THE DOUAY MARTYRS
CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL
Studying a language
- How parents can support learning 15 June 2017
Challenge:
Languages in the curriculum
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Ambiguous status
For a selected few: academic focus
Languages for all: transactional focus
Almost extinct: league tables
Ebacc: raising standards
New GCSE
• Assessed in Listening, Reading, Writing and
Speaking
• Translation from and into to the foreign
language
• Understanding of literary texts
• Cultural knowledge and awareness
• Spontaneous speech
Y7: enthusiasm for a new subject
• A new subject
• Games and songs
• Students are less self-aware and inhibited
• Focus on oral work and simple structures
• Sense of achievement and progress
Y 10: a challenging examination subject
• Studying a language is perceived to be difficult
• No obvious immediate application or future
relevance
• Reliant on teacher input and support
• High demands on memory skills and literacy skills
• No instant gratification
• Never 100% perfect or faultless
• ‘out of comfort zone’
Learning a language
= a skill for life
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Language awareness
Literacy skills
Communication skills
Intellectual capacities
Memory and retention skills
Problem solving skills
Cultural awareness
Broader outlook
Confidence
Learning styles
Visual learners prefer to:
• Draw pictures and diagrams
• Colour code their work
• Use different coloured paper, pens etc
• Use their own system of symbols etc
• Create images and scenes in their minds
Auditory learners prefer to:
• Say their work aloud
• Give presentations to an imaginary audience
• Record notes on a tape recorder
• Use silly noises to remember things
• Hear the information in their mind
• Play instrumental music
Kinaesthetic learners prefer to:
• Do actions when learning key facts
• Walk about when learning
• Find it harder to sit at a desk
• Add emotions and textures to exaggerate
information
• Try to experience what they are learning
What?
In addition to:
• Vocabulary
• Idiomatic expressions
Verbs
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Present tense
Past tenses: Perfect and Imperfect
Future tenses: Near Future and Simple future
Conditional
Expressions wit subjunctive
Reflexive verbs
Verbs followed by the infinitive
Verbs followed by prepositions
Impersonal verb forms
Adverbs
Nouns
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Genders
Articles
Adjective agreement
Adjectives
Pronouns
Prepositions
Sentences
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Complex sentences
‘If’ sentences
Coordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunction
Questions
Punctuation
Learning by immersion
The best method to learn a languageDoes not necessarily mean that you need to
go to Spain to become fluent in Spanish or to
live in France in order to become a fluent
French speaker.
HOW?
• Isolated
• In context
The ‘little but often’ rule
When it comes to learning French or Spanish,
‘studying’ little bit everyday works much
better than studying for two hours once a
week. Study for at least one minute per day
and you're bound to make progress.
Memory techniques:
By Rote
Learning by rote is simply reading the
text over and over until you remember it.
It is the most basic kind of revision, but
without the help of other techniques it
may not be very effective and it can be
very boring. There are not many students
with excellent auditory memory who can
solely learn this way .
For example...
Learn 5-10 words a day – using:
• Your vocab booklet, your revision guide with the traditional 'look,
say, cover, write, check’ method
• Spaced repetition programmes which work like flashcards, e.g.:
‘activelearn’ (on-line - based on our course book); Memrise,
Languages on line (see info sheet)
• Your own flashcards
• Your own vocab or verb tests
• A friend or a parent to test you
• Your electronic devises: switch to French or Spanish
Examples
of vocabulary lists
They work well
• For browsing general vocabulary
• For checking spelling
• For checking gender of nouns
• As a bank of verbs in the infinitive
• As a bank of standard phrases
• As a starting point for word cards and mind maps
Write the vocabulary
from each sub section
out separately…..
Write
the
start of
each
subsection
on a
blank
piece of
paper
and try
to fill in
what
could
come
next….
Write the words out in
different colours
depending on their
genders…
Divide the words up
according to difficulty
level and learn them in
batches.
Write out
the initial
letter of
each
word in a
sentence,
then take
away the
book and
try to
write the
words in
full.
Turn the language in each of
these sections into a short
paragraph……
Do it with the book open
first, then have another go
from memory. Check your
work – how did you do?
Examples
of word cards
They work well
• For verbs and tenses
• Word families
• Topic related vocabulary and phrases
• Words students find difficult to remember
• As cue cards in preparation for the speaking
test
Learn with your ears –
not just with your eyes
If you want to sound like a local, you need to
learn with your ears, not with your eyes.
That's why all audio resources are recorded at
normal speed by professional voice actors.
Most students enjoy repeating what they
hear, mimicking or exaggerating the sounds
they hear.
For example...
