Putting languages on the (drop down) menu: innovative writing frames in modern foreign language teaching

Abstract

The paper presents findings from a school‐based collaborative research project, the InterActive Education Project, which linked teachers, teacher educators and university researchers in English secondary schools (see Sutherland et al., 2004). It centres on a case study from one school where students used a simple yet highly effective electronic learning tool to facilitate extended, more complex, more accurate and more imaginative writing. The subjects were secondary school students aged 14–15, whose mother tongue is English, learning to write in German. Particular difficulties of writing in German are analysed. The writing tool was developed by the project teachers and consisted of simple electronic writing frames incorporating drop down menus. Reasons for the effectiveness of this simple tool are presented. The research process and the nature of support structures provided by various aspects of the classroom environment are discussed, as are learning outcomes.

Notes

1. Elisabeth Lazarus was Curriculum Manager for Modern Foreign Languages at The Sir Bernard Lovell School during the lifetime of the InterActive Education project and a member of the project team.

2. Each teacher had 15 days funded for meetings and planning.

3. The examination taken at the end of five years' secondary schooling in England.

4. An official working on behalf of the examination board who moderates the marking of students' work by other examiners.

5. Fairfield High School, Bristol and Filton High School, South Gloucestershire.

6. DfES (2005) Embedding ICT @ secondary Key Stage 3: modern foreign languages (Video Case Study 3) (London).

7. The Office for Standards in Education (the schools' inspection service in England).