Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #mfltwitterati
Most recents (8)
Had the pleasure (and it was a pleasure!) of observing a few interview lessons last week, so I thought I'd put some tips together for anyone job hunting as we approach the main recruitment season! #mfltwitterati
💪 Start strong but with minimal faff! "Je suis ... (write your name on the board), copiez le titre et la date, who can translate? Off you go!"
📈 Show clear progress. Sounds obvious, but it's easy especially on an interview just to shoehorn in your favourite activities. You want to make it super obvious pupils can *do* something at the end that they couldn't at the start. Here's how I'd structure an interview lesson:
For all the new ECTS out there:
Advice I wish I knew as a first year ECT, after my first year teaching:
A thread…
#ect #edutwitter #mfltwitterati #ect22 #nqt
Advice I wish I knew as a first year ECT, after my first year teaching:
A thread…
#ect #edutwitter #mfltwitterati #ect22 #nqt
Disclaimer: I am definitely not a pro but I have been through quite a journey during my first year teaching and these are the things that turned it around for me and allowed me to end the year with a better work life balance and strong love for the profession
1. OBSERVE -as many different teachers as you can, as often as you can. Just because you aren’t a trainee anymore doesn’t mean you can’t set observations up yourself - this was hands down what had the most positive impact on my teaching this year and helped with specific problems
A go-to thread on the new GCSE proposals: what they are, how they were developed, what the problems are and what you can do about it. #mfltwitterati
Q1. What are they? consult.education.gov.uk/ebacc-and-arts…
Q1. What are they? consult.education.gov.uk/ebacc-and-arts…
Q2. How did DfE draw them up?
transformmfl.wordpress.com/2021/03/31/how…
transformmfl.wordpress.com/2021/03/31/how…
Q3. Is a comprehensive word list a good idea?
transformmfl.wordpress.com/2020/12/16/cen…
transformmfl.wordpress.com/2020/12/16/cen…
The proposed new GCSE for #MFL is based on so-called high frequency words. But where do these words come from? And how reliable is the sample used to determine them? Why do we end up with the words below? #mfltwitterati 1/5 
The Routledge frequency lists - being used by DfE/NCELP - are each based on a corpus (i.e. sample) of around 23 million words, from various sources see attached). That's a big number. Or is it? Is it enough to really tell us which words are the most common? 2/5
23m words is equivalent to about 230 novels. Given how many novels have been written in each language, that's tiny. Add to that the thousands of words written and spoken every day, by millions of speakers, in work, media, reports, entertainment, homes and online every day... 3/5
DfE's approach to MFL policy #mfltwitterati A thread:
1. Abolish national centre for languages research (CILT)
2. Appoint a small number of people to a panel do a review into teaching
3. In that review, recommend creation of a Centre for Excellence (a new CILT)
1. Abolish national centre for languages research (CILT)
2. Appoint a small number of people to a panel do a review into teaching
3. In that review, recommend creation of a Centre for Excellence (a new CILT)
4. Award £millions to one of the panelists from the review to run that Centre
5. Centre then starts producing a curriculum which matches the pedagogy (Huh?! Wrong way around!)
6. Appoint panel to review curriculum
7. Pre-confirm outcome of review will match curriculum from step 5
5. Centre then starts producing a curriculum which matches the pedagogy (Huh?! Wrong way around!)
6. Appoint panel to review curriculum
7. Pre-confirm outcome of review will match curriculum from step 5
8. Write criteria for membership of the panel post-hoc
9. Write-up the foregone conclusions of the review
10. Sit on it for a year
11. Publish review while teachers busy trying to work out how to award grades
9. Write-up the foregone conclusions of the review
10. Sit on it for a year
11. Publish review while teachers busy trying to work out how to award grades
In our SoW, we unusually have a unit simply called
THE PERFECT TENSE
My grammarian colleagues love it, but I've struggled to model TL use & build fluency in a unit based on grammar rather than vocab & comprehensible input.
This year, I think I made it work... 🧵 #mfltwitterati
THE PERFECT TENSE
My grammarian colleagues love it, but I've struggled to model TL use & build fluency in a unit based on grammar rather than vocab & comprehensible input.
This year, I think I made it work... 🧵 #mfltwitterati
1) First I introduced a 6-sentence 'story' of common language with reading aloud games, chorusing, etc.
Both avoir & être verbs right from the start to train fluency with correct auxiliaries. All regular patterns represented: -er, -ir and -re, but no explicit grammar yet.
Both avoir & être verbs right from the start to train fluency with correct auxiliaries. All regular patterns represented: -er, -ir and -re, but no explicit grammar yet.
2) Use sentence builder containing language from the story. Model language use using dictations, translations, basic speaking.
Still no explicit teaching of rules per se, but with some pop-up grammar e.g. agreements
Some students noticed patterns & asked about j'ai/je suis.
Still no explicit teaching of rules per se, but with some pop-up grammar e.g. agreements
Some students noticed patterns & asked about j'ai/je suis.
How I teach phonics – a thread.
As I just mentioned, I’m confident that my year 7 learners of French would ace a new GCSE style read-aloud test, this is what I do. I hope it’s of use! #mfltwitterati
As I just mentioned, I’m confident that my year 7 learners of French would ace a new GCSE style read-aloud test, this is what I do. I hope it’s of use! #mfltwitterati
All my students have the back page of their book divided into three columns, labelled letter – sound- example. After that I am led by them. I listen carefully to what they say and if there is a mispronunciation, we jump on it.
We break it down – we write the letter(s) (eg oi). I might say a few words with oi and elicit what oi ‘says’. Eg un, deux, trois. Croissant. Etc. We end up with something like ‘wuh’ in the ‘sound’ column, trois and croissant in the example column. I write all this on the board.
Hey #mfltwitterati!
There are lots of debates about next year & what schools' priorities should be. In the longer term, if MFL is ever to grow again we need to know how we earn our place in the timetable.
So, what is the purpose of language learning in the UK in 2020? A thread:
There are lots of debates about next year & what schools' priorities should be. In the longer term, if MFL is ever to grow again we need to know how we earn our place in the timetable.
So, what is the purpose of language learning in the UK in 2020? A thread:
In the 1980s Britain of Thatcher & enthusiastic membership of the European Community, the government accepted the consensus that the purpose of language learning was communication.
Seems logical, right ?
Seems logical, right ?
But the world has changed a lot since 1980, including the dominance of English, driven by complex & powerful forces English is, for now, THE world's intermediary language. Eg there are 50 times more degrees taught in English in Europe alone than only 10 years ago.