• Use on-line programmes: listen to the vocab and
repeat and repeat vocabulary
• Listen to French pop-songs on youTube (and
listen again with the lyrics)and sing along
• Chant verb conjugations
• Listen, read and repeat – then write the word:
make the sound- spelling link (Phonics)
• Label objects in your house with sticky notes and
say the words every time you pass (use different
voices or intonation – make it fun)
• Read passages out loud (and make a note of the words
with which you struggle and ask your teacher later).
(French: focus on the -é at the end of words (which you
must pronounce); the -e, -s, -t that are silent, numbers, and
tricky sounds (-tion, h-, r-) and nasals).
Increase your speed, even if it means mispronouncing
certain words.
• Talk to yourself and practise saying out loud what you
have done in the day. Have a list of verbs in the right tense
to refer to.
Try and include the funny or irritating bits of the day include emotions as if you were writing a diary, or do a
crazy improvisation in front of your mirror! Anything to
make speaking in fun!
2. Revising for
assignments or ‘exams’
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Planning
Researching
Drafting
Memorising
Mind-maps
• Start with the topic in the middle of the page
• Then develop your main ideas = sub-topics.
• Each branch must relate to the branch before it.
• Use only key vocabulary, verbs or short phrases and images.
• Key words must be written along the branches.
• Printing your key words makes them more memorable.
• Any words used must be spelt correctly.
• Use highlighters and coloured markers to colour code branches.
• Make things stand out on the page so they stand out in your mind. (This
doesn’t show up well on a black and whole photocopied booklet! You
should use a different colour for each main branch and all its subbranches)
• Design images you can relate to which will help you remember key
information.
Drafting
• Use your mind map to draft a paragraph or
the whole text.
• Use your textbook and other resources
(revision guide and handout) to find sentences
or short passages which fit in with what you
want to say. Make them your own by changing
words or omitting or adding details.
Memory techniques: Chunking
 Break your work down into sentence ‘chunks’
 Take one paragraph and count the number of
sentences
 Draw that number of boxes onto a page
 Write each sentence into a box from left to right
 Look at the first sentence in your notes and read it
out loud. Then, close your eyes and say (‘seeing the
words in your mind’) or ‘air write’ the sentence
without looking at it
 Repeat the step above, this time with the first 2
sentences
 Next, try it with 3 sentences. Then 4. Repeat until
you have (mostly)memorized the first paragraph
 Now turn over and draw the boxes again
 This time put the first letter of each word only, followed by a
line. E.g. m__ g________ l__ c_________
 When you have finished, try to complete the text without
looking at your notes.
Now take a 3 minute break
 Now turn over and draw the boxes again
 This time put a picture in each box instead of any words
 Try to use colourful, humorous images to link to the idea of
the sentence
 When you have finished, try to complete the text without
looking at your notes.
Memory techniques: Key words and/or pictures
 Take a piece of paper for each bullet and paragraph.
 Split the paper in half like this:
 At the top is the English bullet and on the left is your answer
broken down into sentences or chunks
 On the right hand side you write key words or draw pictures to
prompt your response
 When ready, cover the left side and use the right to help you
recite the text
Try this with the next paragraph of your text
A Try thinking of images for the next paragraph of your text.
Remember to make them as vivid and unusual as possible so
they stick in your mind.
B Speak your text through with these
pictures to prompt you (then have a 2minutes chat with your partner).
C Now see if you can remember your text by
just thinking of, or looking at your images.
Memory techniques: Card cover
Two ways to practice with cards
1. Put the answers on the back, but you need to
remember more at once before you check
2. Use a piece of paper and move down to reveal
answers as you guess the contents
These techniqiues are very useful for
checking that you know key words and phrases.
activelearn
e-book of our GCSE text books ‘Studio’ and ¡Viva!
• Google: active learn login (Pearson)
• Login using the students schools e-mail address
• Password: Active100
• once logged in, the icon of the textbook will
appear – click on it
• Choose foundation or higher course
• choose module
• choose unit
• choose activity
• https://www.activeteachonline.com/
Google classroom
• in the process of being set up
• Students will receive an invitation with the
code word to access the classroom
• Staff will upload resources on a regular basis
- power point presentations
- worksheets
- grammar notes
- exam materials
- web links
Current priorities
• Confidence, a good work ethic and positive
mind-set
• Consolidate pronunciation and intonation and
a degree of fluency and spontaneity
• General good basic written accuracy: spelling,
accents, nouns with correct gender, adjectival
agreement.
• Good grasp of the main verb forms and
tenses.
Resources
on the internet
• http://www.languagesonline.org.uk/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/fr
ench/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw8Z6JC
xBk0
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T0jHFSR
mvs
Support
• Student to purchase a ring binder to collate
and build up work in preparation of their
examinations
• Vocabulary booklet
• Revision guide
• Lunch time conversation classes and tutorials
(days and times TBC in September)