Advice for student teachers and NQTs
In recent years our department has been asked to offer teaching placements to student teachers, and my colleagues and I have acted as mentors. Clearly, in the course of these placements advice and guidance have been offered and it struck me that it might be useful to commit that advice and guidance to paper (or some electronically accessible form of communication), so it can be more easily retained by both the student and the teacher! I do apologise for the rambling nature of these notes, and please remember they are not comprehensive!
Some general advice
I should start by stating the obvious. Your teaching style will depend very largely on your personality, and so, therefore, the advice contained herein will reflect my own experience, character and thoughts. You may find these thoughts acceptable and useful, but you may not – much will depend on your own start point, but I would say that most of the students who have passed through our department have found it beneficial at least to some degree.
The cornerstone or foundation of your career in teaching is the relationship you have with your pupils. I have encountered many pupils who, for one reason or another, were never going to make much of their study of French, but who were (at the time) compelled to continue. It was particularly with these pupils that I came to realise that the way I taught was at least as important as what I taught. I fairly quickly realised that these pupils (and others!) would respond more readily to a broader and more “human” approach to learning, rather than a grammatical approach focusing purely on language learning. Challenges were still set – pupils are unlikely to respond positively if they realise their work consists of mere time-filling exercises – but considerable help might be offered in the achievement of these challenges (which offered scope for some degree of initiative, personal input and often humour). However, I also came to recognise the value of the “social education” going on “behind the scenes” and supporting the more formal attempts at language teaching. Pupils should be reasoned with and not just barked at (though I have to admit there is a place for that!). By and large reasonable people are produced by being treated with reason and humanity.
This, then, is the first tenet of teaching, in my humble opinion (though it clearly applies to any number of professions) – care and humanity.
You will also require a willingness to recognise and learn from your mistakes, determination, a willingness to be open to the use of different techniques and materials in order to gain interest and enthusiasm, and of course be able to instil fair discipline. Above all, you need to be able to talk to your pupils and treat them like human beings who are intelligent and capable of reason. You should make them feel like you take a personal interest and you know your pupils.
Be prepared – know where your pupils have been, where they are now, and where they are going. Try to foresee connections to related topics within your own subject, but also to elements of other subjects, and try to foresee questions that your pupils may have.
State the aims of the class at the beginning of the period, so pupils have a clear idea of what is expected of them.
Remind them of what they already know and point out how that fits with what they are going to learn that period.
Break the work up into small manageable chunks, with a short exercise (done orally or in written form) to ensure they have followed each chunk. Prepare these exercises with the class – point out what needs to be done in each question, perhaps even giving them notes or vocabulary to help them.
After revisiting what they already know, add the next step. Provide a clear explanation and prepare an exercise. Start with relatively simple questions and build in difficulty. At the end of the exercise, pupils could create 2 or 3 of their own sentences/descriptions. There might also be room for humour or personal comment in the questions set.
Discipline and good relationships will frequently come from good organisation. Know what you are doing, tell your pupils how to do it, and then tell them to do it for themselves.
Respect will come from recognition that you know what you are doing, are organised and can make things clear. Pupils by and large want to learn and they will respect you if they feel that they can learn with you.
Set tasks that are “do-able”, revising what they already know and building on that, increasing gradually the level of difficulty you expect them to be able to cope with.
Listen if the kids have problems and revise if necessary, though it is often enough to point out that they should simply apply what has just been revised.
Ensure equality of discipline and control minor infringements rather than allow them to escalate into major incidents. Stop people chatting early on and remind them they need to concentrate. This can be done nicely, perhaps with a little humour, without getting the “offence” out of proportion. Try to remain calm and controlled in spite of light provocation – a light-hearted approach will generally be more readily accepted than going in hard from the start.
After a few minutes you might want to go over the first couple of questions of an exercise, just in case pupils have made mistakes which would then be repeated. You might also consider doing the first question together. Set a time limit for the exercise and remind them of the passing time.
Remind individuals who are causing disruption that they have a responsibility to the class, as well as to themselves, to allow learning to take place. Sometimes pupils will feign ignorance when asked a question – this should be recognised and pupils should again be reminded of their responsibilities to themselves and to others in the class.
