MFL MATTERS. This newsletter is also available to view at Celebrating Success

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1 Issue 2 - Autumn 2007 Standards and School Effectiveness MFL MATTERS This newsletter is also available to view at Celebrating Success News for MFL staff in Hertfordshire European Day of Languages On Wednesday 26th September 2007 a hugely successful festival of Primary Languages took place at the Hertfordshire Development Centre to celebrate the European Day of Languages. Bunting and display lent an international and bright atmosphere to the day. Mike Ullmann, teacher of the year , delivered the keynote speech, sharing his passion for languages and internationalism. Delegates were inspired by workshops and live lessons presented by the County s language colleges and Kate Beaumont of Summercroft School, who is currently on a one day per week secondment as a Primary Languages consultant. They also had the opportunity to look at a range of resources at a publishers fair throughout the morning. The language colleges had previously collaborated on a Primary Languages toolkit of resources and ideas which was given out on the day. A buffet lunch with an international flavour was served and in the afternoon pupils enjoyed pains au chocolat. The day ended with a superbly performed multi-lingual take on Snow White performed by Year 13 students from Dame Alice Owen s School. This was much appreciated by the primary pupils and teachers, one commenting on what a fantastic model this presented for the younger pupils. The primary pupils came from Almond Hill School in Stevenage and St Helen s and Beech Hyde Schools in Wheathampstead. Across the County, many schools celebrated the European Day of Languages. At Berrygrove Primary and Nursery School in Watford, each class organised different activities including food tasting and language tester sessions guided by Queens' Secondary School and participated in a competition designing a poster to celebrate multi-lingualism. How did you celebrate the European Day of Languages? Please nicholas.nesbitt-larking@hertscc.gov.uk (primary schools) or sheila.ball@hertscc.gov.uk (secondary schools) with any news. Go to for information on past EDLs and ideas and resources for next year s EDL on Friday 26th September MFL/ICTAC Teacher-Led Development Work Group (TLDW) Congratulations to all of those MFL practitioners who were part of last year s HertsCam MFL/ICTAC TLDW. The group included teachers from both primary and secondary phases. They carried out enquiry based development work in the following areas: Michelle Deroe How does marking of work motivate students in Y9 Spanish to improve and progress? Simon King Integrating the Spanish curriculum into a Y4/5 class Nathalie Luquet Introduction of MFL in Primary Schools Frank Stegner How can we structure the process in preparing Y12 students for the AS oral exam? As part of the programme, they also presented their work at the annual July conference at Hertfordshire Development Centre alongside a hundred other teachers. They have worked extremely hard and made an impact both on their own students and colleagues. We wish them all the very best for the future. To find out more about their work, details will be on the good practice website of the grid very soon. Alternatively, contact sheila.ball@hertscc.gov.uk 3, 2, 1 and Action! Thanks to Jon Meier (AST) who has produced a DVD of good practice collaborating with teachers in St Albans. The DVD contains clips focusing on the following areas: Starters Sequencing lessons Copies of the DVD are 5 and available from Jon Meier. If interested please contact him and send cheques including your name and postal details to Jon Meier Verulam School Brampton Rd St Albans AL1 4PR. Alternatively you can him: jon.meier@verulam.herts.sch.uk. Check out the Hertfordshire MFL website at

