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Boosting
learners' achievement in French through key structures and learner classroom
language
Stretford High School
Great Stone Road
Stretford
Manchester
Person
in charge of project: Tony Elston
Stretford High School
is a mixed 11-16 secondary modern school situated in an area of great
social deprivation. Half of the pupils of the school come from homes where
English is a second language.
In spring 1997 the
school introduced a system of highlighting key structures for all year
groups whilst simultaneously promoting learner classroom language. The
system uses illustrated classroom posters, carefully devised aides-mémoires
in learners' homework diaries, and constant reinforcement.
Objectives
of the project
- To boost learners'
achievement in French in this secondary modern school which had recorded
the lowest number of Year 11 leavers with 5 or more GCSE grades A* to
C in its borough
- To focus learners'
attention on key structures which have eluded too many average and lower
attainers nationally who typically, until now, had great difficulty
in distinguishing between the meanings of words and structures in French,
such as: j', je, j'ai, j'aime, je n'ai pas de and je n'aime pas
Ways
in which the project is innovative
- The system was
developed by the teachers in the school and is, therefore, tailored
carefully to the needs of the learners
- It is believed
to be the only school with such a highly developed, carefully structured
system for helping learners retain and use key structures
- The project has
been used as the basis for a CILT ResourceFile to demonstrate to other
schools how to devise their own system
Ways
in which the project is effective
- Within 18 months
of the project, Year 11 pupils had achieved 400% more GCSE grades A*
to C than predicted by YELLIS (University of Durham Year 11 Information
System)
- Many of the Year
9 learners demonstrate achievement above the national average at the
end of Key Stage 3, despite the fact that most pupils come to the school
as a result of having failed the borough's 11-plus exam
Ways
in which the project can be developed or replicated
- The system is
to be adapted to teach Spanish which will be offered from September
2000
- The system for
French will be developed to take account of learners' high attainment
by introducing increasingly complex structures
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