How to promote self-efficacy in primary schools #1, 3 part series
Insights from a Primary MFL Consultant
I’m Kate Percival, a primary teacher and MFL consultant here at Primary Languages Network. In this blog series, I’ll be sharing top tips and inspirational ideas from the schools and coordinators I’ve been working with. Read on to find out more.
Instead of ‘I can’t do it…’ try ‘I can’t do it yet…’
I was recently asked to train teachers with Star Institute on the subject of self-efficacy in MFL and it got me thinking. At the last PLN Leadership twilight, we discussed and skill-shared this topic and having spoken to colleagues and co-ordinators, I realised a lot of what we do in the primary classroom is in an attempt to develop learners’ independence. Independence to be organised (‘Miss, I can’t find my pencil’) to be motivated to learn (‘When is it breaktime?’) and to help themselves know how they learn best. (I don’t get iiiiiiiiit’). Yes, a lot of the time, we hear these responses and rush to sort out the ‘crisis’: ‘Here you go, use this pencil’ ‘Only 10 minutes then it’s time for break’ ‘OK, let me show you how to do it,’ but actually if we want our children to mature into self-efficacious (is that the right adjective?) learners they need to be shown how to help themselves. With this in mind, I’m finding myself replying ‘OK, how do you think you could solve this problem? What could you do to help yourself here?’
The results are paying off.
Sometimes, as adults with years of experience, we forget that children might just have to be explicitly taught how they can become more independent, take responsibility for what they learn and what they achieve. Tackling any of the learnt helplessness we sometimes see in our classrooms. That seismic shift from ‘I can’t do it’ to ‘I will do it’. Fostering that ‘growth mindset’ rather than a ‘fixed mindset’.
Here are a few of the things we can do to explicitly teach children self-efficacy in MFL, most of which you will almost certainly be already doing but, as I have realised myself not necessarily communicating it with the children themselves.
1. Foster a safe culture
Reward strategies, skills and a positive attitude to learning with PLN’s language detective certificate. Found next to each Click2Teach and Video2Teach lesson.
Children need to know it’s ok to make mistakes. It’s actually how we learn and improve. By knowing what isn’t right, we can work out what is. With languages, we all ‘make mistakes’ all of the time. I will often have to double check a spelling in a bilingual dictionary or play a phrase back using an audio sound file just to check pronunciation; it is crucial the children see this as a strength to improvement and not a weakness. So, that culture of ‘having a go’ is very much one of PLN’s Language Detective skills and you’ll see it regularly comes up in the Check for Learning section at the end of our Click2Teach and Video2Teach lessons. Often, my language detective certificate will be given out to that person who has stepped out of their comfort zone to try something new and learn from it.
2. Discuss metacognition: the best ways to memorise words
Using actions to aid memory
We use language learning strategies all the time in MFL lessons, I mean all the time. But do you discuss why we use them, and how they help, with the children? When we put our ‘silly’ actions to new words, there is a scientific reason behind it. It is called a Total Physical Response or TPR developed by Dr James J Asher: by linking something physical with language, the connection strengthens within the brain. Google it – it comes straight up (well, underneath The Pensions Regulator). I wow the children with this nugget of science and for some, who are initially reluctant to keep up with all the physicality, when you explain that next week when we play a competitive game, those joining in with actions might have more of a chance of winning, they are usually swayed to join in! In fact, when the next week comes and children are focussing on recall, it is often the action they remember first, but soon after follows the language. Magic!
3. Active learning styles
www.shaneclark.org.uk
We know children learn through a combination of styles and it is useful for them to work out how they learn best. I am a note-taker, always have been and always will be. I write lists of the lists I need to write! I’ve noticed some of my Year 6s naturally like to take notes in language lessons and I’m all for that! Some bring a little note book in from home, some like to practise spelling patterns over and over on a whiteboard, some like to annotate their tracking clouds with target language that they know or remember. These are great habits to get into. For others dual coding supports them and luckily, again, we always accompany new vocabulary with clear pictures, photos, flashcards etc. Active learners thrive in games like Simon Says, drama and mime activities and of course MFL appeals to the auditory senses too, teaching by songs, rhymes, poems and the richness of sound when focusing on phonics and speaking tasks. These are all regular features of the primary language lesson and in general, they lead to the fun, joy and laughter that is also key for that all-important motivation.
4. Memory hooks – the sillier the better
I love memory hooks: they are a little insight into how the mind works! The silly ones are usually the most memorable. Mnemonics, sound similarities, links with other words and concepts, whatever the word makes you think of can help in remembering its spelling and meaning. What make memory hooks even more powerful is sharing them. I award language detective points to those who tell the rest of the class what their memory hooks are and allow others to ‘magpie’ them if they work for them too! An example might be remembering the word for grape in French as ‘un raisin’ knowing that a raisin in English is a dried grape. Gamers might link the word for tired fatigué to the fatigue level meter on their computer games working out it means a lack of energy. One of my favourites recently was how to remember the difference between the pronouns for he and she il and elle. One Year 5 child told me if you put a B in front of both you would get Bill and Belle helping you to remember which is which! (Now I use that to share with others too.)
Find out more steps to self-efficacy in PLN’s next two blogs.
To book one of our trainers for a twilight or full day session for your school or Trust, get in touch with sylvia@primarylanguages.network
Kate Percival runs MFL consultancy sessions for co-ordinators which can run virtually and can cover areas such as: starting out with primary languages in your school, putting together coordinator documentation, preparing for an MFL deep dive and looking for the next challenge. You will be given a full report of the discussion which includes working points and this can be shared with your Head teacher. Also included is a shorter catch-up session at an agreed future date where we can celebrate progress made and support with anything further.
If you would like to book Kate for a consultancy session, contact sylvia@primarylanguages.network or click on the link below