Compulsory languages teaching for primary teachers in Scotland

Following the introduction of the Scottish Government’s 1+2 language policy in 2012, all primary teachers in Scotland are expected to teach at least one foreign language. However, the increased complexity of modern language curricula, including the need to integrate cultural, linguistic and grammatical aspects, can be overwhelming. This impacts teachers’ confidence, leaving them feeling unprepared (Colquhoun, 2018; Scottish Government, 2022), and resulting in languages often being overlooked despite their numerous benefits for young people. Developing confidence to teach languages should, therefore, be a key component of initial teacher education (ITE) programmes.

‘The increased complexity of modern language curricula, including the need to integrate cultural, linguistic and grammatical aspects, can be overwhelming.’

The study

In this blog post, I outline my research into exploring how a microteaching task incorporating authentic experiences and structured reflection can contribute to boosting pre-service teachers’ confidence to teach languages at primary level.

Although microteaching is a common assessment in teacher education, typical microteaching exercises do not fully reflect the normal complexities of the classroom in class size, lesson length, task complexity (Benton-Kupper, 2001) and audience, and their reflective component differs in format. In my study, the microteaching activity was adapted to reproduce an authentic experience. Twelve 3rd and 4th year ITE students took part in the voluntary task. The students had to co-design a 40-minute language lesson to co-deliver to primary school pupils in a centre for children’s literature, an authentic educational environment which introduced varied and unpredictable outcomes. To encourage cooperative learning, the task was delivered by a group of two to three students. The students delivered the same activity to three groups of pupils, allowing them to engage with Schön’s (1991) concept of reflection ‘in’ and ‘on’ action. Reflection took place during and between each delivery and through a one-hour group reflection with the lecturer the following week.

The results

Quantitative and qualitative data collected through a questionnaire and a focus group resulted in very positive feedback, with all participants agreeing ‘very much’ or ‘extremely’ that the activity enhanced their confidence in teaching. Subject confidence grew from researching the subject and developing a task which gave them the opportunity to develop all language skills. Participants further valued the practical nature of the task: having the experience of teaching the subject was invaluable ‘because that’s not something you can really learn [in class]’. Having an appropriate amount of time to deliver the lesson (40 minutes) and delivering the session several times with ample time to reflect were also seen as essential features of the task. Participants all highlighted the value of reflecting as a group between lessons and found the one-hour group reflection to be ‘really useful’ and ‘a really good reflective experience’ for their future teaching practice, particularly in relation to thinking about the range of backgrounds and experiences of the children in the classroom. The participants agreed that the collaborative nature of the task boosted their confidence in teaching the subject and felt better prepared to work independently in the future. Witnessing successful outcomes was also key in enhancing students’ confidence. For instance, one group was amazed that ‘by the end of [the session, pupils] could sing the whole [song in French] practically’. Finally, the task fostered a strong element of engagement, which is essential to boost confidence: ‘I think the whole experience was just brilliant, I just loved it all!’, ‘Can we do it again?’

Conclusion

This case study demonstrates that microteaching activities that incorporate authentic experiences and structured reflection can effectively develop student teachers’ confidence in teaching languages, as this participant’s response encompasses: ‘I definitely say, without a shadow of a doubt, that it helped [my confidence].’ Using this type of microteaching tasks could make a valuable contribution to teacher education programmes, provided student teachers also receive instruction in the language and in research-informed language pedagogy, which are both essential prerequisites to develop student teachers’ confidence to teach languages.

References

Benton-Kupper, J. (2001). The microteaching experience: Student perspectives. Education 3–13, 121(4), 830–835.

Colquhoun, R. (2018). ‘How is implementation of the 1+2 language policy progressing in Scottish primary schools? Scottish Languages Review, 35(Winter), 1–10.

Schön, D. (1991). The reflective practitioner. Ashgate Publishing Limited.

Scottish Government (2022). 1+2 Languages policy: Findings from the 2021 survey of local authorities. https://www.gov.scot/publications/12-languages-policy-findings-2021-survey-local-authorities/