Tasks in the Junior Cycle MFL Classroom

Tasks in Junior Cycle MFL

Developing Students' Communicative Competence in MFL

START

Tasks to support student learning in junior cycle MFL

A resource to support the design of tasks to support language development

How they support students of MFL?

How they support teachers of MFL?

What is a task in the MFL classroom?

Next Steps

Some examples of tasks in MFL

Key features of a Junior Cycle MFL task

What is a task?

‘A goal-oriented activity in which learners use language to achieve a real outcome. In other words, learners use whatever target language resources they have in order to solve a problem, do a puzzle, play a game, or share and compare experiences.’ (J. Willis 1996)

A task is a goal driven learning activity where the construction of understanding and meaning is central. In advance, learners are scaffolded to a point where they can use their learning to construct and communicate their own meaning and message. Within a task, there is a connection to authentic, real-world situations and there is in-built priority to completing the task. In terms of assessment, this is against the outcome in line with co-constructed success criteria.(Adapted from Skehan 1998)

Some features that distinguish a task from an activity in MFL

There is a clear goal to guide the work and engage students supported by success criteria

Each student should be able to achieve the task to their level guided by success criteria

Students are resolving a problem, completing an information gap or exchanging information & ideas

Students use their target language knowledge and communication strategies

Students develop the relevant language skills alongside key skills

Some features of a communicative task

Goal

Inclusive

Purpose

Target Language

Skill Development

Goal

Inclusive

Resolution

Target Language

Skill Development

Tasks support our work with students in a number of ways:1. align intended learning in our unit of learning to a real-life, authentic and, ideally, culturally rich context2. apply learning developed to a new situation to deepen understanding3. use language for a communcative purpose4. apply learning in a practical way guided by success criteria that are later used to scaffold self and peer assessment as well as structure teacher feedback5. foster further student engagement by connecting with student interests.

How tasks support teachers of MFL?

Teacher Testimonial

How tasks support students of MFL?

Teacher Testimonial

Using tasks in the junior cycle MFL classroom can support student learning in various ways:1. aligning tasks to the learning intentions for a unit of learning provides clarity for students on how they are achieving the learning2. co-creating success criteria for a task clarifies for students what quality looks like and what is expected from them3. scaffolds cognitive stretch for students to apply their learning in a new situation and communicative manner4. providing focused formative feedback in line with co-created success criteria guides students learning and progress.

Some examples of tasks in MFL

UoL: What's going on?

Sample Task 1

UoL: What's going on?

Sample Task 2

UoL: What's going on?

Sample Task 3

UoL: What's going on?

Sample Task 4

Click on the icon to the right to access the Unit of Learning: What's going on?

How will I use success criteria to support students in understanding and completing the task?

Create a news report - local, global or imaginary - for your peers. For this task, we might consider:

• the class group in question
• the age and stage of the learners
• the relevant success criteria

Create an item that can be added to your class newsletter to share with the school community. For this task, we might consider:

• the class group in question
• the age and stage of the learners
• the relevant success criteria

Students explore a selection of headlines and discuss which ones interest them, which they would like to further explore and why. For this task, we might consider:

• the class group in question
• the age and stage of the learners
• the relevant success criteria

Having engaged with several news excerpts, discuss your opinion in pairs or a group. For this task, we might consider:

• the class group in question
• the age and stage of the learners
• the relevant success criteria

Q. To what degree do I plan for, and use, tasks in my teaching?Q. How might tasks support student learning in my classroom to improve student learning?Q. How might I structure tasks, and their associated success criteria, to support all students in achieving the learning?Q. How do I provide students with feedback on a task?- peer to peer feedback- self assessment- feedback as part of the process- whole class feedback exploited as a teachable moment- recorded feedback in the Student Language Portfolio

Next steps: individually and MFL department

For consideration: