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Good Practice Case Study

Linked Up Award

The Leventhorpe School and The John Warner School
Medals for learning- Re engaging hard to reach pupils in language learning (Year 8)

The aim of this exciting project, funded by ALL and Links into Languages, was to develop pupils’ target language and communication skills in a P.E environment to improve confidence in speaking and listening.

Furthermore, it was intended to increase pupils’ motivation and the importance of studying different languages and cultures via the media of sport.

Teachers have gained a wider appreciation of cross-curricular links building on the KS3 national curriculum.

As the focus was on disengaged language learners, new behaviour management strategies were developed which were implemented during the lessons taught.

Teachers were able to enthuse and increase uptake at KS4 in the partner school and disseminate resources and findings across the local authority.

After an initial planning meeting ways forward were discussed and what was the aim regarding an end result. The staff from the two schools then observed P.E staff in action in order to appreciate the skills needed to motivate their year 8 disengaged linguists.

Lessons were planned during a half-day teachers’ collaboration session. Good practice ideas and behaviour management strategies were shared and lessons were planned accordingly. Two topics (clothes and food) and a range of activities combining PE and target language skills were chosen. These activities included relays, sit-ups, press-ups, running around whilst following target language instructions and relaying information amongst each other in French.

It was then decided to organise a joint day at the John Warner school entitled Medals for Learning. 40 year 8 students from the 2 schools were chosen because of their disengagement and their lack of motivation. Letters were sent to invite students to take part in the event. There were 3 main activities planned in carousel style, one called Treasure Hunt was based around a variety of topics covered during the year, another The Meeting Place was an activity to make students interact with their peers from their partner school and the last Family Values. This task involved vocabulary acquisition and reinforcement of gender based grammar.

The lessons and the Medals for Learning joint day were planned to achieve preset goals. It was anticipated that the participating students would emerge from the activities enthused and with new found motivation for learning French. Their comments after the first lesson were very positive and inspirational to the teacher involved. Consequently the students’ behaviour was markedly improved in the short term.

All the teachers involved in the project are keen to further develop cross-curricular links in their respective schools. The behaviour management strategies that were developed during the course of the project will be disseminated to teaching staff at both schools and with dissemination in the Autumn Term 2011 throughout the local authority and via the Linked Up project.

To access resources:

• www.linksintolanguages.ac.uk/resources/2582