving into Year7 as painfree for all as possible! She highlighted that it’s not just about content but about making pupils comfortable enough to show what they can do and do know with confidence and pleasure so that assessing the way forward is clearer. Carmel acknowledged that doing the same thing again is boring, but 1) there is comfort in the familiar and 2) there’s more than one way to cover the same topic / vocabulary. Increased independence nurtured through the KS2 Framework will hopefully allow pupils to use dictionaries much earlier than was previously possible, and thus take a lead in the vocabulary employed in a certain topic, making their output truly individual. She summed it up in these comments about ‘bridging units’

‘A good unit will make pupils feel comfortable with activities, content and language – it will not matte

r if it’s actually language they know – they will be using it differently and there will be familarity too.’

‘A good bridging unit will encourage pairwork, groupwork, research and independence’.

Carmel clearly demonstrated through asking us to consider the descriptors in KS2 and 3 that there are areas of crossover between phases, and picked out the example of storytelling to demonstrate. This is an ideal choice as it covers so many bases –

links to literacy / KS2 Fwk / KS3 Fwk; covering listening, speaking, reading and writing skills; looking at language and culture, and uses creativity and imagination; looking at common letter strings and syllables; using texts as models; reading aloud and maintaining link between Yr6 and Yr7 with Yr7 acting out / reading out for or with primary pupils.

Outcomes include a sense of achievement for pupils and a feeling that their language skills from primary have been valued and good relationships established with teachers and one another whilst allowing differentiation and assessment to take place in an unobtrusive way.

By using a series of three books, the level of complexity in vocabulary and structure was increased over a period of time, culminating in the production of a new pupil written story. Beginning with a simple tale about not putting your fingers in strange places (just the kind of thing to appeal!!) and simple questions like Devinez le titre / C’est l’historie de…?, Carmel then moved on to a book, again with repetition but more text, called Le loup est revenu. Based in fairytale land, the characters all arrive for a meal and each new knck at the door is met with shrieks as they think the wolf is knocking. This lends itself to acting out with puppets, and performance to Year6 pupils by Year7, as well as audience participation with the refrain ‘Le loup est revenu’ The final book took things to another level, putting the story from the wolf’s perspective, and including newspaper accounts of the wolf’s past exploits, letters to important people and also humour that would be lost on younger pupils but enjoyed by the more mature ones! In the short time given it was not possible to explain in great detail exactly how it would work, but the idea was clear – that by using a familiar story and familiar activities, more complex ideas and tasks become less threatening.

Phew! And all that before 10.30am!

More to come in the next day or so – including Language Investigators, Language Bridges and Practical strategies to ease the challenge of transition, all of which I found very interesting.

When considering Primary Language Learning (PLL), one of the thorniest issues seems to be the transition from KS2 to KS3 – how will it be managed? The KS2 Framework for MFL and the introduction of language learning for ALL pupils in KS2 by 2010 has massive implications for KS3. In the past, many children went into KS3 with little or no knowledge of languages – now pupils will arrive with, in some cases, more than four years of language study. Added to this, not all experiences will have been the same. Some pupils may arrive with four years of French, others with Spanish, still more with experience of two or more languages. How can it possibly work?

Comenius West Midlands today held a conference entitled ‘MFL – Planning for Transition’ to discuss just this issue.

Led by John Connor (Associate Consultant, MFL, Thurrock), and David Mee (former General Inspector, MFL, Wirral), the day began with an overview of the challenges and opportunities involved in transition before Carmel O’Hagan (CILT) offered some advice on welcoming pupils with diverse PLL backgrounds. The day then offered the opportunity to attend three workshops chosen from topics including

• Investigating Languages-a skills based approach
• Practical strategies to ease the challenge of transition
• Asset languages
• Welcoming children into the MFL classroom in their new school
• Video conferencing to support transfer and progression
• Language Bridge
• Liaison –the issues and how to avoid (or cope!) with them
• Using the ELP to support transition (delivered by me – see My Box of Goodies on the right for the notes!)

before Phase groups (one for Secondary and one for Primary) to discuss the issues of the day, concluding with a plenary to draw the two lists of issues together and culminating in a highly entertaining example of using song to engage in the Primary classroom.

Over the next few posts, I hope to share some of the things presented during the day and my repsonse to them.

I blogged last week about the ELL RSG meeting last Tuesday, and my contributions on the subject of parachute games and songs and rhymes that can be used for active learning. However, other people offered ideas too and I was reminded of one of them when I received an email via MFL resources Yahoo group.

One contributor was Sara Vallis from City Road School in Birmingham shared some ideas from a course she had attended in Besançon.
FlySwat and Lamb Darts – also known as Lamb Slam – where two people compete to be the first to swat or slam the appropriate item of vocabulary on the board. Perhaps not one for the IWB!
Chair OXO where you physically play Noughts and Crosses with vocabulary items to be named or questions to be answered on each chair before the square is ‘won’ and the team representative can occupy the chair. I liked this alternative to OXO on the board with pictures as I usually play it.
Hot/cold – Hide the teddy somewhere in the room whilst one person is outside, then the volunteer returns and has to find the teddy, guided by the rest of the class repeating a word or phrase loudly(for hot) or quietly(for cold) depending on how close the seeker is to finding the teddy. You could use any vocabulary or phrase; you could even use it to practise opposites with two words being used eg grande for hot and pequeño for cold.

Sara also suggested a song in French to practise body parts – as an alternative to Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes! Jean Petit qui danse is a sweet little song about a man who dances with various parts of his body. Sara used a downloadable track to show us how the song went, and yesterday I recieved an email in which MarieFrance Perkins mentioned the same song –

I’ll blog about what Paul Nutt and Rona Heald said a little later!