2 MFL MATTERS Page 2 Primary Languages Support Training for those schools not yet started with languages will continue to be offered next year, as will training for those schools with existing provision looking for ideas to move on and develop towards greater sustainability. Training will also be offered in practical ideas for languages in the classroom and beyond, ICT and languages and subject leadership. The Hertfordshire Regional Support Group will continue to offer twilights throughout the year in different locations. Please look out for flyers on our Primary Languages training. The upskilling programme has been expanded, with the MFL departments of the seven language colleges and Barnwell, Broxbourne and Knights Templar delivering the training. CILT offers a variety of courses for primary teachers, including some funded courses abroad. For further information go to In School Support We are pleased to welcome Kate Beaumont from Summercroft School in Bishop s Stortford onto the PNS team on a one day per week secondment as a Primary Languages consultant from September 2007 to April Caroline Herring, Primary Languages AST, will continue to support schools in building their capacity for sustainable language delivery from September Support from both Kate and Caroline is being offered on a phased area basis. Schools will be contacted with further details of this support and we will do all we can to meet schools needs within the work capacity of Kate and Caroline. Nick Nesbitt-Larking will continue to make initial visits to discuss The KS2 Framework for Languages and the Junior European Language Portfolio Part 3 of the Framework has now been published. You can order this from the DCSF on ref: DCD-EN The Junior European Language Portfolio is a freely downloadable resource for recording a pupil s achievements and progress in languages. It offers: a means of celebrating language-learning and intercultural experiences an open-ended record of children s achievements in languages; a valuable source of information to aid transfer to the next class or school. You can download it at: Primary Languages Training Zone The recently launched training zone offers valuable support for primary languages implementation with lots of video clips of language teaching in action and other resources. Go to: Funding There has been an increase in funding for which will be devolved to schools with a KS2 intake shortly. There is a growing range of good materials, specifically designed to support non-specialist primary teachers. A selection of these can be found at: ks1-2/audit.shtml For a more comprehensive list, go to the Nacell database at: search/search.jsp

3 MFL Mini Matters Christmas 2007 Pull Out Supplement Welcome to MFL Mini Matters, our Modern Foreign Languages fact sheet designed to keep you updated with new developments, opportunities and resources in MFL. Both MFL Matters and MFL Mini Matters are available online at

4 MFL Mini Matters - Christmas (and other) training, resources & competitions Links include ideas for writing letters to Santa and how to wish people Merry Christmas across the world, as well as plenty of Christmas games, songs, recipes and plays Comenius 2 offers grants to fund in-service overseas European training for teachers and support staff delivering MFL in primary and secondary schools. Courses usually last from one to four weeks and are a great opportunity to develop skills and confidence in your chosen language. - Last chance for training grant Every year the Goethe-Institut offers further training grants to German language teachers and trainers to participate in residential German language courses in Germany. Apply now! This year s Chinese Speaking Competition will take place on Thursday 28th February at London s V&A Museum. The event is supported by the HSBC Global Education Trust and will form part of the CHINA NOW festival. Delegates from the winning school will have the opportunity to travel to China at Easter. Succeed in Languages offer a range of courses and seminars, held in London, for teachers wishing to improve their language skills. For further information please contact Liz@succeedinlanguages.com is an online bookstore specialising in foreign language literature. A real treasure trove of second hand, remaindered and new novels and storybooks for all ages. Charles de Gaulle Bursary Scheme (wendy.waring@britishcouncil.org) With a closing date of 31st January 2008, apply now for bursaries worth up to 1000 for students aged to do a study project in France.

5 Christmas 2007 Primary Language Central Training: Spring 2008 For all enquiries, please contact or telephone Name of Course Getting Started with Primary Languages at KS2 (full day, supply provided) Moving on with Primary Languages at KS2 (full day, supply provided) Practical Ideas for Primary Languages (half day, supply provided) Smart Notebook for Primary Languages (half day subsidised course, no supply) Date 27th February 4th February 6th March 15th January 24th January 20th February Regional Support Group twilight sessions are also running throughout the term. Look out for flyers! The KS2 Framework for Languages This document offers practical guidance on expectations, outcomes and progression at Key Stage 2. Part two provides strategic advice for primary schools on implementing languages, and how secondary schools can adapt their KS3 MFL provision to support transition. A hard copy of the Framework is being sent out to every Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 provider and should be with you in the new year. Happy

6 and a happy new year!

