Based on a presentation by John Connor & updated by Jo Rhys-Jones

The aim of teaching foreign languages to pupils with special needs goes beyond preparing him/her to have a specific level of communicative competence in order to use the target language in professional & personal life. SEN pupils can & do achieve high levels of foreign language competence, but there are those who do not. However, these lower level achievers are able to achieve other benefits, relating to personal & educational development, alongside possible modest linguistic achievement. To encourage a pupil to bypass foreign language learning because of low foreign language expectations is to deny him/her access to these benefits which link directly to European Citizenship.”

Special Educational Needs in Europe, The Teaching & Learning of Languages ‘Insights &Innovation’

European Commission Jan 2005

A broad & balanced curriculum

Enrich the experiences of all children

Recognise the languages & cultures spoken at home - community cohesion

Develops generic speaking, listening & social skills

Reinforces teaching of English / mother tongue (mfl students score at least double the average of all other students on University entrance English grammar papers – TES October 2010)

Along with learning a musical instrument, learning even just a few words of a foreign language rebuilds & creates new synapses in the brain

– NO OTHER SUBJECTS DO THIS

- research funded by Parkinsons & Alzheimers societies

Social Interaction: struggle with group/pair/role play, personal info, tale-telling

Strategy: Encourage, don’t insist,

allow pupil to work alone, allow response to subject rather than peers, ‘buddy’

Consider T use of TL Cultural implications

Social Communication: struggle with volume & speed of delivery, appropriate body language, listening, eye-contact

Strategy: Other pupils as models,

allow other means of communication, avoid prolonged eye contact, praise when good listening demonstrated

Playdo / rapido ??

Inflexibility: misbehaviour triggered by

change in routines, sitting in a different place, using pencils not pens, incomplete/imperfect tasks.

Strategy: Vary greetings, prepare for

changes, allow for eccentricity in writing materials, specify finishing times & incentivise.

Transitions: Problems may occur

settling in to lesson, equipment, processing verbal instructions, late arrival, homework, skill switching, choice.

Strategy: Clear expectations re

equipment, short instructions displayed on board, details of homework at start & end, briefing late arrivals with details on board, allow solitary activity as a reward.

Sensory Input: Easily distracted by sudden

loud noise (fire bell, buzzing strip lights etc) temperature, unexpected touch, tasting unusual food.

Strategy: Calm atmosphere, reduce

spontaneous pupil movement, avoid packed rows or strange crowded environments, get fittings fixed, allow for rapid exit if necessary.

Dyslexia: May struggle with

pronunciation, recognition, remembering, copying, responding to instructions

Strategy: Allow extra time for

processing, multi-sensory techniques, encourage reading & writing, pastel backgrounds & paper

See text book examples Metro v. skeleton activity

Low cognitive ability: impairments to understanding & responding, extending & applying in new contexts, complex instructions

Strategy: Use short simple

instructions, simplify & reduce linguistic content

ADHD: problems concentrating

calmly, appropriate task completion, not distracting others

Strategy: short, timed, engaging

tasks with immediate feedback, frequent but reasonable praise, incentives

Self-organisation: Forgotten equipment, ‘vague’ homework tasks

Strategy: Clear explanations of

rules, equipment & timescales, specific instructions about homework, especially learning homework.

Generalised ability in language

Good rote memory

Mimicry

Highly individualised pockets of ability, e.g. Maths, music

Concrete not abstract language, avoid personal questions, peer modelling

Keep rote material separate, illustrate what pupil should be able to do when learning mastered

Encourage recording & use of Web 2.0 tools

Capitalise through cross-curricular opportunities, games, songs

Interest/skill in ICT

Personal interests, obsessions, where encyclopaedic knowledge might be gathered

Liking for routine/sameness

Allow use alone, away from others, facing wall, use as reward, practise spelling with WP, explore Web 2.0 – blogging & podcasting

Acknowledge & try to incorporate e.g. Research assisted by TA

Chorus work & repetition towards automatic response, make sure cover teachers are aware, prepare for any major changes of routine.

Hollywater Special School

• Dutch• Native speaker on staff &

one family• Vincent Van Gogh

‘sunflowers’ project• MC Escher tessellation

project• 'Nijntje' (Dick Bruna’s

Miffy)• Very distinctive sounds• Food tasting, touching &

smelling

Paper skeleton / alien and post-its, sack of sports articles, real clothes, pictionary, IWBs & playdough

Voice synthesisers on phones (xmas crackers even)

Use of audacity / TTS style microphones & recording

on a regular basis

Parachute games

Take 10 as part of Sports/Languages leaders awards

If not human then at least paper sentences or one-to-one computer exercises

pas

est mangée par

Le singemange

n'

La banane

la banane.

le singe.

