How foreign language literacy supports English
A second bite of the cherry
When we teach a foreign language at secondary school, we are working with learners who have a higher level of consciousness about learning processes in general because they are older and have been in formal education for a few years. This can boost transferable skills and knowledge that many learners have not yet managed to grasp in English. It provides `a second bite at the cherry’.
We often say that this is for lower ability learners. Actually, I think that this is effective across the board and at every level. I know my understanding of English grammar developed through foreign language lessons. The November TES cover story exploring teachers’ response to the challenge to teach English grammar reports one teacher, asked to teach English language A level, as saying, “I literally went back to the textbooks. I went back to basics. Things started coming back to me. You think, hang on, I did this in French and German, and this applies to English.”
The big five - transferable knowledge and skills
- Strategies for accurate spelling, memorising and retention of new vocabulary
- Making links (word families)
- Key reading skills - skimming, scanning etc.
- Research and reference skills - focus on written accuracy and the importance of checking
- Marking for accuracy and for quality of language
- when you need a dictionary and when you don’t
- how to use dictionaries with confidence and with some speed
- the 80:20 principle (in written work we want 80% of the final piece to be an accurate adaptation of language learnt in the lesson and up to 20% can be independently researched)
- how to use online verb tables
- how to improve writing, including the following elements:
a. longer sentences
b. varying the subject
c. varying the sentence beginnings
d. complex sentences e.g. past present comparison
e. good use of a variey of tenses
f. use of interesting vocabulary adjectives verbs Join the TES chat on Thursday 31 January 5 - 6pm
How does foreign language literacy support English? In many more ways than I’ve been able to describe here! If you have ideas, strategies and or resources to share why not get involved in the MFL webchat on Thursday. We’d love to hear from you if you’ve got a question or you’ve got ideas to share with MFL teachers.
Find out how to take part in our MFL advice clinic.Catch up with earlier MFL webchats and blogs
Read Rachel’s first blog on whole school literacy and possible points of tension for teachers of foreign languages.
Check out a replay of our first webchat where MFL teachers got together to talk about the challenge of supporting literacy through MFL.
Strategies for accurate spelling, memorising and retention of new vocabulary
We teach these in several ways:
1 Sound-writing patterns
We break down the sounds of words into syllables to facilitate pattern-building and to focus on accurate spelling This phonics resource is an example of one strategy also used in KS2 literacy.
2 How to go about learning vocabulary
The first thing is for students to work out what they know. This is not taught explicitly anywhere else in the curriculum at secondary but is a vital first step. We break down these stages for students. Do you know how to read the word aloud? Do you know what it means? Can you spell it? Can you use it in a sentence? Take a look at this resource for more strategies for learning vocabulary, in the new government guidance this approach fits exactly with the notion of `teaching that supports literacy’.3 Strategies for memorising
We teach how important it is to be `active’ when you learn. Looking at a list of words for 10 minutes is unlikely to produce lasting retention. What should learners do? We fill that gap. This memory strategies resource will help learners practise these sorts of activities in the lessons.4 Making links
We also often draw attention to links between English and the foreign language. I’m thinking here of incidental moments, with romance languages in particular, where the French or Spanish word is a cognate of a more sophisticated version of the concept in English. e.g. aumentar = augment (relationship also to music = augmented intervals). This increases learners’ English vocabulary too as they often do not know the English equivalent of these words. We also sometimes engage in starter activities that draw on the links between lots of languages - to spot patterns. Finally, we also often use tasks that focus explicitly on breaking syntax down into its component parts - adjectives - verbs - nounsYes, we do this! We often focus precisely on these skills especially when we exploit more challenging texts. Download this resource with template ideas for reading skills development.