A strategy guide for the MBE classroom

Exploration of the methodological implications of the MBE classroom in terms of planning, teaching, assessing, and managing pupils.

• Questions
• Answers
• Units
• Other Information: Schemes of work, lesson plans. Links to school websites.

QUESTIONS

Here are some issues, which can start you thinking about the day-to-day decisions which a MBE teacher must make. (NB: ‘You’ stands for ‘the teacher’). For the sake of simplicity, they have been put under the following categories, although there is some overlap:

Planning and Preparation

1. Where do you find resources which are suitable for the age range and motivational levels of the pupils concerned whilst appropriate in terms of linguistic difficulty?
2. How do you adapt authentic material? Do you adapt its linguistic content? Do you simplify / augment the cognitive demands?
3. How do you equip the pupils with the skills and knowledge required to find their own authentic material? How do you encourage them to be more independent?
4. How do you plan a unit of work? Do the objectives of the unit of work relate to both foreign language and content matter? Is progression planned for in terms of linguistic terms and structures?
5. How do you deal with the necessary delay compared with the monolingual colleague’s unit of work? Do you go for a series of lessons in the FL and then a series of lessons in the mother tongue to ensure pupils are equipped with mother tongue’s specialist vocabulary? Do you set homework in mother tongue so that they acquire the specialist vocabulary independently?
6. How do you assess pupils? Do you assess their linguistic skills separately from their content knowledge? If the assessments are conducted in the foreign language, how do you deal with linguistic errors? How do you modify marking criteria in order to cater for the MBE context? How do you record progress in both content and linguistic skills and report this to parents and colleagues? Should you compare the pupils’ attainments in their content knowledge with those of their monolingual peers?
7. How do you plan a lesson? What place do the linguistic objectives have? What is the balance between linguistic and content matter knowledge and progression?
8. How do you tackle the pupils’ different abilities and learning styles in both language and content matter?
9. How do you maintain motivational levels whilst ensuring progression within learning?

Communicative strategies

1. How do you make yourself comprehensible in the foreign language?
2. Which Modern Language Teaching strategies can you employ to teach content matter?
3. What strategies do you teach the pupils in order for them to cope with being taught in the foreign language?
4. What strategies do you use for the teaching of difficult concepts? How do you keep the linguistic skills progressing so that the pupils can deal with ever increasing levels of cognitive demands?
5. How do you train the pupils to use both narrative and descriptive types of discourse?
6. How do you train the pupils to understand and respond to an ever-increasing level of classroom commands and instructions?
7. How do you encourage the pupils to use classroom commands and general instructions with one another?
8. Who owns the discourse? Do you provide real debates? How can you encourage the pupils to communicate rather than merely regurgitate?
9. How do you encourage spontaneous conversations with the pupils and among pupils?
10. Ho do you handle their language errors? How do you intervene in their conversations or explanations? What decision should you make about accuracy of language versus message?
11. How do you handle ‘code-switching’, i.e. reverting to mother tongue when competence in the foreign language is insufficient to express opinions or facts.

Classroom management

1. How do you ensure pupils’ learning and organise it?
2. How do you teach them suitable discrete skills which are appropriate for both content matter and language (e.g. dictionary skills, independent learning skills, etc.)
3. How do you create a suitable environment in which pupils feel rewarded for taking risks and learn to become more autonomous?
4. How do you manage central and peripheral discourse? How do you encourage pupils to use the foreign language when talking to each other and to you about matters not pertaining to their learning (social, administrative and pastoral matters)?
5. How do you encourage pupils to assess their own learning whilst using the foreign language?
6. What decision do you make regarding turn-taking; regarding who owns the discourse; who has the right to speak, when and about what?
7. How do you administer discipline whilst using the foreign language?
8. What is the balance between group work, pair work and class work?
9. How do you encourage the pupils to use the foreign language whilst working in pairs or groups?
10. How is the seating arrangement conducive to the type of classroom atmosphere which you wish to create?
11. How can you bring together good content teaching and good language teaching methodologies and techniques?

ANSWERS

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As you can see, the partners have already drawn up quite a number of questions regarding the MBE classroom. Please, feel free to ask us any questions regarding the list above or to add to it.

You are invited to take part in our discussions which will soon be on the forum. We are eagerly waiting for your comments and advice as well as your queries. Whatever your interests, we will be happy to hear from you. the forum. We are eagerly waiting for your comments and advice as well as your queries. Whatever your interests, we will be happy to hear from you.

UNITS

		Science Units
		History Units
		Geography Units
		Social Studies Units