Spring 2013 - The Independent Schools' Modern Language ...

ContentsFrom the Chairman 4Languages: the State of the Nation 6Notes from the Editor’s Diary 7ISMLA National Conference 2013 11Inaugural ISMLA Spanish Day 20Changing the Shape of Languages Provision 22Training the next generation of teachers 25The Times Stephen Spender Prize 27El Festival Hispano de Teatro Intercolegial de Londres 29British Academy Schools Language Awards 2013 32Junior German Assistant 33Reviews 37Dates for Your Diary⇒ISMLA German Day: Saturday 16th November,2013, Goethe-Institut London⇒ISMLA National Conference 2014: Saturday,1st February, City of London School for BoysThe image on the cover is by Edouard Manet, Spring (Jeanne deMarsy), 1881. Private Collection3

From the ChairmanHow wonderful to see so many of you at St Peter’s, York! The content anddelivery of lectures was matched by the earnestness of the conversationsbetween delegates and, as ever, by the range of products on offer from theexhibitors. There can have been few teachers who did not find something ofinterest or of use from such varied fare as ‘ways to improve oral participation’from Amanda Barton, a glimpse of future examinations from Barnaby Lenonor an introduction to British Sign Language from Teacher of the Year,Amanda Smith. All of the conference offerings are summarised elsewhere inthis Newsletter. You can also find accompanying PowerPoints available asdownloads from the ISMLA website.Particular thanks for their organisational skills go to Mike Duffy (who hostedus as Head of Modern Languages at St Peter’s), Geoffrey Plow and DavidCragg-James – and in anticipation, our thanks to Robin Edmundson at City ofLondon School for Boys, who welcomes us on Saturday 1st February 2014(there will be no clash with BETT which has moved forward a week).No issue would be complete without some update on the place of MFL in thecurriculum – and here follow three important items – changes to the EBacc,the design of future GCSE and A level examinations and the Language TrendsSurvey.Changes to the EBacc - Recent changes to the EBacc mean that MFL nolonger find themselves inside the famous five of English, Maths, Science, aHumanity and MFL – but nesting amongst the three subjects that must betaken in addition to the compulsory English and Maths.Future GCSE and A Level examinations – We can only hope that numbersof those taking the new GCSE MFL examination will rise. You will probablyknow that the likelihood is that all the new GCSEs will become half a gradeharder and so some will claim that this will put it on a par with the IGCSEexaminations that have proved increasingly attractive to independent schools(my own included).We lament the reduction in the range of languages that can be examinedusing OCR’s excellent Asset qualifications – only French, Spanish, German,Italian and Mandarin remain.No languages teacher would think it right to see the decline of languages at Alevel that has occurred in recent years. There are very real dangers if MFLare seen as the preserve of ‘the privileged few’ – I understand that 60% ofA/A* grades come from pupils in independent schools. We would all list numerousreasons why we believe language learning is beneficial – though fewof us could manage the 700 listed at www.llas.ac.uk/700reasons .4

Language Trends Survey – You should be aware that the results of theannual national update on MFL become public at the end of March when the2012 survey is unveiled at the ALL national conference at Nottingham TrentUniversity - www.all-languages.org.uk/events/language_world/language_world_2013. Having read the draft report can I suggest that youwill want to read at the very least the (eight or so page long) executive summaryand either dip into or read the full report.What then should we do? My attempt, with ISMLA’s support, has been tostart a campaign under the Speak to the Future – the campaign for languagesbanner. I urge you to write to your MP and to ask them their opinionof the importance of languages and language learning to the UK. With theirconsent we then post your letter and their reply on the Speak to the Futurewebsite. Should they fail to reply we can post your letter – and their conspicuouslack of a reply. With option choices for GCSE and A level close athand you can encourage pupils to do the same. There are 560 MPs – wemanaged to contact over 600 of the 1600 prospective MPs at the last election.Whatever you may think about the value of language learning the recentEmployers Taskforce study estimated that UK plc loses out by some £7 billionyearly because of our lack of language skills. If ever there were a time tofight for languages for all, that time is now.Nick MairContributions to the NewsletterWe value all articles, letters or reflections in any form whichcontribute to enriching the debate about modern languageteaching in our schools. Contact the editor, Peter Langdale(plangdale@tiscali.co.uk).The Reviews Editor, Tom Underwood, would be happy to hearfrom anyone wishing to review books, websites and othert e a c h i n g m a t e r i a l s . C o n t a c t h i m a t T h o -mas.Underwood@ucs.org.uk if you are interested.5

Languages: the State of the NationRequired Reading?A recently published report by the British Academy makes useful and interestingreading and, what is more, will provide plenty of ammunition if youwant to follow the utilitarian line in persuading parents, pupils or SMTs of thevirtues of languages in general and of the relative importance iof each in the‘marketplace’. (See Andrew Hunt’s article on page XXX where he takes aquite different line as to the value of language learning!). To whet the appetite,see the table taken from the report of languages requested in job advertisementsin the UK below.The report highlights the UK’s ‘market failure’ in language learning. Drawingon new research – including a survey of UK employers and labour marketintelligence to identify the language skills required by employers – Languages:the State of the Nation provides strong evidence that the UK is sufferingfrom a growing deficit in foreign language skills at a time when globaldemand is expanding. The report argues that a weak supply of languageskills in the job market is pushing down demand and creating a vicious circleof monolingualism. It calls for concerted and joined-up efforts across government,education providers, employers, language learners and the wider communityto ensure that language policies respond to new economic realities.The full report (or a summary) can be downloaded from the British Academywebsite: www.britac.ac.uk/policy/State_of_the_Nation_2013.cfm6

