Wednesday 14th July 2021
Thank you so much to ALL’s Steven Fawkes for hosting this important event and to David Shanks for presenting a superb webinar, packed with advice to those starting out on their career as an MFL teacher .. but to be honest, equally relevant to the experienced.
David is a model of what he promotes: the reflective practitioner. He talks us through his thought processes which have led to his selection of strategies to support all aspects of the role of a languages teacher.
We are delighted that David has agreed to give us another presentation at our January Event. Venue to be confirmed, but provisionally on Saturday 15th January.
Recording:
PowerPoint download here
Class Photo
Background
ALL London organises webinars for the MFL community and this webinar is open to all MFL teachers. We hope that you will like us and want to join!
The ALL London Branch is proud to host this free webinar on behalf of ALL nationally. In this session, David Shanks (@HFLanguages) will focus on advice and practical tips for preparing for your ECT/NQT year, making the most of your NQT year and becoming an outstanding MFL practitioner. There will also be the chance in the follow-up Q&A to have your MFL questions answered be they on Target Language, managing marking, pedagogy, work-life balance or anything MFL-related!
David is Lead MFL Consultant for the Harris Federation and a member of ALL, as well as a practising French teacher. He is always keen to promote and support collaboration between institutions, share good practice and fly the languages flag. To know more follow @HFLanguages
Don’t forget to join ALL or renew your membership to ensure you have access to all the great member benefits! https://www.all-languages.org.uk/join/
The Chat:
00:41:17 Rachael: Q: I have a question regarding work load! Do you have any top tips for how to best organise ourselves in terms of managing the increase of having so many more classes compared to our PGCE year? Thank you!
00:44:59 Fatou Le Moine: my advice: Just keep going!
00:45:31 Paola: A1: Hello, I teach Spanish mainly but also French to KS3.
00:46:47 Claudia R: Hi, my name is Tatiana , I Teacher Spanish KS3,4,5. French KS3
00:46:55 Daniel Storer: Dan – Plymouth – Spanish and French – you have nothing without a good relationship with your students, so take the time to get to know what makes them ALL tick
00:47:10 ALL London: So true, Dan
00:48:28 ALL London: https://shop.linguascope.com/products/top-tips-for-trainee-language-teachers
00:48:57 ALL London: LT is brilliant!
00:49:30 Daniel Storer: It’s far too good for the staff room – they’ll use it as a notepad!
00:49:37 ALL London: .. and has articles written by people you know!
00:50:17 ALL London: https://www.all-languages.org.uk/research-practice/languages-today/
00:52:49 Charlie Berney ML Tutor: Yes! :-))))
00:52:54 Tatiana: A3- tes
00:52:55 Daniel Storer: Already a member – had a huge impact on my training yr
00:52:56 Fatou Le Moine: Yes!
00:52:57 Karen Rogers: A3 – intend to be one
00:52:59 SSamia Saci: member
00:53:02 clais: A3 yes!
00:53:04 Margarita Soto: Yes, member
00:53:06 Katie Staunton: definitely intend to!
00:53:07 Shiraz Oshidar: Yes, am a member and find it hugely beneficial…
00:53:08 Mel: Already a member and heard about it from my university tutor
00:53:09 Flora Barton: A3 I’m a member 🙂
00:53:10 Esin Sarachoglou: A3 – intend to be one!
00:53:11 Rachael: A3: Yes absolutely!!
00:53:15 Bronnie Thoresson: A3: intend to asap!
00:53:16 Daniel Storer: At interview they were very impressed, as you said, when I mentioned ALL webinars
00:53:19 Verónica González: Already a member!
00:53:27 ALL London: David has great tricks – what a good idea !
00:53:31 Doug Chamberlain: A3 member since Jan2021
00:53:35 Paola: Yes, I am a member and it has been amazing! I had found incredible useful all the webinar that I had attended.
00:53:40 Charlie Berney ML Tutor: A3 I’m the Chair of the ALL South West branch and always looking for new committee members….
00:54:04 Steven Fawkes: YES
00:54:09 Karen Rogers: National Curriculum
00:54:11 Julio Mario Caamano Vargas PGCE MFL: nationa curriculum
00:54:13 Shiraz Oshidar: national curriculum
00:54:14 Daniel Storer: NC for MFL
00:54:16 Esin Sarachoglou: The National Curriculum
00:55:27 Steven Fawkes: Language Trends 21 reports diminishing international experiences in Primary and Secondary
00:56:15 Steven Fawkes: Make it personal 🙂
00:56:24 ALL London: So important to enthuse!
01:00:08 Steven Fawkes: Spelling Bee etc. is offered by Routes into Languages East
01:00:51 Fatou Le Moine: I cannot see the presentation. I intend to quit and Come back. thanks
01:02:58 ALL London: #mfltwitterati
01:03:40 ALL London: https://twitter.com/hashtag/mfltwitterati?src=hashtag_click
01:05:07 Steven Fawkes: Language teachers do important things no other teachers do
01:05:58 Mel: Yes but only for one year – maternity cover
01:06:00 Daniel Storer: Yes. Have a job and can’t wait to get going!
01:06:01 Karen Rogers: Yes – just a one year fixed term contract
01:06:03 Zoe Janes: Job ready to go – excited for induction next Wednesday!
01:06:08 Tatiana: No job
01:06:09 Paola: I do not have a job yet.
01:06:11 Angela’s iPhone: I have a job!
01:06:21 MilesMcGennity: yes! one year fixed term contract
01:06:24 LucyVH: Yes, have a job. Induction Friday, can’t wait.
01:06:27 Cintia: No job
01:09:35 Karen Rogers: No online interviews – I had 4 interviews in total and all were in person
01:09:46 R Maynard: Yes, I’ve done a couple of online interviews
01:09:51 Rachael: I had one interview online and the other interview was in person
01:09:53 Zoe Janes: I had a strange experience because I did my interview at the school in the first week of feb, peak 3rd lockdown! So I taught 10 very sleepy year 7s, my first time in a classroom since December 2020 haha
01:10:05 Zoe Janes: And theirs!
01:10:09 ALL London: Nick Mair 2021 webinar on applying for jobs: http://www.all-london.org.uk/site/index.php/webinars/first-fridays-february-2021/
01:11:13 Steven Fawkes: Having a ‘go to’ non-tech activity in your back pocket is ALWAYS useful
01:12:37 ALL London: Really good idea there.. so if an interview lesson doesn’t go well, be ready to be honest about your reflection – what you would have done better
01:14:00 Daniel Storer: Make contact – the school visit was the most important part of the whole process for me and for them.
01:14:15 Rachael: Sell yourself, (enjoy!) it, and just go for it!
01:14:19 MilesMcGennity: Trust your instincts!
01:14:21 Katie Staunton: have a question ready to ask them in return!
01:14:23 Mel: Practice answers to commonly asked questions
01:14:28 R Maynard: Be yourself
01:14:29 Daniel Storer: Also – talk to everyone on the day. I was sat in the staff room eating biscuits with the cleaning team and somehow the head knew about that in the interview.
01:14:45 clais: A4 be yourself, stay positive all the way through, and have your questions ready
01:14:45 Daniel Storer: And they have the best biscuits!
01:15:02 Zoe Janes: Do not compare yourself to other candidates! I found it so lovely to chat to them while we were waiting for panel interview, but comparing yourself to a person you’ve known for an hour does no help!
01:15:02 Angela’s iPhone: Find out about the school’s ethos and how it aligns with your own.
01:15:02 Marina F P: Try to build rapport with students from the beginning, e.g. try to learn their names, smile at them, be kind (but also use the behaviour management policy if necessary!)
01:15:08 Doug Chamberlain: Just getting dressed, appropriately, organised, getting there was the learning curve, and made all subsequent ones easier.
01:15:20 Marina F P: and remember that you’re also observing the school and seeing if it’s a right fit for you 🙂
01:20:32 Zoe Janes: More research and practice on teaching phonics in FR
01:20:34 Daniel Storer: A5 – research more on how to teach mixed ability KS4 classes – as I know that they’re coming my way and it’s not an easy task.
01:20:37 Rachael: A5: To speed up the pace of my lessons! I think sometimes I give students too long to complete an activity
01:20:46 Fatou: A5: Master pace
01:20:58 Flora Barton: A5: I’m teaching KS3 German but I don’t currently speak German… that’s my summer PD target sorted
01:21:07 Mel: A5 improve my knowledge of grammar and how to teach it
01:21:11 Steven Fawkes: Pace is a tough one certainly
01:21:12 Doug Chamberlain: Move towards A W Level teaching by observing, planning, teaching and shadowing the student experience in Spanish.
01:21:13 Clem: A5: to anticipate misconceptions better! As a native speaker it’s really hard to know what the kids are going to find difficult
01:21:14 Marina F P: to always have a plenary ready for the end of the lesson and to keep track of the time
01:21:52 Paola: A5: Improve my behaviour management (establishing good routines and starters for the lesson)
01:23:52 Fatou: Yes, thanks a lot!
