The Curriculum – mapping and sequencing… The most important fact to consider when reading this post is the  context of your school . We all teach in different types of schools – comprehensive state schools, Grammar schools, independent schools, private schools, selective schools, international schools… and our students come from different socio-economic backgrounds.  There  isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach when mapping out and sequencing the curriculum. Our curriculum map is the collaboration of the whole department and the creation of it was supported by many discussions with colleagues from within the Trust as well (many thanks to Jill Lock for her initial ideas and guidance). These documents are  working documents  which are at the centre of our departmental meetings and are  prone to change  depending on regular reviews, experience and feedback. The document templates are used across all departments across our academy. In my school context, our curriculum is centred around our Academy’s values of: Empower:  We are empowered with the knowledge, skills and habits necessary to make a positive difference to the community and the wider world. Respect:  Excellence is built on a culture of respect. Respect to oneself, for others and for the environment. Aspire:  High aspirations by all, for all, regardless of ability, gender, race and background. The intent of our curriculum: The focus of our curriculum is heavily directed to the development of students’  communication skills, self-efficacy, strong and durable retention  of language, independence and autonomy. Through the 3 pillars of progression –  phonology, vocabulary and Grammar , students will gain a  strong phonetic knowledge  that enables them to converse (and pronounce new vocabulary) confidently and provides a reinforcement of many  literacy skills  from their first language. They will learn how to  manipulate grammar  to allow them to  personalise information  and  retain core phrases  that can be recycled in a large number of  real-life situations . Through this knowledge and confidence, they will become  resilient and competent linguists  who are open-minded and versatile communicators.  By the end of KS3, students will understand what it is to be  a linguist . Pupils will have a curiosity and fascination in discovering the world and its people, as well as having an interest and intention to travel in order to deepen their  understanding of different cultures and societies. They will have an understanding of the ways in which languages are interconnected and in which languages play a part in our daily lives. Students will develop an  extensive core of vocabulary and grammatical structures  which will be learned and regularly  practised and retrieved  so that students are  confident communicators  in a variety of contexts across all 4 language skills. For students to achieve success in Languages, teachers ensure that there is regular and systematic practice of the essential knowledge so that students know their knowledge gaps and have the tools to practise effectively to close those gaps. This is achieved by implementing and embedding retrieval practice in all our lessons. Students will leave the school with the knowledge and understanding that enable them to apply what they know to both familiar and unfamiliar contexts from family life to ethical issues and the world of work. This will help them to go on to achieve their potential, not just at A Level and in Higher Education but as  global citizens  living in a dynamic and interdependent world. Linguists at Ercall Wood Academy will have an  appreciation for the world  they live in and a deep understanding of their place in an ever-changing  multi-cultural society . Through a knowledge rich curriculum, students will acquire the skills needed to develop the four main skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening in the target language. The invaluable communication skills and creativity developed through learning a foreign language will foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of other cultures on a local, national and international stage. RESEARCH-INFORMED: https://gianfrancoconti.com/ When  communicating 75%  of the time is spent listening and speaking  (Adler, R., Rosenfeld, L. and Proctor, R., 2001) – L:45%, S: 30% and 25% on reading (16%) and writing (9%) – [The Language Gym], therefore our curriculum will focus on these 2 skills before progressing onto the written production. Language will be taught in chunks (not individual words) as this supports fluency and LTM recall. “Language learning is not simply about combining words and applying grammar rules but rather the retrieval of the patterns and combinations we are primed for.”  (Micheal Hoey – Lexical Priming 2005) “L2 research has shown that making use of formulaic expressions and memorizing long chunks of text (and making substitutions within them) is far more efficient and effective than learning to assemble new linguistic strings in the process of language production.”  (Nation,2013 Ellis,2015) Chunks can then be  manipulated.   ” A chunk is a frequently recurring, meaningful string of two or more words either fixed or with variable slots which can be learned as a single unit, without the need to analyse its elements. Once committed to (long term) memory; a chunk can be retrieved and used ‘as is’ or with modifications, if necessary, bypassing the need to generate it from individual words and grammatical rules.”  (Selivan, 2018). Through a thorough and frequent exposure  to the language of that topic or the communicative function, students will be able to pick up subtleties such as  phonemes, syllables, meaning, lexis, Grammar and syntax. The implementation of our curriculum: Key Stage 3 Our languages department employs  a range of strategies  to ensure students learn in an  enjoyable, positive and inclusive  environment. All members of staff have studied and are applying the Dr Gianfranco Conti’s approach (a respected MFL teacher, specialist and linguist) of his  Extensive Processing Instruction (EPI) method. To enable our students to become successful language learners, we have reviewed our curriculum and created our own bespoke teaching resources to implement the EPI principles into our lessons.   Our EPI approach includes: Sentence builders central to all lessons, enabling students to build accurate sentences Extensive drilling of chunks of language through LAM and RAM using engaging games and speaking activities Focus on listening and speaking skills at the start of every unit of work/sequence Use of texts that are at least 95% comprehensible (comprehensible input) to build fluency and to avoid cognitive overload Explicit teaching of language learning, decoding and parsing skill to support metacognition Regular ‘pop up’ Grammar sessions Systematic retrieval of knowledge to produce deep and durable learning *1)  MODELLING – Core structures/chunks are  presented and modelled  in context through reading aloud (e.g. Sentence builders & subsequent activities)  using 98 % comprehensible input . Pupils are gaining familiarity with the language (phonetically & translation into L1).   “With the majority of L 2 learners for listening and reading input to be conducive to learning, around 98 of the words must be familiar.”  (Nation, 2013) 2) AWARENESS RAISING – Sensitizes the learners to the patterns/rules governing the target chunks formation and use. (Recognition of grammar but not explained in depth YET.) 3) RECEPTIVE PROCESSING – Practising the core phrases until pupils are absolutely RECEPTIVELY confident BEFORE moving on to them producing them themselves. (Longer texts but still 98% comprehensible input.) Extensive processing – (exposure to the language) : the  more exposure  a learner has to the chunks, the more likely they are to retain the language. Intensive Recycling  in the lesson (Major memory loss within the first 20 minutes from first processing the word. Hence the importance of recycling the same items over and over again. Flooded input, Controlled input and Thorough processing are essential in order to maximize recycling. 4) STRUCTURED PRODUCTION – Intensive scaffolded and highly controlled  production  practice (PUSHED OUTPUT). Introduction of more ‘thinking’ and cognitive load – making students think back to what they have learnt & start to use it, but with support of SB/KO.  Start to include L1 to L2 translations. (Pop-up Grammar can also be included at this stage.) 5) EXPANSION – Structure is learnt in  greater depth  and practised with old and new vocabulary.  Explicit work on grammar  and generative processing – students expand to language patterns. Less use of KO/SBs & support to encourage them to really think! Interleaving  is powerful because  we learn best through ASSOCIATIVE learning,  by hooking the new to the old. The  core structures are practised with old and new vocabulary and structures overtime through systematic recycling  (scaffolding might still be necessary). After much (semi-) implicit practice the students (through deductive teaching or inductive learning) learn the rule(s) governing the target item(s) in greater depth. If applicable, more aspects of the rules governing the target items are modelled and practised (e.g., from one or two persons of the present tense, to all six persons). 6) AUTONOMY – Extensive oral and written practice in which the scaffolding is gradually faded out and  spoken or written output is produced by pupils with little support. Language is practised productively without scaffolding but still in familiar contexts and focus is on fast retrieval (automaticity) The aim is to develop  most students’ autonomy  in the use of the target structure by the end of this phase. This phase continues throughout the academic year  or even the following year(s) through systematic recycling across topics and Interleaving. Students perform structured and semi-structured tasks which may elicit the use of the target structure (surveys, interviews, role-plays, picture tasks, unstructured essays). 7) ROUTINIZATION  – where the focus is on  fluency  development. “A grammar structure can be said to have been acquired only when it has been automatized across all 4 skills and it is applied successfully across a wide range of contexts.”  (Smith & Conti, 2016) 8) SPONTANEITY  –  Spontaneous production of written / spoken language in response to questions or a task. Practise in unfamiliar contexts (and combining previously learned language).  Practice in unplanned response through a stimulus that elicits the use of the target structure(s) is provided at spaced intervals over the year. “Task based language teaching is a students-centred approach to second language instruction. Activities focus on having students use authentic target language  in order to complete meaningful tasks, i.e., situations they might encounter in the  real world  and other project based assignments.”  (Ludwig, 2015) 9.) FLUENCY:   Extensive practice frequency and regularity  being key.  Use across a wide range of contexts.  Practice occurs with language you know. Task repetition. Working to a time constraint in an effort to increase speed while understanding/producing an increasingly large quantity of input/output. Planning/preparing for tasks. 10.) AUTOMATICITY  is the ultimate goal of language teaching.  Strong long-term retention  is important but being able to  retrieve  what we have learnt fast and effortlessly is key in language learning.* Sequencing the curriculum is essential to generate deep and durable learning in Languages. Where possible we  replicate  the order by which children  naturally acquire their first language . we therefore start in Year 7 by learning  key phonics. The learning of these sounds is reinforced in every unit of work, when we introduce new Sentence builders/KOs. In Year 7 pupils learn the key grammatical ideas  on which all languages are built. Students start by introducing themselves in the present tense, give opinions and talk about their  possessions . This allows students to learn how adjectives behave, and the  importance of the genders  of nouns. Students also learn about the infinitives and how verbs  are conjugated , including  common irregular  verbs such as ‘to be’ and ‘to have’. This knowledge is essential in order to be able to access the Year 8 and 9 curricula, where students learn to describe events in the  past and future  as well as complex structures. When appropriate we also  ‘seed-plant’  chunks of language. Seed planting exposes students to  common chunks  of language  before  students are expected to understand the Grammar behind the phrase. For example, students learn the important phrase ‘I would like’ from the first term, even though the conditional is not taught explicitly until Year 9. Our students want  to succeed , and, through hard work and achievement, they want to learn more.  Modelling  is a key aspect of teaching in MFL to support oracy and fluency. Teachers  explicitly  teach students how  to learn, self-quiz and revise  so that they can be successful in regular  knowledge retrieval  and vocabulary tests. This helps to ensure  long-term retention  of core vocabulary and skills from KS3 through to KS4 and beyond. Opportunities at KS3 and 4 provide students with real world contexts to apply their knowledge, this includes visits from foreign students and speakers as well as drawing on the wealth of material available online to support cultural and social awareness. Key concepts are  revisited  over key stages as well as between lessons  to ensure  retrieval and recall and the development of  long-term memory.  