By Mariela Affum, author and German teacher
I have over 18 years’ of teaching and examining experience and have seen several “new” specifications come and go. As teachers, we must constantly adapt to these changes and make sure that we provide the best possible preparation for our students, as their grades depend on our understanding of the exam and assessment criteria.
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Foreign Language educator María Zita Salazar discusses her experience teaching Spanish language in the Caribbean and the way language education has evolved over the years. With the new Oxford Learner’s Spanish Dictionary for the Caribbean, María sees a transformation in teaching and learning both in and outside the classroom. Without a doubt, teaching secondary level […]
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We will soon know Ofqual final decisions about awarding grades for GCSE and A Level students this summer. Their consultation closed just over a week ago and has received a record number of responses, not only from educators but also from the young people whose grades are at stake. In our profession we are all […]
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The Translation Exchange at the Queen’s College, Oxford, launched a brand-new competition for schools in September 2020. The competition is inspired by the work of the translator Anthea Bell OBE (1936–2018), one of the finest and most influential literary translators of the 20th and 21st centuries. The competition takes place in March 2021, but we […]
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Meet Leyla the second language lover in our series introducing you to inspirational individuals with real-life tales of language-learning journeys that have changed their lives for the better. We hope these stories will help inspire your students to opt for a modern language (or two!)
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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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