MFL Y10 CA's - Learning long tracts of it by heart...why?

[Tansie]

If there are any MFL teachers around, can anyone explain the point of a DC learning, by heart, 1 and a half sides of an A4 sheet of written language (by themselves) so as to regurgitate it over an hour under exam conditions in a couple of weeks' time?

I genuinely don't know what it's supposed to test! I mean, I could learn a couple of pages of Arabic, given enough time (though admittedly I wouldn't have written the original myself! )- but even though DC wrote it (and had it corrected before being committed to memory) how does this help in their understanding of the MFL and what aspect of ability in that MFL does it test?

Next, if you can help me here, what's the best way for a DC to actually learn it? By remembering the first word of each sentence as a prompt? By 'learning' the English, like, say, if it were French, learn 'What is it that it is?' in order to translate it into the MFL?

DD is currently struggling to learn another Spanish text off by heart tonight

MrsB, I did Molliere, Zola and Le Petit Prince

I loved doing French O'level and A'level. DD does not love her MFL GCSE's and doesn't want to take either at A'level

Maupassant, Moliere and Jean Anouilh here. My dd does not love it either and she will be dropping it after AS. Such a shame it doesn't seem as interesting a course now.

I loved my French and German and have taught German (although in the old school style as I am a music teacher really). I know my pupils loved my theoretical and grammar based approach so that they could construct their own sentences not just learn things by rote. Sadly my Ds is not taking any languages for GCSE and hates the learning off by heart stuff he has to do already pre GCSE- he hasn't a clue what he is saying

I did Maupassant (Boulle de suif) and Camus (L'étranger)

Better to learn proper poetry and drama by heart than your own rubbish prose.

The present system is taking two totally separate things, designed to teach totally separate skills - otoh learning real literature off by heart to get a sense of the rhythm and the cadences of the language, otoh learning to improvise sentences of your own to enable RL interaction- and conflating them so that they now achieve neither aim.

cory- schools/syllabuses trying to kill two birds with one stone and failing to achieve either goal is a particular bugbear of mine!

At DD's school they are supposed to follow the complete French NC and teach English as well. They decided years ago that "singing" which is on the French NC for maternelle in a big way was going to be done in English instead. Result: the children don't learn any songs or rhymes in French at all, which clearly hinders the development of oral French, and they don't learn any meaningful English either unless they are already bilingual (in which case it's great but you still have the French problem).

A MFL GCSE is nothing about learning a language.
DS2 in Y11 has just done his writing CA. Spent last weekend learning it by heart.
He came home yesterday and said triumphantly "I never have to speak or write French again"
Apparently the actual GCSE exam in May doesn't require him to write in French .

DS2 does Cambridge IGCSE MFL's no CLA. They are preparing for the oral at the moment where they will given the chance to talk about a topic they've chosen and prepared although they don't know exactly what questions will be asked and they have also prepared for questions that might be asked on I think unknown topics but a intelligent guess for what might come up, it might be role play, buying a train ticket or something similar and then general conversation what's you age? Any brothers and sisters, where did you go for your last holiday etc? It's worth 25% of the marks which seems a lot to me. This is similar to what I did when I took O levels over 30 years ago but I don't think it was worth so many marks. His school only offers Pre U's which are significantly harder than A levels this is why I'm assuming they changed over to the IGCSE.

They definitely have to write in the MFL for the actual exam and we were told that the grammar has to be correct if you want an A* and you can't wing it.

happygardening yes I thought his celebrations were a bit premature. He's been getting A* so far so presumably has learned something.

I don't recall saying he is celebrating.

happygardening In my previous post I was trying to say that my DS was celebrating

Sorry misunderstood you! The mark for an A* is so high you only have to not know a few words and drop 8-9 marks and you've missed it.

Meant to add good luck to all taking a MFL whatever the format of their exam. Let's hope our DC's emerge with something useful.

yourlittlesecret, the GCSE exams in the summer are the listening and reading, which don't require him to write in French. They are worth 40% of the marks - the 2 x speaking and 2 x writing were worth 15% each. As happy says, IGCSE they do everything in terminal exams, so obviously have to write in French for that!

As others have said, in many schools the GCSE is nothing to do with enjoying the language, just about getting a grade At a school I had my PGCE placement in cheating was rife anyway - luckily I am now is a school which takes them seriously and does not cheat, but it is still a chore.

I have tutored people for their French GCSE although I'm not a teacher, but bilingual. They were all incapable of having a conversation in French and found it very difficult to understand the most basic French, but got A* in their GCSE because with the help of their teachers and myself had all the right elements, tenses, opinion, etc. in their written tests and I helped them get the right pronunciation in their speaking tests. They are changing the GCSE from 2017 thank goodness but what a farce this type of test is! The listening test is the only valid part of the whole GCSE.

He came home yesterday and said triumphantly "I never have to speak or write French again"

I remember my dd was exactly the same (word for word) two years ago. She had memorised her written and speaking tasks so got good marks, but couldn't speak the language in any useful way at all and had always hated french at school. One year later she started french evening classes voluntarily and now can speak what she wants to say in french and understand spoken french as long as its not too quick. She enjoys going to france and trying it out.

Two years ago I'd have agreed wholeheartedly about GCSE killing any love of the language, but now I'm not so sure. Those memorised tracts actually proved useful in the end as starting points to build on. What was missing was the motivation to learn from dd, once that was there and she put some effort in herself it all came together.

mollie2610 - it's nothing new. I've got a B in German 'O' level, and have never been able to speak a word of the language. (Strangely, I also got a B in French, which I was relatively competent in and have used for work.)

Come to that, Jerome K Jerome in Three Men on the Bummel written in the late 19th C laments how English schoolchildren spend hours to no purpose studying languages, whereas German school boys/girls seem to end up with a useful command of English in the same time spent.

DD has just gone off in tears as she has the spoken bit of Y10 french tomorrow, and she hasn't got her text learnt completely. She is - according to her teachers - the best in the year. She now thinks she's going to fail.

When I did O level spoken French, I went into a room where the examiner was, she asked me quesrions in French and I answered in French. There was no preparation, we were given a choice of subjects we could be asked questions on - holidays, hobbies that sort of thing - but we had no real notice. We made the choice on the day.

I fail to see what any of this CA stuff is actually testing. It is absolute bollocks. DD used to love French and languages. At this rate, she'll never want to hear another word of it again.

I think GCSE MFL is pants.
My DD attained an A in French and can't speak French.
I failed my French o level in 1983 with a D grade. I knew enoigh French to help her with her homework and prep her for her spoken exam. She had been learning French for three years before she even had to parse a verb!