Institution: Harris School
'I have enjoyed having the opportunity to
be able to teach French and working with primary students because
they are always eager to learn. I have found that it has helped me
boost my confidence and improve my French knowledge.'
Rebecca Bradley, Language Leader 06/07
Context 
Harris School is a non-selective Church of England school. It is
situated in Rugby, in Warwickshire. The school has 800 students
aged between 11 and 16 years old. It is a Sports College and Modern
Foreign Languages (French and Spanish) is the second target
subject. Although languages have been option subjects at KS4 since
2004, they remain popular among the students, with a good number of
KS3 students opting to study a language at GCSE (35% in the current
Year 10).
Key objectives
To introduce the Language Leader Award as a means of motivating
students and improving their foreign language skills.
'I have enjoyed my experience as a Language
Leader so much that I am now considering teaching as a career
option.' Luke Hudghton, Language Leader 05/06
How the programme is organised
The Harris School was one of the secondary schools in the UK who
agreed to pilot the Language Leaders course. At the time, some of
their KS4 students were enrolled in the Sports Leaders Award and
the benefits of that course were obvious. The course started three
years ago with six Language Leaders. This year, there are 13
Language Leaders in Year 11 and twenty-one in Year 10.
Results/effect
The Language Leaders gain a lot from enrolling on the Language
Leadership course. Volunteers are from across the ability range and
as well as improving their language skills, students demonstrate an
increase in confidence, self-esteem and communication skills by
following the course. Some past leaders have considered teaching as
a career following their experience as a Language Leader. Past
Language Leaders have all achieved at or above their GCSE target
grade in MFL.
Language teachers have also gained some valuable experience from
this programme. The course helps them to develop stronger bonds
with their KS4 students and enables them to reflect on their own
teaching and training. Thanks to the Language Leadership course,
members of the MFL department have forged strong links with some
local primary schools, links which will be developed further when
the teaching of MFL becomes compulsory at KS2. The Language Leaders
also demonstrate techniques which the primary school teachers
can use to introduce basic vocabulary to their KS2 students. The
Leaders can act as role models for their younger peers and inspire
future generations of secondary school pupils to learn a foreign
language. Staff have found that Year 10 MFL students are keen to
follow in the footsteps of the previous years' Language
Leaders.
The Language Leaders Award also promotes the school as an
International Institution and supports its international ethos.
Recently, Harris School was granted the Full International Award by
the Department for Education and the British Council. The
Language Leaders course run by the school formed part of the bid
for the full ISA.
Future developments
This year, it is planned to use the Language Leaders as a welcome
committee for foreign visitors to the school. The course will
continue to be offered to students entering KS4 and it is hoped to
maintain a high number of recruits. The school also aims to forge
links with more primary schools. Other subject areas are also
following where MFL has led in introducing similar schemes.
'I find running the course an extremely
rewarding experience. It has allowed me to transform the
relationships with my students from a teacher to a coach. It has
also enabled me to reflect upon my own experience as a trainee
teacher. Our Language Leaders never cease to surprise me with their
confidence and initiative. The quality of teaching I have observed
can easily match the teaching of some student teachers I have
mentored in the past. Seeing them being so proud of their
achievement is worth all the extra time and effort. I would
definitely recommend it.' Stéphanie Anderson, Head of
MFL/leadership tutor
Author: Mrs Stéphanie Anderson – Head of MFL