Teaching Romani: Curriculum Framework for Romani and European Language Portfolio. Strasbourg, November 2008 The European Language Portfolio (ELP) for learners of Romani aged 6-11 years Introduction Barbara Lazenby Simpson

This presentation An overview of the parts of the ELP and the purpose of each part Using the Language Passport Using the Language Biography Monitoring and recording individual progress in learning The Dossier Keeping a formal record of overall progress Important points about ELP use

The three parts of the ELP: Language Passport Learner specifies and records his/her linguistic and cultural identity.

The three parts of the ELP: Language Biography The ‘engine’ for language learning. Each learner works with his/her personal Language Biography.

The three parts of the ELP: My Dossier A place to keep, organise, and re-visit personal examples of learning tasks, activities, and outcomes. The Dossier is a ‘blank space’. It develops as learning proceeds.

The three parts of the ELP: each part has a different purpose - but all parts are interconnected. Learner specifies and records his/her linguistic and cultural identity. The ‘engine’ for language learning. Each learner works with his/her personal Language Biography. A place to keep, organise, and re-visit personal examples of learning tasks, activities, and outcomes.

The Language Passport Identity, awareness and pride

Using the Language Passport : page 4 Pupils can draw a picture or stick a photograph here. Immediately the ELP becomes ‘personal’. Name and place – these are the first pieces of information. All other information may come much later as pupils study the different themes: Myself and my family (my eyes, my hair) Food and clothes (favourites – colour,food) The house/caravan, Hobbies and the arts (my favourite activity, other things about me)

Using the Language Passport : page 5 This page helps the pupil to understand more about language – learning and using it. Entering information on this page may result from learning about some or any of the following themes: Myself and my family (home language) The house/caravan and its activities My community (other languages I hear) At school (reading and writing) Transport and travel (other languages) Etc.

Using the Language Passport : page 8 Understanding about other people, and how their lives are the same or different, is an important part of language learning. This page encourages pupils to think about different experiences. Entering information on this page may result from learning about: My community Festivals and celebrations Transport and travel Food and clothes Hobbies and the arts

Using the Language Passport : page 9 This page is very important for raising pupils’ awareness of Roma culture. In order to build up information for this page, pupils must understand the important aspects of Roma culture. This understanding will result from working with themes such as: The house/caravan and its activities Roma crafts and occupations Festivals and celebrations Transport and travel Food and clothes Hobbies and the arts Nature and animals

The Language Biography Motivation for learning and achievement

The Language Biography: page 11 This page encourages pupils to think about learning and to find out about themselves as learners. Information can be entered at any stage during learning. It is a good idea to turn to this page after a cycle of learning. Pupils (with teacher’s help) enter their personal feelings in the relevant boxes: Things I have learnt (new ideas, language etc.) Things I enjoyed learning/doing Things I found easy or difficult to learn. This page may be copied as many times as necessary, as the boxes are filled.

The Language Biography: page 12 This is the page for setting learning targets. Pupils (with teacher’s help) set learning targets for the next phase of learning. After a cycle of learning, pupils will look at relevant checklists and see what they have learnt. Then they can see if they reached their targets. The cycle of learning using targets and checklists Learning targets Learning activities Monitoring and recording achievement

The Language Biography: checklists Checklists in the ELP for Romani (primary) Follow the same 11 themes as the Curriculum Framework for Romani (CFR) The ‘I can’ statements have been simplified for young learners The number of statements has been reduced The statements are categorised by level (A1, A2, B1, B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) The statements include the skills – listening, speaking (interaction and production), reading and writing

Checklists may be used by teachers: For planning a learning cycle or programme To find ideas for classroom activities To check what has been covered following a cycle or programme of learning To identify ‘gaps’ in teaching/learning The Language Biography: using the checklists - teachers

The Language Biography: using the checklists - pupils Checklists may be used by pupils (with teacher support): To identify what may be learned about a particular topic or theme To set learning goals or targets To review what has been learned To record personal progress in learning

Connections between checklists It is unlikely that a single learning activity or a cycle of learning will focus on a single checklist. There are many interconnections between different themes. The house/ caravan and its activities Reading A2 Can read a simple text (story or account) of the home life of a Roma family. Festivals and Celebrations Listening A2 Can understand a simple story which is based on a festival or celebration when a high frequency of familiar words is used and, if possible, there is visual support. Food and Clothes Listening A2 Can understand instructions for wearing particular items of traditional clothing for a special purpose or event. Time, seasons and weather Spoken Interaction A2 Can respond in simple terms to questions about a festival or occasion that occurs at a particular time of the year. My Community Spoken Production A2 Can use a series of phrases to talk about his/her daily life. Myself and my family Writing A2 Can write a short letter to a family member describing in an age- appropriate way an important family event, a baptism, wedding, new baby et. Example from Curriculum Framework for Romani ©Council of Europe

Pupils – recording their learning For example: If pupils have worked on a project entitled ‘An important festival or celebration in my family or community’, then they will probably record their achievement on five checklists in their ELPs: Myself and my family Festivals and celebrations My community Food and clothes The house/caravan and its activities

‘Portfolio Day’ in the classroom ‘Portfolio Day’ is at regular intervals during a learning programme (e.g. every 2/3 weeks). Procedure: 1.Pupil is directed by the teacher to the relevant page(s) in the ELP for the theme that has been covered in recent classroom activities 2.Pupil reads the statement(s) indicated by the teacher (with teacher’s help if necessary) 3.Pupil and teacher discuss the statement(s) and confirm that the pupil ‘can do’ it –pupil may demonstrate, answer questions or produce examples of work to provide evidence of ability 4.Pupil colours star(s) and is given praise for this achievement

The learning benefits of regular ELP use By using the Language Biography section of the ELP the pupil: Develops awareness of what needs to be learnt Develops understanding about how he or she learns effectively Begins to understand that learning involves many different activities Sees visual evidence (coloured stars) of his or her progress and achievement in different themes Becomes increasingly motivated to continue learning and make more achievements

The Dossier An important space to keep work and build up a learning resource

The Dossier The purpose of the Dossier is to provide a space where pupils can: Keep examples of their work Create their own learning resource Learn how to organise different types of work Make decisions about keeping or removing examples as they progress in learning

Examples of work produced in class Materials created during learning Plans for stories Written text Labelled drawings Poems or rhymes Word games Certificates s Post cards Letters Materials which can become a learning resource for future use Word lists for particular topics Sample sentences which show grammatical structures Definitions of words or phrases Structures for planning written or oral text (frames, scaffolds)

Pages in the Dossier Some pages have been provided in the Dossier section. A Contents page to help pupils organise their work in the Dossier A ‘word wall’ for collecting vocabulary on a particular topic A frame for planning a story - to help with the important task of maintaining the Roma story-telling tradition

Maintaining a formal record of a pupil’s progress The Curriculum Framework for Romani (CFR) and the European Language Portfolio (ELP) are based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages The CFR and the ELP use the first 4 levels of the CEFR

Language Passport – pages 6-7 These two pages allow the teacher to record each pupil’s progress under the 4 levels of the Curriculum Framework for Romani and in relation to the 5 skills of the Common European Framework of Reference. Listening and Reading Spoken interaction, Spoken production and Writing

Some important points to remember The ELP is not a book of forms to be filled it. A single ELP page may take two years or more to complete. Each statement on each page of the ELP may become a learning activity in the classroom. Owning an ELP has proved to be a motivating factor for many learners. The teacher has freedom to choose the parts and pages of the ELP so that they fit in perfectly with the programme of learning. The teacher also gains support from using the ELP regularly in the classroom.