My best 10 ideas collection
These articles were first published in editions of Languages Today and feature teachers giving you 10 pieces of advice, 10 practical suggestions for practising a skill, or ten suggestions of ways in which to introduce a specific topic.
Guaranteed to get you thinking and trying a few practical ideas in your own classrooms!
Languages Today Extra: Our Best (more than) Ten things to hang on to
Our Best (more than) Ten things to hang on to As things change in technology, the scheme of work, inspection focus or specifications, teachers sometimes drop activities they have been doing with success, in order to try new ones (and sometimes risk throwing away some lovely ‘babies with the bathwater’.) LT 38 features ten of […]
My Best 10 …ways to manage workload and wellbeing
MFL teachers share the enormous privilege of inspiring the next generation of language learners. This demands high levels of energy, creativity and compassion and this, in turn, requires physical, social and emotional wellbeing.
In the recently published (November 2019) Teacher Wellbeing Index, 72% of teachers described themselves as stressed, 33% of teachers worked more than 51 hours per week on average and 74% of teachers find it hard to switch off and relax.
About the author:
Professor Anna Lise Gordon is the Director of the Institute of Education at St. Mary’s University in Twickenham. Alongside a passion for initial teacher education, her research interests focus on teacher resilience and wellbeing. Her most recent publication written with Jane Jones is entitled Teachers Who Flourish and is available now.
My Best 10 …ways to use songs
Steven Fawkes has been talking about the use of songs in language lessons since Language World in 1992! They offer opportunities to stretch and challenge learners as well as to reassure them. Here Steven gives just a few of his favourite examples in the hope you can adapt the ideas to your own classes.
About the author:
Steven Fawkes taught Languages in Durham before moving into Advisory work as a Curriculum Support Teacher, and working for an extended period at BBC Education.
My Best 10 …ways to enhance listening skills
Laura Simons and Lisa Stevens share tips for teaching listening exercises in primary and secondary classrooms.
About the author:
Lisa is a primary languages educator and consultant who teaches at two Birmingham primary schools. She is a member of ALL Council and has consulted on various projects including the BBC Schools Radio series ¡Mi Madrid! for KS2 Spanish learners.
Laura is Second in Languages Faculty at Dylan Thomas Community School in Swansea where she teaches French, Spanish and Welsh. She is a member of ALL Council and South Wales Network Lead. She runs the Secondary MFL Facebook group in Wales.
My Best 10 …ways to engage and cater for multilingual learners
Children who appreciate other cultures help bring communities together. Sarah Wiesemes and Sarah Barrett share their top tips for developing multilingual citizens.
About the author:
Sarah Wiesemes is a Year 6 teacher, MFL and EAL coordinator at Bramcote Hills Primary School in Nottingham. She is passionate about languages at primary school and creating an international learning environment for young people. She believes strongly in looking for opportunities for EAL children to share their home languages at school.
My Best 10 …ideas for practising grammar. Especially verbs!
It is hard to choose just ten activities to practise grammar in class, but here are some chosen by Jennifer Wozniak that work really well with every single year group.
About the author:
Jennifer has been teaching for nine years in a secondary school in Preston and since September as Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning at The Hollins in Accrington, Lancashire. She also a SLE for languages and Teaching and Learning and has a real passion for teaching languages.
My Best 10 … ideas for communicative activities
Rachel Hawkes outlines her top 10 activities for boosting connections in the classroom.
About the author:
Rachel works across the eight secondary schools in The CAM Academy Trust. Director of International Education and Research, and SLE for languages, she is also a former President of ALL. She has a PhD from Cambridge University focusing on teacher and learner interaction in the secondary language classroom.