Institution: Chatsmore Catholic High School

'European Studies has made our French stronger' student at CCHS

Context
Chatsmore Catholic High School caters for approximately 650 pupils aged 11-16. It is a thriving school community which aims to develop highly-skilled, well qualified and confident students. The school expresses the Gospel values of love, justice, integrity and prayer in every aspect of school life. It aims to equip pupils for their adult life, having experienced at Chatsmore a challenging and enriching learning environment.

Traditionally, the school has offered French in Year 7 and both French and German in Years 8 and 9. This year, all Year 7 students continue to study French, whilst (the lower ability) half of Years 8 and 9 follow European Studies (ES), instead of German. A Scheme of Work (SoW) has been designed which starts with an investigation into what students know about England/Britain. This leads on to individual research and presentations on European countries. A wide range of topics have already been covered, including traditional foods, weather, religion, school systems/uniform, famous musicians and money (including a debate on the Euro).

How the programme is organised
Four groups are currently taking ES: two in Year 8 and two in Year 9. There are approximately 25 students per class.

These students are all studying French and ES, three hours of each subject per fortnight. Generally, one of the three ES lessons takes place in our computer suite, allowing for independent research. Homework is set weekly. 

ES is taught mainly in English but with a French bias (e.g. Euros and numbers taught in French), thus reinforcing and extending students’ French capability. Teaching in English allows you to engage in discussion and debate that would not otherwise be possible in the target language; this provides links to literacy and PSHCCE. Students are encouraged to share their own experience of European travel; this links with citizenship.

Issues
Parents may be concerned that their children are being deprived the opportunity to learn a second foreign language. The argument against is twofold: firstly, there is a French bias in ES, which strengthens students’ confidence and ability in French; secondly, GCSE German is offered to complete beginners, with the first term covering all the basics studied at KS3. So, ES actively encourages students to study at least one, if not more, languages at GCSE.

For most schools and parents, assessment will be an issue. Students also need clear and attainable targets. Following liaison with colleagues in the English and PSHCCE/Citizenship departments, and with their help, an assessment guide was devised which was based on National Curriculum assessment levels for Citizenship. 

Tips

• Don’t stick rigidly to the scheme of work – depending on the group, it may be appropriate to spend more or less time on each issue.
• Ideally, plan for regular computer access, to enable independent research
• Invite in some guest speakers for authenticity and variety.
• As in ‘issues’ above, plan liaison meetings with colleagues in other departments. 

Results/effects:

On Pupils
In previous years,the experience of teaching Year 9 was that it was a struggle to maintain students' motivation in the summer term. European Studies has changed this – students are generally keen to share their experiences and views, unimpeded by target language restrictions. At parents’ evenings, many parents reported positively on ES. Some have even sent in memorabilia from past holidays for their children to share in class presentations! ES has also had a positive effect on student motivation, and subsequently, there have been less behavioural issues compared to similar classes in previous years. 

“European Studies can help us in the future because it helps us get jobs in other European countries” ES student at Chatsmore

On teachers
Chatsmore is a very small school, with only three staff in MFL. Ms. Pisani is currently teaching 3 of the 4 ES groups. Creating a new SoW has been a challenge, requiring lots of imagination and hours of trawling for suitable Internet resources and/or creatiing new ones. A few amendments to the current scheme of work but overall, the results have been most encouraging because students are engaged and interested.

Further developments

• July 2009 – European Studies students made presentations to their peers in a celebration evening.
• July 2009 – for the first time, a group of our ES students represented our school in the “Do You Speak European?” Youth Into Europe competition at County Hall, Chichester
• Summer 2009 – development of the SoW for the second year of European Studies. 
  

Author: Linda Pisani, Chatsmore Catholic High School