Having read the examiners’ reports on GCSE Spanish, French and German, here are my key takeaways in terms of what to work on this year: Listening Revise basic vocabulary It was disappointing to see that students seemed to have forgotten basic vocabulary; this was seen at both tiers. For example, students did not know the […]
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We asked Rebecca Nobes, Head of Spanish and #MFLchat on twitter to share her reflections on this year’s AQA GCSE Spanish exams. We’d love to hear your thoughts too, so please share your thoughts in the comments below. The general consensus The general consensus among the MFL teaching community seems to be that this year’s […]
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Our January blog post welcomes back Yvonne Kennedy, MFL consultant and Allez author… The phenomenon of the ‘backwash effect’ whereby the format and foci of GCSE assessment has a direct influence (positive or negative depending on your point of view) on teaching practice at Key Stage 3 will be familiar to many language teachers. Some, […]
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This week, we’re welcoming back Liz Black with her reflections on starting out as a teacher. What advice would you give to new colleagues? I’m sure like me you have found the last few blog posts by Yvonne Kennedy and David Shanks extremely helpful. We can learn so much from other language consultants and teachers, […]
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This month, we’re welcoming David Shanks back with his 3rd blog post… And so, school is no longer “out for summer” and another lengthy wait to hear Alice Cooper’s classic on the radio begins. We are learning new student names, dusting off the teaching cobwebs and are most proud of our shiny new stationery and […]
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This week we’re delighted to welcome David Shanks, MFL consultant and lead practitioner at the Harris Federation, as our guest blogger – look out for part two next week… “It’s a great networking opportunity.” “I’m off to network over dinner.” “Sorry, I can’t tonight, I need to show face and network at an event.” When […]
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Last summer, I was asked to take part in a project on assessment at Key Stage 3 to consider what the Programme of Study for languages might mean for the design of new assessments in the classroom. Reviewing this document, I was reminded of the emphasis on the interconnectivity of the four skills of speaking, […]
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When I visited a local school recently I was talking to Martin Heeley who has been working on and developing some ideas I gave him during the course. As we have a focus on the blog about what to keep of the ‘old ways’ and what technology we can harness cheaply or even free to […]
Read moreThis fantastic ‘suitcase’ cake was made by two teachers Janine Turner and Nancy Ryan as part of a British Bake-off organised for Comic Relief at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls.The idea of the suitcase came from the Head of Spanish, Yolanda Martinez. The label said ‘Please look after MFL’ What a wonderful idea! Our subject […]
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