Notes from the Editor’s Diary17th November, 2012Keen followers of these pages will recall my excitement that BOTH texts I hadchosen for my A2 students to study were going to be staged in London. Thefirst I saw with my pupils was the production of Bérénice by Racine at theDonmar Warehouse, in a translation by Alan Hollinghurst. Perhaps the problemis that my pupils and I actually knew the original French quite well, andmaybe the intimate space of the Donmar does not lend itself to Raciniantragedy, but we came away disappointed. I generally admire Michael Billington’sreviews in the Guardian, but for once I was forced to disagree with himwhen he wrote that ‘the evening, as a whole, is quietly compelling. It certainlybreathes what Racine called "that majestic sadness which is the wholepleasure of tragedy" ‘. For us one of the main barriers to feeling that‘tristesse majestueuse’ was a translation which seemed to deny the majesticin Racine and occasionally slipped into the absurd (since when does onetranslate the French ‘ingrat’ with ‘ingrate’?). Charles Spencer, writing in theDaily Telegraph wrote of the translation ‘Even Alan Hollinghurst …. sometimesstruggles here to make Racine sound fresh and vigorous. His Englishversion of Bérénice is certainly lucid and sometimes elegant, but I neverfound myself ravished by the beauty of the language.’ Lucid, yes, elegant,rarely. Indeed, is it ever possible to render in English the pain and poise ofthese immortal lines?Que le jour recommence, et que le jour finisse,Sans que jamais Titus puisse voir Bérénice,Similarly, one wonders why in British versions or productions of Racine it isalmost de rigueur to want to make the audience laugh on occasions, as if towant to break the unremitting tension between Love and Duty that is at theheart of this French classical tragedy. We want to like and admire Racine butrarely manage to stage his works without (wittingly or unwittingly) injecting adose of the Anglo-Saxon.12th January, 2013I was invited to take part in a round table discussionat the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of theSociety for Italian Studies (SIS). I joined Claire Dodd,the Chair of the ALL Italian Committee (who leads athriving Italian Department at Gosforth Academy) andtwo current students from Bristol and Leeds Universitiesto explore take-up of Italian at University and7

levels which are most commonly required for entry to our leading universitiesand will seek the views of universities outside of the Russell Group, as well asengaging with relevant learned societies and others.” So which body shouldone approach with views on the design of the new A Level? Given that universitieshave in my experience shown little knowledge or interest in the contentof the A Level modern languages syllabus, what can we expect fromthem? What is more, Mr Gove in his letter states that in his opinion “the primarypurpose of A levels is to prepare students for degree-level study”, butfor many of our pupils, the purpose of the study of a language at A Level isquite other. He also states that “Linguists complain about the inadequacy ofuniversity entrants' foreign language skills”, while we get a pat on the backwhen he states “the best private schools routinely teach beyond A levels,giving their pupils an advantage in the competition for university places”.Interesting times ahead.February 2013It is time to choose which language(s) to study for GCSE. One of our ablestpupils is doing the rounds seeking advice as to whether to continue with Latinor start Russian. A false dilemma maybe, but one which in one form or anothermany of our pupils face. Latin GCSE was attractive in part because ofthe literature content compared to an MFL equivalent - a reminder that weneed to ensure a proper intellectual content in our courses which challengespupils and gives them a sense of achievement which goes beyond ‘my lastsummer holidays’ or ‘what I do to protect the environment’!February Half-termFinally made it to the Manet exhibition atthe Royal Academy in London. A realtreat, with the chance to see many ofhis finest paintings in the flesh for thefirst time. The exhibition is primarilydesigned around Manet the portraitistand what struck me most forcibly wasthe warmth and affection that cameacross in his family portraits and thoseof his friends and supporters (Mallarmé,Zola, and Antonin Proust in particular).Ends 14th April, 2013Peter Langdale8

ISMLA National Conference 2013The ISMLA National Conference took place on Saturday, 2nd February andwas generously hosted this year by St Peter’s School, York. Here follow thecustomary reports on the talks.AMANDA BARTON: Motivating Pupils To Speak (In The Right Language AndAt The Right Time): Overcoming The Wall Of Silence.We all know that sinking feeling when we pose a question to a group oflearners and there is no response whatsoever; even worse if there happensto be an inspector or your line manager in the class. It can bring the bestteacher to his or her knees and cause great self-doubt. Remembering my Olevel days when the oral was only worth 5% of the whole examination,speaking the language was not that high on anyone’s list of priorities. Cue to2013 when the current examination system has an oral that counts for anywherebetween 25 and 30% of the overall grade, we have to get our pupilsmotivated and wanting to speak and do it as spontaneously as possible withoutthem feeling shy or embarrassed. But how?Dr Amanda Barton’s talk provided all present with some very good, practicaladvice on how we engage our pupils more in the talking process. It is importantto bear in mind, for example, that girls and boys approach speaking differently.Boys are risk takers and do not always care about being wrong; thefunnier the better, no doubt. This attitude diminishes with age. Girls, conversely,want to be right or are fearful of looking foolish and this is possiblymore marked in mixed schools. Her findings that pupils do not view speakingas work as such, makes it even more imperative to get pupils motivated tospeak.Creating situations where pupils can speak in pairs is to be encouraged asthis means pupils do not feel so exposed to the ridicule of their peers.Amanda suggested we get pupils to cup their ears thus creating their ownprivate language booth so they can hear themselves speaking. We shouldquestion whether we are getting them to speak just for the sake of speakingor whether we are actually getting them to produce utterances for a reason.(After all, there is not much point in asking a chid you know what his or hername is!) However if a pupil assumes a different personality (which is a morecreative situation) a real information gap is created and questions can beposed to elicit meaningful and not already known answers. Amanda showedus how we can get the whole class taking by simply creating dominos ofunlinked questions and answers whereby one child asks the questions on the11

