EuroCALL 2014

I am very much looking forward to meeting fellow language and ICT enthusiasts at EuroCALL 2014 which is taking place in Groningen, The Netherlands,

The programme is here.

My presentation is on Thursday afternoon 1615-1645 in room A901 chaired by Jeroen van Engen.  It is a 'reflective practice' session entitled  Real Learners - Real Schools - Virtual Worlds

Here is a link to my presentation on Google drive, viewable for anyone who has a link.

A weekend in North Yorkshire

 

Click the picture to see a Flickr album of 137 photos!

 

What a privilege to be invited by Liz Black to attend the launch of a North East Yorkshire ALL group which she hosted over May Bank Holiday weekend in her absolutely beautiful home  -a converted Methodist Chapel in the National Park.  She told me that one of the delegates thanked her afterwards and said ‘it was like Christmas’ and this really did sum it up for me!

We were all there to enjoy each other’s company and to share our enthusiasm for languages… and the focus of this day was particularly to celebrate German.

Introduction

Liz introduced the day, the aim being ‘to save German and to establish a network up north’’  She was especially pleased to see 'the young ones’ .. and indeed this was one of the things which made it seem like Christmas.. a family spreading all ages but with common background and commitment to a culture. As she said ‘We all love Germany and its culture’.   I found it particularly moving when Liz told us about her personal background, pointing to a big photo  of her German mum, who seemed to be looking over her daughter and approving of what she was doing and the way she was generously sharing her home in order to promote her passion.

I tried to catch everyone’s names, but couldn’t quite … here are some notes I typed  - perhaps you can make sense of them!: Alison .. Fr Gn uni, Kirsty . Fr Gn studied Russ Gn 3 years, Jim McElwee, , Julie King Gn Fr, Carol Gn AL Sp Fr, Yvonne, Whitby.. KS3school, Ian, Whitby Gn, Helena Butterfield St Michael’s school, Fiona Richmond school in charge Gn, Alison .. journalist.. NQT year, Hayley PGCE student Gn Sp, Shelly PGCE student , Maja Halifax Gn Sp, Martin Healey PGCE , Rosemary Billingham Fr Gn specialist., Carol Hughes Southend.. girls' grammar,  Christchurch Uni , William Strange.. Gn Sp, Nicky B PGCSE Gn Sp IT, Emily Gn Fr… lived in Gn .. PGCE 3 years ago, Rene Koglbauer Gn Sp Maths, Nottingham.. PGCE …,North Leadership centre..

Although a discussion was scheduled for later, we just couldn't help sharing ideas and frustrations there and then about the need to support German and now to do it ..

·         Need to enlighten Headteachers about the need for German

·         Note that experience of primary does not necessarily mean that students will be better at it and take it up later… much experience shared of individuals

·         Some languages just ‘click’

·         Any language gives grist to the mill

·         Personal experiences shared .. even though German introduced later, they preferred it and performed better in it

·         Rene stated that local businesses need German, but Headteachers say they do not work with businesses.

Steven Fawkes

What better way to start a Saturday than with the legendary and talented Steven Fawkes whose love for language shines through the ideas he shares and the playful way he shares them!  He involved us in an activity which combined learning about real German songs and using language for real, as we listened to short excerpts of songs [YouTube link), made a personal rating for each song, then discussed with our countries which ones should be awarded points, thereby being aware of what type of language was needed for this activity, practising it and enjoying ourselves.  (Ticking all the boxes for an outstanding lesson in my view!)

For what it’s worth, here are some of the words I randomly typed while listening …Glasperlenspiel Maxim Frida Gold 7 beat good… 4 3 SportfreundeStiller 10.. rock.. drums great…slow Kavier 6 repetitive … Elif  Dramatic woman. Tattoo 6  2 Beatrice 4 very Eurovision  83 Seed 10 love the rhythm…  2 fettes Brot Rhythmic… 8

Some notes from Stephen said….

Language needed..

·         Deciding how to decide

·         Opinions

·         Suggestions

So give language needed beforehand

·         Circle of adjectives to describe music

·         Also words for describing the video

Homework.. song research

Then came  the bit I always enjoy especially with Stephen . a sing a long!

Interactive song… actions.. mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken….

Built up gradually with questions on a ppt about the words which will be used .. is that your hat?  His hat? No, it is my hat (replacing nouns with other items as necessary!)

