Language Teacher Toolkit: Steve Smith's blog

UPDATE: 2nd June 2016 Now uploaded to TES: family (Pearson, AQA) , work (Pearson) and how criminals are treated (AQA) ************************************************************* Just to let you know that Gianfranco and I are working on a set of resources for the new A-levels for first teaching in September of this year. Gianfranco wanted to produce some translation-focused resources which reflect the practice we described in The Language Teacher Handbook (particularly the recycling of grammar and vocabulary). We are working on the basis of a source text in French with comprehension and grammar tasks (similar to the sort of thing I write for frenchteacher.net ), followed by a set of exercises which lead up to a final translation or graded translations (similar to exercise types which Gianfranco often uses). We would hope these resources would supplement any textbooks soon to be published. We have mapped out a broad structure of about 20 units of this type (10 for AS-lev...

Here are this year's interactive and other for A2 Level French revision. I would not overload students with long lists of links. These are fine. With regard to listening, if you subscribe to frenchteacher.net already, you could make a stapled booklet of video listening worksheets. Students will prefer active listening to just general listening to the radio or websites. You could also put together Gianfranco Conti's set of Revision Quickies from TES Resources. First stops http://mfl.jimdo.com/resources/french-a2-level/ (a mine of all sorts of material: essay planning, vocabulary and vocabulary) Interactive grammar http://www.ccdmd.qc.ca/fr/exercices_interactifs/?id=90 http://www.class.uh.edu/mcl/fll/french/frexercises/chapitre5/index.htm http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/ Listening http://www.tv5.org/TV5Site/enseigner-apprendre-francais/accueil_apprendre.php http://laguinguette.com/ http://www.bonjourdefrance.com/index/indexapp.htm Reading ...

Here is a handy list of revision links for students preparing for AS level French examinations in England and Wales, though I daresay it would be useful to students preparing for other assessments. I particularly recommend MFL Online from Jim Hall. Nearly all the links are free and some are interactive. I always felt it was best to give students just a few really good links rather than overwhelm them. I've left the URLs visible in case you want to print this off and edit for students. Grammar http://www.languagesonline.org.uk/Hotpotatoes/Index.htm http://www.class.uh.edu/mcl/fll/french/frexercises/chapitre5/index.htm http://avosplumes.org/students/ Listening http://ielanguages.com/frenchlistening.html http://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?rubrique1 http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/pages/001/accueil_exercice_ecoute.asp Reading http://www.languagesonline.org.uk/Hotpotatoes/Index.htm Vocabulary http://mfl.jimdo.com/resources/french-as-level/ Essays http://mfl.ji...

It's that time of year again. In England and Wales, when those blessed GCSE controlled assessments are over, you can focus totally on comprehension and vocabulary building for the remaining exams. Here is a handy list of some good interactive revision links for this level. These links are also good for intermediate exams in Scotland, Ireland and other English-speaking countries. You could copy and paste this to print off for students. I do recommend the free print-off from frenchteacher.net (see Reading link below). I designed it for pupils working at the grade A-C level at GCSE. Good for individual work and students like the booklet format. As far as apps for students are concerned, I would suggest the Cramit one, Memrise and Learn French which is pretty good for vocabulary. For Android devices try the Learn French Vocabulary Free . For listening, you could suggest Coffee Break French from Radio Lingua Network (iTunes podcasts). Listening http://www.bbc.co....

This is a short, adapted extract from our book The Language Teacher Toolkit . "We could not possibly recommend a single overall method for second language teaching, but the growing body of research we now have points to certain provisional broad principles which might guide teachers. Canadian professors Patsy Lightbown and Nina Spada (2013), after reviewing a number of studies over the years to see whether it is better to just use meaning-based approaches or to include elements of explicit grammar teaching and practice, conclude: Classroom data from a number of studies offer support for the view that form-focused instruction and corrective feedback provided within the context of communicative and content-based programmes are more effective in promoting second language learning than programmes that are limited to a virtually exclusive emphasis on comprehension. As teachers Gianfranco and I would go along with that general view and would like to suggest our own set of g...

When we put together the overall structure for The Language Teacher Toolkit we hesitated a bit before deciding to put in a chapter on behaviour management. I was probably a bit keener than Gianfranco to include it. On balance, we decided that since surveys show that it's usually the number one concern of trainee teachers, readers might appreciate some guidance. We drew on our own experience and advice from elsewhere, notably the esteemed Doug Lemov of Teach like a Champion fame and Tom Bennett who some of you will know as England's "behaviour tsar". Our editor (my wife, Elspeth Jones) thought it was one of the best chapters in the end. Anyway, here is a brief extract from one of our boxes of tips. Old hands will recognise much of this as common sense classroom management technique. Newbies should find it useful advice. TIPS FOR BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT Ø   Avoid confrontation as far as possible, but when you need to confront do it clearly and unapologetically....

This is a guest blog by Peter Smith who is keen to promote the Schoolshape Cloud Writer app. It looks useful to me and may appeal to some language teachers, particularly those who like to make use of digital technology.. "This is a new writing activity to improve accuracy through inductive learning: In this post, I suggest an app which give your students a helping hand by writing their answers online at https://schoolshape.com/write .  The new GCSEs feature both translation and composition. These can both be one step too far for students. Teachers can find themselves overwhelmed by written work littered with disastrous errors requiring correction. There is also the question of motivation. Even the most gifted of teachers can fail to infuse enthusiasm for translation and composition exercises.  Cloud Writer helps students improve their writing accuracy via a hint system, guiding them towards the correct answer. Grammar corrections and annotations help the student wi...