Key Stage 4 The GCSE curriculum focuses on 5 themes which are then threaded throughout KS3 teaching: Theme 1: Identity and culture: Topic 1 – Me, my family and friends, relationships with family and friends, marriage/partnership Topic 2 – Technology in everyday life, social media, mobile technology Topic 3 – Free-time activities, music, cinema and TV, food and eating out, sport Topic 4 – Customs and festivals in German-speaking countries/communities Theme 2: Local area, holidays and travel: Topic 1 – Home, town, neighbourhood and region Topic 2 – Travel and tourist transactions Theme 3: School and education: Topic 1 – What is school like, school life Topic 2 – School activities/clubs Theme 4: Future aspirations, study and work: Topic 1 – Using languages beyond the classroom Topic 2 – Ambitions Topic 3 – Work/world of work Theme 5: International and global dimension: Topic 1 – Bringing the worlds together – festivals, sporting events, charity work Topic 2 – Environmental issues The impact of our curriculum: Progress is measured within lessons, and over terms, years, and key stages. In lessons, progress is measured through retrieval practice and  regular formative assessments such as vocabulary and Grammar quizzing, interactive and effective multiple-choice quizzes, effective questioning as well as through marking. Retrieval and feedback play crucial roles in assessing depth of student knowledge and understanding – therefore supporting their own metacognition and self-regulation. Analysing other students’ answers (visualiser) also allows students to assess their own progress based upon the feedback from the teacher. Feedback is also essential for the classroom teacher in terms of informing and adapting their lesson planning as appropriate. Mastery is achieved through regular opportunities to practice recalling key information, and redrafting and improving work based on feedback from the teacher. Key vocabulary, knowledge and skills are tracked throughout the year and tested in a summative assessment at the end of each term and cumulatively at the end of the year. Data from the summative assessments will be entered into a departmental spread sheet for teachers to use, to review, inform the reporting system and reteach parts of the curriculum as appropriate. Gaps are addressed and closed not just at the end of each topic but also during lessons to ensure students have a solid understanding before another structures or topic is taught. This may lead to classes starting topics in different weeks but will ensure all students are secure in their understanding. Key terms and structures will be learnt every lesson and retrieved at least 2 out of 4 lessons at KS3 and at least 3 out of 5 lessons at KS4 (spacing) . Students will be tested/quizzed on phrases they learnt that week, but also on key terms/Grammar from previous lessons/topics to practice r ecall and retrieval, ensuring interleaving and transfer of knowledge (i.e., students can apply their knowledge of tenses, adjectival endings etc. across variety of topics/context not just apply it during a specific unit, which often becomes a problem when ‘blocking’ ). Retrieval practice is an integral part of every lesson to inform students and teachers of any gaps in knowledge so these can be addressed swiftly. Engagement in MFL will be evident in a healthy uptake for GCSE , and again on to higher education. Students will be inspired to take part in visits abroad to partner cities such as Trier, Cologne and Berlin in Germany as well as to local universities to see how languages work in real life. Conversations about travel and holidays throughout the school year will show students how they can easily apply their language skills to real life experiences. Linguists will be proud of their communication skills and their links with abroad via pen pal projects. The diverse and knowledge rich curriculum should develop confident and articulate linguists who want to discover more about the world around them. Note: We have introduced the E.P.I method at KS3 in September 2020 – due to the Pandemic, it is not possible to objectively judge the impact on progress, however there is an evident improvement in what students can produce, engagement, confidence and enjoyment from students (based on Pupils’ Voice surveys on the departmental level and whole school – SLT level). References: https://tscouncil.org.uk/mfl-report-2016/ https://thenationalcollege.co.uk/  – Secondary Languages – OFSTED Deep Dive into Curriculum – Intent, Implementation and Impact – you need to be a member to access these recordings https://mrvinalesmfl.wordpress.com/2019/06/05/using-sentence-builders-to-create-confident-linguists-a-background/ https://mrvinalesmfl.wordpress.com/2019/05/17/three-top-tips-on-how-to-make-sentence-builders-to-help-all-students-progress/ https://gianfrancoconti.com/2020/01/09/my-approach-extensive-processing-instruction-e-p-i-an-important-clarification-in-response-to-many-queries/ https://mrvinalesmfl.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/why-my-mfl-students-love-their-listening-activities-and-how-yours-can-too/ https://gianfrancoconti.com/2018/03/16/my-favourite-read-aloud-task-and-how-i-use-them/ https://gianfrancoconti.com/2018/07/30/patterns-first-how-i-teach-lexicogrammar-part-1/ https://gianfrancoconti.com/2017/07/22/eight-narrow-reading-techniques-that-will-enhance-your-students-vocabulary-and-reading-skills/ *Summary of the MARS EARS (highlighted) was shared by Katharyn Trinel on Twitter. Based on and with credits to Gianfranco Conti.

The European Day of Languages  is celebrated every year on September 26th  across Europe. Established by the Council of Europe in 2001, this day recognises the linguistic diversity of Europe and promotes the importance of language learning. With over 200 European languages  spoken across the continent, this celebration offers an exciting opportunity for students to explore different cultures, improve language skills, and gain a greater appreciation for linguistic diversity. However, this doesn't mean we can celebrate only European languages, it is important to include in this celebration all languages with our school community! Why Celebrate the European Day of Languages? Language is more than just a means of communication; it’s a gateway to understanding new cultures, ideas, and perspectives. Celebrating the Day of Languages is a way to: Promote Multilingualism : Encourage students to see the value of learning new languages. Celebrate Cultural Diversity : Language and culture go hand in hand. By learning a language, students also gain insights into the culture and history of its speakers. Foster Mutual Respect : Multilingualism fosters inclusivity and helps break down barriers between people of different backgrounds. Whether you're a teacher, a student, or simply passionate about languages, there are countless ways to celebrate this day in an interactive, fun, and educational manner. Below are some activities  that can be incorporated into classrooms or as part of school events. 1. Language Taster Sessions Offering "language tasters," where students can try learning the basics of different languages. This could include: Greetings : Learning how to say "hello," "thank you," or "goodbye" in languages like French, Spanish, German, Italian, Polish, or any lesser-known languages like Basque or Catalan. Simple Phrases : Teach practical phrases such as “Where is the bus stop?” or “How much does this cost?” in several languages. Cultural Titbits : Include fun facts about the countries where the languages are spoken, which will make the session engaging. 2. Language and Culture Quiz Organising a quiz that combines linguistic and cultural questions. This can be a fun and competitive way for students to learn about different (European) countries. Including questions such as: "Which country speaks this language?" "What is the official language of Belgium?" "In which country would you find flamenco dancing?" Considering splitting the class into teams and offering small prizes to encourage participation. 3. Multilingual Morning Announcements Starting the school day with a multilingual twist by having students give the morning announcements in different (European) languages. You can prepare them in advance, so that students can practise. This could include saying the date, weather, or sharing fun facts about languages and countries in Europe. This is a simple way to immerse the whole school in the celebration. 4. Language Bingo Creating a bingo game where each square contains a word or phrase in a different language. For example, squares could feature words like "bonjour" (French for hello), "hola" (Spanish for hello), and "hallo" (German for hello). Students must listen and mark off the squares as they hear the words called out. The first to get a full line wins! 5. Pen Pal Program To give students a practical application for their language learning, setting up a pen pal program  with a school in another European country. Students can exchange letters or emails in a foreign language, helping them practice their writing skills and learn about another culture in a real-world context. This can also foster long-term interest in language learning beyond the classroom. Another great way id using a Padlet to share notes and messages. 6. Multilingual Song and Dance Music is a universal language, and learning songs in another language is both fun and educational. Playing traditional songs from different European countries and teaching students the lyrics. You can also teach them traditional dances, such as: The French “Le Rigodon” Spanish Flamenco  steps Greek Sirtaki This combination of music, language, and dance will help students connect emotionally with the languages they are learning. Schultüte 7. Language Art Project Getting creative by having students create posters or artwork based on a language or country of their choice. This could include: Writing words or sentences in a foreign language and illustrating them. Creating flags of different European countries. Making language-related infographics that explain interesting facts about different European languages and their histories. This year we have a competition for our students to create a 'Schultüte' . A 'Schultüte,' also called a 'Zuckertüte,' is a traditional German custom where children receive a decorated cone filled with gifts on their first day of school. The cones typically contain items like fruits, sweets, and small toys as a reward for completing their first day, making the occasion extra special. Creating bookmarks 8. Cultural Food Day Food and language often go hand in hand. Organising a European Food Day  where students can sample traditional dishes from various European countries. Encouraging students to label the dishes in their native language and explain a bit of the history behind each dish. This can be a delicious way to explore culture through language. In the past we have had 'Bake off' competitions which were very popular. Creating a menu in target language Examples of students' work 9. Language Movie Marathon Hosting a movie marathon with films in various European languages. Movies provide an excellent way to expose students to how languages sound in a natural setting. Choosing age-appropriate films with subtitles to make it accessible, and considering discussing the cultural aspects shown in the films afterward. 10. Create a “Language Passport” Giving each student a “ Language Passport ” at the beginning of the day, which they can fill with stamps or stickers as they complete different language activities. For example, each time they learn a new phrase, try a new food, or complete a cultural quiz, they get a stamp. By the end of the day, they’ll have a collection of experiences from different languages, reinforcing the sense of achievement. 11. Teachers Speaking Languages Recording different teachers speaking in languages they know and play the recordings for the class. Challenging students to guess which teacher is speaking and what language they are using. This can be a fun mystery for students and show them how many people around them are multilingual. 12. Tongue Twisters Challenge Challenging your students with a daily tongue twister in a different language. This activity is both fun and helps improve pronunciation . For example, you could try "Les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont-elles sèches ou archi-sèches?" in French or "Cómo poco coco como, poco coco compro" in Spanish. "Rhabarberbarbara" in German: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYkBf0dbs5I 13. Treasure Hunt Setting up a QR code treasure hunt  around the school or classroom. Each QR code can lead students to a question or task written in the target language. Students must complete the challenges and navigate their way around to collect answers and win the hunt! 14. Virtual Tours of European Cities Using Google Arts and Culture  or Google Earth  to virtually visit famous landmarks, museums, and cities across Europe. This immersive experience can help students connect with the cultures associated with different languages, adding context to their language learning. 15. Create a Logo Designing a logo to represent the (European) Day of Languages, incorporating symbols of communication, flags, culture, and multilingualism. They can use paper or digital tools to create their designs and then present their logos to the class. Conclusion The (European) Day of Languages is a great opportunity to ignite a passion for language learning and cultural exploration in students. From tongue twisters and idioms to virtual tours and multilingual songs, these activities will make the celebration of linguistic diversity interactive and fun. By integrating language learning into everyday activities, students can develop a deeper appreciation for the role of languages in building bridges across cultures . Let's make this (European) Day of Languages a celebration of connection, understanding, and curiosity!