Human sentences... Any writing activity that avoids holding a pen and is very kinaestheitic will work well

Reinforce other subjects: Unique to MFL:

Maths – number bonds, multiplication/division, shapes, time, graphs

Geography/History –environment & human

PSCHE – health, human rights, Intercultural understanding (RE)

Knowledge about Language = constant reference back to English grammar

Interviews, Social & communication skills

Teach memorisation techniques

orange

vert

jaune

rouge

bleu

Un pantalon

Un tee-shirt

Un gant Un pull Un chapeau

Also lego sondage / bar charts example

« Web 2.0 helps to… encourage student engagement & increase participation – particularly among quieter pupils, who can use it to work collaboratively online, without the anxiety of having to raise questions in front of peers ….  » BECTA 2009

http://www.languageguide.org

http://www.myebook.com

http://vocaroo.com

Teacher or student can upload images.

Teacher and/or student can record onto the images.

Use to practise oracy, make presentations & create stories

Like Photostory but added element that it can be shared online.

Share with parents, a partner school, or the world!

Emphasis on speaking skills with classroom management bonus!

Free online tool to create music promo style video-presentations

Link images and sound

Example from votw http://votw-tasks.blogspot.com/

Like a mini radio broadcast

Upload & Download to iTunes and listen to whenever you wish

Make your own at;www.blogger.comwww.typepad.com http://edublogs.org/

http://woodhillprimaryschool.blogspot.com/

Students can make their own animations and just type in the dialogue / text in any language.

KS3/4 examples http://www.boxoftricks.net/?p=1381

Students record or type a short text.

Character then speaks it back.

Check the accent box by default it uses English pronunciation

Over 13’s so make a teacher/class voki

NC 1 - Copy words correctly

Deduce – name that topic

Coursework – overuse of words

French - long established

Café to smell, taste & touch food

Sense of achievement & pride

Use of technology Simple achievable

targets Imaginary KS2 trip

to France Hope to do a real

trip KS3/4

Physical is better than electronic Image + target language only(if electronic consider selective use of

animation) Image MUST be clear & consistent Do not use same images for more than one

language Do use same images throughout project Colour code by gender Choral repetition & variation of voice

•une souris

•une araignée

•une tortue

links

Choral repetition & variation of voice Word + oui/non? (thumbs up/down non-

verbal) Répétez si c’est vrai C’est un X ou un Y? (Where y = answer) C’est un y ou un x? Build to use ‘devinez’ rather than ‘qu’est-ce

que c’est?’ (so that guess may be wrong not language)

As students ‘devine’ correctly, they retain cards and become teacher of that word...

What is progression?

un chat

un chat

Phonemes: ch like charlotte (later in year 4/5 I’ll learn it can also be ‘K’ for scientific vocabulary)

Phoneme: a

Silent letter at end of word

catAwareness of genderAnd definite / indefinitearticles

I can copy it!

NC Level 1 ICU: Do they have cats in France?Traditional rhymes / songs with cats?

chat

NC Level 2

noirun petit .•Phoneme / grapheme knowledge•Adjective•Adjectival agreement•Position of adjective•Singular / plural•Simple structure + noun + adjective•Remember individual words but may need to copy the sentence.

Comparison & reinforcement of English conventions of punctuation.

J’aiStructure comes after noun+adjective

Le petit chat noir story & posters (art links)

NC Level 3

et il s’appelle Rex.

J’ai un petit chat noir

•Short phrases, increasingly from memory•Connectives – et / mais / parce que•Increase variation of structures•Awareness of liaison/elision•Understanding of words as building blocks of sentence

Is a black cat lucky in France? What is?

NC Level 4

quis’appelle Rex.J’ai un petit chat noir

•Extended sentences with variety of connectives. •Using dictionary for additional vocabulary•Simple manipulation of 1st, 2nd, 3rd person•Structures may include simple variation of tenses•Use of possessive pronouns

J’aime mon chien. Hier il a mangé une glace.

And so on for NC levels 5/6/7

See the online exemplar:

http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/assessment/exemplification/index.aspx

•Make a core structures toolkit for KS4 SEN students

•You might use ‘P’ levels / sublevels & cite these as progression or your own…

http://www.ittmfl.org.uk/modules/inclusion/3b/paper3b3.PDF (see printout)

Foreign language learning and inclusion: Who? Why? What? – and How?McColl, H. (2005), Support for Learning, 20(3), pp 103-108

http://www.tda.gov.uk/teacher/developing-career/sen-and-disability/sen-training-resources/one-year-itt-programmes/~/media/resources/teacher/sen/secondary/modernforeignlanguagesmfl.ashx

http://www.specialeducationalneeds.com/case/index.html

David Wilson’s website (Dodros on TES)

http://www.senteacher.org/Print/ free printable resources

http://www.sunderlandschools.org/mfl-sunderland/resources-sp-ks3-wks.htm a simple free sow for yr 8 SEN amongst other free resources

Little Linguist & TTS – both founded by SEN teachers