New rules, new challenges, new thinking and then, perhaps, new freedoms? This session looks forward to the requirements of the new GCSE, starting with key elements of our practice at KS3. How should we best teach the current Y8 to prepare them for assessment in 2018? The ideas and strategies presented address all four skills and give practical examples New rules, new challenges, new thinking and then, perhaps, new freedoms?

New rules, new challenges… Statutory PoS at KS2 (and new PoS at KS3) More ‘rigorous’ GCSE (and A level) examinations Return to compulsory languages at KS4 (by a different name!)

New thinking? “The need to promote effective transition in languages between Key Stages 2 and 3 is not yet high on the agendas of either primary or secondary schools.” Language Trends Survey 2015 New rules and new challenges require new thinking, but are we there yet?

p.66 Language Trends Survey 2015 Some 44 per cent of responding primary schools report that they have no contact at all with the language departments of local secondary schools. This is a slight improvement on the 46 per cent of primary schools which said they had no subject-specific contacts with secondary schools in 2013/14. Some primary schools do not have strong links generally with their secondary schools, others say that collaboration that had existed previously has been curtailed: ‘In the past the local secondary school was a specialist language school. They offered outreach sessions and links for support. This has changed recently.’ ‘We used to have outreach support and secondary schools provided training and came in to teach, however in the last two/three years this has been withdrawn. We now deliver and plan our own sessions without this support.’ Those primary schools which did have contact (356 of the 635 schools which responded to this question) were asked to describe the nature of their contact. The most common forms of contact are a simple informal exchange of information (26 per cent) or participation in networks/cluster meetings (22 per cent). Nearly one in five primary schools (18 per cent) benefits from language teaching being provided by secondary teachers, although this does not mean that the secondary teachers are the main providers of language teaching (see section 4.5 above). Comments show the types of arrangement which have been established:

Comparing responses in 2013-14 with 2014-15 shows no real difference in the contact between secondary and primary.

New thinking? Not yet… “the introduction of compulsory language learning has not yet stimulated increased contact between language teachers in state primary and secondary schools.” It seems not? p.69, Language Trends Survey 2015

It’s good to talk! It’s bad not to talk! Just rephrasing ‘It ‘s good to talk’ to ‘It’s bad not to talk’ can subtly alter the way we think about this. There’s no doubt that there are both elements of carrot (reward) and stick (negative consequences) to the issue of KS2 – KS3 languages transition. It seems clear that, at the moment, the factors compelling us to focus our energies on transition in a concerted and consistent way are not sufficient. So, perhaps we need to consider a little more carefully what happens if we don’t talk…

New rules, new challenges… Statutory PoS at KS2 (and new PoS at KS3) More ‘rigorous’ GCSE (and A level) examinations Return to compulsory languages at KS4 (by a different name!)

GCSE Grades 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 G F E D C B A A* Those colleagues working in secondary languages, and particularly the heads of department accountable for the results at GCSE, will be acutely aware of the increased challenges facing us as our current Y8s will be the first cohort to take the new GCSE in 2018. We are all too aware of the increased challenge of this new examination. New GCSE: new grading system / new challenge

New GCSE: new grading system / new challenge

New rules, new challenges… Statutory PoS at KS2 (and new PoS at KS3) More ‘rigorous’ GCSE (and A level) examinations Return to compulsory languages at KS4 (by a different name!)

New rules, new challenges… “We expect some schools to offer EBacc subjects to many more pupils as a result of these accountability reforms.” Update on Progress 8 measure and reforms to secondary school accountability framework, DfE, January 2014 “Schools should continue to focus on which qualifications are most suitable for individual pupils, as the grades pupils achieve will help them reach their goals for the next stage of their education or training.” Progress 8 measure in 2016 and 2017, Guide for maintained secondary schools, academies and free schools, DfE , March 2015 “We will require secondary school pupils to take GCSEs in English, maths, science, a language and history or geography, with Ofsted unable to award its highest ratings to schools that refuse to teach these core subjects.” Conservative Manifesto, 2015 Nick Gibb, minister of state for school reform, announces on 11 June, that the government was committed to honouring its manifesto pledge to require pupils to study the EBacc.. On 16 June, Nicky Morgan, the secretary of state for education confirmed that this requirement will apply to all students, except those with Special Educational Needs, in all maintained schools, though there is a willingness to explore the particular circumstances of UTCs and Studio Schools which may qualify for an exemption. Ofsted will be unable to award its highest ratings to schools that refuse to teach the EBacc to all pupils. The plan is that all pupils who start secondary school in Sept 2015, and who will start Y10 in 2018, will be required to be entered for GCSE exams in the full EBacc suite. There is to be a period of consultation, but the government will focus on how this initiative will be implemented, rather than on if it should be implemented.

We are also now aware that all students are supposed to take the new GCSE exam! We need a longer, joined up road of learning to get all students prepared adequately for the assessment challenges they face.

We are also now aware that all students are supposed to take the new GCSE exam!

We are also now aware that all students are supposed to take the new GCSE exam!

New rules, new challenges… GCSE builds on KS2 and KS3 !?! Curriculum time required ?!? Staffing !!!??? 1) Only in the political sphere can you implement 7 years of learning change in one academic year! The changes required to equip learners with the knowledge base to be successful in the new GCSE are embryonic at best, nationally. There are pockets where primary languages are fully embedded, but even there I’m not convinced the secondaries are fully up to speed to match their Y7 teaching fully to the needs of the arriving learners. Even if primary languages were 100% seamlessly introduced from Y3 in 2014, that would still only equip the learners taking GCSE in 2023, and yet current Y8 learners will take the new, more challenging exam in 2018, so there is a 5-year time lag that the policy does not account for. 2) The DfE has never been keen to make pronouncements about curriculum time. They prefer to let individual schools scrabble around and make it up themselves! If we look at the GLH that the CEFR indicates is appropriate for the different stages of learning (A1, A2 etc…) we can see that it is going to be extremely difficult for schools not to run out of road towards the new GCSE, if primary languages are not fully embedded, and what of the 2nd FL – that will ideally need to start sooner, if learners are going to make the distance. 3) Staffing – most headteachers responding to the ongoing SSAT survey out on this policy (86%) say that they will need to change staffing to allow this to happen, and 44% say there will be substantial changes to staffing – where will all these languages teachers come from? We have university depts. closing their degree courses left right and centre, and PGCE places going unfilled every year…

Expected Progress and Guided Learning Hours Year Hours of tuition Cumulative hours CEFR Level 3 19* 19   4 38 5 38* 76 6 114 A1 7 95 209 A2 8 304 A2+ 9 399 10 494 B1 11 589 12 190 779 B2 13 969 C1 The GLH were helpful in deciding the approximate progress we can expect during each key stage. All primary and secondary schools vary in their allocation of curriculum time for language learning, but here I have taken as a starting point 30 minutes per week in Years 3 and 4, 60 minutes in Years 5 & 6, and 150 minutes per week across KS3 and KS4. (This equates to 3 x 50 minute lessons across KS3 and KS4. This is a rough average. In fact, our dual linguists have less and our single linguist classes have slightly more than this.) We can see from the table that, with this number of GLH, we might reasonably expect learners to achieve at least A1 competence by the end of KS2, and at least A2 by the end of Y8 (assuming the curriculum allocation hours given), making significant progress towards B1 but not reaching it by the end of Y9. I used this information to peg the key progression points A1 and A2 within the new framework. A1 = Step 4 on my framework *Figures based on 30 minutes per week at Y3 and Y4, 60 minutes at Y5 and Y6

New thinking, new freedoms?… Who would not want this? What do we have to work with? What can we do next? How we will know it is working?

Listening listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words Speaking engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help* speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases* present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences* Reading read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary Writing write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly describe people, places, things and actions orally* and in writing Grammar understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, such as (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English. listen to a variety of forms of spoken language to obtain information and respond appropriately transcribe words and short sentences that they hear with increasing accuracy initiate and develop conversations, coping with unfamiliar language and unexpected responses, making use of important social conventions such as formal modes of address express and develop ideas clearly and with increasing accuracy, both orally and in writing speak coherently and confidently, with increasingly accurate pronunciation and intonation read and show comprehension of original and adapted materials from a range of different sources, understanding the purpose, important ideas and details, and provide an accurate English translation of short, suitable material read literary texts in the language, such as stories, songs, poems and letters, to stimulate ideas, develop creative expression and expand understanding of the language and culture write prose using an increasingly wide range of grammar and vocabulary, write creatively to express their own ideas and opinions, and translate short written text accurately into the foreign language. identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past, and future as appropriate to the language being studied use and manipulate a variety of key grammatical structures and patterns, including voices and moods, as appropriate develop and use a wide-ranging and deepening vocabulary that goes beyond their immediate needs and interests, allowing them to give and justify opinions and take part in discussion about wider issues use accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation. KS2 KS3 First, we have a statutory Programme of Study We have a national framework laying out the expectations for language learning outcomes over 7 years from Y3 – Y9 AND we have the explicit statements that the GCSE examination will build on prior programmes of study at KS2 and KS3. This is more than just a piece of paper! Handout 1: The new Programme of Study KS2 on the left and KS3 on the right Adapted to show more clearly the continuity between KS2 and KS3 Joining up KS2 and KS3 – arguably the most important piece of work we will do in our careers over the next 5 x years. The level of responsibility for this will differ, Heads of languages in secondary schools will have an obligation to grapple with it – otherwise their learners will not reach the levels required at the end of KS4 (even though we have not see what those are, we can guess from Curriculum 14 that the standards will be tough). But classroom teachers have the responsibility similarly to respond to what the learners in front of them know – to build on it, to notice the words, skills they already have, and not to assume a ‘from zero’ approach in Y7. There are things we can do to make this explicit, too. Group learners strategically and give them the theme for the lesson and a piece of sugar paper to write down any TL words at all that they think they might be able to make use of in that topic area. Get them to share all of the words in the group – including teaching each other the words. Welcome their previous knowledge, and make it clear that it all counts. This new NC document may be minimal, but sometimes there is strength in that. I found that this has been the first document that I’ve been able to share with heads of primary schools to get the message across about the need for sharing a common 7-year purpose and framework. It really hasn’t been clear enough before now. For the first time, there is a sense of pulling together – and a championing of the languages cause in the same way that primary and secondary have come together over literacy and numeracy – in terms of transition – ie. recognising the need for regular meetings and for sharing practice. This all on one A4 page doc has been a helpful catalyst here. Let’s just take the sound-spelling link statement at KS2.

Grammar 1) Gender of nouns Listening 1) Listen and show understanding by joining in and responding 2) Link the sound, spelling and meaning of words Speaking 1) Ask and answer questions 2) Express opinions 3) Ask for clarification and help 4) Speak in sentences 5) Describe people, places, things Grammar 1) Gender of nouns 2) Singular and plural forms 3) Adjectives (place and agreement) 4) Conjugation of key verbs Reading 1) Read and show understanding of phrases and simple texts 2) Read aloud with accurate pronunciation 3) Use a dictionary Writing 1) Write phrases from memory 2) Adapt phrases to create new sentences. 3) Describe people, places, things Let’s just look a little more closely at the KS2 outcomes, and imagine for a moment what it will be like when learners arrive in Y7 with this knowledge. Note I say when and not if. Despite (or actually because of) its brevity, the PoS document is very dense. Here I’ve extracted the key elements further and categorised to achieve greater clarity.

Key messages Primary teachers Secondary teachers have a professional concern for MFL transition questions care about their pupils’ future education and have strong relationships with their pupils don’t want their work to be wasted when pupils move on to secondary school. usually live and work in communities where they will meet ex-pupils or parents or siblings who will comment on their transition experience. share these concerns. have a direct interest in getting transition right because progress and ultimately, attainment depend on it. know that a smooth continuation in learning is vital, and this includes an awareness of the topics, vocabulary, levels, skills and interest / enthusiasm pupils have developed. want to know about the learning experiences Y6 pupils have had: e.g. if they have written stories, filmed presentations, learned songs, used skype, mixed foreign language learning into everyday exchanges At a recent transition meeting with teachers in Cambridgeshire, we shared these thoughts: Primary teachers... have a professional concern for MFL transition questions care about their pupils’ future education and have strong relationships with their pupils don’t want their work to be wasted when pupils move on to secondary school. usually live and work in communities where they will meet ex-pupils or parents or siblings who will comment on their transition experience.   Secondary teachers... share these concerns. have a direct interest in getting transition right because progress and ultimately, attainment depend on it. know that a smooth continuation in learning is vital, and this includes an awareness of the topics, vocabulary, levels, skills and interest / enthusiasm pupils have developed. want to know about the learning experiences Y6 pupils have had: e.g. if they have written stories, filmed presentations, learned songs, used skype, mixed foreign language learning into everyday exchanges. What do pupils want? Pupils want... secondary teachers to know what their achievements and successes have been in Primary MFL and how much they have enjoyed it. their secondary school teachers to know them as people the same way their primary class teacher did. Secondary teachers have every reason to build excellent relationships with primary languages teachers. Let’s seize the day! In our secondary schools, is it time to start thinking about the best way to begin Year 7 language learning based on where it has got to in Year 6? Is our curriculum rich enough for pupils who know words like “hungry” and “caterpillar” already?

And pupils? Pupils want... secondary teachers to know what their achievements and successes have been in Primary MFL and how much they have enjoyed it. their secondary school teachers to know them as people the same way their primary class teacher did. Pupils’ motivation for us to get this right…

Y6 writing Let’s assume (blue sky thinking) for a moment that Y6s arrive after 4 x positive, joined –up years of language learning. We could look at how this can happen, but that’s another discussion and I’ve been asked to talk specifically about teaching the new GCSE. I couldn’t embark on that without laying out the facts that we cannot realistically hope to do so well starting from scratch in Y7, so let’s look at what we can do, starting from this strong position.

Joined up GCSE specifications will be cumulative and progressive in content and language. They will take account of the matters, skills and processes specified in the national curriculum programmes of study for key stages 2 and 3. They will also build on the foundation of core grammar and vocabulary outlined in the programmes of study for key stages 2 and 3, increasing the level of linguistic and cognitive demand. Source: DfE Subject Content for languages document p.4 This has not been as obvious over the past few years. Teachers have often complained that the ‘old new curriculum’ of 2008 set them free at KS3 to explore all sort of creative approaches only to have to tie students down to endless controlled assessments from early Y10 onwards.

National curriculum aims The National Curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils: understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied. This recaps therefore where students would ideally be by the end of KS3, which can only happen if KS2 learning proceeds as on paper…. The aim is greater independent use of language – how is this going to happen?

GCSE Speaking 2018 unpredictability “ the awarding organisation must take all reasonable steps to minimise the predictability of each such assessment.” preparation time (between 10 and 12 minutes) teacher-conducted, audio-recorded, awarding body- assessed conversation (more than one topic, only one of which may be chosen by the learner in advance of the assessment) two further tasks, from the following: (role play, response to visual stimulus, response to textual stimulus, response to stimulus with visuals and text) no dictionaries Foundation – 7-9 minutes Higher – 10-12 minutes GCSE Subject Level Conditions and Requirements for Modern Foreign Languages (French, German, Spanish) February 2015 www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-9-to-1-subject-level-conditions-and-requirements-for-modern-foreign-languages p.18-19

New thinking, new freedoms? Earlier start Higher expectations Greater emphasis on manipulation More authentic source material Greater variety of language structure Freedom of content (theme) at KS2 and KS3 Less predictable exams at the end of KS4

Direct build from KS3 translation use of literary texts / authentic material grammar spontaneous speaking extended writing (from memory) There are several reasons why KS4 should feel like a direct build from KS3: 1) translation 2) use of literary texts / authentic material in general 3) grammar 4) spontaneous speaking 5) extended writing (from memory) Is this new thinking?

But the new GCSE…? business as usual… does not fulfil on promise of the new KS3 competing paradigms teachers under pressure government push for textbooks Ofqual has not approved them anyway!

New thinking, new freedoms?… We instinctively know that this is the case, but still it is hard to grasp the nettle. In the face of this political mess, we have our professional integrity, our subject mastery and our vocational determination to make this work for our students. That is what we must hold on to. The principles of excellent language teaching are the same, I believe, for this new GCSE – there may be different emphases to accommodate so that our students are not disadvantaged at the end but we had to do that when we got CA anyway…

Listening: ideas for teaching Maximise use of target language in the classroom Use strategies to make listening a task not a test Use authentic materials as much as possible Mix and match text book / past paper audio Use listen and read – make multiple use of transcripts Encourage repeated listening to the same passage Use self-created differentiated passages (hard  easy) Teach prediction and note-taking explicitly These are principles for teaching listening. Refer teachers to Handout 2: SOTB listening ideas Explain principles as follows: 1) Maximal use of TL – this is listening practice in itself. It is some of the best listening practice because students aren’t anxious doing it, it is a predictable context but the details are often unpredictable. Teacher talk uses familiar language but re-purposed into new contexts. The most students hear TL the faster they are able to process it. This is really a no-brainer! 2) Students fear listening. Students always perceive the task of listening as a test, whether it is or not. They usually ask ‘is it a test?’ as soon as they know they are about to do a listening activity. There are many ways to subvert this anxiety – see Handout – ideas 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,11 all have the outcome of reducing anxiety and make listening feel less like a text 3) Use authentic materials – this increases the challenge and ensures that learners encounter unfamiliar language, which is required at GCSE. The is far less of this in the text book. 4) Mix and match text book / past paper audio – this is because an alternative GCSE course or other text book (e.g. one for adults) will include different vocabulary even when the theme is the same, so you get a greater challenge, more realistic listening like the GCSE. 5) With more challenging passages it makes a lot of sense to have subsequent listenings that involve listening and reading at the same time. This really helps in the formative stages. It helps students sort out for themselves which words they didn’t understand because they couldn’t process the familiar language quickly enough OR the messages they didn’t understand because the words were unfamiliar. 6) Repeated listening develops resilience. Students believe that Spanish (Fr, Gm) people just speak faster than we do – they are not convinced initially that this is just their perception because their brain is having to work hard to process the information in the foreign language so it’s harder work and takes longer. They don’t initially believe that just by listening again and again and again they will get more, but this is in fact what happens so they need to do it! 7) This is a really good way to encourage stickability too, esp. within a mixed ability class. By the end the answer will be obvious, but at the beginning it is not. All will eventually succeed, some will get there sooner than others. Really good for working in the classroom situation to develop willingness to listen for longer, even to harder material. 8) Prediction is the way to perform at least 0.5 grade higher in the listening – students just need to do it, to be taught to do it as a very deliberate strategy every time they approach a listening task. Note-taking is also extremely valuable when it comes to recording thoughts during a listening that could help you to pick the answer up a 2nd time. Any more ideas? Please share…!

Speaking: ideas for teaching Maximise use of target language in the classroom Teach students how to ask questions and do this often Consider length of utterance and length of turn Repeat speaking activities immediately with less / no support Plan in favour of language use rather than language practice activities Increase the opportunities for unscripted interaction in every lesson Focus on working from memory as often as possible – have explicit memory / retention strategies Refer teachers to the Classroom Talk handout and the Memories handout

Reading: ideas for teaching Read for different purposes Read a variety of material Combine reading with speaking and writing Combine reading with listening Read to translate Read to develop vocabulary Refer teachers to the Reading ideas handout, the Translation handout and the Authentic / Literary texts handout

Writing: ideas for teaching Students need to: know how to form simple, compound and complex sentences have a bank of structures and core language that they can manipulate well across a the range of contexts at GCSE have language stored in long-term memory be attentive to detail, able to spot and correct errors vary vocabulary and structures write for different purposes, showing an awareness of style and register Refer teachers to the Writing ideas handout and back to the translation ideas handout

How do we achieve this? By working together! By sharing knowledge and experience, specifically by: 1. Meeting regularly (half-termly helps!) 2. Visiting each other’s classrooms and observing learning first-hand 3. Developing shared documentation (starting with curriculum documentation, and then, some way down the line, assessment documentation, and then, finally, transfer documentation 4. Developing schemes like language leaders

So, it’s at this point that I want to get proverbial, and this is one of my favourites: “ If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together.” African proverb We can see that the current government, in its decisions about education, is clearly about speed. And to achieve the pace of change it desires, the sense we have very much is that it’s acting alone, without pausing for thought, debate, or discussion. I have been at a great many gatherings of teachers this year and relatively few, hardly any, had realised that the draft GCSE criteria for the new 2018 exam (first teaching in 2016) had been published. We as teachers can sometimes be all about speed, too. There is always so much to do. But we need to be in this for our learners for the long haul. Real, lasting, sustainable, positive change takes time and collaboration, and it really is good to talk.