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Using Video and ICT to support reading at KS4
Video can give a reality to the students’ language learning and offer them a 
greater cultural awareness that is not always possible through a text book!
Bernard Clark.
View some of the good practice described in the case study
Context
Durham Johnston is a large, mixed 11 to 18 school located on a split site in the centre of the city of Durham. It is a genuinely comprehensive school drawing its students from both the wealthier city centre and from surrounding ex-mining villages, As a specialist language college, the vast majority of the students study towards at least one full GCSE in French, German or Spanish. A small group of students study towards a Short Course GCSE.
Key objectives
- To use video and ICT to support reading in KS4 and to improve student motivation
The so-called receptive skills of reading and listening are often seen as dry by both students and teachers alike. Using songs (and especially pop videos) together with their lyrics can allow teachers to get their students to engage with texts that are both relevant and challenging.
- To encourage independent working
By getting students to manipulate the song or video themselves, they can work at their own pace and are motivated to tackle what might have proved to be daunting if presented by a teacher at the front.
How the lesson was organised
The students featured in the lesson are a middle ability GCSE group in year 10 with predicted grades ranging from C to F. For various reasons to do with setting they are also a large set (for this ability of student) of 26.
- Prior to the lesson, a music video was selected by the teacher. This was “Deux Pieds” by Thomas Fersen, an animated video posted on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-00msdAa8k#
- Various pieces of software were used by the teacher to prepare the video used but also to allow the students to access the song in a way which was not beyond the ICT skills of the least ICT literate students in the set. They were all allowed to develop their manipulation of all the packages used whilst collaboration was evident where there were problems.
- The teacher then exploited the text using a worksheet he had prepared containing a number of different activities. He began by working with the students as a full class and then they moved on to working independently. Students were then able to work at their own pace according to their ability. He also provided the students with the full script of the song in French and an English version if needed. In this way it was possible to differentiate and to provide support to the less able.
Be sure to read the Top Tips for working with music videos produced by Bernard Clark.
Results/effect
The main impact on students has been on their motivation. A lot of the set lacked motivation at the beginning of the year and find French hard. Using ICT and video has been inspiring for some and they do not give up on difficult tasks as they might have done initially.
There is a lot of preparation involved initially for the teacher involved but the challenge in getting the right technology to work well as well the reaction of the students makes it more than worthwhile. As an ICT resource, it is easy to share with the rest of the department and embeds ICT and new technology into the routine of teaching.
As the specialist department in the school, the risks taken in trying out new teaching and learning techniques bear fruit for the school as a whole as they are generally applicable across the curriculum, especially with regard to ICT and new technologies. Bernard Clark
It is also possible as a specialist language school to fulfil community plans partner schools are supported in their delivery of languages.
Future developments
The aim is to integrate such videos and their accompanying teaching materials into schemes of work at all key stages. Feedback from students has confirmed their enjoyment of using ICT and songs and the languages department will be investigating the cross-curricular implications of using the wealth of foreign language video (not just songs) available on the web.
Author: Bernard Clark, Head of Languages, Durham Johnston School
