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Entry Level Spanish at Ringwood School
Video clips
View some of the good practice described below in the case study. You will see part of an Entry Level Spanish lesson in KS4 and interviews with staff describing how the course is taught and how CLIL is being developed at the school.
Case study
'The languages department is leading the way in developing a theme based skills approach to learning. Students are motivated and challenged by this style of personalising learning. Lessons learnt are helping the whole school to move forwards positively with curriculum innovation to include broadening learning pathways for all young people at 13/14.' Headteacher
Context
Ringwood School lies at the heart of its locality, the historic market town of Ringwood, a lively community situated close to the New Forest National Park. It is the only state secondary school in the area with 1601 students aged 11-18. The school became a Specialist Language College in 2003, and welcomes international students from all over the world into the Sixth Form. Awarded hub status from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust in 2006, focussing on curriculum innovation and the effective use of new technologies. The school has been at the forefront of the introduction of language learning into the primary school cluster. Students have been learning French from Year 3 for the past 5 years. All students study at least one language to the end of Year 11. 46 students opted to take AS level in French last year.
Key objectives
The introduction of Entry Level Certifcate in KS4 to:
- Provide accreditation at a basic level for students beginning Spanish in KS4.
- To make the course motivating by incorporating current affairs and topics of specific interest to the students.
'As the teacher of this group I was keen to find something to motivate this particular group of students and work with their own interests and hobbies to increase their linguistic ability by following the Certificate assessments with tasks relevant to them.' Julie McKernon, teacher of group last year
Actions taken
A small group (between 8 and 16 students) who followed a course in French until end of KS3 opted to try a different language at Certificate Level he AQA Entry Level Certificate in Spanish). The course enables students to benefit from continuous assessment and provides them with the opportunity to try a different language. Similarities between the two languages are pointed out and try to add current affairs and topical issues to the curriculum eg include sports news during the Rugby World Cup.
Results/effect
The fact that groups of traditionally 'lower ability' students are enjoying language lessons and feeling positive about their own linguistic ability does have a knock on effect throughout the school.
A few years ago one of the Entry Level Certificate students beat other candidates at an interview for a job in a dairy firm. His experience following the certificate course, showed the future employer, who was thinking of prospecting abroad, that he had a candidate who could say a few words in Spanish to contact a possible future client, if only to be able to ask “does anyone speak English?”!
The students understand the course is certificate level, and they enjoy the fact that they will not have a final exam, or lengthy pieces of coursework. They like the support they receive as part of the course. It helps to build their confidence and self esteem in using language, providing them with the skills to cope effectively in the adult world. The Certificate Spanish course is viewed very favourably as a positive option choice post-14.
Future developments
The topic selected for the filming was chosen specifically to appeal to a group of learners who were particularly interested in history and battles. As the department had been piloting CLIL throughout Year 7, the same techniques were used for this course. It is felt that other topics could be adapted to appeal to students in the same way. The skills that students learn through this topic/theme based approach, increases motivation for thesubject and improves the language skills needed to succeed with Certificate tasks.