HAROON SHIRWANI:Arabic in SchoolsHaroon Shirwani from Eton College gave us an entertaining and very informativetalk on the arguments in favour of introducing Arabic into schools,including practical advice and no shortage of essential information about thelanguage itself. He adduced four principal reasons for considering Arabic asan option in schools: that the study of Arabic provides a different way of seeingthe world (not least via the alphabet), awareness of an important worldculture, the breaking down of traditional cultural narratives and essentialcultural literacy in the modern world. After making the case for starting thestudy of Arabic in schools rather than at university ab initio as he had done,Haroon went on to outline some of the “good and bad news”. The bad newsincluded the lack of cognates and the script, while good news included only28 letters in a script which is fun to write (with the attendant excitement ofcracking the code), how it is based on 3 letter roots, its 2 tenses, its grammaticalregularity and its ‘neat case system’. There is also the fact that Arabichas many variants, but he argued that this only increased the attractionand the opportunities for cultural awareness He gave us a brief outline ofresources available in the course of which me mentioned that many teachersof Arabic in the UK are of Maghrébin origin and primarily teachers of French.There are excellent summer schools he can recommend for teachers wishingto learn it themselves, in Cairo and in Jordan. For certification he uses theABC Awards which are centre based certificates in practical language. GCSEand A Level are available but suffer from Arabic being seen as a ‘communitylanguage’. Of course it is also available as an ab initio language at IB.As ever, Haroon reminded us that he is very willing to answer any teachers’enquiries and to advise any pupils considering reading Arabic at University. .His email is H.Shirwani@etoncollege.org.uk.Readers ar also reminded of Haroon’s ‘Diary of an Arabic Teacher’ in the Autumn2012 edition of this Newsletter.Peter LangdaleNICK HARRISON: The ‘Civilizing Mission’ comes home: reflections onLaurent Cantet's Entre les MursAfter lunch on conference day there was a real treat for delegates interestedin the frayed edges of contemporary French society and the filmmakers representingwhat life might be like in those ragged, shifting spaces. Our digestifwas provided by Nick Harrison, Professor of French and Postcolonial Studiesat King’s College London, whose research interests look at the legacy of14

France’s imperial presence for both the countries left behind and the moderndaymétropole. His conference paper on the film Entre les Murs providedmuch to chew on in that wider context; the film would also suggest itself as achallenging and rewarding Cultural Topic at A2.Professor Harrison’s current research project focuses on education in Algeriaat the end of empire and what we can learn from writers of Muslim backgroundswho had the disorientating experience of attending French seniorschools. Indigenous children were in an infinitesimal minority in schoolsabove primary level – perhaps three or four in an average lycée of 1500 –and those who made it through felt their otherness keenly. At the time, theFrench used the notion of the ‘mission civilisatrice’ to justify colonialism intheir own culture. Looking back, two strands appear when trying to assessthe impact of French education in the colonies: that it was a crudely assimilationisttool of domination which disseminated prejudice; and that the Frenchacted in bad faith by not educating indigenous children seriously – in otherwords, to functional levels of Maths and French at primary school so theycould fulfil ‘their’ place in society, but not risking greater levels of understandingand independence of mind by taking more children through secondaryeducation. It is noteworthy that the separation of church and schoolingdid not occur in the colonies as in the métropole, so imported Roman Catholicismcontinued to be a part of the education of children of Islamic and otherfaiths. Considering the role of education in preserving hierarchies and theforeign nature of French as a language of study for Arab children, the questionis raised: for whom might it have been better if more of them had goneto school for longer?Echoes of this colonial material can be found in modern work – particularlywhat the purpose might be of learning French among other humanities. Acase in point is the film Entre les Murs which is based on a novel of the sametitle by François Bégaudeau who taught French in a tough collège on theedge of Paris and wrote up his experiences in autobiographical style.Bégaudeau was a somewhat accidental teacher who left education when thenovel did well; he collaborated with director Laurent Cantet on the screenplayand plays a version of himself, François Marin, in the film. The action focuseson the teacher’s shifting, difficult relationship with his multi-ethnic class as hestrives to explore with them the complexities of the imperfect subjunctive –rejected by the pupils as being of limited use in everyday speech – the Diaryof Anne Frank – none of them read it – and their own word self-portraits capturingtheir aspirations, dislikes and pastimes. Entre les Murs won the Palmed’Or at Cannes, becoming the first French release to do so in 21 years, andreceived positive critical reviews in France and the UK. However, the film wassocially controversial in France, with commentators at all points on the politicalspectrum using it as a pretext to air their views on education and the16

state of the suburbs.Something in the filmmaking decisions lends itself to this kind of analysis,though. The flavour is deliberately akin to documentary. The film was shot ina real school, mostly in a single classroom, with three handheld high definitionvideo cameras recording simultaneously. One was trained on theteacher, one filmed whichever pupil was speaking and one scanned the roompicking up on side interactions. Bégaudeau was an ex-teacher effectivelyplaying himself. The other teachers were teachers in the school where thefilm was shot. The children were not actors but ‘real’ children, although theywere from another school. A significant proportion of the script was improvisedor adapted; the screenplay can be bought, but it’s markedly different.Overall, the film is designed to feel ‘unstaged’ with a focus on ‘reality’ ratherthan ‘aesthetics’.However, film is created as an art form in itself and not merely as the carriageof social ideas. Entre les Murs is not a documentary and it is useful topinpoint the elements of the filmmaker’s craft that prove it. The‘documentary’ style is an aesthetic choice, of course, just as artificial as anotherlook and feel would be. The children, while not drawn from a pool actors,were nonetheless cast and rehearsed for months before filming began.The film was scripted, with approximately 20% improvisation. The‘autobiographical’ novel on which it is based is partly fictional, withBégaudeau on record as saying he wanted to write a “funny” book. No childis really playing him- or herself, although several are playing characters withthe same first name as themselves. The plot around one boy, Souleymane,and the limits of Marin’s empathy for him, was invented by Cantet and doesnot appear in the novel. In real documentaries, people are camera-conscious;this is not a feature of Entre les Murs. Cantet plays with the nature of theclassroom as a theatrical space for both teacher and pupils.Entre les Murs fits into the French tradition of films about school and, whileCantet has said he wanted to avoid the cliché of the hero teacher, he hasbeen extraordinarily warm in interviews about Bégaudeau’s ‘pedagogy’ –quite a claim, considering the latter had left the profession by the time theystarted working together, so what Cantet would have seen was Bégaudeauthe actor playing the part of a teacher in the controlled surroundings of a film-set. Some critics bridled at Cantet’s use of stereotyped ethnic-minority characters.However, the way they position themselves is an important reflectionof postcolonial identity as observed by Bégaudeau when he was teaching.Esmerelda states she is not at all proud to be French. The boys are muchtaken up by the Coupe d’Afrique des nations de football and support teamsaccording to their ethnic origins, suggesting a strong sense of loyalty and anidentity they can enjoy more than their legal French nationality. By contrastCarl, whose family roots lie in the French Antilles, supports France but is in-17

terested only in black players.Cantet suggests that the liberalism of the teachers, including Marin, goesonly so far when put under pressure. Souleymane becomes the object of adisciplinary procedure after a confrontation in class turns violent. Souleymaneand Marin have used the same questionable language against one anotherbut, while the boy is held to account, the teachers close ranks to protecttheir colleague. The adults know that, if expelled, Souleymane will besent “back” to Mali by his father – which they all assume, in rather patriarchalform, would be a disaster for him.Professor Harrison closed by linking Entre les Murs to a 1965 essay byGeorge Steiner in which the critic explores the loss of our cultural attachmentto written languages, the myth that literature might manage to capture a‘national spirit’ and the blown assumption that the studying the humanities‘humanises’ – Steiner was particularly thinking of Germany.Alex FrazerROMA FRANZISKA SCHULTZ:Goethe zum AnfassenThis year’s German offering was a wonderfully interactive workshop entitled“Goethe – Up Close and Personal ” run by Roma Franziska Schultz, Advisorfor German at the Goethe Institut London. The aim of the workshop was toexplore ideas for integrating biographical information into teaching, usingGoethe’s life as an example. Frau Schultz showed, or rather asked us to participatein, a variety of activities, including for example using the Deutschlandposter(a collage of German people and things: http://www.goethe.de/lhr/mat/lkd/de8444030.htm) to discuss which of the things depicted wouldhave been available in Goethe’s time; showing the trailer for 2010 film aboutGoethe to talke about clothing and society; using a board with milestones inGoethe’s life to practice listening to numbers. We presented family membersand their biographical information and explored Goethe’s many fields of expertise.Most of the activities could equally be used with different personalitiescould be easily adapted for use with pupils in different year groups. Allin all a very enjoyable and useful session.FRANCISCA GARCIA-ORTEGA: Revitalicemos la enseñanza de literaturaespañola en las aulasTo give a talk entitled ‘teaching literature through technology’ at a schoolwith technology with which one is not familiar was an ambitious task but18

delegates were clearly interested by the various ways Francisca Garcia-Ortega had found of enlivening our literature teaching with some 21st centurywhizz-bang. Her talk, while focussing in on two particular texts, wasintended more as a general idea of what one might do with interactive whiteboards,youtube and the like to allow students to engage with literature. Thewarmth with which she spoke was most engaging and I’m sure many, likeme, were prompted by the talk to reassess the ways in which we use (ordon’t use!) technology to bring literature to life in our classrooms.Jim HoughtonBARNABY LENON: Trends In Education In The UKAt the end of the conference, Barnaby Lenon, ISC chairman and recent appointeeto the Ofqual board, conducted what he called a series of 'thoughtexperiments' based on what he had been hearing and what we were likely tolearn soon about the future shape of public exams.He was speculating about what might end up happening, what Michael Gove& Co could be planning and how we as an association were likely to need torespond. All highly conditional, if not subjunctive. His rallying call centred onthe fact that in the next ten months (from February 2013), consultation periodsfor both the EBacc (now shelved - Ed.) and the new, reformed A levelwould need to be completed. While he was healthily sceptical over the extentto which all this consultation would get done on time, he still stressed howessential it was that associations like ours should be involved, whenever theconsultation happened. We probably left Barnaby's talk with that adviceringing loudest in our ears, and it was something which the ISMLA committeewould surely take up.Most intriguing in Barnaby's account was the change in ethos that seems tobe at the heart of much of Gove's thinking: the revision of the idea that mayhave existed that aptitude and notions of intelligence are destined to underpinmeasurement of performance; the increased esteem in which sheer effortis held; the belief that such effort should be expected to enable the majorityof pupils to achieve success; the regard felt by the government for educationin Singapore and the Far East in general as models for Britain.These statements remained necessarily abstract, since the programmes ofstudy to which they would give rise were not yet in existence. But certainprinciples were nonetheless already clear:• By the time all of Gove's reforms were in place, it was going to beharder to get top grades, but we as independent schools should welcomethe fact that academic rigour was being foregrounded.19

