Continuity
Announcement! Are we all speaking the same language?
In primary and secondary schools there are concerns over transition
from KS2 to KS3 with regard to language provision, pedagogy, choice of
language, investment and students’ proficiency, to name but a few.
Is this 1974 or 2015?
To a number of language teachers’ chagrin, the first paragraph here could refer to the 1974 Burstall
report into an evaluation of the primary French pilot project [LU1] (né circa 1960) or to aspects of the
latest Language Trends Survey …
The 2014–2015 Language Trends Survey pointed out that;
‘Some 44 per cent of
responding primary schools report that they have no contact at all with the
language departments of local secondary schools. This is a slight improvement on
the 46 per cent of primary schools which said they had no subject-specific
contacts with secondary schools in 2013/14.’[1]
The survey also reported the following;
‘The issue of providing
suitable progression from primary school emerges as another challenge for state
secondary language departments. A total of 66 per cent of responding schools
marked the topic as either ‘a major challenge for our school’ or ‘quite
challenging’.’[2]
Peter Hoy, writing a report for the Council of Europe in
1976, summarised a number of potential barriers to success with regard to
programmes delivering early modern language teaching. Financial constraints were
up there, of course (quelle surprise),
along with the supply of teachers, support for the teachers and the importance of
continuity.[3]
I think it’s fair to say at this point that concerns like
these are not entirely new or surprising to us now.
Let’s start with continuity. For continuity, read ‘… suitable
progression’. It’s not just continuity of the language studied from KS2 to KS3
and the logistical difficulties in trying to ensure that the students continue
with the same language when they begin KS3 but continuity of the vocabulary,
grammar and pedagogical approaches of the teachers involved at both primary and
secondary school.
The question is, ‘Are we teaching
children the language that they want and need to know?’ Looking
at the Programmes of Study for KS2 and KS3, can we identify which language we
want students to be able to use when they arrive in secondary school, no matter
what topic they begin with in Year 7?
This may seem like a simplistic approach at first but consider,
what is the generic language that can transcend topics which students arriving
at secondary should use with a level of automaticity that would allow them to participate
spontaneously in any lesson? I’m talking about language that students start to
use from the first day in KS2 to communicate in the classroom with their
teacher and other children. The type of language that will carry them through
and ensure progression, as this language will continue to be needed in the
classroom at KS3. There’s an excellent blog on the
types of phrases used by
@amacleanmfl on Twitter.[4] Memorising
phrases like ‘On dit que’ and adapting them by changing the ‘On’ to another
name would certainly help to satisfy the KS2 Programme of Study requirement to,
‘write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express
ideas clearly’.[5]
Doing this at KS2 would support the KS3 Programme of
Study’s requirement that;
‘Teaching … should build on
the foundations of language learning laid at key stage 2. It should enable
pupils to understand and communicate personal and factual information … with
increased spontaneity …’[6]
This would then allow for some continuity no matter what topics
are encountered during KS2 and the start of KS3.
The summary of the Language Trends Survey also concludes;
‘Financial constraints and
other pressures have led to the cessation of previous joint working between primary
and secondary schools …’[7]
There goes a plan for a discreet TLR being introduced for
primary and secondary MFL teachers to lead on transition at KS2–KS3 then.
However, now we do have something which is different from the 1960s and ’70s; an
army of Team MFL primary and
secondary teachers sharing good practice. In spite of financial concerns it is even
more essential that primary and secondary teachers foster the esprit de corps by sharing resources and
ideas. The MFL Twitterati, TeachMeets, the Primary Hubs, ALL and so on are all
fabulous ways of collaborating and supporting a smoother transition.
There are some great resources and tips out there which
can help to bring closer collaboration and bridge the gap between KS2 and KS3
and ensure that financial constraints and fears over students’ progression can
be overcome. The ease with which we can now network, more effectively than we
could in the past, aids this. For instance, have a look at the fantastic Clare
Seccombe’s (@valleseco) blog if you haven’t already.[8]
This blog in particular helps to support pedagogy.
Identifying the common themes across the KS2 and KS3
Programmes of Study, getting students to practise language which can be used no
matter what the topic and more TeachMeets and Primary Hubs, involving both
primary and secondary teachers, will help to make for a more productive
transition.
Using Twitter (@jakehuntonMFL by the way ... ) as a means
of empowering professional networks, using evidence-based practice to promote the
areas of pedagogy that work for students in KS2 and KS3 and sharing this as
much as possible are the main differences between now and forty years ago. Sign
me up to as much of this stuff as possible please … I’m just off to create my
own ‘ks2langstransition’ hashtag.
[1] Language
Trends 2014/15 The state of language
learning in primary and secondary schools in England, p. 66.
[2] Language
Trends 2014/15 The state of language
learning in primary and secondary schools in England, p. 102.
[3]
Jane Jones and Angela McLachlan, (2009) Primary
Languages in Practice: A Guide to Teaching and Learning, Maidenhead, Open
University Press, p. 10.
[5]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239042/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Languages.pdf
[6]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239083/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_Languages.pdf
[7] Language
Trends 2014/15 The state of language
learning in primary and secondary schools in England, Executive Summary, p. 5.
