In Huh Curriculum conversations between subject and senior leaders, Hannah Pinkham explains how high quality texts, a relentless focus on phonics and modelling high expectations of pronunciation helps build confident speakers of French, Spanish and German.
‘Forget the out-dated 'MFL'! Last year we dropped the ‘modern’ and ‘foreign’ from the MFL department. French, Spanish and German are not modern and to call them foreign can be othering to many students in our classrooms. Most importantly, pupils did not know what ‘MFL’ was.
‘When it comes to teaching and learning languages, being able to pronounce things properly is of central importance. Being able to say things and sound French or Spanish or German feels powerful. Empowering children to be able to read another language and pronounce words accurately is crucial. By the end of key stage 3, students should be able to pronounce the language well and feel excited and proud of having that skill.
‘We want to make learning a language accessible for all. Being able to read another language, to say things and sound French or Spanish or German feels powerful. That's true inclusion: every single child confident to speak the language.
‘In addition, a languages teacher would want students to write in the target language accurately, however, being able to speak is the thing that makes a difference to students. When students claim they can ‘do’ a language, they are really thinking about whether they can speak it.
‘Pupils need the chance to get things wrong and not be laughed at. Teachers might tell a story about getting a word wrong in Spanish and it's fine. It’s important to create a culture of error where it feels safe and exciting, and teachers narrate how everyone is progressing together.
‘An absolutely relentless focus on phonics is what pupils need to begin with. You need phonics week one, phonics week two, week three, phonics Year 10, phonics Year 11, phonics at A level. Phonics is not something that students do once, it is something that everyone needs and that should be peppered throughout the curriculum – not a stand- alone lesson never to be revisited.
‘It’s important to start with a high-quality text: something that is quite dense, challenging and a bit scary when you look at it as a beginner in Year 7. Then slowly add more things to that text, adding different topics and different sentences.
‘At the same time, you need to recycle the same things over and over again. As a department, you need to agree on certain chunks of language that you think are vitally important, powerful and very generative. So, each sentence can lead on to other things and what you offer the students can be adapted easily.
‘This means starting with a shorter text and then repeating some of the content in the next term but adding more material and then, in the third term adding more, building upon the foundations in a very deliberate, generative way.
‘The key stage 3 curriculum at Reach Academy Feltham is based ib characters from the target language countries. We have a French boy called Pierre, we have a girl from Senegal called Adama and someone from Marseille called Elodie. Then in Spanish, we have Pedro from Madrid, Joaquin from Bolivia, and Marta from Colombia. Over the three or four years of study, these characters write letters to each other.’
‘This gives the children a more believable reason for communicating, and the narrative is much more memorable – otherwise it is just a random text with no sense of narrative interest. As teachers, we simply build the stories around these characters throughout key stage 3.’
Three documents to support line managers for languages
1. Smith, S. and Conti, G. (2019) Breaking the Sound Barrier: Teaching Language Learners How to Listen.
2. Lund, J. (2017) ‘Aides Memoires’
3. Sealy, C. and Bennett, T. (2020) The researchED Guide to the Curriculum.
If you’d like to know more, you can watch the full conversation with Hannah, John and me on Myatt & Co. (£/free trial)
Until next time
Mary
And when you’re ready, you might find these helpful for curriculum and leadership development in your school
NEW: Secondary subject networks including for languages are now scheduled!
The spring Primary Subject Networks are also available (£/free trial)
Huh Leadership Lobby: a blended, self-paced course with live check-ins, led by me and Andrew Morrish. It is designed for aspiring, new and established leaders, it starts April 2023 and places are limited
Huh Curriculum Leaders Course: UPDATE: The June course is now open, and the last two were oversubscribed