• The development of new A level criteria was largely being handed overto universities.• We and our candidates should prepare for the return of long exampapers; the days of the three-hour test might soon be back.• Last but not least, we should entertain the possibility that an ABaccmight be generated - a rumoured sixth-form extension of the EBaccprinciple.This talk attract an encouragingly large audience at the end of a lively conference.To say that it left questions unanswered is by some measure to highlighta blindingly obvious - and unavoidable - state of affairs. We were verygrateful indeed to Barnaby Lenon - the right man at the right time - for makingus aware that the questions existed at all.Geoffrey PlowInaugural ISMLA Spanish DayThe inaugural ISMLA Spanish Day, kindly hosted by Canning House, tookplace on November 17th last year. The majestic surroundings of GrosvenorSquare were accompanied by a similarly fascinating and informative varietyof talks. Having all arrived alarmingly punctually, the 60 or so hispanistswere welcomed by the Costa Rican Ambassador to the United Kingdom whospoke warmly of links between the two countries and of the two educationsystems before answering an array of questions concerning the difficulties ofBritish immigration for many Spanish-speaking countries. Professor ChrisPountain then took the stage to give a masterfully clear yet profound assessmentof current changes in the Spanish language. An example to whet theappetite is the way in which Spanish is tending to drop ‘de que’ for ‘que’ ininformal register (e.g. me doy cuenta que – known as queísmo) but also hypercorrecting‘que’ to ‘de que’ in formal register (e.g. pienso de que…). Theslides for the presentation are available on the ISMLA website.Impossible as it may have seemed to follow such an excellent presentation,the Canning House education liaison officer Joe Mulhern and our Hondurancook Bertha Rodriguez did a fine job, respectively answering questions onwhat Canning House stands for and does in the 21st century and taking usthrough the Honduran cuisine we were about to eat. It is worth noting thatmuch of the positive feedback for the day mentioned the food as a particularhighlight.Suitably nourished, Cambridge PHD student in Latin-American Prison LiteratureJoey Whitfield then gave us a brief overview of current trends and nota-20

le texts in Latin-American literature. He leapt effortlessly from Bolaño’s DetectiveNovels to Fuentes’ Ghost Stories to Aira’s peculiar yet fascinatingcuentos and was impressively unperturbed when our chef dashed in againdistraught at having forgotten to serve pudding.If Joey’s talk left us simultaneously distressed at how long our Christmasreading lists had become and enjoying a literary reverie unknown to mostsince our university days, then the following session brought us back to earthwith a bump. Representatives from the departments of Spanish at KCL,Queen’s College Belfast, Durham, Newcastle, Oxford, Southampton andQueen Mary’s gave a quick idea of the distinctive features of their particularcourses and then, in a Question Time format, answered a host of questionson topics such as Pre-U, literary content and the difference made by risingtuition fees. They must be thanked for the honestly and candour with whichthey addressed the various issues and gave delegates a good idea of the kindof differences between courses with the same name.Thus the day finished and delegates headed off to marvel at Mayfair real estate.It only remains for me to thank our speakers most warmly for the effortthat went into their presentations, all delegates for contributing to such awonderfully Hispanic atmosphere and Canning House for putting their facilitiesat our disposal.Jim Houghton21

Thinking Outside the BoîteChanging the Shape of Languages ProvisionWhich languages we offer and at what level within our schools is very oftennot in our hands as Heads of Languages. We inherit Departments where acertain structure exists and that structure often exists as a response to thingslargely beyond our control, such as the provision extant in feeder schools,the preconceptions and fears of our SMT, existing staffing and the expectationsof often conservative parental bodies.Few of us have the opportunity to take a step backwards and reconsiderthe structure of our provision based on what pupils really needfrom language-learning.Whitgift offered me just such an opportunity in 2010. With a Languages Facultyof thirty-three teaching eight languages, an SMT which is open to changeand willing to experiment, and a Headmaster who is a strong supporter ofLanguages, the possibility was there to implement something radical.Previously French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Mandarin and Latin wereavailable as options on entry to the school (Year 7). Pupils chose two in anycombination except Japanese with Mandarin. This was already an impressivestructure but one which caused timetabling nightmares, and where the twomost frequent combinations were disappointingly cautious from a pedagogicalviewpoint; French and Spanish dominated with French and Latin as thesecond most frequent combination. The combination of French and Spanish inparticular was meaning too much similar content, too much overlap in staff(Mr X teaching a pupil French and Spanish in Year 7, Spanish in Year 8,French in Year 9 and Spanish again later on, for example) and a general lackof linguistic stimulation for our pupils. French results were consistently wellbelow the Whitgift average. As it was by far the largest language within theFaculty, this was clearly disastrous for us as well as for the pupils.My background may be revealing when it comes to our solution to this problem.Having graduated in French and German I spent a year at a Japaneseuniversity learning Japanese and, since starting to teach, I have also learnedsome Mandarin – Whitgift sent me to China for a period. I am a firm believerthat the main purpose of learning languages is to gain an understandingof language itself and the interplay between language andculture (in the Sapir-Whorf sense not the cheese-and-wine tasting, let's makepaella, do origami, go to German Christmas markets, get the canteen tomake something Chinese for Chinese New Year sense). I become very crosswhen I hear lots of fuss made about the ostensible practical reasons to learnindividual languages. To my mind that misses the point entirely.22

