Curriculum research review series: languages

Initially, learners are slow at recognising sounds/letters or at recognising and producing words and structures. This is because short-term/working memory resources are limited and can only process a limited amount of information at a time, and information is not embedded yet in long-term memory.

Over time and with practice, knowledge becomes:

• proceduralised (it changes into a different kind of knowledge that is more accessible)

• automatised (it can be accessed with less or no conscious attention, and with reliable, stable speed)

Once learners have automatised some basic knowledge of the language, they can build on it: they can pay conscious attention to other features and establish new knowledge. They become able to carry out higher-level tasks, such as:

• drawing inferences (where the intended meaning is not explicit or where learners do not understand some of the words)

• noticing socio-linguistic nuance in the language (such as how language can differ in different contexts and for different purposes) and using language appropriately in view of that

• understanding and producing longer stretches of language; discourse competence (such as text analysis or coherent expression across extended stretches of language) is supported by a reliable knowledge of high-frequency words and ability to use grammar efficiently

When we look at the languages curriculum, it is important to understand that, in the UK, only the most proficient linguists at GCSE will be working as expert learners. A greater proportion of those in the sixth form may be doing so. Most pupils in UK schools will be learning the sounds, vocabulary and grammar of the language. They will be developing their understanding and production of these when they are combined into utterances or texts (see ‘Pillars of progression in the curriculum’).

When planning for pupils to become more proficient in the language, curriculum planning should consider the following aspects of linguistic knowledge and progression.

When listening and reading (comprehending language)

Novice linguists need to ‘decode’ what they hear or read. They segment strings of sounds or letters (break them into meaningful words) and parse sentences (such as work out ‘who is doing what’) by drawing on their phonic, vocabulary and grammatical knowledge. These processes are initially slow, effortful and prone to error. Learners are likely to draw on their first language(s) or on their knowledge of the world when working out meaning. Although this can sometimes be effective, it can also be unreliable and inefficient, and lead to guesswork.

With time and practice, knowledge of phonics, grammar and vocabulary becomes automatised. Accessing this knowledge becomes more accurate and effortless. With this, learners can understand longer written texts and spoken discourse. In turn, this means that they can access a wider range of meanings across a range of contexts and purposes of language use. They will also be more likely to efficiently and appropriately draw on contextual information, for example other words in the discourse. They can also bring in their knowledge of the world or background knowledge of a topic. This all allows them to better understand both familiar and less familiar topics and further develop their understanding of the culture of the language in scope.

Clearly, there are different demands on all learners when listening to language compared with reading it. Listening comprehension usually requires decoding sounds at the speed at which you hear them. You cannot go back, unless you are allowed to re-listen to the pre-recorded speech or ask someone to repeat what has been said. There may also be more than one speaker, so listeners have to follow multiple voices and points of view.

Teachers need to take similarities and differences between listening and reading comprehension into account when planning a balanced curriculum, deciding on classroom tasks and activities, and assessing progress. Teachers should be aware of the differences in the difficulty or challenge of tasks and allocate sufficient time for practice. For example, it may be easier to understand a written dialogue than a spoken one, given the speed of delivery, difference in accents and possible overlaps in conversation. Teachers can adjust the challenge by varying any of those factors or all of them. They should be aware of the different cognitive challenges that different factors bring to listening comprehension, as well as the cognitive challenges inherent in reading comprehension when selecting or designing tasks for their pupils (in view of their ability).

When speaking and writing (producing language)

Novice learners need to produce sounds or combine letters to make words and grammar into language that is comprehensible. Compared with more expert speakers and writers:

• their production is slower

• their sentences are often shorter

• they are likely to make more errors as they try to apply their phonic, vocabulary and grammatical knowledge to create genuine meaning and express their ideas

With time and practice, learners become faster at accessing phonic, grammar and vocabulary knowledge. They have faster and more accurate retrieval of sounds and spellings to produce words. They can put those words together by reliably following the patterns of the language to convey meaning accurately and efficiently.

With this automaticity and an increasing grammatical and vocabulary knowledge, learners’ capacity to pay attention to other learning is freed up. They can use this to produce longer and more complex words, phrases, sentences/utterances and texts. For example, learners become able to:

• hold on to an idea and refer back to it accurately (using words like ‘it’, ‘that’ or ‘despite’)

• produce a well-structured paragraph or text

• engage in discussion

This eventually makes them more able to put a good argument together in speech or in writing. It also helps them to write and speak for different purposes, across a wide range of contexts and for different audiences. They are more likely to be able to express sophisticated ideas – although very sophisticated ideas can also be expressed with very simple language. Also, expert learners build up a sense of ‘collocation’ (juxtaposition of a particular word with another word or words with a frequency greater than chance). Over time, learners produce ideas faster, more accurately, and more reliably, in both speech and writing.

There are different demands on learners (both novice and expert) when they are speaking, compared with when writing. When speaking or during other ‘live’ communication such as texting, they need to be aware of the ongoing shared discourse and to understand new information received. This means learners usually need to develop competency in listening. There is also often more time pressure in these scenarios. Learners may feel that listeners will not simply wait while they express their thoughts. Writing is usually ‘offline’ and so gives learners time to think about content and how to express it.

These key differences in demands between speaking, writing and in ability levels should be kept in mind when designing the curriculum, class activities and tests, and when assessing progression.

Based on the above, high-quality languages education may have the following features

• Teachers ensure that learners fully grasp the basics of language knowledge before expecting elements of expertise to come together reliably, remembering that only the most proficient pupils at GCSE will be working as expert learners, although a greater proportion of those in the sixth form may be doing so.

• Teachers support pupils’ development of reading, listening, writing and speaking abilities over time.

• Teachers develop competencies ‘above’ that of a sentence or simple paragraph/utterance or simple conversation when learners are becoming more expert. These competencies may include discourse awareness (such as text analysis and inference) and sociolinguistic nuance.