English and MFL

Controlled writing assessments are soon to be a thing of the past; is this cause for a sigh of relief or a reason to rethink your career…

It is a controversial topic: is the Jaffa Cake a biscuit or is it a cake? I am sure you have your own opinion; your students definitely…

Language uptake in secondary schools has been steadily on the decline since it became non compulsory at GCSE. Numbers at ‘A’ level are…

It’s a curious dichotomy we live with when it comes to the notion of performance, I think. On the one hand it feels like every other young…

Having taught languages in England for over 30 years I have seen many changes, worked with and observed superb teachers, and experienced…

In 2001, 78% of KS3 pupils took a modern foreign language at GCSE. By 2010 this was down to 43%, and yet many people agree that in today’s…

Neuro-linguistic programming was developed in the 70s by two University of California academics, John Grinder and Richard Bandler. They had…

The new National Curriculum for Languages at KS3 (and KS2, for that matter) might appear quite daunting at first glance – but in fact, it…

Why Teach This? This engaging lesson blends a number of strategies I’ve been exploring this year, which focus on developing thinking…

Why teach this? Inclusivity is a vital element of all teaching, of course – but instead of considering ‘differentiation’, why not try…

​Secondary school students who read for pleasure perform significantly better at school than other students. That was the finding of a…

​Teaching grammar in an interesting and effective way is one of the trickiest tasks for MFL teachers. How can we encourage our students to…

The definition of impatient according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary is ‘having or showing a tendency to be quickly irritated or…