Institution: St Richard's Catholic College
Context
St Richards Catholic College in Bexhill, East Sussex is a mixed
11-16 secondary school. There are about 1000 pupils on roll and it
is an oversubscribed school with Leading Edge status. It is a
specialist college in Science with Maths and ICT.
- Year 7: all take French
- Years 8-9: nearly all take French and German
- Year 10: the double language option is chosen
by around 30 pupils who take GCSE German in Year 10 followed
by GCSE French in Year 11. They have three 50 minute lessons per
week.
Teaching for this double option group is
intensive, geared completely to passing the exam – and
results are outstanding. Though the course is open to all, pupils
choosing it must be willing to work extra hard, and they do find it
tough. With increased maturity and understanding of what is
expected, by Year 11 they are very effective language learners.
Video clips
In the video
clips, we see how the teacher uses songs – actually intended for
primary use – to re-introduce the class to French, and to teach
grammar. We also find out some of the advantages and disadvantages
of this system.
There are seven clips here. In the first,
pupils talk about taking the double option and in the second, the
teacher talks about its advantages and disadvantages. Then there
are five extracts from a 50 minute lesson.
The Year 10 pupils in these clips are three
weeks into their French course, having just taken their GCSE German
exam. They hadn’t done any French since Year 9 and they will take
the GCSE in Year 11. This post-examination period is used to remind
them of what they covered in years 8-9, with a focus on grammatical
structures. With
Un kilo de chansons as a basis, choral work and songs help to
maintain the pace.
Interviews with the
students
The pupils talk about doing the double option. The
key message is that it’s hard work, but rewarding.
View video »
Interview with the
teacher
The teacher talks about the pros and cons of the
double option as it is taught as St Richards.
View video »
Lesson video
clips
Clip 1: The pupils sing ‘Aujourd’hui’
and revise days of the week; avoir and expressions taking
avoir; aller with the infinitive (Qu’est-ce
que tu vas faire?); Jouer à/de; plus
pronunciation.
View video »
Clip 2: Revision of aller + infinitive
and possessive adjectives (mon, ma).
View video »
Clip 3: Lundi/le lundi, Qu’est-ce que tu
vas faire? (pairwork: 7 jours, 7
réponses)
View video »
Clip 4: The pupils sing: ‘Pas de
travail’, and revision of ne...pas/pas de...;
travail/travailler; pronunciation of –ent ending;
adverbs.
View video »
Clip 5: The pupils sing: ‘Où vas-tu passer les
vacances?’ (leading to work on countries).
View video »