Be in control – set limits clearly. Be sure of yourself but be reasonable.
Don’t be afraid to mention miscreants by name – again this can be done light-heartedly to begin with, but stepped up if pupils refuse to take advice.
If you make a mistake and are corrected by a pupil, or see the mistake later yourself, accept it, correct yourself, laugh about it and move on – we are all human and teachers are certainly not infallible. It would be a mistake to refuse to admit it, or to feel that you will lose face by accepting you have made an error, indeed pupils may even gain more respect for you if you recognise your error and they will feel pride if they have been able to correct you (which only means you have taught them well!).
Equally, if pupils make errors there is no reason not to see the funny side. This does not mean they should be mocked for making a mistake, but if what they say is funny, that can be shared with them and hopefully they will remember their error and learn from it without being anxious or uptight about answering again.
While it is clear that the purpose of a lesson is to educate, it should be remembered that this can be done in a variety of ways and it will be all the more effective if pupils enjoy the lesson while working. Exercises can be tedious and monotonous and this can lead to lack of concentration and attention. It does no harm to share amusing anecdotes or jokes in the course of the lesson. Sometimes these can refer to events from which something can be learned, or offer background information about French culture and life. They might even just break the monotony long enough to allow the class to continue more effectively afterward. It would also be a good idea to allow pupils to contribute their stories or reactions to what you say – thus building the feeling of working together.
Subject specific advice / thoughts – French or any modern language
When I was taught French at school, we listened to a tape and followed the text in a book, which we read and then translated. I have never understood this approach as it seems to me that understanding what you are hearing and reading will render it more meaningful, so you should only ask pupils to read or listen to a text after you have worked out what it means in their native language.
When I do reading comprehension with a class I usually read a passage from the text and ask a member of the class to translate it, noting vocabulary as we go. I may then ask another member of the class to read it in French.
Before doing a listening exercise I will usually do some preparatory work, looking at questions and thinking about possible answers and providing them with vocabulary which will allow pupils to follow what is going on.
Writing and speaking tasks are frequently on the same topic. Clearly you must set the general context and task – say local area. Subdivide this into smaller and more manageable sections, e.g. geography, employment and tourism. There should be discussion with the class of what they would like to be able to say within each sub section and you should provide them with the vocabulary, structures and grammatical explanations (where necessary) to allow them to say what they want to say.
In short, tell them what the job is, provide them with the tools they need to do the job, then ask them to do the job while providing the odd bit of support where needed.
When doing an exercise based on a grammar point you have just explained, start with some relatively easy examples and build up the level of complexity in the course of the exercise, allowing them to provide a few sentences of their own at the end of the exercise.
It is a good idea to ask pupils to take note of vocabulary rather than provide a handout. Many pupils do not make the necessary effort to learn vocabulary, especially from prepared sheets (which are easily lost), but the words are more likely to stick if they have concentrated on noting the words in their jotters. Clearly exceptions can be made and handouts are useful for absentees.
At Higher level, it is useful to discuss topics or themes as they arise in the course of the year and invite pupils to produce a short piece of writing on each topic (having discussed the area and produced a list of vocabulary and structures they may find helpful). This is enormously helpful in the preparation of speaking assessments and short essay preparation.
Extended Reading and Viewing is the element pupils appear to enjoy the most, and this can be developed into something much broader than the mere preparation of a 180 word writing NAB. I regularly study “Les Misérables” with my pupils and they respond very favourably to it.
Usually we begin with an outline of the story and have a brief discussion of the characters and themes.
They then see a DVD, usually the 10th anniversary concert version of the musical and we then go on to discuss the main themes and characters in some detail. Clearly there are many themes in Les Mis, but pupils find them very engaging and are generally very willing to debate them.
They will go on to choose a theme and characters they found particularly involving and they are asked to produce a short essay about them (prepared in advance). To this they add an outline and personal reaction.
Their interest in this work has led to several theatre visits, personal purchase of CDs and DVDs, and even a mini concert of songs from the show sung in class (in French).
Their notes are often useful if they decide to continue to Advanced Higher level when they have to produce a folio of work on literature or background topics.
Fairly recently I was asked for some advice concerning the content of a PGCE MFL teaching training course. Below, you will find some of the essential points I felt were relevant to modern teacher training.
Students and pupils need to be aware of advantages of studying a foreign language, and possible relevance to future careers. Courses may contain reference to / be set within the context of:
A variety of future courses and careers
Communication skills (both in FL and in mother tongue)
Survival on holiday
Promotion within chosen career
Knowledge of other cultures (and their own!)
Introduction to: literature, theatre, cinema, philosophy
A variety of theme-based texts (traditional text, news items, music, film etc..)
Fun and enjoyment!
Students will gain a sense of success and confidence through contribution to discussion/work of the class, while developing a sense of responsibility through class-work and participation.
Teaching may consist of a combination of:
Linguistic content (involving rigour and repetition)
In general, pupils like to understand. They will feel a sense of accomplishment and success when they are able to complete an exercise or express themselves with accuracy and clarity. They will be well aware of attempts to dilute content and the level of difficulty to suit perceived ability ranges. Limits may have to be applied, but opportunity should be afforded to everyone – assumptions should not be made. (See above)
Thematic content (involving discussion in mother tongue of various topics, followed by expression of thoughts and opinions in FL)
Discussion may touch on films, television, news articles, current events, “traditional” text (Past Papers), prejudice, friendship, stress, health, adolescence etc., etc.. Topics for discussion need not be limited to family, bedrooms and school timetables. Pupils are capable of (and will appreciate) discussion of more demanding and reflective topics, though this may require guidance in both mother tongue and foreign language – structure and vocabulary are not difficult to provide, and may be based on pupils’ own input and insights, offering them a sense of ownership.
Variety of strategies (both teacher and pupil-based for teaching and assessment)
Reading
A Reading Comprehension could be done as a group. Members of the group will provide knowledge / information for others, enabling the others to learn more quickly and thoroughly.
A text could be read aloud and corrected for pronunciation.
There could be discussion or debate on the content of the text / song / film / stimulus within the group, and then shared with other groups.
Texts / stimuli could consist of others’ essays, folio pieces, test preparation.
Writing
Work on a grammar exercise as a group.
Create an exercise for another group.
Produce a written response to a stimulus (song, film, text), following a prepared outline.
Diaries, essays, folios, test preparation could all be done as a group, with members correcting or verifying others’ work, and making suggestions for inclusion or exclusion.
Speaking
Provide a spoken response to an exercise, taking turns to read out the answer.
Preparation of talks, conversations, dialogues, presentations could all be done as a group with each member being listened to by the others, and advice offered on how to improve.
In-group interaction could take place solely in French.
Create and answer questions on stimuli.
Games.
Assessment
Co-operative learning strategies may even be used to assess progress.
Reading Comprehensions or Listening Comprehensions could be done as a group or individually. Either way, these could be assessed by other groups of pupils, led by their teacher, in conjunction with class discussion of the text and what are to be considered acceptable answers.
Speaking and Writing grades might also be decided by peers after discussion (led by teachers) of Grade Related Criteria with exemplars.
Rapport – underpinning everything
Teaching strategies may be used to try to establish rapport (working together, involvement of pupils at various levels), but personal commitment and engagement can not be created artificially.
Suggestions on maintaining rapport:
Individual “contact” – share a look, use the pupil’s name, have a brief conversation
Encourage pupils to share thoughts, ideas and memories
Share your own memories and anecdotes
Use humour – remind pupils of (amusing) things they have said or done in class
Listen to their response to a topic and respond individually
Share a pupil’s good idea or funny story with the rest of the class
Use praise and emphasise the positive
Be tough (but fair) when need be
Know your subject, topic and pupils
Know where they have been, where they are now, and where they are going
Be in control – by discipline, enthusiasm, and knowing what is expected of your pupils
Mutual respect is essential
Enjoy your pupils’ company!
I thank you for taking the time to read these notes and I hope you have found them of some use. If so, you may find my page on A Curriculum for Excellence of some interest. You'll find that page here.
Stuart Fernie (teacher of French in a secondary school in the Highlands of Scotland)
I can be contacted at stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk .