Gifted and Talented - Modern Foreign Languages

Identifying students

The study of modern foreign languages offers many challenges to our students here at Barking Abbey. Language-learning fosters both intellectual development as well as important social skills and therefore impacts positively on the self-esteem of our students. This is especially the case with gifted linguists whom we may identify in the following ways:-

> They have a strong desire to put together language by themselves

- they can use what they have learned in new contexts and do not restrict themselves just to the topic being studied at present

> They display creativity and imagination when using language

- this can lead to grammatical errors as they seek to stretch their powers of communication

> They possess a natural feel or ear for the language

- they seem to have a good gut feeling for what sounds right in the foreign language and are usually very good at seeing the relationship between sound and spelling

> They absorb and retain new structures quickly

- their oral and / or aural skills are excellent and they can usually understand fast streams of language from an early stage; they show very good ability at remembering language, both immediately or from one lesson to the next

> They make connections and classify words and structures to help themselves learn more efficiently

- they evaluate new language critically and understand the grammatical function of words easily

> They often look for solutions and pose further questions

- They like to put their own theories to the test to solve linguistic problems and often push the boundaries of the tasks set

> They have a good understanding of their own preferred learning styles

- they already have a good grasp of how they like to learn vocabulary, can work independently and make use of a wide range of reference material, including ICT, without supervision

> They show a keen interest in the cultural background of the foreign country

- they may enjoy learning about the history, art, politics or traditions of the target language country

The languages department staff use the above criteria as well as our own professional judgement when identifying Gifted and Talented individuals. It is useful to note that bilingual children may possess highly developed listening and speaking skills but may struggle with written work, in which case we are careful to provide the appropriate teaching and resources to strengthen this skill.

Extension Activities

Below you will find typical examples of extension tasks given to pupils in their language lessons. Although these are grouped according to Year group we have found that certain activities can be adapted to suit the needs of most age groups or to different topic areas.

Extra- curricular activities

School Visits

We strongly believe that our students should get the chance to visit the country concerned; failing this, they are encouraged to participate in trips which bring the target language culture a little closer to home. Here are some of the trips which the department organises…

Useful resources

ygt.dcsf.gov.uk/

Staff contact details