Using the spreadsheet shared by Ben Merritt on Secondary MFL Matters, I've completed a comparison for Edexcel. Tab 1 (Picture 1):  This tab displays the number of marks required to achieve each grade for every component of each language (French, German, and Spanish). It also includes the rolling 7-year average. The colour coding indicates whether it was easier (green), the same (orange), or harder (red) to attain each grade compared to the 7-year average. Please note that these colours do not correspond to previous years, but you can manually compare them by referring to the row above. Tab 2 (Picture 2):  This tab provides a visual representation of the grade each score would have achieved for French, German, and Spanish (Foundation and Higher). Document to download: Grade Boundaries comparison Ben's original one for AQA is accessible from here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/638955772787417/search?q=ben%20merritt

Many educators have been talking more and more about the importance of metacognition (thinking about one’s thinking) and metacognitive strategies which get learners to think about their own learning. The evidence suggests that the use of these strategies, when used well can add +7 months of progress. This means that the potential impact of these strategies is high especially when it comes to disadvantaged students (EEF), so how can we apply them effectively to revision or even adapt our teaching in the classroom. To start with, this doesn’t mean that we need to teach these strategies in special ‘learning how to learn’ sessions; based on evidence the best approach is to teach them in subject specific content as students find it difficult to transfer generic tips to subject specific tasks. In the first instance it is imperative for learners to identify what they know and what they don’t know. Self-regulated learners know their gaps and can motivate themselves to improve their learning, so developing this knowledge in our learners will improve their learning outcome. However, we – the educators should support our learners in planning, monitoring and evaluating their learning, hence this is why appropriate feedback is also so crucial. EEF guidance report on Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning recommends 7 step model for teaching meta-cognitive strategies. Activating prior knowledge – preparing the ground – here the  embedded retrieval practice is highly effective. For writing task preparation, this could mean recalling the vocabulary and structures for the specific topic. I often use retrieval roulette for this, but there are many other ways you could use (see my previous post on retrieval practice), including various websites such as carousel-learning. com or spiral.ac. The retrieval roulette is based on a spreadsheet designed by Adam Boxer and how to apply the background which could support the ‘cultural capital’, I have learnt from @JuschMo in one of the ALL webinars where she has also demonstrated how you can embed ‘flippity’ into the spreadsheet in her retrieval roulettes. Example of a task form the retrieval roulette Stimmt3 Explicit strategy instruction – provide clear structure students can follow. This is closely connected with Rosenshine Principles of Instruction. I have written a detailed post on how they can be applied in Languages classroom with some examples here. Modelling of learned strategy – for picture task for example, this would involve teacher modelling the steps of the task at hand. See an example bellow. For more examples on modelling see my post on modelling here. Memorisation of strategy – there are various ways/tools to memorise vocabulary or success criteria such as Grammar points  – such as using mnemonics (BRATWURST, AVOCADOS, TOMATOES, PALMW etc.), songs, tunes and rhythms – some of these were mentioned on the Secondary MFL matters Facebook group (The Pink Panther, Vorwärts, Zorba the Greek, A-Team, Mission Impossible, Guten Tag Lied , Das Wechselpräpositionenlied), teaching word families (I was amazed to find out that students would know the adjective, but couldn’t always work out the noun etc.), self-quizzing – great video using parallel texts here, look, say, cover write – I usually ask students to use A4 paper/landscape/ write max. of 3 chunks in L2 they want to learn underneath each other/write the chunks in L1/fold/say/re-write in L2/ fold/say/ re-write in L1 like an accordion until they know the chunk. The act of writing and verbalising is important so the chunk gets embedded into long-term memory, post -its, flash cards – it is important to mix them so students don’t practice/revise them in the same order etc. Guided practice – giving students plenty of opportunities to study worked examples with the teacher – you could use a visualiser to look at WAGOLLS but also address any misconceptions and common mistakes that students make when submitting their work. Giving tasks that build confidence, scaffold and support, especially in mixed ability classes (you could choose what scaffold is needed for a specific student, some might not need a scaffold at all). These scaffolds are then gradually reduced to partially completed examples right through to students’  independent practice. Examples of scaffolded tasks – inspired by Kim Davies Independent practice – it is important to give students plenty of opportunities to practise especially when it comes to spontaneous talk starting from year 7. The Conti approach in my opinion gives plenty of opportunities to do so in a variety of ways and builds students’ confidence, so when it comes the GCSE oral exam, it is not something they feel they can’t do because they didn’t have enough exposure to and consequently was intensively crammed mostly during year 11. If the steps above are addressed sufficiently, students will be able to practise independently. I have done this with my students successfully when preparing them for their speaking assessment last year. More on how I did it in a future post. Examples of independent practice (pyramid inspired by Kate Jones) Based on Gianfranco Conti oral scaffold Structured reflection – modelling our own thinking, setting appropriate level of challenge, promote metacognitive talk, explicitly teaching students how to organise and effectively manage their independent learning  helps students to develop their own metacognitive skills. Encouraging self-regulation through effective revision. All of the strategies mentioned above can be extremely useful when teaching students how to revise effectively. Revision is a word that is at the very top of every teacher’s and school’s agenda especially when it comes to year 11 and GCSE examinations. I have been teaching for over 16 years now and ever since I have qualified as a teacher, from my NQT year up to now being an experienced teacher – HOD, effective revision methods have been of an interest to me. However, like for many of us, with the experience over the years, my view and approach to revision has changed greatly. Early on in my teaching career, revision often was going over the key Grammar points such as tenses, opinions, cases, adjectival agreements and word order, leaving the vocabulary learning for home time ‘revision’. There has been a lot of discussion about students’ study habits outside of the classroom including re-reading of notes and/or highlighting key information. My students not being an exception, would often approach their home revision by looking through their notes, re-reading them; the more diligent and motivated ones would design colour coded flashcards, use highlighters and make their notes in exercise books look beautiful. I have also observed that the students with the beautifully prepared revision resources would be almost exclusively girls. HOWEVER the question is: Using these strategies are our students able to retain what they are trying to learn? The research is very clear: re-reading and highlighting of notes can work short-term while cramming, but doesn’t always last long-term. There is an interesting article on note-taking (another popular strategy) which looks at its complexity and potential benefits and concentrates on ‘Retrieve-taking’ – a strategy that will enhance learning, published by retrievalpractice.org. Re-reading whilst looking at the notes especially, gives students the false feeling of ‘I know this. I can remember this.’ What about if the access to the notes isn’t there? Can they still remember it? Effective strategies such as self-quizzing and answering practice questions are hard work as they make students struggle to remember things but that is what makes it effective as mentioned by Mark Enser who has written a very detailed and evidence-based post on revision strategies (where he is sharing his Revision clock method) for the Heathfield Teacher Share blog here. His post has given me a lot to reflect on… The Heathfield Revision Clock This is what I do to support my students: General advice for my students: BE ORGANISED! Create a revision timetable for each day – what subjects are you going to revise each day – revise subjects you have next day the day before and follow the advice of your subject teachers. Make sure you find a quiet place in your house where you can concentrate and work, put your phone away (I stress this with parents as well), switch of the TV. This might sound silly, but make yourself comfortable – get your drinks, snacks… I, personally don’t recommend listening to music while revising as I find it disruptive, but I haven’t researched this. Do not revise for hours – cramming – less and more often is the key, especially when it comes to languages. Make sure you give yourself time for hobbies and relax as well. Look after your well-being. Specific advice for Languages: At  the start of the academic year I provide my year 11 students with a folder. The folder will contain : A revision timetable (schedule) with each week mapping out key skills and knowledge (vocabulary) I would like students to revise. The revision schedule has been also put on a padlet (embedded on our school’s website)- an idea I have seen used by @BotonesSalgado who has written a great post on how she uses padlet in her teaching here and by Ceri Anwen James (in Welsh) on Facebook. Topics will be interleaved and in languages skills/grammatical structures are transferable naturally. Set of role play cards – these could be from the previous examination cycle or a mixture Set of picture – based tasks – these could be from the previous examination cycle or a mixture Knowledge organisers / Sentence builders – these would include key vocabulary / structures / chunks for each Theme (please note that students would be familiar with these as they would have used them in previous years). Translation work book – structured translation work book which was originally created in Spanish by @ChrisMFLTandL (pinned post on his profile) and adapted to German by @SJBarnes81 (shared on Teaching German Facebook group). This work book is excellent as it includes the mark scheme criteria and makes students check and reflect on the translation as well. Structured writing work book – this is a new addition – created by @MrBCurrier and adapted to German by me. These materials can be used for home revision or during revision sessions in class where I model revision techniques I want them to use. For revision to work I think it is also very important to involve the parents as well, therefore on their revision timetable students have a column that is for parents to sign that their child has completed the revision set for that week. During Parents’ Evenings I had parents often asking me how they can support their child and this way they can be in control as well. The key for me is that revision should be happening throughout the course not just before the exams or in special ‘intervention’ sessions. I believe that if students are working well, completing meaningful and purposeful HWK, retrieving knowledge regularly in lessons there should not be need for after school intervention. However, if this is needed for some reason i.e. student’s long-term absence, it should be targeted to 1-4 students. Too many times I have witnessed intervention sessions after school with 20+ students – this is not intervention, but teaching a full lesson after school!!! I am not claiming to be an expert and I am sure there are educators out there who have extensively researched this field and also tested various strategies in practice who could comment and share their expertise and experiences. If you are reading this and you are one of them please leave a comment. I would really appreciate your input or critique. Developing metacognitive strategies to encourage independent learning #independentpractice #metacognition #revision #Modelling #selfregulatedlearning #guidedpractice

In our department, we are committed to ensuring that our approach to marking and feedback for Modern Foreign Languages is both effective and conducive to student learning. Recently, we undertook a comprehensive review of our current strategy for Key Stage 3 . This reflection was driven by a critical question: Is our marking and feedback strategy fit for purpose? In this post, I would like to share insights from our review process and the steps we are taking to enhance our approach. Is Our Current Strategy Fit for Purpose? Upon reviewing our current marking and feedback policy / strategy, we asked ourselves several key questions: Does it meet the diverse needs of our students? Does it provide actionable insights for improvement? Are we striking the right balance between formative and summative assessment? We found that while our strategy had strengths, there were areas for improvement. For instance, while teachers were providing regular feedback, it was not always clear whether this feedback was effectively guiding students’ progress. Moreover, we identified a need for greater consistency in marking across the department to ensure all students received equitable support. Book Look Book looks are a valuable practice within our department, conducted jointly as a team during our scheduled morning briefings on Thursdays and Fridays, providing an opportunity to review student progress and ensure adherence to our departmental policy. This process involves systematically reviewing students' exercise books to assess the quality, consistency, and development of their work. Teachers check these books regularly, as per our departmental guidelines, to monitor the range of tasks completed, the feedback provided, and students' responses to that feedback. By doing so, we can identify patterns in learning and areas that require additional support. Book looks also help ensure that marking practices are consistently applied across the department. This reflective practice is integral to maintaining high standards and supporting continuous improvement in teaching and learning. An example of our book look proforma Reviewing Our Marking/Feedback Schedule To address these issues, we also scrutinised our marking and feedback schedule. A well-structured schedule is vital for ensuring timely and relevant feedback. We focused on identifying key formative and summative pieces and clarifying our rationale for selecting these specific pieces. Formative Assessments: These are embedded throughout our curriculum to provide ongoing insights into students’ progress. Formative assessments include Retrieval Practice: vocabulary quizzes (these are self-marked by the students), verbal feedback throughout the lesson, MWBs, oral presentations, and short written tasks. The rationale for these is to give frequent, low-stakes opportunities for students to practise and for teachers to identify and address learning gaps promptly. Summative Assessments: These occur at the end of each term and include comprehensive tests covering reading, writing - written feedback is given, listening, and speaking skills. The rationale here is to evaluate cumulative knowledge and skills, informing our reporting system and helping us measure the effectiveness of our instruction. By identifying these key points, we ensure that our assessments are purposeful and that the feedback provided is timely and targeted. Clarifying Departmental Marking Expectations and Schedule Clear communication within the department is crucial for maintaining consistency in marking and feedback. We have established a detailed marking schedule, outlining specific dates for formative and summative assessments and when feedback should be provided. This schedule is shared with the entire team to ensure everyone is aligned. Additionally, we have set clear expectations for what constitutes high-quality feedback. Feedback should be specific, actionable, and constructive, helping students understand their strengths and areas for improvement. Alongside addressing obvious errors like spelling, we always include a concept target, such as the example below (correct word order for a grammar issue). It should also encourage students to take ownership of their learning, prompting them to reflect on and act upon the feedback received. Part of the feedback lesson is then dedicated to whole-class feedback, where the teacher addresses common mistakes observed across the class and provides students with time to complete their green pen feedforward tasks. *An example of written feedback: year 7, Summer term *An example of feedforward task completed: year 7 , Summer term Standardisation and Moderation: Ensuring Consistency and Fairness To further enhance consistency and fairness, we have introduced standardisation and moderation processes for the marking of key assessment pieces. This involves: Standardisation Briefings: Before marking begins, we meet to discuss and agree on the criteria and standards. We use exemplars, including What A Good One Looks Like (WAGOLL) samples, to illustrate the expected standard of work. Moderation Briefings: After marking, we hold moderation sessions where we review and discuss a sample of marked work. This helps to ensure that the marking criteria are applied consistently and that any discrepancies are addressed. These processes not only promote consistency but also provide professional development opportunities for teachers, enhancing their assessment literacy and confidence in making accurate judgments. Conclusion Our review has reaffirmed the importance of a robust marking and feedback strategy in supporting student learning in MFL. By identifying key formative and summative assessments, clarifying departmental expectations, and implementing standardisation and moderation practices, we are better positioned to provide meaningful feedback that drives student progress. As an Academy and department, we remain committed to continuous improvement, ensuring our practices evolve to meet the needs of our students and teachers alike. By fostering a culture of consistent, high-quality feedback, we empower our students to achieve their full potential in Modern Foreign Languages, preparing them for future success. *The feedback checklist on the writing task is based on a stamper designed by MFL teacher, Camille Miralles and adapted for German and our marking policy. Camille's stamper is designed for French and Spanish and can be bought here: https://www.classroomcapers.co.uk/mfl-marking-feedback-teacher-stamper-ea700-01.html

As the 'newish kid on the block' in terms of the new GCSE MFL specification in England, incorporating read-aloud activities in the modern language classroom offers numerous benefits, including improving listening comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary acquisition, and fostering a deeper understanding of the language and culture. In this blog entry, my goal is to highlight a range of activities that I have either implemented or plan to incorporate into my classes. While some of these activities align with those I already use in my own classroom, there are numerous new ones that have been graciously shared or created by my colleagues. I will strive to acknowledge their contributions to the best of my ability. Nevertheless, these activities have been compiled by colleagues who may have encountered them elsewhere but can't recall the source. Therefore, if you notice an activity that originates from your original idea and you haven't been credited, please let me know, and I will update the post accordingly with proper attribution! The main aim of this post is to share good practice within our Languages Community!🙂 Examples of activities: A multitude of fantastic colleagues shared these activities on social media. On X: @FrauLehrerin12: „Swap and Stop“ (pupils have a sentence on a strip of paper, walk around reading to each other & swapping every time until I (or another pupil) says „Stop“ & randomly chooses one of the sentences (usually projected on the board) for the winner. "Find your partner": Pupil has one part of a sentence (e.g..: 'Ich mag Deutsch. / I like German.') goes around constantly repeating their phrase, the partner that they need to find might have: 'weil ich gern Sprachen lerne / because I like learning languages.' & also walks around repeating it until they‘ve found each other. @ZHighflyer: Playing some kind of authentic song in the background and they have to try and read above the music! Works well! @LouiseECurryMFL: "Quiz Quiz Trade": Write phrase or sentence in target language and English on bit of paper. Pupils move around class. Read aloud in TL. Partner should try to translate (can give hints). Then partner reads theirs, translates, swaps papers, moves on. Low stakes and lots of reading aloud. @FrauVonRonn: Mine love "Trap Door" texts: texts with variables to choose from, then guess what your partner has by reading the full text with one option, taking turns and restarting from the top every time they make a mistake. We also like "Loopy Texts": a longer whacky narrative where TL (German) sentences and their translation alternate, and they read that in pairs, one language per person, on a loop until I say stop. @the_smudgy: "FASE Reading Beat the teacher": You have a few sentences of language on the board colour coded. You challenge the class to take it in turns to speak. 'I'm red, you're blue.' I always make sure they've heard me speaking it first. Then swap the colours around. Teacher says red, class says blue. You could split the class in two and get them to compete against each other. Second round: quick fire questions: How do you say...? Either Target language to English or vice versa. The best bit is, it's really low prep and some of my most reluctant classes will have a go. Third round: you can start to cover up words as part of a memory game. Fourth round: questioning - which word contains the sound...? You can include loads of differentiation. @ChrisMFLTandL: "Little fingers, little ears": After a 3 2 1 countdown, all students read a text simultaneously. Seems to reduce anxiety as everyone focuses on their own reading. Teacher circulates, picking up on difficulties, mispronunciation - original idea by BarryNSmith79. @BotonesSalgado: "Any reason": Some sentences on the board, students work in pairs & take turns to read them, they can read up to 3 sentences in one go within their turn but the person who reads the last sentence is the loser. Another is "High 5": Apee with a sentence in it, students go around and read the sentence to different people, who translate. When they find someone with the same sentence as them, they do High 5 (chócala, in Spanish). @spanishsam: "Coloured reading": Version 1: sentences in different colours. Teacher reads one and pupils say the colour in TL before teacher reaches the end (then doing pairs). Version 2: Teacher reads sentence and pupils have to read the same sentence more quickly and reach the end before the teacher. Again, play in pairs. @GanzhornMs: " Dice reading": Six sentences on the board. Students throw a dice and read that sentence. Then increase challenge by doing the same English to TL. Helps memorising new structures. @MrHawkesMFL: "Hands up when": Student A closes their eyes, student B writes a word from sentence builder on w/b and shows to whole class. Student A reads from sentence builder and when they say the hidden word first hands up in the class gets the point then repeat. @MrFrancisMFL: "Red, blue, amber, green": Have a text for students to read aloud. Select words (could be random or could be used to identify core grammar points/items of vocab). Colour them in the colours above. Students read aloud - maximum of 4 words a time - in pairs. Red +1 point, blue -1, amber +3. @MelThompsett: I read short text 3 x (with English translation),I narrate pronunciation challenges & then get individual students to read sentences from text - lots have a go. I’m effusive about their fab reading. I know who might struggle so I read short bit for them to mimic-so everyone’s successful. On Facebook: Secondary MFL Matters & Teaching German: Gisèle Cortese: In pairs, they take it in turns to read a text but they can only read 1, 3 or 5 words. The person who reads the last word loses. For a few weeks I dictate the date and title of the lessons, then I progress it to a volunteer to read it out to the class - original idea by Best_Lesson_Ever Christelle Bernard: "Bingo with Sentences": I have about 10 to 12 similar sentences on a slide eg: j’ai un chien, j’ai deux chiens, j’ai un chien noir etc…. Ask the pupils to pick 5 of them and write them down in their books. Then I start calling them out , either in TL (French) if it is a the start of the teaching sequence and I want them to hear the words over and over or in English if I am checking understanding. Once a pupil has their 5 sentences