Language Skills

This section explores the development of listening, reading, talking, and writing in language learning.  It is not an exhaustive guide but provides prompts for reflection on learning and teaching in relation to these skills and some guidance on how they may be developed.  Please refer to the resources section for suggested additional reading where required.

This section explores Language Skills and Knowledge about Language in relation to the following three How are we doing? self-evaluation statements:

  • Talking and listening in the target language are embedded into all aspects of our learning and are designed to build learner confidence, promote spontaneity, develop knowledge and skills in pronunciation/phonics, and develop meaningful communication.
  • Our learners are, over time, developing their knowledge about language and can apply their learning through writing with increasing independence and complexity in a range of contexts from First Level onwards.
  • We build learner literacy skills through language learning and continuously embed opportunities to read and listen to language from a range of sources and texts which includes authentic L1 texts and native speakers.

Click on the links below to read more about the key themes relating to Language Skills and Knowledge about Language and then use the How are we doing statements to reflect on your current practice and to explore your next steps.  Further reading and resources are also provided at the bottom of this page.

Listening

To fully capture the importance and potential of listening, it is useful to reflect on what it means holistically in terms of language acquisition and language learning.  Renukadevi (2014, p.59) notes:

Listening has an important place in learning as it is one of the four major skills in language acquisition. Even though the other skills such as reading, speaking and writing are essential to develop language proficiency, listening contributes primarily for language expertise. Listening awakens awareness of the language as it is a receptive skill that first develops in a human being. Learning to listen to the target language improves language ability. The sound, rhythm, intonation, and stress of the language can only be perfectly adapted through listening. To understand the nuances in a particular language, one must be able to listen. As we get to understand spoken language by listening it is easier to improve the other skills and gain confidence.  Other than being the primary form of communication, listening helps the language learner to understand the beauty of the language. Especially in terms of communicative language teaching it is said that the basis for communicative competence is listening as it provides the aural input and enables learners to interact in spoken communication and hence language learning largely depends on listening. Thus listening forms the concrete basis for the complete language proficiency.

This quotation both highlights the fundamental importance of listening to language learning.  It encourages us to provide our learners with a diverse and rich range of language listening experiences which both contribute to building proficiency and promote engagement with the language and culture. This reinforces the need for listening to be developed as a macro skill, which overarches all learning, as opposed to being simply a standalone activity for the purposes of demonstrating understanding.

Listening sources and activities may include:

  • Using target language throughout learning e.g. learning instructions, daily routines, social language, communication of ideas etc.
  • A range of voices in the target language e.g. partner schools, cultural agencies, other learners, other teachers, parents, language assistants, volunteers etc.
  • A range of media e.g. music, film, cartoon, TV, online sources, audio recordings, radio, podcasts etc.
  • A range of learning resources e.g locally and nationally developed learning resources, stories read aloud, songs etc.

When developing listening comprehension skills, it is useful to consider how we enrich this process by linking to wider skills development.  Some examples of wider skills development might include listening skills strategies and literacy skills. Activities to help learners understand the context of a dialogue (e.g. how many voices do you hear? What else do you hear? Where does the dialogue take place, in a school, in the street, in a restaurant? Who speaks to whom? Are they friends? Are they family? What could they be talking about?) are a good way to develop listening comprehension strategies and skills. By exploring a diverse, rich and varied range of approaches to listening, we provide a context whereby learners learn that they do not need to understand every word in order to progress.

Talking

The development of talking in a language is influenced by a wide range of factors including a sense of self-efficacy (i.e. confidence in self to complete the task), a preparedness to make mistakes, motivation to learn and wider literacy skills. Planning learning which is communication-rich and embeds as many opportunities as possible for learners to talk in a meaningful way and with increasing spontaneity in the language, normalises talking and builds learner confidence over time.

It is important to strike a balance between accuracy and readiness to communicate in the target language. Helping learners to explore talking without the fear of making mistakes, can support with building fluency and confidence in talking. Accuracy of course, remains important – and there may be activities whereby accuracy of language, pronunciation etc. is the goal – however these approaches can be blended with learning which promotes spontaneous response, fluency, and confidence in use of language. The Language Teacher Toolkit (Smith & Conti, 2016, p.27) explores a range of activities which can support with developing pronunciation and balancing accuracy and fluency when talking.

Reflecting upon the distinction between language learning and language use can help when considering the balance across our own planning, ensuring that we provide both opportunities to learn and opportunities to develop communication and fluency across contexts. Consolidation of language learning can be developed through both structured ‘practice’ activities as well as opportunities to apply learning more spontaneously in talk.

