Institution: The College of Haringey, Enfield and North
East London (CONEL)
Case study
Introduction
Forty-one students
gained the ABC qualification as part of the taster course, a 100%
success rate. Whilst there was initial resistance to the language
element from some students, they soon began to enjoy the course and
appreciate the opportunity to gain an extra qualification.
Read full case study including replication
toolkit.
Description of lessons
Teacher: Cemile Goksan
The video clips below show good practice in the teaching of Turkish
to students on a Health and Social care course who will be working
with children in the early years age range in nurseries. The
learners in these clips are themselves speakers of a range of
languages other than English and are very enthusiastic about being
able to communicate with the children with whom they will be
working in Turkish.
Learning the names of toys and musical
instruments in Turkish
In this clip the students are learning the names of
toys and musical instruments in Turkish and repeating them
orally. They then cut out pictures of the items and label
them appropriately in Turkish, which is a task which they may have
to do in a nursery setting.The class then sings a Turkish version
of “I am the music man”.
The lesson ends with the students matching written labels with
actual toys which the teacher has brought in. Throughout the
clip, the teacher gives an explanation in English of what she is
doing and the students describe how useful this activity will be to
them when working in nurseries.
View video »
Interviews with the students from the Turkish
class
In these clips, some students in the class explain more about their
experience of learning Turkish.
How useful have you found your knowledge of
Turkish when working in the nursery?
Hear how the students have discovered the usefulness
of knowing Turkish to help them to communicate in a nursery
setting.
View video »
Have you found it difficult learning
Turkish?
Listen as the students describe their experiences of
learning Turkish.
View video »
Teacher: Torcato
Coutinho
The video clips below show good practice in the teaching of Spanish
to students on a Science BTEC course who have no prior knowledge of
the language.
Health and safety in the laboratory in
Spanish.
In this clip the teacher presents new vocabulary
relating to the science laboratory in Spanish pointing out the
similarities between science-related words in Spanish and
English. This builds the confidence of the students from the
outset. He makes good use of the interactive whiteboard to
present images of scientific equipment and vocabulary.
Students then progress to individual activities focusing on the
spelling of the words and then to pairwork using the vocabulary
they have learnt in context. The aim throughout is to help
students to see the relevance of what they are learning to their
main area of study. The Spanish course is specially planned to link
with this as closely as possible.
View video »
The interviews with students studying Spanish alongside
their main vocational courses
What is your main course of
study?
Listen as the students introduce themselves in
Spanish and explain what their main courses of study are.
View video »
What techniques do the teachers use in your lessons to
help you learn?
Listen as the students describe how the range of
different methods used to teach them Spanish compare with their
previous experiences of language learning.
View video »
What are the benefits of learning foreign
languages?
Listen as the students give their views on why
languages are important to them.
View video »
Why is it
important to learn Spanish?
Listen as the students give their views on why
Spanish is important to them and the usefulness of the language for
their future career.
View video »
Do you know any other languages and can you see links with these
languages and Spanish?
Listen as the students talk about the wide range of
languages they speak and how Spanish compares with these.
View video »
What motivates you to want to learn Spanish?
Listen as the students describe factors which
motivate them to want to learn Spanish. View
video »
Interviews with the
teachers
In these clips, the teachers and curriculum
leaders describe how languages fit in with their courses in
Childcare, Science and Business.
For what area of the curriculum are you
responsible and how are languages integrated into your
course?
Listen as the staff explain how languages fit in with
their courses in Child Care, Business and Science and the benefits
to their students.
View video »
How do you “sell” the course to the
students for whom this is not their main area of
study?
Listen to the teachers describe how the relevant
materials, enjoyment and improved employability prospects help
students to see the value of learning languages despite initial
resistance from a few of them to the idea.
View video »
What plans do you have for future
development of the course?
Hear the teachers describe future plans which include
work experience and the new Diplomas.
View video »
Interview with the Curriculum Manager for Modern and
Community Languages.
What are the challenges in teaching languages to students on
vocational programmes?
Listen as Torcato Couthino describes how he helps
students on various vocational programmes to see the value of
learning a language and the importance of making the language
learning a mandatory part of the vocational course.
View video »
What range of benefits does language
learning offer to students at your college?
Listen to Cathy Walsh describe how language learning
in a vocational context builds confidence and improves
employability in a global economy.
View video »