Supporting the new secondary curriculum for languages

Large, cross-curriculum projects may be suitable as an occasional project within a school, but it may be easier to make progress on developing links with other subjects by starting small with just one or maybe two others. There are plenty of natural links between the subjects, especially as many now have a cultural dimension explicitly mentioned in their programme of study. Here are some examples:

Art & Design

Cultural understanding

1. Engaging with a range of images and artefacts from different contexts, recognising the varied characteristics of different cultures and using them to inform their creating and making.
2. Understanding the role of the artist, craftsperson and designer in a range of cultures, times and contexts.

Works of art from other cultures provide plenty of scope for learning objectives in languages. In the early stages of Y7 they can provide a fresh context for securing and building on prior learning of colour, shapes, personal qualities, sports & leisure activities, landscapes or animals. Later on, short texts about the history of works of art could provide a context for exploring past tenses.

L'atelier de Paul Cézanne Il se levait très tôt pour arriver tous les matins à six heures du matin. Il travaillait dans l’atelier de six heures à dix heures er demie. Puis, il descendait dans la ville d’Aix en Provence pour déjeuner. Il aimait bien manger! Apès le déjeuner il remontait à l’atelier pour reprendre le travail. Il peignait peut-être un motif spécial, comme par exemple un pot, des fruits, une chaise, un vase bleu, des chrysanthèmes ou, quand il faisait beau, il s’installait à l’extérieur à quelques centaines de mètres de l’atelier pour peindre la montagne Sainte Victoire. Il aimait toujours finir son travail à cinq heures de l’après-midi.

More about Cezanne and a 360° tour of the atelier on the hill above Aix en Provence can be accessed on the official website.

Citizenship

Identities and diversity: living together in the UK

1. Appreciating that identities are complex, can change over time and are informed by different understandings of what it means to be a citizen in the UK.
2. Exploring the diverse national, regional, ethnic and religious cultures, groups and communities in the UK and the connections between them.
3. Considering the interconnections between the UK and the rest of Europe and the wider world.
4. Exploring community cohesion and the different forces that bring about change in communities over time.

This approach relates our identity in the UK to the wider world. Other parts of the citizenship curriculum focus more directly on global issues, for example 'the challenges facing the global community, including international disagreements and conflict, and debates about inequalities, sustainability and use of the world's resources'. Identity and cultural diversity and the global dimension are cross curriculum dimensions in the new secondary curriculum, and there are excellent opportunities for language teachers to work with citizenship colleagues to develop work on global issues.

Language teachers will easily find themes and examples from countries where the target language is spoken. In French, these might include the unrest in the banlieues in France, with adapted articles which could develop pupils’ understanding of present tense verbs, for example. L’affaire foulard could be approached through pictures and descriptions of school attire in the UK, Belgium, France and the Congo, contrasting the clothing worn and discussing which is practical, fair, looks good etc. The debate could be broadened to include questions about whether schools should have rules about hair length, piercings, uniform, wearing slogans or religious items.

The 1994 film made in Guinée, le Ballon d’Or, explores in a charming way the aspirations of a young boy who is desperate to progress in his football career but realises it would take over 2 years of earnings just to buy a decent football. The plot hints at the market for and exploitation of west African footballers who find their way to international level.

Similar questions of identity and diversity are raised in societies across the globe, such as tensions between Arab and African immigrants and majority populations in southern Spain, France and Italy, the Gastarbeiter in Germany, the new arrivals in the Eastern states of Germany or the ethnic Russians in Latvia. These issues can be explored even from Year 7, to start pupils thinking about questions of identity and diversity abroad and to compare them with trends in UK society. For example, when revisiting personal identity, one could easily take a family in the USA, described in Spanish as they are Mexican by background. This could provide a more interesting context than the girl who comes from Madrid:

For more examples, see Pete Spain's full paper about contributing to a coherent curriculum.