Skip to main content

Frenchteacher survey results

I've had 93 responses so far to my Survey Monkey questionnaire about frenchteacher.net. I kept it brief and to the point. I wanted to find out:

  • which sections were most used
  • whether users would appreciate more model answers to worksheets
  • areas which could be further developed
  • if the site is easy to navigate
  • any other comments
The most used sections of the site are the A-level section, followed by the Y10-11 (intermediate) section. These sections are used a good deal more than the Y7, Y8 and Y9 sections, which, in any case, have fewer resources on them.

Nearly 80% of respondents said they would like to see model answers to worksheets. I'll try to make some progress on this, but it will be impossible to provide answers to everything! I'll focus on the A-level grammar exercises in the first instance. To be honest, I would rather spend my time producing fresh material, but do expect to see some more answers. I had always assumed that tecahers would not need answers, but I do see how model answers would save time and allow sheets to be given to students with answers for self-marking.

As for areas which could be further developed, there was very little pattern to answers here. A few mentioned listening resources and I have been thinking about this for a while. Of course, because the site is for teachers, not pupils (the latter should not be given login details), this affects the type of exercise I could produce. For the same reason, I do not propose to offer interactive exercises.

Almost everyone found the site easy to navigate

As for other comments, many were kind enough to praise the site. Many thanks. My ego was suitabvly massaged.

Thank you to all those who took a few moments to answer the questions. My two actions points will therefore be: some more model answers and further explore listening resources.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What is skill acquisition theory?

For this post, I am drawing on a section from the excellent book by Rod Ellis and Natsuko Shintani called Exploring Language Pedagogy through Second Language Acquisition Research (Routledge, 2014). Skill acquisition is one of several competing theories of how we learn new languages. It’s a theory based on the idea that skilled behaviour in any area can become routinised and even automatic under certain conditions through repeated pairing of stimuli and responses. When put like that, it looks a bit like the behaviourist view of stimulus-response learning which went out of fashion from the late 1950s. Skill acquisition draws on John Anderson’s ACT theory, which he called a cognitivist stimulus-response theory. ACT stands for Adaptive Control of Thought.  ACT theory distinguishes declarative knowledge (knowledge of facts and concepts, such as the fact that adjectives agree) from procedural knowledge (knowing how to do things in certain situations, such as understand and speak a language).

The 2026 GCSE subject content is published!

Two DfE documents were published today. The first was the response to the consultation about the proposed new GCSE (originally due in October 2021) and the second is the subject content document which, ultimately, is of most interest to MFL teachers in England. Here is the link  to the document.  We are talking about an exam to be done from 2026 (current Y7s). There is always a tendency for sceptical teachers to think that consultations are a bit of a sham and that the DfE will just go ahead and do what they want when it comes to exam reform. In this case, the responses to the original proposals were mixed, and most certainly hostile as far as exam boards and professional associations representing the MFL community, universities, head teachers and awarding bodies are concerned. What has emerged does reveal some significant changes which take account of a number of criticisms levelled at the proposals. As I read it, the most important changes relate to vocabulary and the issue of topics

La retraite à 60 ans

Suite à mon post récent sur les acquis sociaux..... L'âge légal de la retraite est une chose. Je voudrais bien savoir à quel âge les gens prennent leur retraite en pratique - l'âge réel de la retraite, si vous voulez. J'ai entendu prétendre qu'il y a peu de différence à cet égard entre la France et le Royaume-Uni. Manifestation à Marseille en 2008 pour le maintien de la retraite à 60 ans © AFP/Michel Gangne Six Français sur dix sont d’accord avec le PS qui défend la retraite à 60 ans (BVA) Cécile Quéguiner Plus de la moitié des Français jugent que le gouvernement a " tort de vouloir aller vite dans la réforme " et estiment que le PS a " raison de défendre l’âge légal de départ en retraite à 60 ans ". Résultat d’un sondage BVA/Absoluce pour Les Échos et France Info , paru ce matin. Une majorité de Français (58%) estiment que la position du Parti socialiste , qui défend le maintien de l’âge légal de départ à la retraite à 60 ans,