John Bald/language and literacy

Usborne Easy French, German and Spanish. An excellent resource up to GCSE.

     

I learned French from Sheila M Smith's Modern French Course, followed by W F Whitmarsh in the sixth form. The books would typically have a short text based on a grammatical feature, followed by exercises. The Smith series had some black and white illustrations, but not the Whitmarsh. If you were as determined to learn French as I was - think Bill Shankly on football - they would give you a grounding in grammar, but not in speaking. My distinguished French teacher, Francis Holmes, Chevalier dans L'Ordre des Palmes Académiques, said as much himself, and received his award for organising Anglo-French summer and Easter schools to rectify this. 

The reaction against textbooks has ignored what they can offer, and this series of pocket-sized, well-illustrated books contains all of the grammar needed for GCSE and most of what is included in the new sixth form curriculum. There are simple stories to illustrate each point, explanations are clear, and potential points of difficulty are not dodged. There are links to internet sites for further practice through Usborne Quick Links.  The cover price is £7.99, and the books can be obtained for under £5 through the usual channels. I'd recommend them highly to parents of all children taking languages in secondary school.

See also - Duolingo, A Green Mouse (French and Spanish)

Good progress in Year 6

Ten year old who came to me 9 months or so ago not knowing his 2x table has just been assessed at L4a by his school - his teacher was so pleased she came to visit his mother to tell her at home. This success has been based on building up his knowledge of tables and basic facts, such as breaking down 100 and 60 into halves and quarters, so that he has spare brain capacity to read the questions properly and think about them. 

This pupil's literacy skills are harder work. He had not got into a habit of reading, and so his vocabulary was largely limited to the everyday. We are working on Susan Elkin's Junior English course, and he is reading a page of the Dorling Kindersley Children's Encyclopaedia either to his mother or to me each day. We unpack and explain anything he doesn't understand, and practise anything he hesitates over. He has managed L4 on mock grammar tests, but his reading is held back by sheer lack of knowledge. However, he is sticking at it, and not forgetting what he has learned. He is also more serious in his behaviour, concentrating rather than pretending that it is funny not to know things. More will follow.

Technical Note - the limitations of regression analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical technique that looks for correlations between a range of variables in research structures -  it might look for correlations between test scores and pupils' ages or whether they have free school meals.  The technique is often used to suggest that one factor is not just correlated with a final result, but causes it. This is difficult to prove, as it is not always easy to find out what it is in a factor that might cause the result, but it makes a convenient shortcut for people who want to argue that one factor - often income - causes another - often educational achievement,.

So, we can all be grateful to Professor Steven Gorard for this note in his chapter on Multiple Linear Regression in Arthur, J., Waring, M., Coe, R. & Hedges, L.V. (2012). Research Methods and Methodologies in Education. 

A zero or weak correlation coefficient does not mean that there is no interrelationship between the variables involved. It might just mean that the relationship is more complex than a single linear correlation. Also, regression does not test anything. It merely models a relationship that we predict as analysts. … It is certainly not evidence of a specific, or indeed any, causal relationship between the variables involved. p. 353

This will, of course, not prevent misuse of the technique for political purposes, but at least it makes the position clear.

 

64, no more...

My pupils in Falkirk and their mother sent me this lovely card to mark my status as the first recorded male member of my family to trouble the administrators of the state pension scheme:

 

One of the most interesting things about the Falkirk lessons is continuity - they are not cancelled because of school trips, visiting speakers or extra maths lessons (though we have done some maths too). So, we are able to build up the children's knowledge, skills and understanding in a consistent way, with skilled reinforcement and practice from Katharine between the lessons. It feels a lot like flying. The children were kind enough to thank me for being "a great teacher".  I'd like to thank them for being great pupils. In fact, great students.

Falkirk Lessons 9 and 10, 11th and 18th March 2015

Lesson 9 continued with Le Petit Prince, once again unpacking and explaining every grammatical point until we reached the picture of the snake that had swallowed an elephant. 

