What do you – the teacher – want?
I’m not a specialist languages teacher and I don’t have much extra time to start learning one now, so anything I do has to be easily accessible to me as the teacher – but then again, I want to teach it right! And I want to speak with a good accent and be a good role model for the children. I also want something than can be slotted in at different times during the school day because I know ‘little and often’ is best and our days are jam-packed! – something cross-curricular would be ideal.
What do you – the headteacher – want?
I’d like an exciting, easy introduction to foreign languages that does not make too many extra demands on my hard-working staff. I’m particularly keen that such a programme should be part of general literacy. We like to encourage an ‘international ethos’ and anything that gives the school opportunities to link with partner schools abroad would be good. And of course, many of our children do not have English as their first language and I think it’s very important to encourage a respect for, and interest in, their languages and cultures.
What do you – the secondary school teacher – want?
We have problems. Children come from our various feeder schools, with different language experiences and even if they’ve been learning the same language some seem to cover some topics and not others so that although in theory there should be ‘continuity’ in practice it doesn’t work out like that! And to be honest, some children have little interest in learning a language by the time they get to us – they say ‘We’ve been learning that for years – can’t we do something else now?’ or they say ‘I don’t want to carry on with French, I want to start German like that class’… it would be better if children followed language awareness programmes in primary schools, at least for a couple of years, to prepare and motivate them to learn faster and more solidly – let them feel confident and really happy with languages. I know it’s an old cliché, but 'success breeds success' and if children have a firm language foundation, it's easy for them to spring into foreign language learning. They know they can do it!
What do you – the children – want?
- I want something fun!
- I don’t know any languages so it’s got to be easy.
- My Mum’s Romanian, I want to do Romanian, can we?
- I want to know what they speak like, people in other countries.
- How many languages are there? Can we do all of them?
- I can’t spell very well, does it matter?
What do the children need? – and does Springboard provide it?
They need success: success in a foreign language shouldn’t be just for those who have ‘an aptitude’.
All children, including those who need extra support, should be given the opportunity to succeed right from the beginning; for some children learning a language represents a ‘new start’, something they haven’t tried yet – it’s a bit like giving them a second chance to succeed at something, for them to feel good about themselves, so it’s very, very important that it is something at which these children can succeed.
They need to feel valued: in classes where English is not always the first language of all the children, an ‘independent’ language base makes everyone feel his or her language is valued.
They need Literacy: words are words – whatever the language. Literacy is literacy and children need a solid introduction to foreign language learning alongside mother-tongue literacy. The two are not inseparable. A grammatically regular ‘you write what you hear’ language is a valuable means of literacy support for all children, particularly for those experiencing difficulties with English literacy.
They need continuity, time to absorb. ‘Taster courses’ in different languages, each lasting a few weeks or a term are just that, very good 'tasters', but they serve a different purpose; they don't encourage children to construct knowledge, to create, to build awareness, block on block. They work 'horizontally' and not 'vertically'; children springing into a language ocean need to spring upwards!
They need good role models: a non-specialist teacher can easily cope with the Springboard programme. He or she is already a specialist in Literacy; the extra language features are easily learned and implemented.
They need a flying start. Follow the Springboard programme for a year or two and:
- raise children’s language awareness
- enhance their grammatical sensitivity
- tune their ears to foreign sounds
- make children aware of different alphabets and punctuation
- let them create words using a set of wordbuilders (affixes)
- let them realise that languages can have flexible word-order
- let them communicate