called out he/ she wins. We repeat the process but with 4 different sentences and the winner doesn’t have to write anything as he/she calls out the sentences. My pupils really like it and get their listening well focussed. Helen Tamsin: "Shadow reading" (but this is my own adaptation of a Conti activity) - students in pairs, reading a text broken down into lines. Optional pre-activity would be to highlight any tricky sounds we've talked about in Phonics focused activities to draw their attention to it. Otherwise if the text is just on the board, just highlight tricky sounds in a different colour to draw attention. One student is the Reader first, other one is the Shadow. The Reader counts down 3,2,1 and starts reading. The Shadow must try to read at the exact same time as them. The Reader makes this difficult by speeding up, slowing down, randomly stopping! If the Reader makes the Shadow come 'unstuck' they get a point. If the Shadow makes it to the end of the sentence without coming 'unstuck' they get a point. Then swap roles! The kids get really into it. Bernie Saline: "Popcorn reading": ask student to read a line or a sentence and stop. Call out a name and that student must pick up and continue reading. (To be honest I'm not sure if this one reduces anxiety, but it's something they're quite used to doing in English, so generally ok!). "Student dictation": one student reads text. The other must try writing it down. This one is student centred pair work: good for lowering the anxiety levels. Sarah Caroline: My classes like playing "21 dares": I just play with 11 sentences though as teach KS2. They can read out 1,2 or 3 sentences ( it could be adapted to 1, 2, 3 words) but the person who says number 11 loses. Makes them recycle a lot of language. They could even write their own if you wanted it to be a longer activity. Marie Massè: This is an idea I got from Rachel Hawkes a few years ago at the Language show in London. I put a dialogue on the board. Person A, Person B, prior learning language. First time, students read aloud the dialogue, exactly as it is. Then, second time, students add some emotions, they may read aloud as an angry person, happy person, confused etc… and then third time, they change the information underlined. The second reading makes it very fun, lots of angry reading or funny characters They forget they are reading aloud. Usually lots of gestures as well, lots of smiling faces in the room. Jayne Pritzlaff: "Fast and furious" with some gaps to spontaneously fill in. I read aloud and point to the text then stop, they shout the word I’ve stopped at - usually a tricky one or one they all get wrong a lot but they’re all shouting it together so less stressful. Nicole Wiessmann-Hubbard: "Reading train": first student in a group reads first sentence, next student in that same group reads sentence one and sentence 2, third student in the group reads sentence 1,2 and 3 and so on. I time them. The second group then does the same and tries to beat the time and so on. My students really like the competition element. I always give them time in pairs to practice first and you could give them the option of organising the group themselves from weaker to stronger. Additional activities referenced by colleagues include: 'Sentence builders reading', 'Mind reader', 'Sentence stealers' (original ideas: G. Conti), 'Reading Battleships', 'F Factor' (original idea from McKie Mastery Power Phonics & Power English) , 'Be the last one', 'Paired reading', 'Algo game', 'Back-to-back dictation', regional accents, and emotions... Last but not least, a heartfelt "THANK YOU" to everyone who has generously shared their classroom practices! I am confident that your contribution will leave a meaningful impact on every colleague who reads this post, and it will undoubtedly influence my own practice as well!

split-attention reduced format split-attention reduced format ‘First, the theory itself needs to be guided by our knowledge of human cognition – how we learn, think and solve problems. Second, the effectiveness of the theory’s recommendations must be testable and to have actually been tested with positive outcomes using randomised, controlled  trials.’ John Sweller During the past few weeks, I have been reading ‘Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory in Action’ by Oliver Lovell and I personally found it informative and accessible with many practical examples. Below is my summary of the first part of the book. The 5 key principles that underpin CLT: A – Architecture: the cognitive architecture of human memory – looking at how our memory works,  the different types of memory we have, how they are different and what influences them (environment, working memory, long-term memory). For more information see my previous post here. B – Biology: Biologically primary information (knowledge that we have evolved to acquire, can not be taught – basic social functions, such as ability to speak/listen/recognise faces…unconscious, effortless) and biologically secondary information (knowledge that has become relevant only in last few thousand years, such as academic subjects taught at school…conscious, effortful). C – Categorisation: Categorisation of intrinsic load (core learning we want our student’s working memory to be occupied with) and extraneous load (extrinsic – represents the manner and the structure of the instruction, takes attention away from core learning) – we need to reduce this load. Both loads cannot exceed the capacity of working memory if we want learning to occur. D – Domains: a field in which an individual can develop from novice to expert. Domain-general knowledge (biologically primary knowledge) refers to general capabilities, transferable across range of task such as problem-solving, communication, creativity, teamwork, domain-specific knowledge (biologically secondary knowledge) refers to knowledge within specific subject such as languages, maths, arts… E – Elements: Element interactivity – for learning to take place a number of elements have to be considered in working memory and then incorporated into long-term memory. The more elements of new information a student has to think about and process in working memory during a task and the more complex the relations between these elements are, the number of interactions the more challenging the task will be – this is described as ‘elemental interactivity’ – source of all cognitive load. Cognitive load is classed as anything that takes up the capacity of working memory. The fundamental recommendation of CLT is to reduce extraneous load and optimise intrinsic load in order to increase students’ learning. The elements of information that we store in our long-term memory increases in complexity over time. We combine smaller elements to form larger elements – this is called ‘chunking’ – this allows us to conduct more complex tasks/thoughts. For language teachers it could reflect Conti’s Sentence Builder Methodology where new language is taught in ‘chunks’ via SB rather then teaching vocabulary in isolation. As educators we face the challenge of reducing the cognitive load for our students. New information takes up more working memory capacity than information that is familiar to us. When information becomes familiar, it becomes automatic and effortless (recognising words, recalling times tables etc.) and this is how working memory load is reduced. This is what we are aiming for! Model from Oliver Lovell’s Sweller’s CLT in action book Intrinsic load can be optimised by well planned curriculum sequencing, pre-teaching, segmentation (sequencing and combining) and extrinsic load can be minimised by good instruction. So how can language teachers apply this theory to their teaching, their resources/instruction and to their delivery in languages classroom. We can reduce the extraneous load by: eliminating unnecessary or replicated information – CLT suggests that using spoken (listen) and written (read) input simultaneously or using images + written word could be classed as redundant. However, we have to be cautious when it comes to languages!!! In languages, especially for novice learners with weaker decoding skills, based on research referenced in the book, read + listen is preferable – in this case hearing with reading is not redundant – without it the students in the study couldn’t connect the sound to text as their letter-sound connections weren’t secure, so here it was vital! However, for expert learners with stronger decoding skills, read-only might be the best as listen-only was too fleeting and listen and read was redundant as students already had letter-sound connections. This draws on the redundancy element being different for different learners/classes. What is redundant for expert isn’t redundant for novice! avoiding split-attention effect – integrating the necessary information together in space and time. split-attention format split-attention reduced format modality effect – by presenting new vocabulary via auditory and visual channels in tandem we can eliminate visual split-attention. using dual modality to eliminate split-attention – if both pieces of information which need to be combined are presented in visual form there will always occur a delay when students look at the first piece of information and then at second piece before integrating them. Therefore, if we present one piece visually and second one is pronounced/spoken aloud, so that students can hear it, the two pieces can be truly presented simultaneously and split-attention can be eliminated completely. (See below) Examples of different formats: split-attention format split-attention reduced format split-attention eliminated Modality effect refers to how we present new language where dual coding refers to how we remember new language. I have been looking specifically at how I could adapt some of the resources I have been using, to reduce the split-attention format and make them more accessible to my students, using what I have learnt from this book about the CLT. Presenting new vocabulary: traditional text book format vs sentence builder format (idea to use light blue for English translation by @TeacheryDiaz) – for expert learner remove the blue translation and just point and say the word in tandem. This way the split-attention effect will be eliminated. Split – attention format  using a text book Split-attention reduced using a SB Other resources: Split – attention format-tangled translation Split-attention reduced-tangled translation Split-attention format – translation 1st letter Split-attention reduced – translation 1st letter Split-attention format – text analysis Split-attention reduced – text analysis There is a lot more that can be explored about CLT and its application to language teaching. I have looked only at a fraction of it. There are many worked examples for various subjects and evidence why they work; ideas on self-explanation and self-explanation prompts (general and specific) that support learning. Example of subject specific self-explanation prompt The aim of this post is to give a summary of some of the key concepts and a few of my own ideas on how they could be applied in my own practice. I would value any ideas and thoughts other language specialist might have as well as other ways of applying CLT to language teaching. Please, feel free to leave a comment with suggestions either here or an my social media sites. All resources available and adaptable on my resource page. * original resource by Wendy Adeniji – adapted. #elements #extraneousload #intrinsicload #cognitiveload #elementalinteractivity #instruction #domains #sequencing #CognitiveLoadTheory

One of the biggest myths that I was taught during my ITT many years ago and started my teaching career with, was that our learners fit into three groups of differentiation – some are high ability, some middle ability and some low ability. These have been often based on SATs results or later on based on how students perform in the core subjects. Throughout my teaching career, I became to realise that if I have in my class 30 students, I have in fact students of 30 different abilities with this ability prone to change depending on what type of skill, task or concept I am teaching, how much my students have recalled from their last learning episode, the time elapsed since this learning episode, the time of the day, the events that happened during lunch or break time, the amount of sleep that my learners have had etc. ‘Differentiation as an idea, in principle, is a good one in that we make the curriculum accessible in so far that it is possible for every child in the classroom.’ (Mary Myatt, The Stuff that matters, DynamicsDeps – Russ and Steve, Episode 44). However, what do we understand under the word ‘DIFFERENTIATION’? We all might have a completely different definitions for it! Many educators have understood differentiation as having to produce different work sheets for different groups of students, also influenced by the fads of VAK and the Chilli Challenges. Unfortunately, by giving one group easier work and another more difficult work we are widening the gap as we are pre-determining what some students can do and achieve and some can’t. The better students will get even better, but the weaker ones still won’t get any closer to them! Let’s think… how do our learners feel about being ‘labelled’ and ‘boxed’ in terms of: you can have this challenging work and you cannot because is beyond your ability! How can we know what a learner is capable of if we do not give him/her the chance to tackle the challenging work? I remember once a colleague discussing in a meeting the difficulty of how to teach adjectival endings to her ‘bottom’ set and a suggestion being made to the extent that maybe the colleague could show the learners the declension table and mention how to apply this Grammar concept so the content is ‘covered’ (notes in the ex.book) but not bother to practise it with them or get them to use it. Well, that is like teaching a student how to make a cake, but never actually allowing him/her to touch the ingredients and have a go at it… In my teaching career, I have also gone through the tiered LOs: must, should, could; all, most, some…all suggesting that some parts of the curriculum are only for some – not all! I have realised that this intentional and explicit approach was widening the gap and underachievement, especially amongst disadvantaged students. For me, differentiation is: me – the teacher applying different levels of support and scaffolding (through guided practice, questioning, writing frames, feedback etc.) to the needs of my learners to achieve the same aspirational goal. We all have the same goal, but some of us will need more help, more time or more guidance to reach it. Language learning is also a multi-sensory experience! There is not just one learning style for one student, we process information different ways depending on the content, skill or activity. We should provide the challenging tasks to all of our learners and support them via scaffolding, where necessary. This scaffolding is only temporary and can be removed! Instead of providing a poorer or diminished diet (Myatt) we should be providing different levels of scaffolding which is proven to be impactful. Students, if supported appropriately, like the challenging work, they embrace it and work really hard if the conditions are right and in my class I have seen a significant shift in attitude, confidence, engagement and achievements. Building a culture of high expectations is the key, ensuring our classroom is a safe learning environment where the students understand that learning is a complex process. We all learn at different pace, some of us learn faster then others. We have different working-memory capacity, some of us will retain more than others. This is completely natural and needs to be relayed to our learners. Even students who genuinely struggle to access their year group’s work should have access to the same curriculum, objectives and types of activities as their peers, they just need to be skilfully adapted/scaffolded. We should strive to avoid the ‘glass ceiling’ on learning at all costs. We differentiate everyday in our classrooms – whether it is by carefully selecting the seating plan that is flexible and caters for students’ ability, SEN, physical difficulty (i.e. hearing or visual impairment), behaviour, personality or by circulating around the classroom providing additional support where it is needed, encouraging our students to work at their best level – building on the challenge. So how do I differentiate in my classroom if not by creating different activities? Differentiation by questioning: I recently wrote a post on effective questioning and the different ways students can be questioned using different styles of questioning here. Things to consider: What language? L1 or L2 or both, cognates, key words, additional details. How many questions? The student has the choice or the teacher decides – be wary that some students will always go for the easy option, so at times the teacher as a professional might be better to make the choice. How difficult are the questions? what – yes/no, true/false, who…, multiple choice, why & how -opinion or justification questions, open-ended… Differentiation by instruction and scaffolding: Scaffolded translation tasks: more on translation activities here. Consider CLT and Dual coding (I don’t mean icons/pictures, but how you design your resources so they are maximising learning and not causing distractions). For early finishers translating into different tenses or an extension question provides differentiation with minimal prep for the teacher – the effective teacher responds to the needs of the learner and places the ownership for learning back on the learner. Activities inspired by Gianfranco Conti. Scaffolded writing tasks: I would model this also live on my laptop (see below ‘live’ modelling) or under a visualiser. Also consider the more advanced learners who might not need any scaffolding at all! Scaffolded listening and reading tasks: students annotate the sentence builder/parallel text/KO to support pronunciation and phonics awareness students repeat after the teacher students highlight the sentence the teacher is reading or write it down the teacher starts the sentence – the students finish it – aural gap fill one student starts to read a sentence another student finishes it the teacher asks questions students use SB to answer them the teacher uses SB without L2 translations – students highlight the sentence that is read out. Disappearing text listening for individual words/cognates/ word groups – parsing skills reading the transcript whilst listening gap fill exercises and finally comprehension questions. More on listening skills here. Scaffolded retrieval tasks: more on retrieval here. You might want to instruct the students to choose one from each colour to avoid some students going just for the easy option – the outcome might be different – one word answer vs. a full sentence answer. However, all students have the same level of the challenge. Differentiation by assessment, feedback or remediation: Elena Díaz’s 20 keys writing frame – supports assessments and feedback. You could also create your own rubrics. More on feedback here. ‘Live’ modelling: drawing ideas from students, providing a clear structure. Students are being taught and completing GCSE style writing questions from year 7. This, however doesn’t mean teaching to an exam, but students knowing that we trust them to be able to tackle this type of challenging task… Visualisers: These are absolutely fantastic for differentiated feedback – I often choose 4-5 pieces and ‘live’ mark them in class with students marking and correcting their own writing  simultaneously, drawing attention to common mistakes/misconceptions but also to excellent examples of vocabulary, variety of language and structures asking my students to explain why it is good and how it can be made even better. I consider this type of feedback extremely powerful. Taking differentiation outside of the classroom: In my post on Effective and meaningful homework, I wrote about using Quizlet for learning homework. I find that this type of homework has made a huge impact this year in students’ engagement and motivation. It provides my students with a routine, the activities available provide choice of difficulty/challenge (matching activities, multiple choice to more difficult, like write and spell), so students can build their knowledge and confidence. I often also set some vocabulary before I have taught it (flipped learning) thus priming my students and giving some of my learners a head start. In conclusion, gradual removal of scaffolding to nurture independent and confident learners is essential. Sometimes, the mistake is made that we leave the scaffolding for too long. For me, differentiation is not giving my students different coloured work sheets, but about knowing my students (in secondary education it might take a bit more time with teaching more classes) and being flexible to adapt my teaching through support, constant formative assessment and feedback to ensure all of my learners reach their potential. This might be harder for our ECTs as this level of teacher – confidence comes with the experience. An important factor for us to consider is to include our students in the differentiation process and provide them with autonomy which in my experience reflects positively on their motivation. I have definitely not cracked ‘differentiation’, it is in my view still one of the most difficult concepts to implement and I also have to acknowledge that despite all of my best efforts to support my learners, some still might not get there, but it’s the effort and ‘no-opt-out that counts… I look forward to hearing your thoughts. References: Mary Myatt: The Curriculum – Gallimaufry to coherence The research Ed Guide to Education Myths Doug Lemov: Teach like a champion 2.0 Shaun Allison, Andy Tharpy: Making every lesson count https://teacherhead.com/2019/01/24/rescuing-differentiation-from-the-checklist-of-bad-practice/ https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/ Activities: Gianfranco Conti – E.P.I If you find my ideas and resources useful, you can show your appreciation by buying me a☕. Link here. #scaffolding #livemodelling #feedback #differentiation #questioning

What is effective questioning in the classroom? Effective questions are defined as questions focusing on eliciting the process in student’s response – the ‘how’ and ‘why’ rather then just answering the ‘what’. They open conversations, challenge and inspire deeper thinking. So, how does this apply to our context, in our subject and in our classrooms? Well, of course it is not an equal ‘playing field’ comparing our subject to subjects such as maths, English, history etc… where students are proficient in their L1, however, even in these subjects, for learners to answer the ‘how’ and ‘why’, they still need to know a lot about the topic that is discussed to think deeply about it! This is one of the most undervalued truths about learning, the deeper and broader the knowledge, the more rigorous the application (Teach like a Champion, Lemov). In modern languages, I would say, this statement is true – ‘The bigger and better vocabulary and understanding of how the language works students have, the better communication skill they will have’! In the early stages of language acquisition our focus is very much on teaching our learners the key vocabulary, structures and grammatical links that support communication on a more basic level, so the ‘what’ (language content) in our context, in our subject is also essential. If students don’t have good vocabulary (this includes high frequency vocabulary as well as content vocabulary) and can not communicate sufficiently in the language, how can they have deeper, more meaningful conversations later on in their learning journey at KS4 and KS5. The ‘why’ (language structures) is essential for the application of the language learners are studying. I am afraid to say that for me, the ‘Bloom’s taxonomy’(1956, revised 2001) never really worked in language teaching. Recognition, memory, comprehension, application which are the categories at the bottom of the pyramid and therefore classed as the lower order skills according to its hierarchy, are vital to build up fluency and communication in our subject! The analysis and evaluation stage comes later on with more competence. Of course, at the end of the sequence of lessons after a lot of practice our students can produce a longer piece of writing (a blog, an article, a paragraph) or hold a conversation, but the complexity of it and how advanced what they produce is, depends on the level of their L2 competency. Effective questioning techniques in Modern Languages What are the most impactful questioning techniques we can apply to ensure we cater and include all of our learners? During my webinar for ALL West Midlands Branch on Retrieval Practice, I have been asked to explain one of the techniques (cold calling) that I have been using consistently and successfully with my students since actively engaging with the research and the EDU books such as Teach like a champion (Lemov) and Teaching Walkthrus (Sherrington, Caviglioli). I believe they are also easily applicable to modern languages teaching and many of us have been most likely using some of them consistently throughout our teaching career without really knowing the name for them. ‘One consistent finding of academic research is that high expectations among teachers are the most reliable driver of high achievements among students.’ (Lemov) One of these expectations that is important in my classroom is that getting it wrong or not knowing the answer yet is ok, but it is not OK not to try. This is linked to Lemov’s No Opt Out technique which can ensure that all students take responsibility for their learning. It also helps students who genuinely don’t know the answer or get it wrong as it rehearses success. Get it wrong and then get it right – the experience of simple success is very powerful (Lemov) and important for students’ self-efficacy as many students come to school thinking they are not good at languages, expecting to fail and therefore have normalized failure. If you are a novice teacher or just not so familiar with them, here is a list of some of the techniques that I have been using consistently, successfully and consciously (actually thinking about them and planning them into my lessons): Cold Call – a technique that allows you to involve all students in thinking. If you allow only volunteers (‘hands up’ or calling out the answers) to respond you won’t be able to judge students’ knowledge as accurately. In every classroom, there are always learners that can take over the class ‘pushing out’ our quieter and less confident students. We are also often guilty of naturally being drawn to the students we can always rely on knowing the answer, especially when observed! However, if we want the ‘buy in‘ from all our students, it is essential to explain the purpose of this technique – this is important for creating of a safe learning environment where students’ confidence is built not crushed. When using cold calling it is also important to ask the question first and provide the students with time (I usually give them a few seconds) to recall and be prepared to give answers, only then select a student to answer. This could be also pre-planned by the teacher. I also give my students the option to say ‘I don’t know yet’ or ‘I can’t recall’, so another student is then selected to answer thus supporting my more anxious or reluctant students. It is also very important to circle back to the original student at some point during the lesson and to ask the question he/she didn’t know again – so they understand they are not ‘off the hook’. This ensures the participation of all students. I use this technique a lot during modelling and retrieval. Wait time – providing time for thinking in silence is very important as mentioned above, especially for the learners who struggle with processing, but also for ensuring a better quality of response rather than letting students to blurt out the first idea that comes to their mind. The time I give depends on the difficulty/complexity of the task. I often use ‘wait time’ in my classroom when we do ‘delayed copying’ or ‘delayed dictation’ à la Conti, so it is not necessarily just to answer a question but to process task/information in their memory and then try to recall it accurately. During the ‘wait time’ I monitor the room, letting my students know I am checking they are focusing on the task. Show me the boards – I absolutely love this technique and use it all the time! It is easy and excellent for instant feedback for all stakeholders. The key thing to remember is to set the rules of how the students execute their response – I ask the question first, give students the time to respond, once the students write their responses, ask them to put the board face down, instruct students to show me their boards simultaneously at the same time (have a signal) otherwise some learners will treat it as a competition! Say it better again – I often use this technique when addressing issues with pronunciation – drawing student’s attention to the mistake and giving the same or another student an opportunity to correct/say it better or when students answer questions (verbally or in writing). I accept the initial response, but then ask the student(s) to improve/extend the sentences using adjectives, quantifiers, comparatives, TMP or justify it using opinions etc. For this, I use ‘Cold call’, ‘Think, Pair, Share’ or ‘Checking for understanding’ (why is the response better). It goes really hand in hand with Lemov’s ‘Stretch it’ technique where you reward ‘right’ answer with harder questions thus differentiating instruction for students of different skill levels by tailoring your questions without putting students into different groups. Check for understanding – more effective teachers will systematically check for students’ understanding (Barack Rosenshine) ensuring all students have understood new input so that learning can move forward or the teacher can tackle any misconceptions or re-teach the material, if necessary. This applies especially to complex Grammar concepts such as tenses, adjectival agreements or word order where it secures deeper understanding. Think, Pair, Share – I use this technique a lot during Retrieval Practice (Cops and Robbers), but also when practising oral tasks – RP, PT, conversation questions etc. For this technique to be executed successfully, it is important to pre-determine partners – at GCSE level this could be based on Foundation or Higher. I set a question and the time to practice and circulate the room listening to students talking. I use then ‘cold call’ to sample some responses. Probing questions – these questions make students probe their schemas, they can support students in making links and supporting long-term memory, i.e. when I am teaching perfect tense asking what auxiliary verb to use (‘haben’ or ‘sein’) and why – transfer knowledge from one topic to another or when teaching verb paradigms, the German case system explaining the changes in the article, verb endings – the ‘how’ and  ‘why’. I find them closely connected to Process questions which also support metacognition – the narrating and modelling of the thought processes. These questions are extremely useful when preparing and modelling written tasks, which can be done ‘live’ on the board, under the visualiser or recorded as many colleagues have done during the Pandemic. The advantage of ‘live’ modelling for me is that I can draw ideas from my students as we go through the process. In conclusion, our main goal is to get our students to do as much of the cognitive work as possible, we want to have a clear idea about their knowledge, therefore effective questioning is one of the key skills that we need to ponder about and develop as educators in order to be able to judge students’ learning and reflect on it with accuracy. References: Doug Lemov and Norman Atkins: Teach like a Champion 2.0: 62 techniques that put students on the path to college, 2014 Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli: Teaching Walkthrus, 2020 #coldcall #waittime #stretchit #probingquestions #showmetheboards #questioning #nooptout #checkforunderstanding

As the start of the new academic year approaches, there seem to be more and more talk on Twitter about what the first lesson should look like. My feed is busy with posts from many newly qualified teachers asking for advice and tips on introduction lessons, the best start and practice with new classes. In response to these tweets more experienced teachers keen to help are providing advice and ideas in abundance. I think it is important to remember that starting with new classes is not just something which concerns teachers new to the profession. A clear start and effective routines from the onset which ensure a calm and studious environment where learning can happen, are the key for all of us. However, being able to see how this is done by experienced teachers could be powerful for ECTs. Many of us, over the years in the profession go through a transformation. Thinking about my NQT year and my very first lessons, I have to admit – they definitely were not brilliant! I was too relaxed, keen to make sure that my students liked me, so often let them make decisions thinking that by me being ‘nice’ they will be ‘nice’ too and follow my instructions and they will be all engaged and learning. In hindsight, I was really rather naïve and getting the control back was an uphill struggle! On one of these days in my early teaching years, after a dreadful year 9 class, I was sitting in the staffroom and was feeling really deflated and out of ideas as what to do! The days I had this class, were the days when my stomach would cramp and it felt like the lesson lasted forever. Even after I had one of our AHT that I got on really well on my request sitting at the back of my classroom for 2 weeks so I could break the cycle and teach (as you can guess, whilst he was there the lessons were fine, I was praised how engaging they were and told there wasn’t anything wrong  with my teaching) there was only a small improvement when I was left with the class on my own again! I was also very lucky to have a teacher in our department who was humble and extremely respected by all students even the most ‘tough’ and challenging ones (I was teaching in a state comprehensive school in a deprived area with many disadvantaged students). When it came to classroom management, she was the one everybody always recommended to go and see teach. She was an older teacher, very calm, you never heard her shout, but if she was walking in the busy corridor, students would make a way for her – she had the ‘it’ factor, so I approached her and asked if I could come and see her teach my challenging year 9 class French… In retrospect, what I observed whilst watching her teach, is what we now call evidence-informed practice of high expectations and routines, something that during my teacher training we were not taught explicitly and I never really thought about in depth. Over my first year we had many discussions about teaching  and from her I have learnt how important it is to get it ‘right’ from the very first lesson. This was not instant and took a few years of refining and tweaking. I am hoping that this post will help and provide some ideas to you, if you are nervous and anxious about starting with new classes. I will split this post into 2 parts. In the first part, I will talk about how I structure ‘my’ first lesson. It is my personal belief, that even as an experienced teacher having a strong start from the very first encounter with a new class is absolutely crucial. In the second part, I will talk about strong routines and expectations. In my experience as an ITE mentor who regularly has Associate teachers and at the moment also has an ECT, strong and well established routines can make or break lessons. These are my reflections and tips that have been working well for me and in my school context. We teach in variety of schools, so school specific context and policies are necessary to bear in mind and apply as appropriate. What does my first lesson look like … First of all, I use my class lists to create my seating plans (my desks are in the rows with clear pathways so I can move around the classroom efficiently), for this I check the SEND register/IEPs to see whether there are any students that will need to be seated in specific place i.e at front of the class due to their specific needs. If I am aware of any students with challenging behaviour, I speak to their key workers, read their support plans and allocate their seats strategically. I prefer to have them seated close to me at the front of the classroom, so I can track them easily with the most challenging character close to the door for an easy exit in case the student needs to be removed from the lesson. This minimises any ‘drama’ that could disrupt the teaching and learning process. I also like to have a boy and a girl sitting together, but this is just my preference. My students know that the seating plan is not fixed and students can be moved when necessary based on the teacher’s decision. I print off my seating plans and keep them on my desk (this is important if you need to set a cover lesson, so the colleague covering for you knows where students sit). Before I meet my students, I place new exercise books and any hand-outs such as classroom expectations (key 5), KO, phonics sheet and work booklets with Sentence Builders (SB) on each desk. Normally, for every lesson there would also be MWBs and marker pens on the desk. I explicitly model what I want students to write at the front of their exercise book by drawing and writing it on the board as well as where I want them to glue in the hand-outs. Due to Covid all students were expected to have all their equipment. Last year my students were well organised bringing it to school, so this will be my expectations for this year too. Just as the bell is about to ring, I meet the class outside the classroom and have them line up in silence. I explain how I expect them to line up, that lateness won’t be tolerated, their uniform needs to be spot on (shirts tucked in, ties pushed up, no hoodies