Next, we agreed that I would show the pupils how to say anything they wanted to in French, but once again explaining exactly why things were phrased as they were, practising grammatical points and using them as focal points for extensions. These are the sentences the children asked for, and the way I suggested they would say these things in French.

Excuse me but can you tell me where the toilets are (as I suffer from
bladder weakness)?   Excusez-moi (monsieur ou madame), où sont les toilettes, s'il vous plaît?

J'ai une faiblesse de vessie.      (J'ai une crise de foie, à cause du foie gras.) 

   Ma foi ! Mon père. Mon frère, Michel.  ma mère. (using the companion words to find gender, rather than the noun, and pointing out that an e at the end of a noun did not necessarily indicate that it was feminine).    sion, ssion, tion, always feminine. La dépression.  Je suis déprimé(e).  La condition humaine.  Systématiquement. Conséquement. Mutuellement.   Pari mutuel  le tiercé.    Te voilà de retour.

How much does this cost and can I really afford it? Cela coûte  (vaut  valoir  la valeur)  combien, et est-ce que je peux me le permettre?  (Un permis de conduir.)

Can you tell me where the nearest park is because I would like to walk
my dogs. Excusez-moi (monsieur ou madame) pouvez-vous m'indiquer le parc le plus proche, car j'aimerais promener mes chiens.  Une promenade.  Je me promène le dimanche.  

Can we have the bill now, please? L'addition, s'il vous plaît.

I've lived in Scotland since I was five years old.  Before that we
lived in Yorkshire.  Je vis en Ecosse depuis l'âge de cinq ans. Avant, nous habitions le Yorkshire.

My dog ate my homework. Mon chien a mangé mes devoirs.

Do you know the way to Saint-Germain Boulevard? Excusez-moi (monsieur ou madame), pour aller au Bd.St-Germain s'il vous plaît?

Sorry but I can't come out now.  I'm too busy. Désolée, mais je ne peux pas sortir en ce moment. Je suis trop occupée  (J'ai trop de choses à faire.)     Sortie.

Why is the weather so awful in Scotland? Pourquoi fait-il toujours un temps aussi moche en Ecosse?

What is the answer to life, the universe and everything? Que signifient, la vie, l'univers et tout? Quarante-deux.

 

Little Green Mouse, making a Piñata.

Susie Mair´s wonderful free resource, Little Green Mouse, was just what my fourteen year old beginner needed - attractive, clear, with lots of high frequency words in parallel text. He´d even had a piñata for his birthday. Highly recommended for Spanish beginners and intermediate students who´d like some simple practice.

 

 

 

Slow but steady progress with a seven year old - the end of chapter 1.fridge,

Danny The Champion of the World is a good teaching book for a pupil aged seven to eight. For this pupil, it was a big jump from his starting point as a non-reader, and we can only fit in short teaching sessions, 15 mins or so, at the end of the school day once a week, when his father picks him up. The teaching technique is the same basic one - if he gets stuck or misreads a word, we go to another that has the same pattern of letters and sounds, usually at the end, and teach that one thoroughly. We then add more so that he does not have to blend each one from scratch, and, when he is confident, we return to the word in the text, usually taking it from the start of the sentence. In the last three sessions, we have been re-reading the paragraph from the previous week, then one or two new ones depending on how tired he is. We've nearly reached the end of chapter 1, and words such as although, paraffin, gipsies, ceiling, electricity are now within his grasp, sometimes with a double take. There was a slight improvement this week in fluency too.

Essentially, we'd reached a plateau, with a lot of consolidation, and that slight improvement in speed that shows that the plateau is not perfectly flat. After the immediate impact of the first lessons, we have moved to slow progress, as pupil applies his new knowledge to a broader range of words. 

Update, one week later, much more confident progress to reach the end of the first chapter of Danny, with immediately, especially and frightened read without hesitation, but work needed on bough, would and fridge, though once again some self-correction. Class teacher and parent continue to say that these very short sessions - 15m - are valuable to pupil, and fitted today's in around a difficult CPD commitment.