If an English-speaking pupil learns only a Romance language (or Romancelanguages) they are learning far less about the nature of language than ifthey learn something more different from their mother-tongue. The moredifference in language structure we are confronted with, the moreour brains become adept at linguistic gymnastics. In my opinion this islikely to have a long-term beneficial impact on pupils' general thinking skills,their understanding of their own language and their ability to acquire newlanguages in the future wherever life may take them.Pupils arriving in Year 7 all now study three languages and are guidedin that choice. They must choose a Romance language - either French orSpanish, an Oriental language - either Japanese or Chinese, and an inflectedlanguage - either Latin or German. In Year 8 they continue with two of thesethree languages and take them up to GCSE* with the possibility for giftedlinguists of adding Italian or Ancient Greek.We have had our first year-group move into Year 8 and the shift innumbers has been fascinating. The choice is now much more firmly in thehands of the pupils - previously their two GCSE languages had been decidedbefore arrival to the school and parents had cautiously opted for French andSpanish or French and Latin as previously mentioned. French had thereforedominated in Year 8 with over 70% pupils studying it, whereas Japanese,Mandarin, German and Latin had been "minor" subjects with only around 10-20% students tending to study them.My hope was that the new structure would even up the distribution of languages,meaning around a third of pupils would study each of the 6 languages(remember they do two!). This is close to what happened althoughinterestingly French has now become the second smallest language.This will have a long-term impact on the structure of staffing within the Faculty.Currently the Heads of French and Spanish line-manage the lion's shareof staff and look after the lion's share of pupils but we are likely to replaceFrench teachers who leave with Classics, Chinese and German teachers, andsee a shift to roughly equal staffing levels between the individual LanguagesDepartments within the next two or three years. Our Heads of Classics, German,Japanese and Mandarin Chinese are looking forward to rising to thechallenge of a fairer distribution of responsibility, work, resources and pupils.No system is perfect and there are disadvantages to this structure - we areunlikely to be sending as many pupils off to university to study French andSpanish for example (although we do offer all our languages again as abinitio IB languages for those who feel they missed out).* For info: Edexcel IGCSE for French, German and Spanish. Edexcel GCSE for Italian,Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. OCR GCSE for Latin and Ancient Greek.23

I am also sad that the combination of German and Latin is not possible becausethe choice of Latin has often supported our best Germanists. However,I am convinced that the strengths outweigh these problems. I hope that itwill create pupils with a greater understanding of language and a deeper passionfor the individual languages they have opted for.There is scope for improving the system further. My personal preferencewould to be to make Latin compulsory and place it outside the threelanguageframework. Instead pupils would have the choice of Russian or German.I suggested earlier that I had been free to consider languages provision fromscratch. That's not quite true. Given an entirely free rein I would move awayfrom the languages currently taught almost entirely and all of our pupilswould learn Sanskrit, Mandarin, Arabic and Finnish....... but that might be astep too far even for Whitgift!Andrew HuntWhitgift School24

Training the next generation of teachers – canyou help?Many ISMLA departments are alreadyinvolved in initial teachereducation (ITE) in various ways,possibly through the GTP route orin partnership with a universityprovider for the PGCE route. Thecurrent landscape for initialteacher education is changing fast,as the GTP route is about to endand the School Direct initiative isestablished as another route totrain as a teacher.Whatever the landscape, there is absolutely no doubt that partnerships withschools are central to the successful development and progress of traineeteachers. As Furlong and Maynard (1995) stated: ‘…the quality of the nextgeneration of teachers will, in large part, depend on the quality of mentoringsupport they are given.’ This is as true now as it was when it was writtenalmost two decades ago!Two main benefits are cited by teachers working with trainee teachers:• Mentoring is a really good way to reflect on one’s own practice and todraw on new and innovative approaches from the trainee;• Working in partnership with a university provider gives a direct routeinto a job supply source – great when vacancies arise in your department!Suitable MFL placements are often very difficult to find for ITE providers, soplease consider becoming involved in some way, even if only for one PGCEplacement each year. A full list of ITE providers (and information about otherroutes into teaching) can be found at:http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teachingJust contact your local ITE provider for more information about working inpartnership to train the next generation of MFL teachers. We’d love to hearfrom you!Anna Lise Gordon MFL PGCE Tutor / PGCE programme Director, St Mary’sUniversity College, Twickenham, London. annalise.gordon@smuc.ac.uk25

The Times Stephen Spender PrizeOnce again the Times Stephen Spender Prize for poetry translation is invitingentries. Entrants are asked to translate a poem from any language, classicalor modern, into English. In addition to an adult category, there are two categoriesfor young people: 18-and-under and 14-and-under (which would includeyoung Year 10s whose birthday falls after the 24 May closing date).There are cash prizes in each category, with the winning entries being publishedin a booklet and on the Stephen Spender Trust’s website.Last year Stephen Walsh, an English teacher at Christ’s Hospital, used thecompetition as a springboard for a school-wide translation initiative. Pupilswith relatives who spoke a language other than English were encouraged tofind a poem in that language and work with family members to produce aliteral version to bring back to school for further development and entry intothe 2012 competition. Students following the IB diploma course translated apoem in preparation for their World Literature module, and senior classicistsand linguists were also encouraged to have a go.At Dulwich College, Nick Mair organised an internal competition. The winnerwent on to scoop joint second prize in the 14-and-under category with hisjoyful rendering of Quevedo’s ‘To a Nose’, described by George Szirtes as a27

‘gorgeous tease of a poem’. The EAL department at Malvern St James alsoran their own version of the Spender competition: the girls had to translate apoem and then put it on a poster or illustrate it, which gave rise to a lovelydepiction of swimming bacteria by Chris Wong, a Year 9 Chinese pupil whotranslated a poem from Japanese.The accompanying commentaries from the young translators are always illuminating.Many of last year’s 18-and-under entrants mentioned that this wasthe first time they had read a poem in another language, let alone translatedone. They had instinctively worked in stages, first using their knowledge ofthe original language to make a word-for-word translation, then deployingtheir skill as a writer to shape it into a poem that they felt worked well inEnglish. Of course the first hurdle is to choose a suitable poem. You don’twant one that is very simple or fiendishly difficult, nor one so well known thatyou’re competing with the masters. It helps too if you like the poem. It isoften said that no one reads a text more closely than its translator and it’strue.Details, entry forms and a poster can be found at www.stephen-spender.org,where you can also read all the winning entries since the competition beganin 2004. Email info@stephenspender.org for free booklets of past winningentries and 2013 entry leaflets.Robina Pelham Burn28

