Differentiated learning in languages

1. Differentiated learning in languages Gill Glen Abbotsleigh Junior School

2. Languages in my school • French from Transition/ELC (4-year-olds) to Year 4 (10-year-olds) • Mandarin for students in Years 5 and 6 • In Year 7, students choose two of four languages: French, Latin, German and Mandarin • Continue with one of these languages in Year 8

3. Advantages and Challenges of being a Specialist Teacher in a Junior School

4. Advantages • Same students for a number of years • Class teachers or assistants in some lessons • Input and needs analyses from class teachers

5. Challenges • Intake of students in Years K, 3, 5 and 7 – differing prior knowledge and ability • Large number of students • Limited time with each class • Many programs to write

6. Ways of identifying high achievers and those needing support – know your students! • Pre-test and language survey • Anecdotal notes and observation of students • Consult class teacher about students • Use expertise of G&T Specialists in your school

7. Strategies for dealing with the transition from Year 6 to Year 7 • Language taster days • Liaise with Head of Languages in SS, in order to allocate students to classes • Use information from language preference forms, as well as prior results in languages • Group beginners together • Put high achievers in same class

8. Differentiation • Begin with a cultural topic in intake years, so that everyone is on a level playing field • Pair a new student with an old student for some activities • Divide students into groups, and work with the new students, carefully scaffolding activities • Encourage independent studies

9. Differentiation (continued) • Same topic, different approach: in-depth activities for more able students • Flexible grouping, e.g. partners with a similar ability/ new student works with old student • Use more able students as role models or leaders, e.g. in class surveys • Open-ended tasks: give a choice to students, e.g. drama/ letter/poem/dialogue/song

10. Some examples of differentiation (Excerpt from French Program) • Revise numbers up to 20. Ask what letters 30, 40, 50 might start with in French. Can they make connections between 3, 13 and 30? Oral practice – give French number, they give numeral. Whole class • Glue number sheets in book for reference and complete a worksheet which integrates Maths, colours and French. Pairs • Learning support: help new girls and weaker students. • Extension: confident group completes a pattern worksheet which has sequences, pronunciation patterns, etc. They invent their own pattern for others to solve.

11. Year 4 French (extension group) A. Write the French for the number of: • Wise men • Years in a decade • Years in a century • Letters in “Abbotsleigh” • Apostles • Three score years and ten B. Complete the pattern: • Deux, quatre, six, ……… • Dix, vingt, trente, ………. • Trois, six, neuf, …………. • Quinze, trente, soixante, ………. • Un, deux, quatre, sept, ……….. C. Pronunciation. Find a number with the same sound as: • Deux • Six • Quatre • Seize • Cinq D. Can you invent a new pattern or pronunciation question?

12. (Example of research tasks – teacher negotiation & differentiated products)

13. Year 7 Mandarin – The House • Beginners – learn vocabulary and simple sentence patterns • Continuers – describe the house in detail, using simple sentence structure • Background students (weak reading and writing) – similar writing to Continuers’, but use more complex sentence structures • Background speakers – advertising promotion for a house (writing and speaking)

14. Revision on the weather Work with a partner to invent a revision activity about the weather: • Word search • Sudoku • Crossword • Memory game • Board game • Matching game

15. (Excerpt from Year 1 English program)

16. Sharing ideas • Choose a topic • Design a core activity • Add an activity for the extension group and one for the support group