Michael Rauh: Clicker 4 and writing.

Michael Rauh's school received a grant from the previous government to investigate the use of ICT in primary languages. Michael chose to investigate Clicker 4. and I  am pleased that he has agreed to publish his findings for the first time, here.

Using Clicker 4 to enhance Writing in PMFL

 

Background In the teaching and learning of Modern Foreign Languages, of the four skills that are acquired, it is widely recognised that listening and speaking are the two that are used most proficiently, then reading, and finally writing, which in whatever language, whether learnt or mother tongue, is the skill where most children have the most difficulty, relatively speaking. This is certainly borne out by looking at the breakdown of GCSE component grades, where most often, the writing mark is the lowest of the four. I had heard of Clicker 4 being used in Primary schools two years ago when it was being used by the class teacher to support German writing in a Primary MFL lesson. When this class were visited by an HMI as part of a wider ICT evaluation exercise, Clicker 4 was again used to enable children to practise their writing skills and at the same time giving them the opportunity to “hear” the (imprecise) pronunciation of the text, and this exercise was highly commended afterwards by the visitors. It should be stressed that this was Clicker 4 in its original format, ie with the English voice engine. It was then that I first had the idea of using other voice engines in conjunction with this software to see what effect it could have on the standard of writing in the target language in primary schools.

Progress I targeted 2 Year 6 groups from the same school and in the weeks beforehand taught them the necessary vocabulary and structures  These two classes were also given a writing task: using a writing frame I wanted them to write, in diary form, about the things they liked eating (or not) and to give reasons why. They could choose words and structures from a grid. As part of the planning process, I made 6 grids, which became increasingly more complex and which included a “star” activity which was meant to challenge the high achievers. The increase in complexity reflected the progress to be found for example in the MFL Key Stage 3 Framework, where pupils start at word level, and progress via sentence level to text level. Also connectives (reflecting an increase in difficulty in the Literacy Framework) and justification (usually seen as a characteristic of working at Level 4 in MFL)  were added, to give added dimensions to the increase in complexity.   In the first of the two sessions pupils were given a brief introduction as to how Clicker 4 works, or at least reminded how it worked, if they had had previous experience of it in KS2. They then worked through the six activities. The advantage of the voice engine is that pupils can hear each word pronounced as they write it, and also the complete sentence and ultimately the entire paragraph. We wanted pupils to listen to the pronunciation, to practise repeating it in pairs with the partner helping to compare and correct, and ultimately we wanted pupils to practise recording themselves. Clicker 4 enables them to listen first to their voice (by clicking the right tab of the mouse) with the master version (by clicking on the left tab).   Between the two sessions, pupils worked on a writing frame (one they had used as part of the preparation phase before coming to these sessions) and they were asked to prepare sentences which they would use in the second session.   In the second session the outcome was for the pupils to produce a storybook (using the storybook grids) of the diary entries they had prepared, and again to listen to the voice engine and in pairs to practise pronunciation and intonation and then to record their voices. At the end of the second session, the classes would present their work: they would not have to stand in front of the class to read out the sentences since they had recorded this, and for many this would mean they could get things right without the worry of stagefright. As the planning progressed I decided to add extra activities as I felt that not enough emphasis had been placed on the connectives that I wanted the pupils to use, and since expressing justification represented a higher level of achievement I felt this would be time well spent if pupils could use the structures confidently.

Evidence of change Using Clicker 4 enabled every pupil to have access to correct pronunciation and intonation at all times instead of having to wait until the teacher was able to get round to them having dealt with the others in the class. This meant that the work rate was faster. Pupils were able to use all four skills using this software, whereas in a more conventional writing set up, only reading and writing would be the skills which were used. Here they were able to listen to, and repeat the words and sentences. In addition they could afford to make mistakes in private, and quickly remedy the situation. Clicker 4 also provided a good platform for pair work and peer group collaboration.

