EFFECTIVE AND FUN LANGUAGE SKILLS

EFFECTIVE AND FUN LANGUAGE SKILLS

Our Head of MFL, Mrs Rogers, took four Year 12 pupils, Maisie Fogg, Alexandra Lubinetskya, Abbie Cadwallader and Ana Lopez, to a French A Level Conference held at Bath Spa University . The aim of the day was to help develop confident, effective communication skills, as well as to develop an interest in, and enthusiasm for, language learning. This conference aimed to encourage students to consider their study of the language in a broader context and to gain pleasure from learning and speaking French.

The day was an opportunity for our pupils who are studying for a new-style French A-Level to focus on the key skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening and prepare for topics in the examination, in a fun, stimulating and interactive way, as well as a chance to meet pupils from other schools to swap ideas.

Mrs Rogers commented on the day: “I was extremely impressed by the way in which all of our pupils fully embraced the event – they performed brilliantly. From the very moment we arrived, they were fully engaged in all aspects of the conference. I was taken aback by the level of their French and was struck by their confidence and maturity. They quickly demonstrated their teamwork and leadership skills as they worked in groups with pupils they had never met before. They even tried to involve the less able and less confident pupils they were working with. They absolutely exemplified the kind of 'Warminster Pupil' that the Headmaster highlighted in his recent article in the Telegraph: ‘Emotional intelligence, reaction to failure, leadership, perseverance, resilience and the ability to improvise and adapt on one's feet are increasingly important.”

Our pupils got a lot out of the day due to the amount of effort they put in and their 'can-do' attitude. They had great fun chatting in French all day, making some hilarious videos on climate change and meeting pupils from schools in the area. They also had the opportunity to discuss language learning experiences and possible careers in languages with the PGCE language students from Bath Spa who were assisting them with their tasks.

Maisie Fogg: “It was a great way to immerse ourselves in language – we learnt skills and confidence which we can take all the way through to our A Level.”

Alexandra Lubinetskaya: “It was a really amazing day. For me, the great thing was that we could create amazing projects with people who we knew for no more than five minutes.”