Pedagogy and teacher expertise

Here you will find summaries of research papers that relate to pedagogy and teacher expertise. Each summary is worded to be reader-friendly, and covers no more than one side of A4. If you have any questions about the research, or would like to know more, please contact us, or the theme leader, Gee, at g.macrory@mmu.ac.uk

Primary foreign language learning and teaching – how can we improve our MFL provision for all learners?

What help would MFL teachers like and what help might they need?

Empowering classroom teachers to teach MFL is a two-way process. Established teachers already have good pedagogic skills and a wealth of teaching practice and expertise to draw on, which means that individually-tailored MFL-teaching programmes specific to teachers’ particular needs are helpful.

Depending on a teacher’s specific needs and desires, a programme might include, for example:

a boost in linguistic knowledge;
help with language-teaching methodology;
developing an awareness of children’s language-learning strategies;
confidence in dealing with the four skills in a foreign language;
knowledge of age-appropriate programmes available, and how to create additional materials.

I don’t have much time for extra training and the school budget is tight – what can I do?

> CPD intensive training days impart a lot of information and workshop practice, but they can be expensive for a school.
> Peer-to-peer support from within a school is an excellent way of enlisting whole-school support; so too, is peer coaching across the cluster.
> Networks online and on the ground can be great providers of support, and encourage an exchange of knowledge.
> Classroom-based research allows a classroom teacher to try out new things whilst receiving expert feedback