Conclusions and recommendations The main advantages have already been written about in the previous paragraphs, but in conclusion, the pupils had a more rounded language experience because all four skills were used, autonomy was moved away from the teacher, they were able to work independently and in pairs and groups if they wished, and they were able to support each other in their learning. Clicker 4 is targeted at less able pupils but I can see it being used by pupils of all abilities to encourage good writing skills. We quickly realised that the most able pupils wanted to produce their own grids. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but if they are able to produce grids they may as well use the document formats to input their writing immediately as this is a much more effective use of time., although if course they might wish to refer to the practice grids. Pupils with handwriting difficulties would certainly benefit from this software as they would be able to produce work much more neatly. The emphasis of this exercise was to produce a piece of writing, but Clicker 4 also has a wealth of clip art images which can be included and indeed the more enterprising pupils might wish to add digital images that s/he has made. There are other applications in Clicker 4 which were well outside the remit of this study, but which offer exciting possibilities for future extension work, including the importing of mpeg files. Clicker 4 could be used to encourage writing at a much earlier age, in Year 3 for example which would not normally be considered. The most important recommendation however is to keep the parameters of the writing task very tight: this enables you to keep grids and the final outcome concise and manageable and therefore more likely to succeed.

 

 

German - Clicker Set, Time, manner, place.

This is the first series of Clicker grids I've made, and the idea is that each element is on a separate grid, so that pupils compose sentences by inserting them in the correct sequence. These are screen dumps of the grid, which operates using the program Clicker 6 (Cricksoft.com)  With the program loaded, clicking on the bottom right moves to the next grid and there is an optional speech engine that will read the sentence back when you click on the full stop at the end. I will demo to any interested teacher via webex. Having composed sentences, the children write them from memory. They do not copy, ever! No charge, and for the record,  I don't have shares in Clicker 6. NB - the screen dumps here are slightly fuzzy. The originals are crystal-clear on the screen.

A couple of wrinkles to make this type of grid. Select template in the Clicker 6 menu, and once you have a blank grid, click on it to uncluster the cells. This lets you resize and move them. Create new grids in the series by duplicating. To move to the next grid, right click on the full stop box, go to choose and select move to next. Repeat, go to send and insert send no text. The same will work for any multiple grid. Pictures or video can be inserted into any cell using drag and drop.

Falkirk Lesson 8, 4th March 2015.

Traditional grammar would teach and practise regular verb forms in the present tense before introducing past tenses, then future and then conditional. For these lessons, I'm trying a different approach, using the idea of time zones rather than tenses, and drawing analogies between the way English and French operate. So, we took the first two paragraphs of Le Petit Prince, and studied them closely, looking at the verb forms and the ending, ait, that kept appearing. We looked at the composed and simple past tenses, and continuous past tenses, in English and French, and agreed that the pupils would return to these paragraphs over the week, and make sure they understood them fully. As always, we looked at shared or mostly shared words in the text, and were grateful for them (serpent, magnifique, histoire, image, forêt, copie, boa, représentait, entière,  digestion). I thought mâchait might be the origin of mashed potato, but the OED tells me it's more likely to be German. Still, the shared words gave us ten out of a total of 84 words in the two paragraphs, and many of them are key words.

Parent asked about accents and how they were used, so I took words from the book that had an accent, read them out, and had the pupils in turn say whether they thought the accent was grave or acute. We noticed that nearly all accents were on e, that the acute tended to stretch the sound différent, and the grave to cut it short planète. One pupil noticed that there were a lot more acute accents than grave, which is consistent with the accentuation of vowel sounds in French, and with preserving flow rather than cutting things short. I pointed out that graves were usually found near the end of words rather than at the beginning. The atmosphere was more like a seminar than a lesson, with everyone free to offer observations and thoughts. Parent's email that afternoon - I love the way you're teaching tenses. Never mind the kids, I'm learning so much!