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Friday, 24 October 2025

Marking the Conversation at GCSE (AQA) -- Not funny

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 There are two meanings to the word "a joke". One is something deliberately risible, to make those in the know laugh. The other me...
Sunday, 19 October 2025

Part 3 of A Spanner in the Works. AQA Guidance for Marking the Conversation.

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I don't know where to find this information officially from AQA, but I am hearing there is going to be a re-think. I don't know what...

Part 2 of A Spanner in the Works. The AQA guidance on marking the Conversation.

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I don't know where to find this information officially from AQA, but I am hearing there is going to be a re-think. I don't know what...

Part 1 of: A Spanner in the Works? The new AQA guidance for marking the Conversation.

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I don't know where to find this information officially from AQA, but I am hearing there is going to be a re-think. I don't know what...
Thursday, 9 October 2025

Recent Posts on the Way Forward for Languages.

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Here's selection of recent posts on the two systemic problems facing MFL, why they are so bad, and what we could do about it.  The impac...
Sunday, 5 October 2025

Am I about to come unstuck? - How much can you rely on a metaphor for learning?

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 How much can you rely on a metaphor for learning to guide your practice? All models of learning are metaphors. Starting with the popular ...
Saturday, 20 September 2025

Is chatgpt the answer to the GCSE vocabulary homework problem?

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 In a previous post , I declared that I wasn't going to let the new GCSE Vocabulary List worry me. We didn't use to worry about the ...
Tuesday, 19 August 2025

Look on my works, ye mighty...

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 Pillars. The ubiquitous metaphor of the last few years in Language Learning. Supplanting the four "skills" of Listening, Speaking...
Tuesday, 5 August 2025

Linguistics in Year 7

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 I have been meaning for a while to write a post on the idea of Linguistics in schools and its relation to language teaching. Or more precis...
Friday, 1 August 2025

Unfair grading and its impact in Languages

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 Imagine you are selling petrol for £1.40 a litre, and the other garages down the street all sell it for £1.30. Should you be surprised or c...
Thursday, 31 July 2025

Hope is in the air

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 Languages is in the news again. With an exciting plethora of projects and proposals that could take us forward. Here's one that has jus...
Sunday, 29 June 2025

A new GCSE intended to improve the way we teach. And the new Photo Card task.

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 In the 1990s , teaching languages sometimes seemed to be about teaching pupils a collection of things they could say . And the exam reflect...
Thursday, 26 June 2025

Oracy across the curriculum

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  Here are some thoughts on Oracy.  It's not about MFL. I may write something in the future on Oracy in MFL. But that would be something...