7 ISSUE 2 - AUTUMN 2007 Page 7 QCA Key Stage 2 Scheme of Work for Languages The QCA has produced new schemes of work for KS2 French, German and Spanish which are related clearly to the KS2 Framework for Languages. They are advisory rather than statutory documents and schools can adapt them for their own purposes. Units 1-12 (for years 3 and 4) were published in the summer term Units (for years 5 and 6) will be trialled over 2007/08 and finalised in the summer term The French scheme has also been published in hard copy. The German and Spanish schemes are due to be published in both hard copy and online later this year. The Teacher's guide and new French scheme of work are available to download from the QCA website Secondary MFL Support Strategic Learning Networks (SLNs) With funding from the DfES, six SLNs have been established in Hertfordshire. In July, 36 teachers were invited to a session at HDC where Barry Jones, our regional trainer for this initiative, kicked off the afternoon with some interactive MFL teaching strategies. The objective of the SLNs is to support ongoing developments through collaborative working in the current climate which is seeing significant changes in MFL. SLNs are based in the areas shown on the right and have chosen these themes to focus upon. Some networks are secondary based and others include practitioners from both primary, secondary and special schools.we would like to congratulate all of you who are involved with these networks, particularly Kate Muscroft, Michelle Deroe, Rose Oliva, Caroline Lewis, Jon Meier and Paul Parker for your hard work so far. Jackie Rayment and Sheila Ball will be supporting the SLNs as they carry out their work. The intention is that the outcomes of their work will be able to be shared throughout Hertfordshire as a whole. We also hope that this model of collaborative working will be sustainable. If you are interested in being involved next year please contact sheila.ball@hertscc.gov.uk Bishops Stortford Hertford to develop first year language learners use of oral language in a creative way (by producing a 3 minute film) to share strategies for teaching specific points of grammar to first year language learners, to raise their level of accuracy and subsequently, their independence to manipulate language. to develop French speaking skills in Year 6 in preparation for Year 7 to introduce writing activities in Year 6 Hitchin strategies to motivate pupils with different language backgrounds and abilities with a particular emphasis on oral language. strategies to differentiate effectively for both SEN and G+T pupils Hoddesdon St Albans Stevenage to increase quantity and quality of pupil use of target language at KS3 thinking skills + extending language & differentiation promote Assessment for learning teaching and learning strategies for Speaking and Listening, with a particular focus on Key Stage 3. to establish links with feeder primary schools to build on the work done under the KS2 Languages strategy and ensure a smooth transition form KS2 to KS3 in MFL

8 MFL MATTERS Page 4 Consultancy Jackie Rayment experienced MFL assistant adviser for the past 5 years is available for tailored support. She can offer advice, training or coaching in the following areas: * HOD support (eg SEF, leadership issues, OfSTED, SoW, mentoring, raising profile of faculty) * Support for NQTs * Teaching and Learning development (eg Assessment for Learning, motivation, engaging boys) * Positive behaviour management Please contact Jackie through Lin Goucher if you would like to discuss any possible support either for the whole department or for an individual: lin.goucher@hertscc.gov.uk Voting Systems Excellent tools for assessment, recording data and engaging the learners. There is a section on the HGfL on which the e-developments adviser, Chris Carter gives an overview of Voting Systems and there are some case studies to read too. This can be found at: There are loan sets which are usually lent to a school for a half-term period. In return the school is asked to write a short report on how they used the system, what was effective, what wasn't. This is then published on the HGfL to help inform other schools. All the voting systems are currently booked up until this Autumn half-term but if you are interested in a loan, one could be arranged for subsequent periods. As they are very popular and will soon be booked up contact Chris Carter soon to avoid disappointment. Alternatively he can arrange a quick demo of a system, either atherts Development Centre or at your school. Class sets are around 1500 and upwards to purchase. However if you are a technology college, this may be a useful purchase for all the school to share! chris.carter@hertscc.gov.uk etwinning If you don t already have one, you can now find yourself an overseas partner school by using the etwinning site ( You can then video-conference with them using Flashmeeting - a FREE resource from E2BN. All you need is a webcam and an up-to-date broadband enabled computer at each end of the conference. It's easy to set up and use. For further information contact Chris Carter and I will happily advise anyone who wants to give this a go. Training Dates in Spring Term FLA Training Day 2 30th Jan 2008 NQT induction programme Day 2 28th Feb 2008 MFL newsletter contacts: Primary MFL: Nicholas Nesbitt-Larking nicholas.nesbitt-larking@hertscc.gov.uk Secondary MFL: Sheila Ball sheila.ball@hertscc.gov.uk Standards and School Effectiveness Hertfordshire Development Centre, Butterfield Road, Wheathampstead, AL4 8PY Telephone: