Score in French: motivating boys with football in Key Stage 3

Abstract

This article discusses Score in French, an innovative football-related languages project designed by the University of Southampton to motivate boys in French at Key Stage 3 (ages 11–14). The article starts by explaining the rationale for the choice of football as the topic for a project aimed at motivating boys. It considers the main reasons why many boys are less inclined than girls to wish to engage with language study, especially French, and how curriculum materials related to football may influence their attitude towards learning the language. The article then outlines the issues that were considered in designing the extensive resource pack with which teachers were provided to deliver the project in class. It refers to research on which activities students (particularly boys) enjoy or dislike in language learning and justifies why certain types were included whilst others were excluded. Score in French was piloted with approximately 800 boys and girls in Year 8 (age 12) in six schools. The final part of the article assesses the project's impact and whether it achieved its objectives by analysing data from questionnaires completed by the 634 students and 20 teachers involved in the pilot. It highlights in particular differences in the way boys and girls responded to the project.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to express my thanks to Dr John Canning in the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies at University of Southampton for his valuable advice on designing the questionnaires and processing the data.

Notes

1. The entitlement to free school meals in English state schools is used as an indicator of relative economic disadvantage.