An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of German
REPORT
Presentation De La Salle College,
Bagenalstown, County Carlow
Roll number: 61150N
Date of inspection: 01 December 2006
Date of issue of report: 21 June 2007
Subject provision and whole school support
Summary of main findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in German
Subject inspection report
This report has been written following a subject inspection in Presentation De la Salle College, Bagenalstown. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in German and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of this subject in the school. The evaluation was conducted over one day during which the inspector visited classrooms and observed teaching and learning. The inspector interacted with students and teachers, examined students’ work, and had discussions with school management and the teacher of German. The inspector reviewed school and subject planning documentation and teachers’ written preparation. Following the evaluation visit, the inspector provided oral feedback on the outcomes of the evaluation to the principal and subject teachers.
Subject provision and whole school support
School management is to be commended for its contribution over the years to languages forming a central strand of the curriculum. All first year students must do a language and students have the possibility of learning two languages. This is commendable. Students make their choice of modern European language between French and German on entry to the school. Further subject choices are made at the end of first year and once again at the end of third year prior to transfer to senior cycle whether Transition Year (TY) or to Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) or to the established Leaving Certificate. The provision of a year in which students are given an opportunity to experience the learning of the language prior to making final choice in subjects has much in its favour. However, it has also resulted in a number of students not continuing with a language after first year. This also may have been a factor contributing to the indiscipline observed in first year, where students at an early stage in the year seem to be “mentally” opting out of the study of a language. This arrangement, as well as the resulting number of students leaving school without a language, are matters for concern and should be addressed by school management in the context of the school’s development planning and decision-making in relation to future curriculum provision.
The time allocation and distribution of class contact time for German in junior cycle and senior cycle is optimal, with the exception of TY, where students have no opportunity to continue with German. At present the students who learn German to Junior Certificate, lose contact with that language during TY. It is very difficult to ensure continued uptake in the language and to ensure retention of the good development of language skills and competence observed at junior cycle in that situation. This needs to be addressed. The absence of contact with the target language in TY is a factor which may be contributing to a lower uptake in the German at senior cycle. It is recommended that school management review the lack of provision of German in TY with a view to optimising retention of numbers and ensuring continued quality in development in language competence and attainment. School management should also look at innovative, yet feasible arrangements which might broaden the provision of the German language, such as the possibility of offering German ab initio in TY or as a language module in LCVP.
Planning and preparation
Good long-term planning documentation was made available. Planning documentation began with an outline of the school mission statement. “The school aims to be a caring community dedicated to the development of the whole person in an atmosphere of mutual respect.” This was observed to be implemented in practice in most of the lessons observed. The objectives for the teaching and learning in German were clearly presented year by year at both junior and senior cycle. At junior cycle, specific learning outcomes for each year group, expressed in “can do” statements were included. This is in line with best practice and facilitates review of student progress and development of learner autonomy, and was reflected in the approach taken in lessons observed.
Aims such as: “to build their confidence in their ability to understand and use the language, to promote communication in German, to support students in their awareness of the process of language learning” were being achieved in practice. Lesson content was articulated in terms of topics, areas of vocabulary and grammatical structures, set out on a term-by-term basis. The senior cycle documentation was more detailed and was in line with syllabus guidelines in terms of content and approach. Objectives, such as to increase students’ confidence, fluency and accuracy in conversing in German, to build on, expand and refine students’ ability to express themselves in written German, were included. Lessons for the development of language skills were planned through an integrated approach, each topic involving a variety of activities and grammar integrated into those activities. senior cycle planning documents were in the target language of German which is good practice. However, it is important to ensure that a summary in English of any German language planning documents is available for school management and school records.
There was evidence of good short-term planning in the lessons observed. Links were established with previous work and lesson content and with future learning. There was evidence of good planning for the utilisation of a range of resources. The provision of a teacher-based language room facilitated the optimal deployment of resources. There was effective deployment and integration of a range of resources including worksheets, overhead projector transparencies, data projector, DVD recorder and white board. The classroom, although not ideal as a language room for learners, was well equipped and decorated with both student work and charts/posters with cultural content. The theatre-style tiered seating was not an ideal seating arrangement to facilitate the group and pair work observed. Student work and subject-related material on display in classroom created a reasonably attractive learning environment.
Teaching and learning
Lesson timelines recorded in the course of observation indicate the range of activities and frequency with which activities changed. Active learning methodologies, such as pair work or group work, were appropriate for the junior cycle student cohort, in particular the first-year group, and the good variety in approach demonstrated was all the more necessary for the age and level of application of the group in question. Students applied themselves better as the lesson progressed. The efforts to change the activity and use a variety of resources were rewarded in that students became more settled in contrast to the restlessness displayed at the beginning of the lesson. Students were competent in their use of the German alphabet and could correctly spell out vocabulary learnt.
During some pair work observed, students worked well together and responded positively to the authenticity of the tasks. The greatest motivation for learners to communicate effectively in the target language follows when the activity created involves true and enjoyable exchange of information and opinion on material relevant to their own lives. This situation was created in some of the lessons observed and is commendable. The assigning of “real tasks” contributed to student application to task and to student enjoyment. Students demonstrated good competence in their use of language and enjoyment and engagement with the lesson content. The opportunities for students to use and to participate in activities through the target language should be consolidated and extended. Each student should be required to make a contribution to the lesson.
The most important resource for any language classroom is the teacher who can effectively model the target language community and culture. A good level of both linguistic and cultural competence and an awareness of how students learn were observed in the course of the inspection. The provision of differentiated worksheets to cater for the range of student ability with the mixed ability groups, an ability to adapt content and approach to make content accessible was demonstrated in the teaching approach. There was good use of the target language, although interspersed with English. When giving simple everyday instructions to learners in the language classroom, every effort should be made to make the target language the language of instruction. Students will grow accustomed to this approach over time. Care should be taken in the systematic work on vocabulary acquisition, which was effective, that there is not excessive recourse to the mother tongue translation. In the class contact time available to students in the language, students’ exposure to the target language as the main language of instruction and communication should be maximised. Therefore, it is recommended, that the use of the target language as the medium of communication and instruction in the classroom should be consolidated, so that it is firmly embedded in practice.
The development of students’ language awareness, understanding of both sentence and word structure, was good. Grammatical items were clearly explained with simple examples and the students demonstrated good competence and development in the necessary skills. There was effective linking of students’ prior knowledge of other languages with the introduction of new items of vocabulary. The inclusion of the development of student awareness of the difference in cultural traditions of the target language community was also commendable. However, at times teacher talk dominated, not allowing sufficient time for student active participation and student talk. The effectiveness of lessons was inhibited somewhat by the slow pace of some activities and the dominance of teacher interventions. The students would have derived more benefit from additional opportunities to articulate their views. Nevertheless, students were interested and participated willingly and demonstrated, in the main, good skills in the structures required.
There were good classroom relationships in the main, with a purposeful working atmosphere. For the most part, there was good student-teacher and student-student rapport in the classroom. The sharing of the lesson objective was observed in junior cycle lessons, where there was a brief recap on the previous day’s learning and the introduction of the purpose of that day’s lesson. Students responded confidently and accurately to the open questions posed. It is recommended in this context that the sharing of lesson objectives with students become a regular feature of classroom approach. In this way students can become more responsible for their own learning and students showed a readiness for this.
Assessment
There was consistent giving and correcting of homework. The frequency with which homework is assigned was evident in the sample of copies examined. The systematic practice of linguistic and grammatical structures resulted in reasonably accurate use of language on the part of students. There was careful correcting of homework, with marks awarded, teacher’s commentary and the requirement to complete correction of errors. Oral or written homework assigned. The amount of homework given seemed to be insufficient. Homework tasks set could also have been more challenging. It is important to challenge students to reach the highest standard for each individual.
Assessment included weekly vocabulary tests. Mid-term and end-of-term examinations are regular features of assessment. The inclusion of an oral assessment component in the regular in-house assessment from first year onwards is commended. There is systematic recording and reporting on student progress.
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:
- School management is to be commended for its contribution over the years to languages forming a central strand of the curriculum and to its ongoing support for languages in the curriculum provision of the college.
- Good long-term planning documentation was made available. The objectives for the teaching and learning in German were clearly presented year by year at both junior and senior cycle, expressed in “can do” statements, in line with best practice, and were reflected in the approach taken in lessons observed.
- There was evidence of good short-term planning in the lessons observed. Links were established with previous work and lesson content and with future learning. There was evidence of good planning for the utilisation of a range of resources.
- Active learning methodologies, such as pair work or group work, were appropriate for the junior cycle student cohort. The assigning of “real tasks” contributed to student application to task and to student enjoyment.
- Students demonstrated good competence in their use of language, and enjoyment and engagement with the lesson content. Students, in the main, were interested, and participated willingly, demonstrating good skills in the structures required.
- The inclusion of an oral assessment component in the regular in-house assessment from first year onwards is commended.
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
- The number of students presently leaving school without a language is a matter for concern and should be addressed by school management in the context of the school’s development planning and decision making in relation to future curriculum provision.
- It is recommended that school management review the lack of provision of German in Transition Year with a view to optimising retention of numbers and ensuring continued quality in development of language competence and attainment.
- It is recommended, that the use of the target language as the medium of communication and instruction in the classroom should be consolidated, so that it is firmly embedded in practice. The opportunities for students to use the target language and to participate in activities through the target language should also be consolidated and extended.
- It is recommended that the sharing of lesson objectives with students become a regular feature of classroom approach.
- Homework tasks set should challenge students to reach the highest standard for each individual and help to ensure appropriate development of skills and competence.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the German department and with the principal, at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluations were presented and discussed.