Evaluation of the Key Stage 2 Language Learning Pathfinders

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Primary languages had been integrated successfully in one special school visited, wherepupils were very enthusiastic and an FLA had made a very positive contribution to allaspects of the work.‘We feel quite positively that because we are a special school, why shouldn’t we have theseopportunities? So, you know, we weren’t providing them, so it’s a very positive stepforwards.’ (languages teacher)3.1.6.3. Gifted and talented learnersIn the first year of the Pathfinder, even in schools with well established provision, theapproach still appeared to be ‘whole class’ teaching. There was less evidence of particularprovision for Gifted and talented (G & T) children or of their reactions. Where aninvestigative approach was adopted, this was felt to be of benefit to gifted and talentedpupils:‘With the gifted and talented, the investigative approach actually lends itself quite well tostretching them at their own level.’ (languages teacher)There was a trend evident in some Pathfinders towards developing more challenging workfor higher ability pupils in the latter stages of the two year period. One school provided anEaster School, initially for G & T pupils, but then offered it more widely, with a carousel oflanguages. Another Pathfinder offered some dedicated sessions for G & T, which includedlanguages but it was very time-consuming to organise and the experience was not repeatedin the second year.Most teachers seemed to differentiate by outcome for more able learners, but somereference was made to ‘speaking faster’ or involving the pupils as demonstrators oflanguage etc. It was also the case that when teachers felt less confident, stretching ablepupils was more challenging:‘You might be able to stretch children but this is harder for the non-specialist, you’re notfluent, that’s the frustrating thing.’ (languages teacher)Some brighter pupils felt that they were held back to allow other pupils to speak and get thepoints when they knew the answers. One pupil wished to continue French only ‘If we had a51
teacher who knew our level.’ In the same school, another pupil mentioned the need for achallenge:‘It would be more fun, if may be, if we could have a challenge, something that wouldchallenge us, because some people who do know it, don’t put in so much effort, becausethey think, “I know that.”’ (pupil)These pupils recognised that the visiting teacher from the secondary school was unaware oftheir prior experience and of how much they could do. They had several suggestions forways of improving the situation:• any visiting teacher should start by giving a short test, which would enable her toknow at which level to start• the teacher should allow different amounts of time before expecting an answer,giving the newcomers or those without the additional experience of the French club,slightly longer to respond• the class should be divided into groups: expert, intermediate and beginners.3.1.7. Pedagogy/methodologyPupils tended to see their languages as topic based as opposed to structurally based:‘We do a certain topic every half term and we don’t stop until everyone knows how to say thewords.’ (pupil)Languages lessons observed frequently involved:• Topic based language (animals, numbers etc.)• Songs (often with accompanying gestures, sometimes with words to read,occasionally with dancing too)• Games• Conversations• Videos• Puppets• Stories (mostly familiar and often incorporating props, reading and acting)• Puzzles, word searches, crosswords• Colouring52
Page 1 and 2: RESEARCHEvaluation of the Key Stage
Page 3 and 4: Contents1. Executive summary 32. In
Page 5 and 6: practice and factors that might imp
Page 7 and 8: of the experience. Individual feedb
Page 9 and 10: • The analysis revealed the need
Page 11 and 12: • Are pupils with SEN and gifted
Page 13 and 14: Both respondent characteristics and
Page 15 and 16: Interviews were recorded and a 25%
Page 17 and 18: 2.2. Advantages and disadvantages o
Page 19 and 20: 2.2.2. Languages Delivery by the Pr
Page 21 and 22: 2.2.4. Languages Delivery through a
Page 23 and 24: Analysing these models, conditions
Page 25 and 26: • Schools should be encouraged to
Page 27 and 28: however, instances of schools where
Page 29 and 30: 3.1.3.4. Time allocated to language
Page 31 and 32: ‘French would not be taught now a
Page 33 and 34: • beneficial for the subject’s
Page 35 and 36: Many teachers remained very depende
Page 37 and 38: Table 2: Integration and Communicat
Page 39 and 40: ‘We’ve written a letter and dra
Page 41 and 42: ‘it makes you realise that if acc
Page 43 and 44: Table 5: Languages and Learning - Q
Page 45 and 46: 3.1.5. Pupils - Learning and Attitu
Page 47 and 48: • useful for travelling abroad -
Page 49 and 50: • ‘Comments at the end to help
Page 51: ‘At times they find it difficult
Page 55 and 56: In most Pathfinders, however, there
Page 57 and 58: 3.2.2. Recommendations• Primary t
Page 59 and 60: Effective staffing is essential to
Page 61 and 62: Martin and Mitchell 1993). In anoth
Page 63 and 64: Nineteen respondents had specialise
Page 65 and 66: As revealed in questionnaire 1, in
Page 67 and 68: However, some teachers were pleasan
Page 69 and 70: However, there were frequent instan
Page 71 and 72: • team-teaching on the ground•
Page 73 and 74: involved external bodies in the del
Page 75 and 76: Generally, there was a sense that s
Page 77 and 78: • Methods of recording progressio
Page 79 and 80: However, there were challenges in a
Page 81 and 82: In one Pathfinder one school cluste
Page 83 and 84: One example of assessment included
Page 85 and 86: trying to evaluate, prior to each u
Page 87 and 88: Case study: exemplar of a well deve
Page 89 and 90: In some Pathfinder schools effectiv
Page 91 and 92: ‘Only a very small number (6/7) g
Page 93 and 94: • transfer of more sensitive info
Page 95 and 96: ‘…I know the Year 7 teachers we
Page 97 and 98: 3.4.5. Links to KS3 Framework/Natio
Page 99 and 100: situation was especially difficult
Page 101 and 102: 3.5. Sustainability and Replicabili
Page 103 and 104:
develop ‘effective and replicable
Page 105 and 106:
3.5.4. Leadership and managementThe
Page 107 and 108:
on one aspect of delivery. This was
Page 109 and 110:
3.5.5. Staff and staff expertiseIn
Page 111 and 112:
‘Usually it is impromptu: 10 or 1
Page 113 and 114:
‘The reason why I have decided to
Page 115 and 116:
c) there is obvious progression fro
Page 117 and 118:
to be constrained. Methodologies ge
Page 119 and 120:
Time spent on the project was gathe
Page 121 and 122:
Estimating development costs of res
Page 123 and 124:
There were significant differences
Page 125 and 126:
on staff costs, with the impact on
Page 127 and 128:
5. CONCLUSIONSOverall, this evaluat
Page 129 and 130:
5.2. Teacher Competence• Primary
Page 131 and 132:
o for training secondary teachers i
Page 133 and 134:
ReferencesBell, E with Cox, K. (199
Page 135 and 136:
Case Study 2Case study 2 is a compa
Page 137 and 138:
channelled through this school. At
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Case Study 5This LA is a large auth
Page 141 and 142:
Case Study 7Case study 7 is a joint
Page 143:
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