Sunday 2 November 2008

THE NEW CURRICULUM: MAKING IT WORK FOR LANGUAGES (IOW CONFERENCE 08)

Kathy Wicksteed is Subject Lead for languages for DCSF/ALL subject specific support for the new secondary curriculum. She talked about the new curriculum and how it benefits the pupils. Whilst we in Northern Ireland have the Revised Curriculum, there are many parallels between the two, and lessons to be shared.
Are we broadening pupils' horizons? The new curriculums offer excellent opportunities to give pupils skills and knowledge which will enable them to fly more than ever before. In order to do this, teachers are having to move away from structured, content-driven schemes of work, to more open topics, cross-curricular work and thematic units. This can be a big step for us as teachers, but the advantages for the pupils include the acquisition of tools for learning and the development of thinking skills and personal capabilities.
Kathy highlighted some useful websites for language teachers, which tie in with the idea of enriching experiences and teaching languages in context:
www.etwinning.net
www.in-terre-actif.com
www.elanguages.org
www.rafi.ki
www.freerice.com
www.dailymotion.com/fr

Kathy's presentation is available for download from www.all-nsc.org.uk

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