The new GCSE 2018:Specification change as an opportunity to build best practice

Edexcel has submitted Draft 2 to Ofqual and published the revised SAMS with blue highlighting showing changes

AQA has submitted Draft 2 to Ofqual but will not publish again until they are approved (Draft 1 only available on website)

OCR has just submitted its Draft 2 to Ofqual and has now published the revised SAMS on its website

So…. what do we know?

The story so far…!

Joined upGCSE specifications will be cumulative and progressive in content and language. They will take account of the matters, skills and processes specified in the national curriculum programmes of study for key stages 2 and 3. They will also build on the foundation of core grammar and vocabulary outlined in the programmes of study for key stages 2 and 3, increasing the level of linguistic and cognitive demand.

Joined upEarlier startHigher expectationsGreater emphasis on manipulationMore authentic source materialGreater variety of language structureFreedom of content (theme) at KS2 and KS3Less predictable exams at the end of KS4

GCSE builds directly from KS3

translationuse of literary texts / authentic material grammarspontaneous speakingextended writing (from memory)

But the new GCSE…?

business as usual…does not fulfil on promise of the new KS3competing paradigmsteachers under pressuregovernment push for textbooksOfqual has not approved them anyway!

On the positive side…More time teaching, less time assessing100% externally assessedSolid foundation for further studyGreater focus on TL cultureEmphasis on independent use of TLSpontaneous speaking…Clearer links to KS3 (the 4 skills, translation, literary texts, authentic material)

National curriculum aimsThe National Curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils: understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation

can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

GCSE Speaking 2018 unpredictability

“ the awarding organisation must take all reasonable steps to minimise the predictability of each such assessment.”

preparation time (between 10 and 12 minutes) teacher-conducted, audio-recorded, awarding body-

assessed conversation (more than one topic, only one of which may

be chosen by the learner in advance of the assessment) two further tasks, from the following: (role play, response

to visual stimulus, response to textual stimulus, response to stimulus with visuals and text)

no dictionaries Foundation – 7-9 minutes Higher – 10-12 minutes

Inspection findings 1993 - …“Overall there is insufficient emphasis on helping students to use the language spontaneously for real situations. Consequently too few students could speak creatively, or beyond the topic they were studying, by making up their own sentences in an unrehearsed situation.” (OFSTED, 2008, p.12)

“In many of the secondary schools visited, opportunities for students to listen to and communicate in the target language were often limited by many teachers’ unpreparedness to use it. Too often, students were not taught how to respond to everyday requests and thus routine work in the target language and opportunities to use it spontaneously were too few.” (OFSTED, 2011, p.6).

Listening: ideas for teaching Maximise use of target language in the classroom Use strategies to make listening a task not a test Use authentic materials as much as possible Mix and match text book / past paper audio Use listen and read – make multiple use of transcripts Encourage repeated listening to the same passage Use self-created differentiated passages (hard easy) Teach prediction and note-taking explicitly

Speaking: ideas for teaching Maximise use of target language in the classroom Teach students how to ask questions and do this oftenConsider length of utterance and length of turn Repeat speaking activities immediately with less / no support Plan in favour of language use rather than language practice activities Increase the opportunities for unscripted interaction in every lesson Focus on working from memory as often as possible – have explicit memory / retention strategies

Reading: ideas for teaching Read for different purposes Read a variety of material Combine reading with speaking and writing Combine reading with listening Read to translate Read to develop vocabulary

Writing: ideas for teachingStudents need to: know how to form simple, compound and complex sentences have a bank of structures and core language that they can manipulate well across a the range of contexts at GCSE have language stored in long-term memory be attentive to detail, able to spot and correct errors vary vocabulary and structures write for different purposes, showing an awareness of style and register

http://www.rachelhawkes.com/PandT/2018_GCSE/2018GCSE.php

The new GCSE 2018:Specification change as an opportunity to build best practice

Task and strategy ideas available here: