Adding value in MFL GCSE

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L O Show how you can be Outstanding
Add fizz and sparkle to your lessons
Engage, enthuse, motivate pupils
Ensure Progress
NQT
Adding to your MFL teaching toolbox at KS4
Jon Meier (Verulam School, St Albans)

Verulam
• All ability boys’ school
• GCSE June 2013: 140 entered
• A*-C: French – 83%, German- 93%, Spanish- 100%
• Average 91%

Show you mean business
Get them on your side
Behaviour is the key
Exam focus & grade awareness

What makes a successful GCSE lesson?
Discussion – 5 mins
Clear objectives
Pupils go out ‘buzzing’ with a real sense of achievement
Relevance
Progress
Enjoyment – pace, variety
They have moved a stage further towards achieving their targets
Spiral learning – building on prior knowledge
All pupils feel confident and supported
Pupils have played an active part in the lesson and have not just been ‘leaking
bottles’
They enjoy, respect and have confidence in the teaching
End

Controlled Assessment – Writing Top Tips
Clear task, but not over prescriptive
Task must not be too original or unconventional
e.g.
write a letter to a hotel in
France/Spain Germany applying for
a summer job.
You could include the following:
•Why you are interested in working
in the hotel
•Your qualities and character
•Previous relevant experience
•When you can start
•The type of work you’d like to do
•Ask about times, days off / local
amenities

GCSE Writing tips
• Build confidence & complexity and link to speaking, reading
and listening skills
• Ensure plenty of mini paragraph practice along the way.
Draft 1 2 & 3
• Show them the mark scheme
• Give them practice tasks with the mark scheme
• Self and peer assessment (see handout)
• Use model answers at different grades (see handout)
• Use display work as models – collective memory / running
dictation tasks
• Practise - Paragraphing , neatness, spacing & use of prompt
sheets

How do we use model answers?
You have a piece of writing at Grade C – no
mistakes but it’s very basic
- What do you do with it?
Option A- Put clues round the room and get them to work in teams
Option B- Put groups in charge of different areas: e.g.
Tenses
6Ws
Connectives & conjunctions
Time tags
Opinions and Justification
Option C- Show them an improved version – do messenger & scribe
Option D- - show an improved version - See how much they can remember
Option E- gap fill version (with/ without support)
Option F- Group writing – Having been through improvements & notes taken, all do a
version collaboratively in groups but competing against other groups. Teacher takes one
in from each group, at random and marks it before the end of lesson. Points & winners
allocated.
End

Bonjour je m’appelle Henry Meadows et je voudrais travailler dans l’hôtel
Splendide en été.
J’ai vu votre annonce sur le site ‘jobetudiant.net’
J’ai dix-sept ans, j’habite en Angleterre près de Londres et j’étudie le français
depuis cinq ans. Je ne parle pas très bien et je voudrais améliorer mon
français
Je suis actif, sociable, et travailleur. Je suis en bonne santé.
Pour mon stage en enterprise j’ai travaillé dans un hôtel qui s’appelle Sopwell
House. J’ai travaillé dans l’hôtel pendant trois semaines.
J’étais dans la cuisine, dans le restaurant, à la reception et j’ai nettoyé les
chambres.
J’ai beaucoup d’expérience et j’espère que vous pouvez trouver quelque chose
pour moi.
Est-ce qu’il y a une piscine dans l’hôtel? Est-ce que je peux dormir dans l’hôtel
ou dans la ville?
Merci et au revoir.
Grade
C

Monsieur
J’ai vu votre annonce dans le journal anglais ‘The Times’ et je suis
serais intéressé par votre offre d’emploi.
Vous verrez bien que je suis anglais. Mes connaissances de la
langue française sont pourtant assez bonnes et, bien entendu,
j’ai envie de les améliorer afin de découvrir les plaisirs culturels
(et gastronomiques) de la France. En plus je pourrais ainsi élargir
mon esprit et connaître d’autres gens et une autre culture.
Je suis actif, sociable et travailleur. J’adore également voyager et
parler avec d’autres gens. Etant sportif, je suis en bonne santé.
Grâce à un stage de trois semaines que j’ai déjà effectué dans un
hôtel renommé qui s’appelle Sopwell House, j’ai récolté bon
nombre d’expériences pratiques et utiles. Par exemple, j’ai passé
quelques jours à travailler dans le restaurant où j’ai eu l’occasion
de servir des clients célèbres tels que Wayne Rooney (qui a
commandé un steak frites avec du ketchup) et Angelina Jolie qui
n’a pris qu’une pomme et une carotte.
Avant de travailler
dans le restaurant,
j’étais dans la
cuisine, où j’ai lavé
et épluché des
légumes.
Après avoir passé
quelques jours dans
le restaurant, j’ai
travaillé avec le
service de nettoyage
et j’ai rangé les
chambres.
Je viens de terminer
un stage comme
maître-nageur dans
un club sportif privé.

Zap reader
• Paste some of the above text into zap reader
and see what happens
• You can also use the online teleprompter
here:
http://www.easyprompter.com/

‘Logic’ starter
A
F
B
cinema
C D
HE G
There’s a bakers to the left of the station
Opposite the sports shop, there’s a butchers
The station is to the left of the butchers
The cinema is opposite the station
The music shop is to the left of the cinema
The bookshop is next to the bakers, on the left
The tourist office is also next to the music shop
All
descriptions
are as we’re
looking at it
Answer
A= bookshop
B= bakers
C=station
D=butchers
E= tourist office
F= music shop
G= cinema
H=sports shop
1 minute!

GCSE Speaking Tips
from the student room

GCSE Speaking Tips
Build gradually
Grade D/C: Prepare with a bank of core questions (about 15 ?) (but must be flexible)
Grade B/A/A* use the core questions and encourage extended answers
Ensure coverage of 3 tenses, time tags and conditional
Lots of peer assessment
Use FLA, parent helpers, sixth formers to help the pupils-
plenty of 1 to 1and small group practice
Relentless drilling of AVOCADO and 6Ws
Spontaneity and target language – (not just “et vous, madame?”)
Keep the task simple but ensure it gives the more able scope to show off
Get the pupils to practice with prompt cards, flashcards, snakes and ladders style games
Train the pupils to ask the questions and do group learning
Careful use of prompt sheets – a valuable resource
Presentations don’t really show examiner what pupils can really do
Use Popplet to practice ( see next slide)
Pupils can record themselves, use prompt cards e.g. quizlet etc
Ma villequizlet (part 1 around grade C): http://quizlet.com/26983558/flashcards

http://popplet.com/app/index.php#/460907
http://popplet.com/app/index.php#/483993Traumhaus-
Berufe

GCSE Reading Tips
Do it as you go along; But ‘blitz’ from Feb of y11
Onscreen textbooks are good e.g. Edexcel Active Teach
Lots of revision workbooks are available
Chunk the questions
Do relevant questions to topics as you go along
Do a full paper in trial exam and from March y11 –
Allow time for Instant feedback in the lesson + time to recap &
review;
A short reading extract makes a good starter
Quiz format is good – use Barryfunenglish + tools for a scoreboard
Try wheeldecide to put keywords into a spinner-
http://wheeldecide.com
see also sandfields interactive resources

Don’t waste time copying vocabulary
Brainstorm it
Test it
Use it
Quiz it
Context is the
key

Listening & Reading
• Lots of work on synonyms,
• Lots of work on negatives etc
• Positive or negative – put post-it phrases into
columns on the board / use IWB
Mon profd’histoireesttrop strict. Il esttoujours de
mauvaisehumeur
Par contre, j’ai un bon prof de maths. Il est strict
on rigoleaussidanssescours.
Tense search – look for clues: avant/ ;
maintenant; plus tard, dansl’avenir

Same or different?
A starter idea – can be modified to suit the topic
1) Ma villeestlaideElle n’est pas jolie
1) Il y a beaucoup de chosesà faire pour les jeunesIl y a trèspeu pour les jeunes
1) Je ne vaisjamais au cinémaJe vais au cinémaunefois par an
1) Les restaurants sontchersIl fautavoir beaucoup d’argent pour aller aux restaurants
1) Il n’y a plus de bibliothèquela bibliothèque a ferméily a deuxans
1) Je n’aime pas faire les courses avec ma mèreFaire des achats avec mes parents, cela ne me
plaît pas

GCSE Listening Tips
Don’t ignore listening skills
Short chunks
Initially - Show listening as transcript; do it as a reading
Pause and repeat, Pause and predict the extract
Prepare and pre-empt the areas of difficulty
Groups – team competition
Teach and practise word families: chômagechômeur
Chaud chauffer chauffagechaleur
Rouge rougir
Customize your own exams e.g. https://www.examwizard.co.uk/

Listening & Reading question types
picture-vocab match
Find 5 correct statements (out of 8)
Summary; paraphrase (‘headline’ summary, who says what etc)
Gap-fill
Multiple choice comprehension
Tense recognition
Understanding for/ against arguments
Traditional comprehension -answers in English
Listening Extract 1- personal info
Listening 2 - uniform
Listening 3 - hobbies

List 5 correct facts
Substitute
Vrai/faux
Gap-fill
Reorder – textivate
Top/tail
Convert Je to il
Grammar analysis
Comparison work

http://www.frenchexams.org/gcse/2009/listen
ing/higher/index.htm

Continuity
Target language
Mix of creativity and cramming
Plenty of formal & informal testing
Good quality A4L: feedback & follow-up
Review and recap
Theme and variations
Well-planned, well-structured varied lessons
From Feb of y11 – focus on L & R papers
Lots of exam questions along the way
Past papers in chunks
D/C interventions
A/A* interventions
Les secrets du succès