etc.) then I greet all of my students and they greet me back in target language (TL) and enter my classroom in silence. If they are talking, I send them out to line up again (I have never had to attempt it 3 times). I don’t accept a ‘weak’ greeting or no eye contact (caveat: be aware of any students with SEND/autism who might not be able to make an eye contact and adapt appropriately/know your students). This provides a great opportunity to demonstrate to your class that you are in charge and you expect your instructions to be followed explicitly. On the first day, I ask students to line up at the back of the classroom, so I can allocate them their seat. I then read out students’ names and point them to their seat. At this point I ask my students to remain standing behind the chairs and once all seats are allocated, I model how we will greet each other every lesson in TL. Once I have asked them to sit down (in TL), they can sit down and follow the instructions on the board (time limit is given) – in consecutive lessons, students would then write the date, title and start their retrieval task without me needing to instruct them, so I can take the register. When taking the register for the first time, I make a note on my seating plan of what each student would like to be called in my class and ensure that I have pronounced their name correctly. This might be a small thing, but it helps to build relationships, shows that we care about our students and that we respect them as individuals. Once the time is up and students sorted out their exercise books, I direct them to put ‘pens down and eyes on me’ (we will use this in TL) and explain that this phrase means stop what you are doing (hands are empty, no talking, looking at the teacher). I then introduce myself again, explain my expectations, share with students what we are going to learn today, ‘unfreeze’ my board so it shows the title of the lesson, date and a ‘retrieval’ task and off we go. For the first lesson, I use a quiz on last year’s work. I make sure everybody can have a go – asking questions that are less difficult but also some more challenging ones as well. If learners can’t complete some of them, I emphasise with  them that forgetting is normal during the learning process. The natural cause of action is then to reteach the concept students struggled with (this is a good teaching practice generally and is not just specific for the first lesson only), this would be the case for all my lessons. I believe it is important to talk to our students about how we learn, so I use this lesson to talk to them about metacognition and about how we learn. If I have new year 7 class who have not studied the language yet, my quiz would have questions about the countries where it is spoken, but also some linguistic questions such as examples of cognates to see whether students can work out the meanings. Whilst students are working, I am tracking them and circulating the classroom, checking they are on task, discretely correcting any off task behaviour and supporting anyone who needs it. I show my students from onset that I am the person in charge of the classroom ensuring they have calm, studious environment where teaching and learning can take place, that I care about them as individuals and about their education. I am afraid, I do not waste time with a game or on ‘ an ice-breaker’ activity and neither do I waste time on students blindly copying lists of rules in their best handwriting. I am not ‘Coco the Friendly Teacher’ as mentioned in Tom Bennett’s Not quite a teacher (if you are an ECT, I would definitely recommend this book). 👇 ‘If you meet a new class and you give them any indication whatsoever that you’re Coco the Friendly Teacher, then they will mug you like a drunk in Soho. I mean it. Even the nice kids like a bit of sport.’ I am warm and strict. Most importantly, I am the one who ‘runs the room’. (Tom Bennett, Running the room) More on routines and expectations in part 2. @inner_Drive #routines #firstlesson #ECT #NQT #expectations

Establishing clear routines and expectations is one of the most important steps all teachers, regardless whether they are new to the teaching profession or experienced, need to get right from the start of each academic year. They are everything in teaching. If you are a new teacher joining a school, it is essential that you also find out what the whole-school routines expected of students are and stick to them as closely as possible, so you can lean on the community routines and reinforce them.* ‘Routines establish efficient and effective processes that prevent time being wasted. They also create a culture that builds momentum and compliance. Routines should be as ubiquitous and consistent as possible. Classroom routines are worth drilling to perfection!’ (Adam Robbins, Middle Leadership Mastery) The routines and expectations listed below are based and adapted from Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion 2.0 and Adam Robbins’s Middle Leadership Mastery. Both of these books provide clear and useful guidance for creating a classroom culture of high expectations and the routines are only some of the 62 techniques described in Lemov’s book. For further expert advice on creating a positive and successful classroom culture, please read Tom Bennet’s book ‘Running the room’ (referenced below). Resource: Download here Further reading: *Tom Bennett: Running the room: The teacher’s guide to behaviour Tom Bennett: Running the room Companion: Issues in classroom management and strategies to deal with them https://teacherhead.com/2021/04/12/classroom-dialogue-and-behaviour-management-hand-in-hand/ https://teacherhead.com/2018/09/02/great-teaching-the-power-of-expectations/ #routines #behaviour #strategies #expectations #classroommanagement

“Everything works somewhere; nothing works everywhere!” Dylan William When I was completing my Certificate in Evidence-Informed Practice Programme through Chartered College of Teaching one of the topics that was available to research in more depth was ‘Does group work ever work?’. Even though it wasn’t the topic I have chosen to research it has made me think about it in the context of my own domain. So, here are my own reflections on it. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF, 2018) define collaborative learning as approach that “involves pupils working together on activities or learning tasks in a group small enough for everyone to participate on a collective task”. In the research it has been argued that working collaboratively can be either beneficial or of little worth (Slavin, 2010) and its benefits are not always consistent (Kirschner et al., 2018). For many teachers, whole class teaching and independent or pair work are still more preferred learning contexts in the classroom and group work is fairly infrequent (Baines et al., 2015). To the contrary, some research indicates that collaborative learning enables students to become more engaged in the learning process and William (2018) refers to research which shows that effective collaboration can double the speed of learning. So, what is the role of group work in L2 classroom. In most language classrooms today, the oral proficiency and communicative ability are the main goals of language learning. If we consider that most L2 learners do not have frequent opportunities to engage in L2 conversations outside of the classroom group or pair activities can be a useful tool for maximizing authentic and meaningful interactions amongst our students. With the emphasis on second language acquisition being communicative competence (students being able to use L2 effectively within specific contexts) various strategies in language learning need to be applied, as well as linguistic, social and interpersonal skills. Interpersonal communication is considered more effective in increasing one’s communicative ability than merely focussing on learning the rules of grammar (Krashen & Terrel, 1983). In my own classroom, the success and impact of group work on students’ learning has been varied, especially in classes with mixed range of abilities at KS3. I have observed scenarios where during the group work, some of my students take a back seat whilst other more confident or able students took the lead at times resulting in treating the quiet, less confident learners unkindly – an occurrence which Campbell and Bokhove refer to as ‘tall poppies’ syndrome (2019) . Often, I have wondered whether the group work activity has made a beneficial impact on all of my learners or whether they would have learnt and gained more having completed the task individually. If we take into consideration the cognitive load theory, especially if the complexity of the activity increases, the hive mind of the group can work together to solve the task i.e more complex translation. However, the context of the class needs to be taken into account – students having belief in their ability that they can complete/solve the task, learners working as a group not just in a group and that making the group effort will pay off. The recent online learning enabled me to observe group work more easily. When using break out rooms (students were working on a translation task), I have noticed some learners do divide up the tasks between themselves quickly and complete the work quickly but essentially work independently, whereas some learners who I know are friends simply ignored each other and did not collaborate at all. Combatting the learners who dominate or sit back can be a challenge in any classroom, especially during group work. Learners need a reason to work together, not just simply being told to work together (Slavin, 2010). Structured team learning with the team’s success depending on individual learning and accountability combined with a system of rewards is what he suggests. The teacher needs to understand their groups and know which rewards will motivate them, this will differ based on the age and maturity of the learners. In my own context, the most success I have had using collaborative learning, has been during my GCSE oral lessons – during group talk. To get to the stage where every student in the class feels confident enough to contribute equally, firstly students have to be prepared for the task. It takes considerable amount of time to drill core structures and model how to manipulate these language structures. The use of guided practice, modelled examples and scaffolded tasks – such as picture task scaffolds (examples available on my resource page) is vital to ensure students have the knowledge to conduct the work successfully and spontaneously. They need to practise a lot! Creating a classroom environment where students feel safe and supported is essential. Students will make mistakes and that is OK during the practice. I also try to avoid over correction at this stage, but pay close attention to the common mistakes that become apparent whilst I am circulating the classroom, listening and supporting where I need to. These common mistakes are consequently addressed on whole class basis to avoid learners embedding the application of language incorrectly. Less confident students are allowed to have a support sheet with them which is gradually removed as students become more confident and fluent in their responses. The key focus is on everybody speaking and taking part, working as a group. All group members supporting each other and helping a member of the group when they get ‘stuck’. I have observed a great deal of maturity amongst my GCSE students and believe that collaborative work has enabled them to learn from each other and improved their linguistic competence and self-efficacy. Examples of scaffolds for group talk – GCSE: *Shared by another colleague, not my own resource http://www.teachitlanguages@co.uk inspired by Gianfranco Conti – adapted to German The recent webinar by Greg Horton for Linguascope on group talk at KS3 level – a successful project he run a few years ago,  has made me think about how I could make it work better for my younger learners. As he mentioned sometimes it doesn’t work but when it works, it is extremely motivating and rewarding for both the teacher and the students. Example of group talk resource by Greg Horton Whether our focus is on the design of the curriculum or the delivery of a lesson, it seems obvious that there is a place for group work within M(F)L curriculum, however, it is down to us – teachers to ensure that the tasks given to groups are extensively processed and that we take time to get to know the groups of our learners and their dynamic first. Considered choices about the groups of learners we select to work collaboratively and our understanding of their composition will aid completion of the task. Constructive critique and new ideas are always welcome. #collaborativelearning #grouptalk #groupwork