·         Interaction has questions….

·         Build in negatives

·         Praise

·         Bodysnatcher…

·         Sequence..

·         Listen before you say it….

·         Listen to teacher and respond

·         Listen to different voice

·         Join on with key words

·         And what next..

·         Number

·         Gender

·         Ideas for next…

·         He/ she has….

·         Animals and insects…. Monster…

·         Alien lineout…

·         Simon says

·         Mein / dein

·         Gapfill.. label

·         Draw a monster

·         Do a show

·         Getting ready to perform

·         Memorising,

·         Practising

·         Refining

·         Evaulating

·         Making mistakes, improving

·         Building confidence

·         Words, spelling

·         Pronunciation, flow

·         Adding deas etc.

·         Favourites…

·         Words they have learnt….

·         Groups, singers, celebrities

·         Was ist dein Lieblingsings…..

·         Wer ist dein Lieblings…

·          Directions.. ideas for how to exploit

And then I discovered something I had never known … Stephen wrote the words to the songs for the BBC programme ‘Hallo aus Berlin’! 

As a special treat fro all those who were there, we had a USB stick to take away with us,  with all the resources needed.  Vielen Dank!

We were in excellent company .. next up was René Koglbauer who showed us the Goethe institute site with GCSE resources .. an absolute treasure chest for German teachers!

·         The Site has 7 themes

·         Authentic resources from German speaking countries

·         Standard and differentiated version

·         Interviews with / without subtitles…. Highlighting words as they are spoken

·         Audio contents… accompanying reading texts… transcripts available

He also talked about their resources .. and if anyone can shed light on why I wrote the first bullet point, I’d love to hear from you!

·         Power woman really likes horror films loves handbags believes in ??!!??

·         Austrian resources.. on pdf usb stick

·         Great resources from Newcastle Tyneside on films, free, written by Rene Koglbauer

Helen Myers

 I gave a session to talk about two ways which can be used by teachers for professional development in an international context. (talking about teaching, improving their personal language skills) and with older students

Second Life is a free to download piece of software which gives you access to an elaborate 3D world which you can navigate in the form of an avatar.  I have used it to attend international conferences for teachers, meet real native speakers, attend Italian and German classes and teach English pronunciation.  I projected my screen and used a high quality microphone to introduce everyone to Heike Philp in her avatar form and she took us to German-speaking  places which she uses for her teaching and socialising.  A particularly fascinating place is Berlin in the 20s where people carry out a ‘role play’.. a bit like a live soap opera.  I use it to introduce native speakers to my classes during the lessons and I have a safe ‘island’ where pupils can meet and carry out projects together.  If interested, please contact me!

I then demonstrated Adobe Connect Pro .. a sort of elaborate ‘Skype’ which you can use to set up a private or public online meeting.  We talked with Heike, we saw her video, and she saw us, and we could type text to each other.  This is ideal for people to meet up without having to travel further than the comfort of their own armchair!  Again, ALL members, please let me know if you want to try it out for your own meetings, and please come and join us for the sessions we have planned for the future.

Show and Tell

Ideas from Liz on games to play.. Tabu

Julie shared some wonderful ideas for reading… and I shall use them straight away!

·         Proforma to collect ideas… facts, guesses, questions – could be group work

·         Then give questions and the task can be differentiated in the following ways…

·         …. Underline answers (s they know where to look but do not know necessarily which underlined answer matches which question)

·         …add numbers to the answers to show where they are

 

Steven talked about the ALL project on literature….

·         Guide to adapting text..

·         Make more playful, approaches

·         Example… a Heime poem

·         Sounds…..

·         Guided reading…..

·         Prepare to perform…

·         Recite….

·         Questions about literature on the classroom

·         See Goethe website for texts

·         Edeka store commercial. Supergeil… John Connor????

·         Adjectives…

·          

All on the usb stick.. proforma

 

Another colleague enthused about using Skype in the classroom ..  I promised to give a link to a project for this to make it easier to find partners .. here it is: https://education.skype.com/ Utterly motivational…

·         See other German pupils in the classroom…  e.g. presentation about bee keeping…

Jim McElwee… comparing life now and life in the 50s

Goethe Institute KS2 German project - excellent, and has puppets!