EL FESTIVAL HISPANO DE TEATROINTERCOLEGIAL DE LONDRESUn evento clave al que no puede faltar¿Cómo motivar a los alumnos para que estudien español con entusiasmo? Esla pregunta del millón de todo profesor y la que yo me hago cada vez quepreparo una clase. Y pensando en ello, se me ocurrió organizar el FestivalHispano de Teatro Intercolegial de Londres, una idea inspirada en la monumentallabor que realizó Fanny Mickey, la ya fallecida actriz argentina nacionalizadaen Colombia y empresaria cultural, al fundar en 1988 el FestivalIberoamericano de Teatro. Este evento se lleva a cabo cada dos años en laciudad de Bogotá y se ha convertido en uno de los festivales de artes escénicasmás grande del mundo.“¿Por qué no crear y organizar un festival de teatro anual que inspire a los29

estudiantes y permita que se sumerjan en la literatura de la lengua española?”,le pregunté a Mark English, el jefe de los departamentos de Español yde Lenguas Modernas del colegio North London Collegiate, donde trabajo. Através de la catarsis dramaturga, los alumnos viven por unos minutos (de 5a 10 máximo) experiencias nuevas de una cultura completamente diferente ala suya, expresándose en español. Los incentiva a leer y dramatizar trabajosliterarios escritos en español. Promueve el estudio de esta bella lengua y lacultura de los países de habla hispana. El Festival Hispano de Teatro Intercolegialcrea una plataforma de expresión que exige del estudiante un esfuerzoexcepcional de sus talentos linguísticos, dramáticos y creativos. Reconoce eltrabajo duro de los estudiantes participantes galardonando a los mejores endiferentes categorias. Además, celebra la riqueza cultural de los países hispanohablantes a través del teatro. Fortalece los vínculos con los colegios privadosparticipantes.… “Me encanta la idea”, interrumpió el señor English.“Organízalo”, dijo.Fue así como nació el Festival Hispano de Teatro Intercolegial de Londres,que inaugurará su primera versión el miércoles 9 de octubre de 2013 en elCentro de Artes Escénicas del North London Collegiate School a las 6pm. Esun proyecto ambicioso pero tengo la gran fortuna de contar con la colaboraciónde mi colega Davina Suri para que este sueño se vuelva una realidad.El panel de jueces, que escogerá a los ganadores en seis categorías, contarácon la presencia del Embajador de Colombia en Londres, Mauricio RodríguezMúnera; el veterano examinador de OCR Charles Netto, y Juan Blas DelgadoRamos, jefe de actividades culturales del Instituto Cervantes. Ellos tienen laresponsabilidad de escoger al Mejor Actor, Mejor Actor de Reparto, el MejorEspañol Hablado, la Mejor Obra, la Mejor Experiencia Teatral y el MejorGuión Original, si la obra ha sido escrita por uno de los estudiantes.El Festival Hispano de Teatro Intercolegial de Londres es patrocinado porCanning House, Instituto Cervantes y Soliman Travel, entre otras empresascon nexos con España y países hispanoamericanos. Si usted desea que susestudiantes participen en el primer Festival Hispano de Teatro Intercolegialde Londres, por favor escríbame a xyerbury@nlcs.org.uk Todavía tiene laoportunidad de registrar a su colegio, pues se aceptan inscripciones de ungrupo por institución hasta el 17 de mayo. ꜟEste es un evento al que no puedefaltar, si realmente desea motivar a sus alumnos para que estudien españolcon entusiasmo!Xiomara Yerbury, North London Collegiate School30

British Academy Schools Language Awards2013The British Academy haslaunched the 2013 edition ofits Award scheme, which offers£4,000 for projects promotingexcellence in language learning.This year the focus is onactivity which encourages morestudents to take languagelearning to higher levels – i.e.to A level and through intouniversity. This is because theBritish Academy is concernedabout the increasingly vulnerablestatus of language studyin universities, and a decline inA level take up which particularlyaffects the independentsector. It wishes to encourageschools to find imaginative andeffective ways of improvingtake up and enthusiasm forlanguage learning beyond theage of 16, and of addressingthe social imbalance in the profile of language learners at higher level.The Awards are open to all schools and colleges, and cover all languagesother than English. A total of 15 Awards of £4000 each will be made toschools throughout the UK. Application is via a simple online form, with aclosing date of 31 May 2013.Full information about the Awards including details of last year’s winners andFrequently Asked Questions are available at: www.britac.ac.uk/policy/basla2013.cfmThe Awards are offered as part of the British Academy’s programme to supportand champion the learning of languages. The Academy has spoken outstrongly about the importance of foreign languages not only for life chancesof the students themselves, but for the health of the UK economy and societyas a whole.32

Junior German AssistantFor a number of years we have had a 'Junior German Assistant' from the'Gudrun Frey Stiftung' in Germany. As we don't have enough German studentsto make it viable to employ an FLA via the 'British Council'programme, this has been the perfect solution for us. Their candidateshave just passed their 'Abitur' (usually with outstanding results), and havegone through a rigorous selection process to be given the opportunity to liveand work in a British boarding school where they are given board & lodging& some pocket money.All the girls (as we are a girls' school) who have come to us have been quitemature, intelligent, full of initiative and keen to be fully involved in schoollife. They live in the boarding house & boarding activities (e.g. organisingactivities for younger boarders, accompanying trips) are part of their duties.They also perform the role of German FLA & have impressed me with theirexcellent ideas for their German conversation lessons. Any spare time on thetimetable is then filled with whatever the school requires, in our case helpingin the prep dept (where their help is much appreciated), some admin assistancefor HoYs, etc. All the girls have also been keen to get involved in extra-curricular activities, such as choir, school play etc.The Gudrun-Frey-Stiftung currently work with 8 English boarding schools(and a handful in other countries) and would be keen to extend their contacts.More details can be found on the website:w w w . j u n i o r g e r m a n a s s i s t a n t . d e o r f r o m c h r i s -toph.daessler@juniorgermanassistant.de. I am also happy to be contactedby anyone with further questions.Anette Corbach St Margaret's’ School, Bushey33

