Leicester MFL PGCE

Back where it all started!

 Your presenter…
• Currently works at Foxford School
• Is owned by 3 dogs

• Teaches French, Maths, Humanities,

English!
• Spoke his best French at 17
• Studied under Stephanie
• Likes the internet
 Your day…
• Session 1 – ICT and MFL
– Both from a teacher and student
perspective
• Session 2 – CLIL
– How can you deliver content in
languages?
• Session 3 – PLTs and MFL
– Teaching general skills through
languages
Session 1 – ICT and MFL

Computers can be good… for

both teacher and student!
 A* GCSE
Zipf Plot Dolphin

The frequency with which a word is used is inversely proportional to

its rank in the table of frequency-of-use of all words in that
language. So, the second most-commonly used word in English
("of") is used half as often as the most common word ("the"). The
third most-common word is used one third as often as the most
common, and so on. Amazingly – and no one quite knows why –
this law (formulated by the American linguist George Kingsley
Zipf in 1935) holds true for every known language. It also applies
to letters and phonemes.

You can even use Zipf's plot to work out whether sounds are a
language or just noise. By plotting the frequency of the noises,
you will get a slope of negative one (a straight line going
diagonally from upper left to lower right) if it conforms to Zipf's
law. Dolphin noises produce such a slope; the chattering of
squirrel monkeys doesn't.

Source: QI http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture
 AFL bit… what do you
know?
• What websites do you already know
about?
• What do you know about:
– Blogs
– Wikis
– Podcasts
– Other stuff…
 Blogs
• A time ordered store of text and
multimedia that allows for
comments.

• Using it to teach:
http://www.boxoftricks.net/?p=104
 Wikis
• A collaborative webpage.
• http://www.slideshare.net/blaggers/using
• http://www.teachers.tv/series/ict-for-the-
 Podcasts
• Teachers who already dabble at podcasting
generally use podcasts in two main ways:

– as a way to deliver content to your students. Think

of podcasts as lessons to take away: providing your
students have subscribed to your podcasts, once
you upload a new episode it will automatically be
delivered to your students without any further
intervention from you or them.

– as a means to showcase your students’ work. Think

of it as a new and exciting homework project. Show
your students the podcasting basics and they will
produce stunning pieces of work that you and they
will be able to proudly show off.

Source: José Picardo, http://www.boxoftricks.net/?p=

Other Stuff

My PLN
 How they are used
• There are NO rules on how these are
used!
• Take inspiration from others
(shamelessly steal)
• Use for your own CPD, or to teach
 Enough of me…
• Watch the video
• What topic could it be used for?
• How could you do an ICT lesson
based on it?
• How could you do home learning
based on it?
• Where would you store it within your
teaching tools?
 Session 2 - CLIL

Languages to teach other

subjects
The limits of my language
mean the limits of my
world.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
AFL bit… how confident are
you…
• Teaching MFL (maybe 2nd, 3rd or new
language)?
• Teaching ICT?
• Teaching Humanities?
• Teaching English?
• Teaching Maths?
• Teaching other subjects?
 Theory
CLIL's multi-faceted approach can offer a variety of
benefits. It:

* builds intercultural knowledge and understanding

* develops intercultural communication skills
* improves language competence and oral communication skills
* develops multilingual interests and attitudes
* provides opportunities to study content through different
perspectives
* allows learners more contact with the target language
* does not require extra teaching hours
* complements other subjects rather than competes with them
* diversifies methods and forms of classroom practice
* increases learners' motivation and confidence in both the
language and the subject being taught

Source: European Commi

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/language-teaching/doc236_en
 Practice
• http://www.cilt.org.uk/secondary/14-19/in
 OK, real practice
• Tends to be part of a lesson
• Has to fit
• Means talking to other departments!
 Task
• You are going to deliver a lesson about
Africa at KS3.
• It will be in French.
• The objective is:
– You will know how to describe the climate of the
savannah.
• To make things harder… Include this video!
• And to help… have some climate data!
Session 3 – PLTs in MFL
It’s not about the language
anymore.
'If we always do what we've
always done, we will get
what we've always got.'
Adam Urbanski
The framework
The Big Picture
Teacher Research
 An Idea…
• La Maison de Sophie
• http://www.sunderlandschools.org/mfl-su
 No-one is perfect
• While I love my (stolen/borrowed)
lesson
– It can be more PLTs orientated
– How could this be developed for
“Independent Learners” and
“Collaborative Learners”?
– If feeling adventurous…
• Add some ICT!
• How could it fit into other subjects?
 Final words
• Be yourself
• Push your comfort zone
• Be willing to fail
• Expect the best
• React well to the worst (watch this
video!)