NPP 3: The Continuum from Mechanical Exercises to Communicative Tasks

 One of my kids who is a bit of a mathematician is very cross with Gauss. She maintains that he is only famous because he lived back when no-one had discovered anything. Famously in his Primary School, the teacher, wanting a quiet afternoon, set the class to add up all the numbers 1 to 100. Gauss did it in less than a minute. My daughter's Year 3 teacher set her class the same task. And like Gauss she did it instantly. But until appearing in this blog, she hasn't had the world-wide fame accorded to Gauss. Hence her grumpiness.

I seem to have done something similar with Littlewood's Continuum of Communication.

It started with this post on what seem to be two meanings of the word "meaning". There is lexical meaning: I know that chien means dog. And there is the creation of meaning: saying something you want to say. Which I suppose is called communicative meaning.

Of course, while they seem distinct, there is a continuum between the two sorts of meaning. Here are some examples starting from "lexical" and moving to "communicative."

• Using translation to show knowledge of the lexical meaning of words in isolation
• Using translation to show knowledge of the lexical meaning of words in a sentence
• Creating sentences in order to show they can create sentences that make sense
• Using transactional language in a simulated situation
• Creating writing to show they can construct paragraphs that are coherent and meet linguistic criteria
• Creating writing that is fun/imaginative in order to show what they can do with the language
• Creating writing that is true but conventional
• Creating writing that is personal for the purpose of practising the language
• Creating writing that is argumentative, controversial, creative for a purpose or audience because the teacher told them to
• Using transactional language in a real situation of need or want
• Creating writing that is argumentative, controversial, creative for a purpose or audience because they want to

Researching this, I discovered that Littlewood had produced a very similar continuum. And not only on a purely theoretical linguistic basis, but in the context of language learning. I am temporarily avoiding reading more, so that I can firm up my own thinking.

The questions I have are:

Is this continuum also a progression model? Should we start with pre-communicative mechanical exercises and delay communication? This is what is recommended in the Ofsted research review Novice/Expert approach, delaying communication until a high grade at GCSE is reached.

Or is it desirable to inject communication at a much earlier stage in the learning process? Are purely mechanical exercises ever desirable?

What does it mean for our French Art Exhibition, which is at the heart of our National Priorities Project?

And does examining the question through the lens of the French Art Exhibition have lessons for our curriculum as a whole?

Having met as a department to start this process, we already have insights to share. I will document them and then read up some more to see how Littlewood's ideas tie in to our experience.

Next Post: How do the department react to the idea that the Art Exhibition Project could be a Bad Thing?