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"Reflections of a language teacher.
Always learning."
Why students underperform in GCSE writing – and how over-scaffolding and misunderstandings about “complex language” make it worse
From a GCSE examiner’s point of view, I believe most students do not underperform in writing because they lack ideas, motivation or effort. Much more often, they underperform because they have been taught a version of GCSE writing that does not reflect how writing is actually assessed. Year after year, the same issues surface in exam papers. Students rely heavily on scaffolds , they misunderstand what “complex language” really means and accuracy at sentence level is sacr
Silvia Bastow
3 days ago7 min read
Unveiling the Power of "Less" in the Language Classroom: A Cognitive Approach to Teaching and Learning
In the dynamic landscape of modern language education, the quest for effective teaching methodologies that enhance students' ability to...
Silvia Bastow
Feb 18, 20244 min read
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