John Connor

Boys:◦ Risk takers◦ Intrinsic (WIIFM)◦ Instant gratification◦ Single hemisphere◦ Confident◦ Honour and justice◦ Fight or flight

Girls:◦ Risk averse◦ Extrinsic◦ Delayed gratification◦ Both hemispheres

(corpus callosum)◦ More self-critical◦ Compassion and nurture◦ Slow burn

Two-fold objective for pupils:◦ Learn structures (content)◦ Use structures to interact with native speakers

(communicative competence) and make them part of behavioural repertoire (“muscle memory”)

Organisational frameworks:◦ 4 skills, separately assessed◦ Accuracy requirements◦ Cumulative acquisition of non-negotiable

linguistic information

Content is also the vehicle for its dissemination – message and medium inextricably interlinked.

No real content as such Progression problems with the Word-

Sentence-Text model – pupils reverting to lower levels at each change of topic

Rachel Hawkes

Specific demands of independent skills Skills are complex and interrelated Rule-based grammar content which must be

made explicit Different languages work in different ways Standard model presented in school All lexis is new Demands on long-term memory Proficiency requires perseverance and

continuous practice

Sound L1 literacy necessary for good performance

Accuracy rewarded more than ideas Need to be organised and systematic – good

reference skills Need to be more responsible for own

success, and more independent (family often can’t help)

Psychological and emotional barriers Intercultural awareness

Class size Time allocation Lesson distribution Seating arrangements Working partnerships Potential for individual monitoring Gender balance

More pronounced in MFL than other subjects Firm, fair and consistent management Good rapport – more important than

teacher gender Positive working relationship based on

mutual respect

Be aware of individual needs Devise activities that are fun, varied and

flexible Guidance, parameters, targets Realisable but challenging expectations

(Vygotsky’s ZPD) Monitor progress closely, spot

underachievement early and intervene

Ownership of content, task and strategy Fun Humour A learning challenge Thinking skills (HOTS not MOTS) Active learning Purposefulness and transparency Intrinsic motivation Real contact with real people

Too many mistakes (implications for marking and feedback policy)

Irrelevance Boredom Repetitive, low-level tasks Copying Lack of clarity in tasks and activities “Jamaica Inn” recordings

Variety of activity Pace Physical activity Competition (“I’ll bet you can’t...”) Fun and humour Clear explanations of how grammar works Clear understanding of the purpose of the

activity Authentic communication with real people

C hallenge – cognitive as well as linguistic R elevance – “Voici la mercerie..” A udience – blogging and podcasting P urpose – big picture, tangible outcomes,

real experiences

What do we want our boy learners to look like/be able to do by the end of the year/term/half term, etc.?

What are their actual starting points? (pre-assessment – vital in Y7)

Understand what progress looks like in a topic & communicate it to boys

What evidence will show that they have made that progress?

Select activities that enable that progress to take place

How easy is it to do a 500 piece jigsaw without seeing the picture on the box lid?