The Linguist

The Linguist 59,1 - February/March 2020

The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology

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28 The Linguist Vol/59 No/1 2020 ciol.org.uk/tl outcomes for Chinese in our schools; develops closer relationships with our colleagues in China; and considers how we can use DfE funds to obtain the best opportunities, resources and experiences for our students. Our Expert Panel of teachers also meets every term, providing a platform to share ideas and resources, and receive bespoke CPD (continuous professional development) related to the MEP. ATTRACTING ATTENTION The MEP has been a very high profile programme and attracted much attention, which in turn has given our students some amazing opportunities. In the first year they were invited to present to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Modern Languages at the House of Lords. The students gave presentations in Mandarin and then responded to questions about the MEP from peers and APPG members. Last year, our International Coordinator and I presented papers to the APPG on the importance of visits and exchanges, sharing the impact of the MEP and, in particular, of the visit to China. In July 2019, our Year 9 students participated in an intensive learning week at Nottingham University where they were able to work with MEP students from across the country. In Year 10, they are given a further opportunity to take part in an exchange visit with one of our partner schools in Jiangsu province. They stay with their exchange partners, learning about family and school life, living and working alongside their Chinese peers. In the sixth form, they will be able to access work experience and a further exchange programme. The level of challenge and student progress is monitored closely. Learners are given annual hurdle tests in Years 7-9 to ensure they are on track to achieve high levels of fluency, the highest grades at GCSE, and HSK 4 by the time they complete the course in Year 11. They will progress to study IB Standard Chinese and HSK 5 aged 16-18, and the hope is that they will continue with their Chinese into higher education. UCL IOE has tracked the progress of these students since the programme's inception in 2016. The University of Cambridge has also been studying the impact of multilingualism on our students' learning, and results show that this well-funded, time-rich, intensively resourced programme of study can, indeed, produce high levels of fluency in four years, as part of the broad and balanced curriculum of comprehensive schools. This innovative, creative, collaborative approach to language learning has been hugely rewarding and great fun to deliver. It has given students a unique opportunity to experience China in a way that most children in UK state comprehensive schools are not able to do. After studying Chinese for just 10 weeks in Year 7, Euan told me, "Studying Chinese has revealed an entire new world to me that will open many doors for me further down the line." Thanks to generous MEP funding, we have disadvantaged students whose first experience of a plane has been a long-haul flight to China with their peers to experience the culture, history and traditions of the country first-hand. This is a mind-blowing, incredibly meaningful way of bridging the divide in cultural capital for our most compromised students. We have watched students develop confidence and pride in their linguistic skills, delight in the opportunities to immerse themselves in a culture and language, and use their skills in context in this fascinating, beautiful and forward-thinking nation. INTENSIVE STUDY Anglo European School pupils on the Mandarin Excellence Programme with their Chinese teacher To find out how your school can join the Mandarin Excellence Programme email mandarinexcellence@ ucl.ac.uk or see ci.ioe.ac.uk/mandarin- excellence-programme

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