New NC level descriptors for MFL

The Government has decided, in its wisdom, to get the QCA to manage a public consultation on changes to the National Curriculum.

The consultation will run from 30th April until 24th July, although parents are only to be consulted fron the beginning of June! Why?

I only just found out about this and I'm sure most of you didn't have a clue either. If you did, thanks for the "heads up".

Most subjects will have changes to their NC level descriptors, but I'm more interested in MFL than in the others. By clicking here you can read the proposals for MFL.

If I have understood correctly, there will be 3 attainment targets:

1) Listening and Speaking
2) Reading and Writing
3) Intercultural understanding

The third one is, of course, brand new, and it's a tricky one.

As far as I can make out, you could get a level 8, or even Exceptional Performance without actually knowing a single world of a foreign language. (My results should improve then!)

For more information or to get involved go to the ALL website and follow the links.

TeachMeetNE 2009 Newcastle 18th June 2009

Thursday 18th June 2009 7.00pm - 10.30pm

Tyneside Bar, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne

The opportunity for teachers to meet other teachers, chat, network, share resources and ideas, and put faces to the names you see on Twitter.

Click here for more information.

If you are interested, add yourself to the wiki and I hope to see you there.

If you can't make this, there are other teachmeets going on around the country. Go to the TeachmeetNE page and follow the links.

Tools for educators

I have to thank mpc for this one. mpc is a regular poster on TES MFL forum and recommended this excellent site. It is called Tools for educators and allows the user to create all manner of resources for use in the classroom.

It allows the user to create:
wordsearches
dice
board games
crosswords
bingo cards
dominoes
and a cornucopia of other types of resources which lend themselves rather well to teaching languages.
tools for educators is an affiliate site of mighty education systems

le cheval qui murmurait.

I just found this on youtube. I think it is hilarious. Enjoy.

Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skills

Not just for languages, but everything. If you are based in the USA you can take part in this online conference. Have your say and be a part of advancing education on a global scale. Help turn our students into responsible global citizens.

You can register your interest here: Cyber summit or, if you are not sure what it is all about, watch the amusing clip first.

La belle vie?

New GCSE spec MFL assessment materials

As we all know, or should know, the GCSE is changing, or has changed. I recently attended some excellent CPD organised by Comenius on this in the wonderful city of Durham led by Gill Beckett (MFL expert, google her, she is amazing, a human dynamo!).

If you teach languages and are still not sure which board to choose, you need to get a move on. If you haven't read Helen Myers' excellent document on the new specs (shame on you! she spent ages on it!) you can do this here.

I'm blogging this because of a post today on the TES MFL Forum asking if anyone had any specimen papers yet. So, to save you all more work, and I know you are all very busy, (what with speaking exams and the like!) here is the definitive list of already published specimen materials on the web:

AQA French (from page 65 onwards it's the same examples for each language)

CCEA French, German, Spanish

WJEC French, German, Spanish

OCR French, German, Spanish

Edexcel French, German, Spanish

As the Yorkie says: Amusez-vous bien!