Watch and
see how much
you can remember
http://starwars.com/play/online-activities/crawl-creator/

Building from KS3
Don’t take anything for granted
Insist they learn grammar &vocab from the start – regular mini tests
Clear SOW with milestones and assessment points
Give them the assessment criteria and refer to them frequently
Teachers must read Examiner’s Reports
Well-organised notes: draft- redraft -final
Selected L & R questions – topic –linked – make it active
Show past papers early and practise questions regularly
Give frequent model answers at Grade C, B A/A* - but make it interactive
GCSE MFL KEYS TO SUCCESS

Encouraging independence
Brainsbooksbuddyboss*
•Dictionary duel
•Find x words in 2 minutes on the topic:- the team with the most wins
• Beat the Teach- 1 point if you have it and the teacher has it
• 2 points if you have it and the teacher doesn’t
•Common errors – wear / where; there/ their; Bowl/ Bowel
•Phonics – teacher says a word – 2 pupils race to find the word
•Check the part of speech – teacher reads a word e.g. Travail pupils look it up and find
which part of speech it is (also: Fatigué, fatigant)
•false friends hunt – pupils chase as many as possible – librairie, blessé, retard, bras,
professeur, collège, demander, commander, gentil, crayon, rester, sale
Dictionaries?????
What’s wrong here?
J’ai haricot au cinéma

AVOCADO
Adjectives
Verbs
Opinions & Justification
Connectives
Adverbs
Descriptions
Originality & Interest
(+ qualifiers & intensifiers)
(Variety, tenses)
(conjunctions)
(time expressions, frequency & sequencing)
(adj endings/ agreement,
SACLAD -size, appearance, character, likes, activities, dislikes)

“Charles, please provide fresh cucumber, orange juice, Daily
Express and The Times, ……& make sure you bring IVY”
Connectives & conjunctions
Past
Present
Future
Conditional
Opinions & justification
Detail and extend
Accuracy
Time-’tags’
& make sure you bring
Interest & variety

You’re never too old for a Zondle game
http://www.zondle.com/cdl.aspx?qp=171151&a=268

6Ws: Who what when where why what is/was it like?
AVOCADO
Model answers at Grade C, B A/A*
Access to correct grammar notes and topic vocabulary
Exam board’s core vocab sheets
time phrases: weave into everything from the start
Syllabus summary – assessment schedule
Access to grammar
Access to ‘star’ phrases, & structures WOW! phrases (see handout)
Past Paper Questions
False friends lists – great for L & R exercises
Regular learning and testing on the above
Revision mats, cereal packets, quiz-cards, displays, take-away menu
Helpful displays + revision & grammar placemats - make these or see MFL
Sunderland resources:
http://www.sunderlandschools.org/mfl-sunderland/resources-fr-ks4-wks.htm
What do the pupils need?

Suggestions:
Amazon.de
Amazon.fr
TV: la grille des émissions
Cinema + Rouen+ programme
Subway Belgique
McDonalds France
Subway France
Pizzas `a emporter
Using Authentic materials
www.allocine.fr

A* Phrases in French
Activity: Make up similar lists for German and Spanish
Si j’étais riche, je …
Pour + inf
Afin de+ inf
Après avoir/ après être + pp
Avant de + inf
Reflexive verbs
Use nous / on instead of the eternal ‘je’
Avant, j’habitais/ j’aimais…. maismaintenant
Plus tardj’habiteraipeut-être…
Venir de
Avoirenvie de
Avoirhorreur de
Avoirpeur de
Modal verbs je veux/ peux/dois/
Mais, par contre, pourtant
Aussi = également
Ainsi /donc
Qui and que– used correctly
Imagine! Au ciné, j’ai vu la prof qui
s’appelle Mme Rollin –
c’est la profque je déteste
Les frites quej’aimangéesétaient
délicieuses
Je
vaispouvoirperfectionnermonfr
ançais
Je me passionne pour ….
Je m’intéresseà……
A selection

Timephrases–fromLangweb
Activity:MakeupsimilarlistsforGermanandSpanish

See also MFL Sunderland resources:
http://www.sunderlandschools.org/mfl-
sunderland/resources-fr-ks4-wks.htm

Smiley face/ multiple
choice voter
Download from here
http://verulamvle.typepad.com/vets

ability groups for some activities

extra support
CD borderline
A/A*
Give occasional AS questions to the high flyers
Use the FLA, parents etc to help
What about the D… word?
Are the pupils learning or just doing?
Are they making progress – this lesson and over the week
Are they engaged and enjoying the lesson?
Are they understanding? (use your mini-plenaries)