01:26:25 ALL London: Link to the TiLT webinars on tech: http://www.all-london.org.uk/site/index.php/webinars/
01:26:46 Fatou: You are right David, I found non-native French teacher as the best teacher because they make things simple and are able to spot any misconceptions/difficulties
01:27:53 ALL London: Link to tomorrow’s webinar from a very talented US teacher: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-tilt-webinar-with-esther-park-registration-158659184893
01:28:36 ALL London: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-career-framework-reforms
01:31:58 Steven Fawkes: Parent-teacher association?
01:36:06 Helen Myers: I try to number books / tests in alphabetical order – helps when marking and entering grades.
01:38:26 Zoe Janes: Thank you box like the treasure box that was mentioned in an ALL webinar at the start of the academic year 🙂
01:40:37 Steven Fawkes: Well remembered Zoe!
01:41:18 Steven Fawkes: You cold also develop an International role
01:42:06 Zoe Janes: Excellent videos, we used them in our SCITT
01:42:08 Helen Myers: Bill Rogers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqIXB1RG-Vg&list=PLF1FBp_bi4gbXAvyDu1oO5o_LaJ6PufZm
01:43:44 Steven Fawkes: Speculation !
01:44:03 Helen Myers: What a great idea!
01:46:37 Helen Myers: excellent idea.. I do that with song – just enjoy1
01:48:19 Marina F P: Need to leave, sorry! Thank you for this webinar, it’s been very helpful, muchas gracias!
01:50:44 Karen Rogers: Super helpful – thank you so much
01:50:51 Zoe Janes: Thank you 🙂
01:50:59 Tatiana: thank you. very good advice
01:51:00 Esin Sarachoglou: Thanks a lot David that was very useful and insightful!
01:51:00 Julio Mario Caamano Vargas PGCE MFL: Thank you v much; great tips !!!
01:51:00 LucyVH: Thanks so much David, great strategies and super practical :))
01:51:05 Bronnie Thoresson: Thank you very much – great advice!
01:51:06 R Maynard: Great stuff. Thanks, David
01:51:09 Shiraz Oshidar: Thank you for your input, much to think on and act on!
01:51:14 Helena Serena: Thank you so much! It was so helpful, I have started teaching last week as an NQT and it really reassured me
01:51:16 Mel: Great advice, thanks David
01:51:17 Verónica González: Thank you very much David
01:51:17 Margarita Soto: Thank you!
01:51:24 Khrushcheva: thank you very much, very reassuring 🙂
01:51:36 Kalise Powell (she/her): Thank you so much, I really enjoyed the presentation!
01:51:45 Barnaby Findlay: Thanks David, that was really helpful and interesting.
01:51:48 Helen Myers: Feel free to open your videos for a ‘selfie’
01:51:51 Daniel Storer: Thankyou – lots of brilliant advice. Also, thankyou to Helen and Steven for being a constant calm voice during a very stressful year.
01:52:03 clais: Thank you David!
01:52:46 LucyVH: Would prefer Thursday.
01:52:51 SSamia Saci: Thank you so much . The talk was very interesting
01:52:55 Verónica González: Thursday is good!
01:52:57 Katie Staunton: Thursday ideally!
01:52:59 Margarita Soto: Better on Thursday!
01:53:00 Whitey Bloomer: Thursday!
01:53:02 Karen Rogers: Thursday sounds good
01:53:03 Chris Walker: Thursday!
01:53:03 Rachael: Friday is really good, nice end to the week! No lessons to plan for next day
01:53:04 Daniel Storer: Thursday
01:53:06 Doug Chamberlain: Really enjoyed this calm and reassuring session. Thank you David and ALL.
01:53:10 SSamia Saci: Thursday is good for me
01:53:10 Zoe Janes: Thursday I always need a pick me up (never liked Thursday since secondary school haha) so I think a Thursday would be good!
01:53:21 Daniel Storer: Can’t stay awake past 7 on a Friday ha ha
01:53:23 Khrushcheva: Friday
01:53:23 Mel: Thursday or Friday 🙂
01:53:50 Whitey Bloomer: Thank you 😀
01:54:11 Doug Chamberlain: Rita who?
01:55:43 Katie Staunton: would it be possible to share the slides from today?
01:55:47 Clarisse O’Dell: thank you very much!
01:56:00 Paola: Thank you!!
01:56:06 Shiraz Oshidar: thanks Steven, Helen, Charlie…and David!
01:56:11 Cintia: Thank you
01:56:14 Katie Staunton: thank you!
01:56:42 Laura D: Thank you for the link! 🙂