Vocab Express…. including Speak to the future 1000 words challenge

They can set up a wall with a vocab challenge…

Discussion…. About how to promote German esp with Senior managment teams

·         Be aware that there canba ‘knee-jerk’ reaction if people believe ‘rumours that fewer people are doing German ‘ for example, when it is not the case

·         Need for Compulsion for languages

·         Map of which schools in the area teach German.. convince them it will be well received.. data, spreadsheet

·         Put across message that German is ‘picking up’

·         Raise problem of EBacc

·         Languages should be on an equal footing

·         Need to build on primary

·         Tell Heads about needs of business

·         German economy is strong.. should push

·         Promote with lower ability pupils… Siemens.. apprenticeship

·         Support primaries….

·         Primary teachers… do not have much French….

·         Whitby.. involve pupils and parents…

·         Taster…

·         Rene… article about Economist about usefulness of German. Y9 info sheet

·         Lobby….

·         Educate SLT about need to have languages from different families

·         Language awareness project from Peter Downes

·         Carol Hughes.. language and business…finds she can’t get businesses to talk…

·         Business language champions scheme no longer works

·         Steven… in some Las they still jave Business education partnerships…

·         Governors….

·         Primary special interest group.. Andrea.. contact governor associations… on website.. how you do it

·         CfBT.. research properly link between target language and your literacy skills….

·         ALL list businesses who need tuition .. Siemens..

·          

Karl Pfeiffer ideas….

·         Find out what is happening…. Problem if message goes out that it is reducing

·         Contact primary schools.. easy free resources

·         HT conference in the northeast…. Businesses are interested in doing this….

·         Tell Karl about good ones… others.. get them together.. involve parents…

My Ideas…

·         Challenge profession on how realistic it is to have ‘ continuity’ in one language (it is not in the majority of cases)

·         ASCL support for multilingual approach

·         Acknowledge HT concern about grading.. hope new grading may help….

·         Aim for an Award from Goethe… 'Smart Choice'

We were extremely well fed all day, took breaks in the glorious National Park, and I enjoyed the bonus of going for a meal in the evening and for a lovely walk the next day.

We spoke about the possibility of doing 'virtual' meetings, but, meiner Meinung nach, nothing beats a 'face to face' like this weekend.

VIELEN DANK Liz, and especially VIELEN DANK to Colin who put up with us all!!

ALL London June Event: 14th June 2014

Please read and share!

 INVITATION

ALL London has organised an event with some great speakers for Saturday June 14th 2014 and I am writing to give people links and a bit more information.  It has been in the diary for many months, but we now have more precise details.

You can  see the invitation online here:
You can register online here:

I really hope that as many as possible can come along.  The speakers really are excellent, there is something for absolutely everyone and the venue is big enough to take lots of people!  SOAS is a great central place to get to, and the Brunei suite is really lovely!

REGISTRATION

To be honest, most people usually apply at the last minute and that puts a great deal of stress on me because we have to guess at catering needs, and I worry about that a lot (people need their coffee!!!) .. so this time we have tried to give you an incentive to tell us by the previous Sunday if possible and pay a bit more if you don’t.  So please apply by midnight on Sunday 8th June if you can!!  Of-course there is no problem if you come on the day, but the extra you pay would go towards the fact that I will probably over-order! (if that makes any sense at all!)  We’re all volunteers – this is not a money-making venture, but we don’t want to lose money!

SPEAKERS

I heard Tim Crapper with his colleague 2 years ago at the SSAT conference and asked him straight away if he would speak for us.  What is so nice is that he is so modest in about what the department has done, and he makes you feel as though what they do is replicable.  Whether or not you care about being ‘outstanding’ for Ofsted, you will definitely get some ideas and encouragement from this talk I think!
Colin Christie now works at the Institute of London and kindly allows us to introduce ALL to London-based students in October.  I have heard him several times, and he has some great ideas for using target language in the classroom in a sustainable way.  I was so pleased when he agreed to come and give us a talk.
Liz Fotheringham is on our committee.  I have already seen the slides she has prepared for her talk.  Although her session is particularly to try to draw in teachers of lesser-taught languages into the fold of ALL London, I would recommend the session for any languages.  She will present a lovely collection of ideas, including how she has applied Rachel Hawkes’ and Greg Horton’s ideas to her lessons.
I booked René Koglbauer some time ago, well before we knew that he was going to be ALL President next year, so we are especially lucky to have him .. I have tried for some time to get him to talk for us, but the dates have often not been possible for him.
And finally, Teresa Tinsley has arranged for a session from the British Academy about how you can bid for money to promote languages (14 awards of £4000 each).  The deadline for that is tight, (June 30th)  so you may want to have a look at the site before coming along for some extra ideas / tips.
http://www.britac.ac.uk/policy/BASLAs.cfm

Stéphane Derône has organised an exhibition, so you will have a chance to browse through resource at the same time as catching up with everyone and making new friends.  If you have anything particular to share/ ask about, you can shout it out /advertise during the ’marketplace’ slot! (I haven’t quite worked out how we will do that yet .. any ideas?!)

Please come, and please tell people on this forum and elsewhere if you are coming!
See you soon I hope!  (I come back from a week in Normandy with 3 coachloads at 9pm the previous night – will try to be awake!!!!)
Helen
Helen Myers
ALL London Chair

Response to Ofqual Consultation on Reforming GCSEs in MFL and ALs

Ofqual consultation - MFL GCSE assessment: Urgent need for response from as many people as possible - especially Question 10!

The Ofqual consultation regarding assessment of GCSE languages for the GCSE subject content to be first taught 2016 and first tested 2018 is now published and responses are needed by

 Friday 23rd May 2014.

 

View online or download from this page

I think it is a well constructed document stating clear rationale for its proposals.  After each explanatory section, there are clear statements with option of responding 'strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree and don't know/no opinion' or 'Yes/No'.  It is optional to add text. 

Go to page 40 to see the response section Pages 40-52 containing the 26 questions which you can fill in and send off if you prefer not to do it online.

I urge you to register your response so that you can support good decisions or challenge poor decisions. It may seem daunting, but it would be sufficient just to indicate the extent to which you agree to 26 statements. (So possibly just 15 minutes).  In my experience, organisations DO take notice of us when enough of us make the point.

I have written a response on behalf of our school and there is a copy to view / download here (stored on my google drive).  I have also copied and pasted it below. 

Question 10 - An end to mixed tier entry?

To me, the most important  element to challenge is the proposal that students should be required to enter for EITHER higher OR foundation-tier assessments, but not a combination of the two. So it would no longer be possible to enter, say, speaking and writing foundation, and reading and listening higher level.   This would be detrimental for a significant number of 'mid-range' students, and especially punishing for those with dyslexia.  Please communicate this to Ofqual by filling in the consultation, and 'strongly disagree' with this proposal which is in Question 10.

There is an opportunity to give reasons for your responses.   I have  taken the opportunity to reiterate points made to Ofqual in the past on Marking criteria in the context of MFL, [download word doc here] and I did a quick  analysis of previous GCSE and O level 'test types' to help me answer the section on validity, reliability and fairness.  You can view/download it here:  analysis of the relative validity, reliability and fairness of current and former GCSE test types

Background

The DfE consulted on GCSE subject content and assessment objectives for Modern Languages in June 2013.   I gave a full response in my blogpost here.

The DfE published the GCSE subject content and assessment objectives for Modern Languages in April 2014 with the following explanation on the front cover: 'Final content for this subject will be puiblished when Ofqual has consulted on and made decisions about assessment arrangements for GCSE languages'.  I have created a 9-page word document which compares directly the June 2013 with the April 2014 criteria [Download here]


RESPONSE COPIED AND PASTED BELOW: (26 questions highlighted to aid skimming!)

Summary of questions

Assessing modern foreign language GCSEs

1.         Reading skills should be assessed using exams set and marked by the exam boards. To what extent do you agree or disagree this statement?

(x ) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer:

Setting valid and reliable reading exams is a highly skilled job. This is the most straightforward and fair way of ensuring fair comparison across the cohort. 

In order to make the test a valid test of reading, the questions need to be in English.  Testing using the target language makes the test of a discrete skill invalid (e.g. a candidate may understand what is written in a text, but because they may not understand or misunderstand the rubric, they may fail to demonstrate this OR a candidate may make a guess at the answer and write it in the target language without understanding its meaning.    It is vital to have questions in English (as for the 'harder language' exams)

Having said this, we assume that the DfE criteria cannot be changed now, so would urge consideration of the following principles when applying the requirement to use a percentage of target language testing:

(1)   Give great thought as to which type of questions can maintain validity the closest e.g. ensure that questions set are of a lower language complexity than the language being tested so that it is totally reasonable to expect that candidates can understand the question and know what they have to show they can do.

(2)   Given that the decision has been made not to have mixed skills testing, you need to be constantly asking 'is this question testing skills other than the one we are meant to be testing?' Do not penalise for the quality of written response.  Test only for evidence that the text has been understood.

2 Writing skills should be assessed using exams set and marked by the exam boards. To what extent do you agree or disagree this statement? 

( x) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer…

Taking the task in examination conditions with a high level of control (invigilators, silence) ensures fairness.  Making comparative judgements about quality of writing is a highly skilled job.

Although we do not recommend target language testing, we are pleased that the phrasing used with respect to the written element seems to comply with the principle that pupils need to be able to understand very clearly what they are expected to do.

3 Listening skills should be assessed using exams set and marked by the exam boards. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

( x) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer…

Setting valid and reliable reading exams is a highly skilled job. This is the most straightforward and fair way of ensuring fair comparison across the cohort. 

In order to make the test a valid test of listening, the questions need to be in English.  Testing using the target language makes the test of a discrete skill invalid (e.g. a candidate may understand what is written in a text, but because they may not understand or misunderstand the rubric, they may fail to demonstrate this OR a candidate may make a guess at the answer and write it in the target language without understanding its meaning.    It is vital to have questions in English (as for the 'harder language' exams)

Having said this, we assume that the DfE criteria cannot be changed now, so would urge consideration of the following principles when applying the requirement to use a percentage of target language testing:

(1)   Give great thought as to which type of questions can maintain validity the closest e.g. ensure that questions set are of a lower language complexity than the language being tested so that it is totally reasonable to expect that candidates can understand the question and know what they have to show they can do.

(2)   Given that the decision has been made not to have mixed skills testing, you need to be constantly asking 'is this question testing skills other than the one we are meant to be testing?' Do not penalise for the quality of written response.  Test only for evidence that the text has been understood.

4 Speaking skills should be assessed by non-exam assessments, using tasks set and marked by the exam board. To what extent do you agree or disagree this statement? 

(x ) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer…

External examining would ensure the highest level of control, but I appreciate that this would be extremely costly.  

5 What considerations need to be taken into account to make sure students’ speaking skills are assessed in a way that is:

Please see appendix for detailed analysis of the extent to which current and past assessment types for all skills are valid, reliable or fair.  We summarise principles below.

a)        valid

·    Ensure that assessments test what they are meant to be testing and allow all pupils of all abilities to demonstrate what they know, understand and can do, across the full range of speaking skills (communication, independent interaction, pronunciation & intonation, fluency/confidence, accuracy), across the full range of authentic situations (e.g. ones which are highly predictable to ones which are not predictable) and across the full range of authentic 'support' which can be given (e.g. glossaries of phrases/words, wordlists/dictionaries, prompting from a sympathetic native speaker through to  surviving with minimal support)   

·    Design range of test types to suit the aspect of the skill being tested e.g. supplying a common text to be read aloud, thereby testing pronunciation only.

·    Recognise that the ability to understand a question is not a test of speaking ability, so ensure that tasks and assessment criteria do not penalise candidates unduly for this (e.g. allow re-wording, prompting, quickly moving on to another question where candidate can demonstrate abilities, do not penalise hesitation when a candidate has not instantly understood a question).

·    Allow a reasonable amount of time / number of opportunities for candidates to show what they know understand and can do.  [Try to avoid a high-stakes '7 minutes' at the end of the course if at all possible]

………………………………………………………...………………………………….

b)        reliable,

Common shared criteria for all exam boards. 

(See appendix on marking criteria - response to Ofqual questions).

·         Establish very clear common subject criteria with interpretation shared by exam boards

·         Ensure there is a clear and explicit reference to a benchmark (e.g. the GCSE core subject specification), that they reflect the subject criteria and content fairly (do not include descriptors which describe AS/A2 performance)

·         Ensure that criteria are clear, transparent and as objective as possible to avoid a subjective response (include full descriptions of all strands for each 'band' - do not have gaps; be very clear about how apparently 'subjective' qualities are tested (e.g. 'spontaneity', ''creativity' , 'independence') and if they cannot be defined, do not include them.

·         Indicative content (samples) to demonstrate meaning of quantitative and qualitative words (e.g. long/short, basic/ higher, complex / simple / original; if samples cannot be given, omit the words.

·         Ensure consistency and lack of contradiction in descriptions of bands of performance

·         Consider how to deal with language which may not conform to the definitions of a scale of  levels .. e.g. someone may have grasped something which may be seen as 'complex' (e.g. perfect tense) but may make mistakes in something defined as 'simple language' (e.g. basic present tense) Recommendation: Take a positive approach.   Reward what is demonstrated, allow the benefit of the doubt (e.g. do not penalise for incorrect ambitious language or incorrect understanding of a question (listening comprehension).

·         Identify what range of language, grammar and structures constitutes language worthy of 'higher levels' (avoid obsession with tenses / opinions and justifications which can lead to an extremely 'formulaic' approach in order to 'tick the boxes') [Note that the 2008 criteria specifically did not 'require'  three tenses for every piece of written work in order to qualify for higher grade.  Higher level language can be represented in more sophisticated ways than just using three tenses, as evidenced in authentic literature]

·         Require a field test to establish how fairly the mark scheme can be applied and a moderation process which ensures that if 2 people mark the same piece of work independently they reach exactly the same / agreed tolerance of x points

·         Be aware of the risk of a marking scheme which prevents candidates form getting top marks e.g where 4 sub-criteria of a skill are each marked out of 5, and where examiners are reluctant to award the top band, there will be a 'bunching' of marks around 16/20  [This has been identified as one of the possible reasons for the relative lack of A* at A level]

·         Ensure a  common approach across examining boards to any 'limiting' factors (e.g. to what extent is accuracy penalised if communication is weaker ) [This has been an issue at A level, where one board will not award marks from the top band for accuracy if the top band for content is not reached, whereas another board does allow this]

·         Ensure a common approach to how to deal with pupils who are over-ambitious, e.g.  how can you give equal credit for what they know understand and can do and avoid penalising them  for attempts to be more 'original' which may lead to a higher proportion of inaccuracy compared with the work fo a candidate who has adopted a more 'standard' approach

·         Ensure that tasks match the criteria

………………………………………………………...………………………………….

c)         fair?

Ensure equal conditions for all candidates (same rules, whatever the board, with respect to predictability and support; system for checking schools' compliance with rules when teacher is examiner (e.g. opening of test papers, degree of support)

Ensure equal standard of marking, whatever the board (e.g. through having common criteria and cross-board moderation checking, including teachers in standardisation meetings) - see above

………………………………………………………...…………………………………..

6 How might any aspects of the proposed assessment requirements impact on:

a)        the costs, and

Conditions requiring higher levels of control / supervision / invigilation and a recording of all tasks increase staffing costs [cost of cover when teachers need to administer tests simultaneously to protect confidentiality, less flexible time slots mean that centres cannot take advantage of specific periods when teachers have lower contact time].  Currently no invigilators needed for test and only one task needs to be recorded formally so the cost is covering the teacher lesson.

External examiners would be more costly to the exam board, however, this method has been used in the past.   Teachers are currently 'unpaid' examiners for the exam boards.

……………………………………………………...……………………………

b)        likely take-up of new modern foreign language GCSEs?

If all tasks are unpredictable and have no support, they will be extremely difficult for lower attainers who will not be able to demonstrate the lower order speaking skills they have e.g. ability to communicate with use of a guide book / glossary, ability to pronounce, ability to 'recall' and memorise (note that memorisation is a valid skill)

There is a danger that we revert to the situation pre-current GCSE when teachers were complaining bitterly about candidates having to memorise 16 topics.  This can be very off-putting for all abilities

If the ML exam ends up being more expensive than other exams, this could be a disincentive for managers to encourage students to take languages

7 The outcome of the speaking component should contribute to a student’s overall grade. To what extent do you agree or disagree this statement? 

( x) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

1.1      Please give reasons for your answer

We strongly agree with point 2.14 "For modern foreign language GCSEs the ability to speak the language is a key aspect of the qualification. Modern foreign language GCSEs are designed to develop and recognise students’ skills in a second or additional language. This is in contrast to English language GCSE which is designed to be taken by English speakers. "

Tiering of modern foreign language GCSEs

8 All assessments (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in new modern foreign language GCSEs should be tiered. To what extent do you agree or disagree this statement?

(x) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer

Firstly, we must challenge your assertion in 3.7.  Much thought has been given to the rationale for tiering. (Helen Myers was heavily involved in the last GCSE revision as one of the two teacher representatives invited by QCA to meetings with exam boards,  and tiering certainly was not adopted because of  'historical practice'.  It was based on considering what was the fairest way of assessing candidates of all abilities.

A single exam covering all grades lasting, say, 40 minutes would not give adequate opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know understand and can do and would be particularly damaging for the least able for whom under half would be applicable.  (However, the more able do not suffer from 15 minutes of relatively easy questions)

The most valid and reliable method for assessment would be to revert to the method in 1988.  All take short foundation tier in each skill.  It is then optional to take a further higher tier paper in any or all of the skills.  From the candidate point of view there is no 'gamble' as to which level to take, and  no feeling of being 'pigeon-holed' at an early stage of the course.  In our experience, higher level students are not demotivated by sitting tests which they find easy, and are intelligent enough to understand the reasons for the system when this is explained.     If lower level students attempted the higher and found it difficult, they were not demotivated as they had already taken the foundation tier and succeeded in it.  From the exam board point of view, there is no problem about comparability between foundation and higher levels to secure the same grade, and obviously no need for an overlap section).  Thus, the approach we strongly recommend is to have a '2-part' test for each skill.  This would take up more time and involve additional marking, but this is achievable (-it worked in 1988-) and electronic means of marking could speed up the process of marking.  The academic benefits far outweigh the organisational disadvantages.

Failing this, we would strongly support tiering, with an overlap between higher and foundation tiers.  It would be essential for listening and reading in order to give candidates the maximum opportunity to demonstrate what they know understand and can do. (e.g. if equivalent grades G - C were tested in just half the paper, say 20 minutes, this would not be a valid enough 'sample').

It is less essential in speaking and writing where feasibly a more open-ended task could be set with guidance on 'points which could be included'.  However, we would welcome the opportunity to have more focussed tasks which are more accessible to the lower attainers and do not rely on an 'open-ended' response and memorisation.  Below we summarise the ways in which different tiers could make tasks more relevant for the ability profile by offering a range of predictability and support.

Foundation speaking: read aloud a pre-learnt passage; carry out a predictable role play with support of a glossary; carry out a predictable conversation from a defined range of topics with support of a glossary

Higher speaking: carry out a less predictable role play with limited glossary; carry out a less predictable conversation/simulation from a wider range of topics with limited / no glossary

Foundation writing: Write a list of notes (with support of glossary); reply to a formulaic straightforward letter (with glossary) [All structures and topics required from foundation list only]

Higher writing: Write answer to a more challenging letter (with limited glossary) frpm a wider range of topics; write a document demonstrating higher level functions and structures (to interest, persuade, inform, convince) and expressing directed content (so in the form of 'translation')

Foundation reading: Tasks based on texts which reflect foundation topics and structures; translation into English with support of glossary

Higher reading: Tasks based on texts which reflect higher topics and structures and require more skills of inference; translation into English with support of limited glossary

Foundation listening: Tasks based on passages which reflect foundation topics and structures (defined); Opportunity to listen to texts more frequently / passages broken up more

Higher listening: Tasks based on passages which reflect higher topics and structures (defined); Longer passages; Requirement to infer meaning

9 All available new modern foreign language GCSEs should be tiered. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

( x) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer

We agree with the rationale you give in 3.19 We are providing a General Certificate of Secondary Education, rewarding what people achieve through being at secondary school.   We should be encouraging non-native speakers to be learning community languages.  (e.g. especially those in the caring / service industries e.g. nursing)

10 Students should be required to enter for either higher- or foundation-tier assessments but not a combination of the two. To what extent do you agree or disagree this statement?

( ) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( x) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer

A significant number of students have SEN with respect to literacy and can perform significantly better in speaking and listening tasks.  They would be heavily disadvantaged by such a system. 

Para 3.29 is not necessarily logical.  Candidates can be very 'thrown' by a paper where they do not understand very much, and can 'underperform' as they 'give up'.  In mock exams we frequently find pupils who gain a grade D in the higher and a grade C in the foundation.

Para 3.31 seems controversial.  What evidence do you have to suggest that Category 2 students are deterred from improving their reading and writing skills because of the option to take a foundation paper?

If the proposal to remove the option of mixed tier testing were taken forward, we believe it would have a very serious impact on the popularity of and take-up of languages.  It would not pose a problem for the more able of-course, but would pose a further deterrent for the less able, who would be forced to take foundation papers in all skills if they had relative weaknesses in any one of the skills. 

