Education by Shala Books

  • Home
  • Resources
    • FSL Resources
    • ESL Resources
    • Reading Resources
    • Educator Resources
  • Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Support
    • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact
    • Opportunities
  • Login
  • Home
  • Resources
    • FSL Resources
    • ESL Resources
    • Reading Resources
    • Educator Resources
  • Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Support
    • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact
    • Opportunities
  • Login

THE EDUCATION BLOG

BLOG HOME PAGE
Let's Talk Education
Educational Frameworks
Planners
Reading
ESL
FSL
Modern Foreign Languages
Mother Tongue
Tips for Educators
Tips for Parentss
Education Quotes

Blog

March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018

A PLANNING TEMPLATE FOR MULTI-LEVEL MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE (MFL) CLASSES

12/1/2019

 
Situations at a school can change, and sometimes we end up having to teach multiple levels of student abilities in one classroom, as was the case at the Netherlands Inter-community School (NIS). During my time there, we experienced a decrease in student population, resulting in a need for us to combine beginner, intermediate and advanced level students in our Modern Foreign Language (MFL) classes, which included English, Dutch and Bahasa Indonesia. Due to this shift, the planners that we originally had in place would no longer work, and as Language Coordinator it was my responsibility to create a new modified set, as shown below.
Modern Foreign Language Planner
MFL Planner
Above is the first page of the unit planner that was used for planning as an MFL team. Together, we would first indicate how many months our units would run, then fill in International Primary Curriculum (IPC) unit names and brief descriptions (due to our school’s routing, IPC units across all 3 mileposts were related themes). Once this was complete, we could begin filling out the first column – IPC Vocabulary/Grammar. The vocabulary and grammar we chose was based on the mainstream teacher planners (see Language Framework for more details) that we had received which indicated important terms and grammar they would be covering in their classes. Our goals were both to match up with the mainstream as much as possible, and to divide up the vocabulary and grammar provided to meet 3 different language abilities – beginner (CEFR A1), intermediate (CEFR A2) and advanced (CEFR B1). Because students would be following a combination of two of the MFL classes we offered – Bahasa Indonesia and either Dutch or English, we also had to ensure  we were choosing similar vocabulary/grammar so that tight connections could be made between all of our classes. After choosing the language we would teach, we moved on to our Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) objectives – choosing similar ones in each category but increasing in difficulty to accommodate all the levels of student abilities. The last column was for our end of unit assessment. Our goal was to create a singular assessment – a project that could be scaffolded to meet varying needs and CEFR objectives. We also had to make sure that our projects were different enough so that students would not be repeating similar projects in their MFL classes. This concluded our team planning, and then teachers were given the next page of the unit planning template below to complete individually.
MFL Planner
MFL Planner
The above planner had enough sections to accommodate all of the lessons throughout a unit, which on average was 10 – 12 lessons. This planner also allowed teachers to plan lessons that catered to all 3 language levels at one time. Teachers were first required to map out vocabulary and grammar that would be covered during each lesson, split 3 ways, and based on the first page of the unit planner. Following this, teachers would fill out the CEFR objectives sections – again split 3 ways. Then teachers indicated the activities they had planned during each lesson, scaffolded them, and listed necessary materials. Once completed, we would all come together as a team and review each other’s planners and offer support as needed. A note to mention is that these unit planners served as a general guideline; as we all know, sometimes lessons run longer or shorter and things need to shift on a day-to-day basis. What we did know is that by the end of our unit, objectives set out across all 3 levels would be met, and students would have learned the vocabulary and grammar concepts we had set out to cover.

From a teacher’s perspective, this unit planner offered an easy seamless way to cater to a multi-level class. And as Language Coordinator, this unit planner offered me a bird’s eye view of all of our MFL curriculums and allowed me to ensure that everyone’s units flowed from lesson to lesson and that we were able to accommodate all of our students’ needs while staying in synch with the rest of our school. In short, the unit planner was a perfect solution for our school and its changing population!
Further Reading

Customized Planners

Making the Language Connections in Modern Foreign Language Classes
How to Help Your Foreign Language Students Improve Their Speaking & Listening Skills
How to Link Your MFL Curriculum to the IPC

PD for MFL Teachers
FIND OUT MORE
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    SHARE ARTICLE

    Welcome to
    The Education Blog

    Christina Shala
    Christina Shala
    About Christina Shala

    Recent Post

    Quick Links


    FSL Resources
    ESL Resources
    Beginning Readers
    Consulting Services

    Have a Question?

    CONTACT US
Vertical Divider
Vertical Divider
OUR COMPANY
About
Blog
FAQ
Contact
Opportunities
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
FSL Resources
ESL Resources
Emergent Readers
Transitional Readers
​Educator Resources​
Consulting Services
Vertical Divider
CONNECT WITH US
© Copyright 2023  Education by Shala Books Inc.