Considerations may include:

  • Ongoing revisiting of key language structures and vocabulary both through structured talk activities with a focus on accuracy – which provide learners with scaffolded opportunities for practice to consolidate recent learning – and through spontaneous talk activities with a focus on fluency
  • Input of new and theme specific language (modelled through learning activities including listening and reading), with learners then constructing and communicating their own responses using prior learning and new thematic language

Embedding phonics throughout learning by exploring, highlighting, and modelling the sounds of language helps learners to develop a working knowledge of pronunciation.  Reading and listening simultaneously and reading aloud can be powerful tools in developing pronunciation skills and deepening knowledge of phonics intrinsically. Activities which encourage learners to make connections, identify patterns and arrive at phonics rules independently all help to support deeper learning.

Writing

Writing is introduced from First Level onwards and is key in consolidating learning and applying language skills.  It is sometimes thought of as being more challenging (particularly in primary), however writing is an area where learners can take time to consider, reflect and correct their productive language and it is a crucial part of planning from First Level onwards.  This links to wider literacy skills development by supporting learners to check and correct their own writing and apply rules and skills across languages. By integrating writing as a key skill from First Level, and increasingly embedding into all language learning from Second Level onwards, we provide learners with a model which supports depth and consolidation, increased knowledge of language and ownership of their own learning.

As is the case for talking, writing activities should strike the balance between fluency and accuracy. When primary and secondary learners have opportunities to organise their learning, develop their own support resources (e.g. word banks etc.), they also develop the skills to begin to work autonomously in their language learning, using their own materials as well as other resources such as bilingual dictionaries to refer back to and to check their own writing.  Writing can also offer learners opportunities to see and share their progress.  Writing progression is generally marked by increasing length and complexity of language use, working towards autonomous language production over time.

Reading

Reading a wide variety of texts in the target language brings opportunities to model a rich range of language. Like listening, having regular exposure to language through reading improves language development and acquisition over time.

Reading skills can be developed both as an integrated aspect of learning and teaching (e.g. key phrases written on a board, learning instructions, flashcards etc.) and through reading texts for information and for pleasure.  Reading and encountering words and phrases repeatedly across a range of contexts allows for learning to take place in a meaningful way.  Integrating reading into language learning enables this process of increasingly noticing and recalling language.

By reading in different languages, we draw on and develop key transferable literacy skills. As we read in a new language, we decode words and phrases, refer back to L1 literacy (e.g. English, Gaelic), form predictions and create visuals of meaning. By developing our understanding of the impact of language learning on literacy, practitioners are better placed to develop more integrated approaches which enhance learning.

It is critical that learners are not extracted from language learning to develop L1 reading and literacy.   This is emphasised in Education Scotland’s 1+2 Languages FAQS and Answers (2017, p.1) document:

Q: Does the notion of entitlement provide a tool to stop the practice of pupils being removed from modern languages (ML) to go to the ASN department?

A: All learners are entitled to language learning. Many teachers and learners report that literacy skills are improved through language learning. Pupils should not be extracted from modern languages as a result of difficulties in developing literacy skills in particular.

To maximise the learning potential of reading it is key that it goes beyond set sentences (e.g. textbook phrases linked to a topic) and provides opportunities for learners to explore a varied and rich range of texts which revisit and extend language structures. As for listening, it is essential that learners accept that they do not need to understand every word of a sentence or a text to progress and be successful.

Developing knowledge about language (KaL)

Developing Knowledge about Language (KaL) contributes to a structured approach to language learning which builds learner autonomy and the ability to apply language rules (grammar) across languages. As is the case for pronunciation, by exploring and identifying patterns of language throughout learning, we support learners to develop their knowledge of language in context and enable greater depth of learning. A spiral or retrieval approach to learning introduces aspects of grammar explicitly and embeds these structures over time, repeatedly revisiting them across a range of learning contexts. Structures can be modelled repeatedly, with regular opportunities for learners to consolidate learning through talking and writing.  Knowledge about Language grids have been produced by Education Scotland and are available on their 1+2 Languages web pages (see Resources at the bottom of this page).

Through listening, talking, writing, and reading learners develop knowledge about language.

How are we doing?

  • Talking and listening in the target language are embedded into all aspects of our learning and are designed to build learner confidence, promote spontaneity, develop knowledge and skills in pronunciation/phonics, and develop meaningful communication.
  • Our learners are, over time, developing their knowledge about language and can apply their learning through writing with increasing independence and complexity in a range of contexts from First Level onwards.
  • We build learner literacy skills through language learning and continuously embed opportunities to read and listen to language from a range of sources and texts which includes authentic L1 texts and native speakers.

Record your practice

Now you have researched the methodology and best practice in Language Skills it's time to record how you are doing. Download the interactive/printable PDF file which you can fill in digitally (or manually if you prefer) for your records and CPD.

Education Scotland, A 1+2 approach to modern languages

Available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/a-1-plus-2-approach-to-modern-languages

Education Scotland (2017) Education Scotland Benchmarks Modern Languages

Available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/ModernLanguagesBenchmarksPDF.pdf

Education Scotland () Curriculum for Excellence Modern Languages Experiences and Outcomes

Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/modern-languages-eo.pdf

Education Scotland (2017) 1+2 Languages: FAQs and Answers

Available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/documents/modlang7-faq-and-answers.pdf

Education Scotland, Modern Languages: Principles and Practice

Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/modern-languages-pp.pdf

SCILT S1 - S3

Available at: https://scilt.org.uk/S1-S3/Promotinglanguages/tabid/1423/Default.aspx

Scottish Government (2012) Language Learning in Scotland, A 1+2 Approach

Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/language-learning-scotland-12-approach/

Smith, S Conti, G (2016) The Language Teacher Toolkit, Independent Publishing Platform

Renukadevi, D (2014) The Role of Listening in Language Acquisition; the Challenges & Strategies in Teaching Listening, Research India Publications

Available at: https://www.ripublication.com/ijeisv1n1/ijeisv4n1_13.pdf

1+2 Supporting Documents

This document contains information about the background to the 1+2 approach and the approach itself.

Language Learning in Scotland A 1+2 Approach

This document contains updated guidance about L3 and the different ways that schools can implement the L3.

Language Learning in Scotland a 1+2 Approach - Guidance on L3 within the 1+2 policy Updated May 2019

This site contains a set of FAQ about the 1+2 approach

SCILT A 1+2 Approach FAQ

Progression Documents

Modern Languages Experiences and outcomes are a set of clear and concise statements about children's learning and progression in Modern Languages. They are used to help plan learning and to assess progress.

Curriculum for Excellence Modern Languages Experiences and Outcomes

Modern Languages Benchmarks provide clarity on the national standards expected within languages at each level. They set out clear lines of progression from first to fourth levels. Their purpose is to make clear what learners need to know and be able to do to progress through the levels, and to support consistency in teachers' and other practitioners' professional judgements.

Modern Languages Benchmarks

This suite of resources brings together all the national documentation practitioners need to plan for progressing language learning from First to second, second to third and third to fourth levels.

Modern Languages Progression Framework: First to Second Level

Professional Learning

GTCS approved qualification which can lead to Professional Recognition. The distance learning programme provides an opportunity for teachers to study a language at the same time as pedagogy for language teaching.

OU/SCILT Teachers Learning to Teach Languages (TELT)

The Languages Leadership Programme developed by Education Scotland and SCILT, supports local authorities by building capacity to achieve a sustainable model for leading language learning and teaching for all. Open to those who are interested in developing approaches to language learning and in implementing change in their own contexts, this might include: classroom teachers, principal teachers, heads of department, heads of faculty or languages lead practitioners.

Languages Leadership Programme

SCILT aims to provide high quality professional learning opportunities to support the teaching and learning of languages across all sectors and all parts of the country. They offer a range of formal courses, workshops, bitesize drop in sessions and additional sessions throughout the school year.

SCILT Professional Learning Opportunities

An introduction to some key concepts in the effective teaching and learning of languages. MOOC hosted by the University of Southampton and the British Council. Includes an introduction to developing CLIL approaches.

MOOC - Understanding Language: Learning and Teaching

MOOC hosted by University of Essex and University of Southampton which explores progression, approaches and practical ideas for primary language learning and teaching.

MOOC - Teaching Languages in Primary Schools: Putting Research into Practice

MOOC hosted by the British Council which aims to improve participant’s understanding of language assessment

Language Assessment in the classroom

The RiPL network is a group of researchers, practising teachers, teacher educators and policy makers interested in Research in Primary Languages. The website has links to professional learning and activities to support the teaching of languages in the primary classroom.

Research in Primary Languages

This is a free, open access course from the Open University which explores key issues surrounding languages learning and teaching in the secondary school.

Open University, Open Learn: Teaching Secondary Modern Foreign Languages