11 For the listening, reading and writing assessments 20 per cent of marks, and for speaking 50 per cent of marks, should be allocated to questions or tasks that are common in any series to both the foundation and higher tier assessments. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

( ) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( x) Don’t know/no opinion

Currently the overlap for listening and reading allows for G - C and E - A* - so the equivalent of three out of the available 8 grades.  This seems to work adequately.  On a 1-9 point scale therefore, we would expect the overlap to be 2-3 points.

12 Do you have any further comments on the tiering of modern foreign language GCSEs? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Assessing ancient language GCSEs

13 New GCSEs in ancient languages should be assessed wholly by examination. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

(x ) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer…as for modern languages (see above)

Tiering of ancient language GCSEs

14 New ancient language GCSEs should not be tiered. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

( ) Strongly agree

() Agree

() Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( x) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer

Your points in paras 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 explain the situation well, and reflect the position in our school where only the most able and committed take Latin.  However, if a tiered approach were to be considered on balance more appropriate, we would not complain at all!

Availability of modern foreign language GCSEs

15 Modern foreign language GCSEs in a wide range of languages should be available in the future. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

( x) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer…

GCSE is the recognised 'currency ' for employment and opportunity and this should be as widely available as possible

16 Modern foreign language GCSEs for which there is low demand should be available in the future. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

( x) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer…

GCSE is the recognised 'currency ' for employment and opportunity and this should be as widely available as possible

…………………………………

17 Modern foreign language GCSEs should be available for students who are existing users of the language. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

() Strongly agree

( x) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer…

This can reward students for their abilities, and encourage them to maintain and even improve on home language (e.g. requiring all four skills)

18 In your opinion would schools and colleges be willing to pay a higher fee to enter students for modern foreign language GCSEs for which there is a lower demand?

Yes

19 What, if any, steps do you think Ofqual should take to secure the availability of GCSEs in a range of modern foreign languages?

It seems reasonable to come to an arrangement with the Awarding Organisations such that they 'share out' the provision for less widely taught languages

Availability of GCSEs in ancient languages

20 A range of ancient language GCSEs should be available in the future. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

( ) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

( ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( x) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer…

This does not affect our school

21 What, if any, steps should Ofqual take to secure the availability of GCSEs in a range of ancient languages?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Impact of proposed changes on students who share protected characteristics

22 A disabled student should obtain an exemption for no more than 40 per cent of the available marks for a modern foreign language GCSE. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

( ) Strongly agree

( ) Agree

(x ) Disagree

( ) Strongly disagree

( ) Don’t know/no opinion

Please give reasons for your answer…

We are not sure why 40 % has been selected.  Could there be an allowance for recognition of achievement in any of the four skills attempted according to the protected characteristic affected? It seems arbitrary that it is possible to accredit short course listening and speaking OR short course reading and writing but not to allow other combinations.

23 We have identified a number of ways the proposed requirements for new GCSEs in modern foreign languages may impact (positively and negatively) on persons who share a protected characteristic. Are there any other potential impacts we have not identified?

Yes

If yes, what are they? …

 

(1)   Para 7.15 rightly identifies the benefits of tiering for those who wish to learn languages for religious purposes, but if prevented from mixing those tiers, they could be prevented from demonstrating the full range of their skills

(2)   Dyslexic students would suffer greatly from a requirement to take all foundation or all higher papers.  Typically they do relatively much better in listening and speaking than in reading and writing.  A common pattern for them is to enter higher listening (for example being able to gain a high 'C' and foundation reading

24 We have not identified any ways by which the proposed requirements for new GCSEs in ancient languages may impact (positively or negatively) on persons who share a protected characteristic over and above those impacts that apply to the changes to GCSEs generally. Are there any potential impacts we have not identified?

No

If yes, what are they? …………………………………………………………………..

25 Are there any additional steps we could take to mitigate any negative impact resulting from these proposals on persons who share a protected characteristic?

No

If yes, what are they? …………………………………………………………………..

Regulatory impact

26 Do any of the proposals or options being considered have financial or wider resource consequences, positive or negative, for:

Schools                        Yes

Exam boards               Yes

Others                           Yes/no

Please explain your response…

Provision of someone to read aloud texts for visually impaired would add additional cost to staffing and rooming.