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
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/220935
FEATURES School of Oriental and African Studies to talk to Year 10 students, hoping to convince them to take languages to A-level. A short meeting in June with my tutor meant it was all over. A paper file six inches thick, an online portfolio virtually crammed with more than 100 resources, eight months in school, one action research project, nine pieces of reflective writing, four assignments and countless lessons taught, evaluated and observed. There I was: qualified. Sadly, not everyone made it. Rigour is, well, de rigeur in education right now, and it would be fair to say that this abstract noun characterised the PGCE. By the end of June, only nine of fourteen starters had passed. Understandably distracted by the small matter of passing my course, I'd started the job hunt a bit late. This would prove tough too, but supply teaching came to the rescue and gave me experience of a plethora of schools and pupils as I toured South London every week with my sat nav. In October, I was offered a permanent post teaching French and Spanish at St Thomas More School in Eltham, starting in January. I'm so glad I made the move into teaching. I never imagined, at this stage in my career, I could have so much to learn, but I am simply in awe of what so many practitioners achieve with young people, day in, day out. Thanks to these tireless professionals, my lecturers, coursemates and one very supportive wife, I am getting closer to becoming the teacher I want to be. Not yet got cruise control, but ticking over nicely, thank you. In the next issue, Dr Shirley Lawes assesses the Key Stage 4 curriculum for languages. Teaching tips Gemma Newman, a French and Maths teacher at Blackheath High School, offers some invaluable advice to student teachers I decided to embark on a teaching career because I started to feel that the work I was doing in my office job was futile and didn't give me any deep sense of satisfaction. I loved the fact that I could use the knowledge I had gained from my languages degree. After all, French and France were my passion, and I couldn't wait to share it with young people. My first placement was very difficult, as my mentor's approach was to get me stuck in from the outset. Unfortunately I wasn't aware of what was – and wasn't – allowed, so I went along with it. Although this helped me with the second placement, it meant that I had little time to observe other teachers' lessons, something which I recommend PGCE students do as much as possible. One thing a new student teacher might worry about is classroom control. That is what I felt I had to do, so I kept shouting for the kids to be quiet and wondering why they weren't listening. Then the penny dropped: I shouldn't go into the class feeling that I ought to control the students; all I had to worry about was being a model of good behaviour myself. Shouting doesn't work; speaking in a calm, firm voice does. If you are not so hot on your second language (which you will need!), it may be a good idea to visit a country where it is spoken, or to go on a course, before starting the PGCE in order to brush up on your knowledge. Lack of spare time means it can be quite difficult to do so during the course. Another tip is to make the most of the PGCE time to produce and build up a bank of resources. You won't have as much time when you're a full-time teacher. With that in mind, also try to teach without too much planning towards the end of your PGCE – this will get you thinking on your feet, as teachers have to, and make you worry less about sticking to a lesson plan. You can then be more responsive to students' needs. Despite the challenges, I survived my PGCE and NQT years, and now I love teaching. It is a very stimulating and creative career. As a language teacher, the best thing is to go on the school trips abroad and see the pupils' smiles and excitement after they've managed to speak to a local. www.iol.org.uk