LANGUAGE LABSNetworked Language LabSoftware only, networkable solutionRequires no proprietary hardwareSite wide, multi-location solutionExtensive features for differentiationand assessmentHighest audio qualityCloud Language LabEvolved from Sony Virtuoso networked labsPersonalised comparative recorder & playerTeacher assessment and communicationon all student activitiesAnytime anywhere accessPlugs into and integrates with any websiteAvailable as an app on smartphones and ipads‘The Sony software has provided uswith a reliable and future proofedtechnology platform that can supportand develop language learning acrossthe school’ Nadine Del Volgo, Head of ModernForeign Languages, Clitheroe Royal Grammar School.‘For me, SANSSpace represents animportant milestone in the developmentof effective teaching methods forlanguage learning.’ Will Harvey, languages andenterprise specialism coordinator Didcot Girls Schoolinfo@connectededucation.com Tel: +44 (0) 844 800 9375‘If you would like more information about Sony Virtuosoor an online demo of SANSSpace, please contact us quoting ref ISCSLMAR13’www.connectededucation.com

French language immersion in beautiful BurgundyAt Maison Claire Fontaine we are completely focussed on providingamazing French immersion trips for school groups of 8 – 18 year oldsin a safe and intimate environment.We offer use of one of our two centres for your visit with all lessonsled by bilingual native French speakers. We are a small, enthusiastic,professional and experienced team that pride ourselves on therelationships we develop with our visiting teachers and pupils.Our uniquely individual and tailored service is recommended bymany leading independent schools.We specialise in :• Preparation for common entrance and scholarship papers.• Cultural, language and activity trips for all ages.• French immersion for small 6th form groups (accompanied orunaccompanied).• GCSE intensive revision courses.Now taking bookings for 2014 and 2015For more information please contactAlex atinfo@maisonclairefontaine.comor visit our website atwww.maisonclairefontaine.com35

A level French conference/workshopwith focus on literature and using cultural/vocational materialto improve take-up.Friday, 24th May 2013(Charge £100)Steve Glover from Alevelfrench.com is organising this conference/workshopin conjunction with University College School, Hampstead to provide a forumfor younger teachers embarking on A level teaching to look at effective, motivatingways of teaching French literature using a mixture of time-honouredand up to the minutes techniques. Preparation for the written and speakingpapers and taking advantage of new technology will be a key parts of theprocesses outlined; sharing of successful practice will also be encouraged. Inaddition to this, Steve will be leading discussion on looking at ways of improvinguptake of languages at A level using a range of techniques. The contextof the literature part of the day, although largely generic, will be focusedaround L'étranger, Un sac de billes, Thérèse Desqueyroux and BonjourTristesse. Participants will be going away with a range of immediately usableresources and techniques for the classroom.You can download the programme and details from the ISMLAor alevelfrench.com sitesReviewsCantando s’imparaLinda Inniss with Mat FoxAvailable from www.splendoursoundsandlanguageresources.co.uk(£24.00 plus p&p)On the home page of the website, Linda Inniss introduces her range of resourcesentitled “Songs For Learning and Fun” with these words: “Singing,whether in English or in a foreign language is sociable, calming, motivating,fun and best of all, not perceived as work! Indeed, singing provides contrastingand legitimate light relief and variety in the (MFL) classroom.” One certainlywould not quibble with this statement and the resources she has preparedand which are now available in French, German (reviewed in the Autumn2012 Newsletter), Italian and shortly in Spanish provide a rich vein of37

material to exploit in the classroom and maybe even beyond. It is especiallypleasing to find a resource in Italian as there is so very little around whichspecifically relates to the topics as defined by the examination boards forGCSE.It comes on 2 CDs. The first has the CD audio of 14 songs, followed byKaraoke versions of the same. The songs cover a wide range of ‘topics’ fromclassroom instructions through healthy living and free time to school and theenvironment. However, what I found especially pleasing is that the words(which come as a Word, .rtf or. htm document on the second CD and cantherefore be used in all manner of ways) contain plenty of idiomatic expressionsthereby not only reinforcing vocabulary but also introducing genuinespoken language and grammatical forms. Take for example, this from a passageabout skiing:Se non sei bravoSe cadi ti puoi far male.Ma dell’aria fresca, ce n’è sempre tantaOr some nice work on superlatives in a song about the Olympics:Il salto più alto, il tiro più lungo,La corsa più veloce, il tuffo più profondo,Quale Paese sarà il migliore?E quale invece il peggiore?What will be evident is that there is plenty here for all abilities, but that foronce it is as much the top end as the bottom that is being catered for. Thetunes are varied in style and quite catchy, though occasionally theinstrumental/voice balance, especially with the male singers can obscure thewords if not listening with the transcript.The second CD as well as containing the transcripts of the songs has a seriesof listen and repeat style pronunciation exercises (again with transcripts)which to my mind are just as useful as the songs and which I will be usingwith my A level students to sharpen up their reading and pronunciation.Many are witty and will entertain as well as educate. Here is my favourite topractice C sounds:Ci sono cinquantacinque ciccioni che cenano in Cina!This is a real labour of love, self-financed by Linda Inniss and deserves tofind a place among the resources of every Italian department.Peter Langdale38