Correct the mistakes – collective corrections
Correct each others’
Mark each others work against assessment criteria
Mini whiteboards
Flipcams
Use authentic materials occasionally – McDonalds, online Pizza menu,
James Bond, cinema programme, football results, ‘Subway’ menu
Writing duel – rough paper
Revision planes / helicopters
Paper-toss / ‘fruit’ shoot!
Post-its – quiz questions
Sentence auction- 6 or 7 groups of 3. Each group has a notional sum of
money to begin with – say 50 euros. Groups ‘bid’ for and buy sentences
displayed one at a time. Some sentences contain mistakes and are therefore
worthless. Some are correct and are even A* sentences – and so worth lots of
money – say 20 euros each . The winning group is the one with the most
money at the end. Fun – the pupils love it but you need to keep track of the
money won/or paid out by each group.

For/ against practice [SMSC – ‘sex drugs &rockn’roll’ ]
Avant / maintenant / dansl’avenir (plus tard) -
 good news- bad news
 Starter: grammar gym – past pres future
Add a time phrase
‘Grade’ expander – give a core sentence, pupils in groups
have to come up with the best and longest variation.
Group writing battle – all do an exercise , groups mark
each other’s and the teacher marks one; next lesson –
feedback on mistakes and misconceptions

10+ Ideas for Starters
1) Unusual picture – brainstorm ideas
2) Mr Bean Youtube cartoon
3) Top 10s e.g. BARB
4) a few lines grabbed from a GCSE reading comp (linked to topic area)
5) Two or three 3 pairs of Thinking skills /logic test – same or different? e.g.
a) Mon prof de maths nous fait toujoursrire
b) monprof de mathsesttrèssérieux
6) Selection of 3 or 4 sentences – decide if they are Positive or Negative e.g.
Il esttrop strict et, en plus, on n’apprendriendanssescours
Good news bad news
7) Selection of sentences – decide if Past Present or Future?
Avant nous habitionsunebanlieue
8) ‘tense’ warm up – je joue au foot + P, F + time phrase
They set one for each other
9) False friend task
10) Display a sentence - Find and correct the (3-5) errors
Or Display a piece of writing - Guess the grade
11) Brainstorm and generate a ‘Popplet’ spider diagram on a topic (like the one at the
start)

10 ideas for ‘probing’ plenaries
clock diagram with keywords linked to a topic – 1 team to get all the way round
See Popplethttp://popplet.com/app/#/460907
Grids: Staircase – go up the steps, completing a set of tasks, Football grid,
noughts& crosses
Darts
Blockbusters – see http://www.teachers-direct.co.uk/resources/quiz-busters/
Pass the fakephone, when music stops, pupils say something they have learnt
Post-it quiz question or vocab item; also Coloured paper cut up as thought clouds –
pupils write quiz questions or concerns and queries
Quiz buzzers + ‘have I got a lesson for you’
Flipcams
Teach the class
password to get out of the door – Deutsch machtSpaß je me suisbienamusé
10 questions/ tasks to unlock the door
Remember – the plenary should not be an
afterthought- all the learning from the lesson should
culminate in this – so why not show the plenary at the
start and say this is your challenge
A better word?
Learning check, recap

Online resources for your toolbox – some of my favourites
Audioboo, vokaroo, audiopal– easy online voice recorders.
Voki– create a speaking avatar
classtools.net– lots of great resources to use – make up vocab tests, reveal hidden picture,
countdown timer to music etc
Online stopwatch.com- selection of fun countdown different timers –to set 1 minute,
press 1 then zero to move it 1 place left, then 0 again to move it again.
Fotobabble – add audio to a photo
Image chef – add short captions to a range of signs, T-Shirts, spaghetti soup etc
Front Page me – add your own image to a front page of a magazine
Wordle– create word clouds – great for starters. Also: Tagxedo
Bubbl.us– mindmapping boxes, great for extending topic work. Poppletis also good –
needs free sign up
Star Wars Crawl Creator
Google translate or TTS text to speech IM translator – will speak back text
Easyprompter.com– displays scrolling text like a TV autocue
Edexcel OLD past papers by topic http://www.frenchrevision.co.uk/edexcel/index.htm

Play the Plenary Blockbusters quiz
How much did you learn?
http://www.teachers-direct.co.uk/resources/quiz-busters/quiz-busters-
game.aspx?game_id=79571
Aim: connect
2 sides of the
board for
your team,
red or blue

Your homework:
Discuss & share key ideas with the dept back at
school
make a revision placemat
Or a take-away ‘grammar’ menu
Include the following
Time-expressions
key grammar
star expressions & constructions
jon.meier@verulam.herts.sch.uk

Adding value in MFL GCSE

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