Curriculum for Wales - Languages, Literacy and Communication

Progression in Languages, Literacy and Communication

“…progression must be embedded in learning and teaching and should form the basis of thinking in schools when designing and planning the school curriculum.”

Curriculum for Wales

Curriculum for Wales places the learner at the heart of curriculum design. This quote from the guidance emphasises the importance of understanding how learners progress and how this understanding will provide the starting point as schools design a curriculum for their learners. In order to support learners to progress along the learning continuum, practitioners need to develop a shared understanding of progression.

This workshop will address the four questions below, which come directly from the 'Supporting learner progression' guidance and which have been set by Welsh Government to guide you as you design your school curriculum:

What is progression?
What is a shared understanding of progression?
Why is a shared understanding of progression important?
How should schools and settings develop this shared understanding?

Curriculum for Wales requires an understanding of progression in learning before moving on to discussions on how the learning will be assessed.

This workshop aims to support you to develop a shared understanding of progression in Languages, Literacy and Communication.

"This is a big cultural shift from the way things have been done before. We know that assessment must build on progression: being clear on what needs to be learnt, why and how learners progress, determines how that should be assessed."

Jeremy Miles

What is progression?

Response and reflection

Share thoughts with your colleagues about what is meant by progression.

Here are a few thoughts which have been previously shared by practitioners:

moving forward
improving
developing
building on prior knowledge
a learning journey

Now that we have shared thoughts on what is meant by progression, it's important to agree on what we want our learners to make progress in.
If we want our learners to increase their range of vocabulary, for example, that would mean increasing what they know, and that is knowledge. If we want them to become aware of the connections between languages, that would mean showing progress in their understanding. If we want them to improve the way they communicate, that would involve improving what they can do, which means making progress in skills. So, when planning for learning we will support our learners to increase their knowledge, to deepen understanding and to improve their skills, but we can also help them to develop positive attitudes and to establish sound values as they progress through their education.

Learners will therefore make progress in:

knowledge
understanding
skills
attitudes
values

"Progression in learning is a process of developing and improving in skills, knowledge and understanding over time. This focuses on understanding what it means to make progress in a given area or discipline as learners increase the depth, breadth and sophistication of their knowledge and understanding, skills and capacities, and attributes and dispositions."

Curriculum for Wales

What is a shared understanding of progression, and why is it important?

What?

Exploring, discussing and understanding together…

Expectations
Coherent progression
Comparing expectations

Why?

To ensure…

Coherence and equity across the education system
Smooth transitions to support education and well-being
Sufficient pace and challenge

Having a shared understanding means having conversations in schools, clusters and beyond to ensure that we share the same high expectations of our learners so that they experience a smooth seamless learning journey from 3 to 16.

These conversations are of the utmost importance if we are to offer an equitable education at a pace and level of challenge which responds to the needs of all our learners.

How do we develop a shared understanding of progression?

The guidance states that ongoing professional dialogue around progression should happen within schools, clusters and with other schools or settings beyond the cluster. This will provide opportunities for practitioners to reflect on our understanding, compare our thinking and understand different approaches and practice.

In order to develop a shared understanding of progression, we start with the Principles of Progression. There are five of them in all, and they are mandatory.
The narrative for each principle is particular to each Area. In Languages, Literacy and Communication, they describe progress in the Area as a whole and therefore they apply to all languages.

Click on the dropdown bar to see the narrative for each principle in Languages, Literacy and Communication.

Increasing effectiveness as a learner (progress in effectiveness)

As they move along the continuum of learning, learners will build on basic linguistic skills to develop a capability that enables them to overcome a range of communicative challenges successfully. These include, for example:

asking increasingly sophisticated questions
finding information independently
making evaluative and critical judgements about the ideas and viewpoints and the means of communication in what they hear, read, and view
using language effectively to convey their own ideas and viewpoints on various topics.

They will develop the language skills necessary to discuss and evaluate their learning in languages.

Increasing breadth and depth of knowledge ( progress in knowledge)

Progression in this Area is represented as a coherent continuum. The learner grows holistically in their understanding and purposeful use of languages, literacy and communication when listening and reading, when speaking and writing and when interacting and mediating in a wide range of contexts.

Learners develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of linguistic concepts that support the more conscious and self-aware development of skills to communicate effectively through speech, writing, gestures, images or other media.

They also progress in their breadth and depth of conceptual knowledge by encountering ideas in languages and literature, initially in more personal and local contexts and moving as they progress to connect with more complex communications in a multilingual world. Learners thus acquire a gradually more nuanced understanding of different viewpoints and increasing command of the skills needed to interpret, evaluate, articulate and respond to differing perspectives.

Deepening understanding of the ideas and disciplines within Areas (progress in understanding)

Progression in this Area is a continuum of increasingly complex engagement with ideas and communicative purposes and of development of language awareness. These are demonstrated in:

responding to communications when listening, reading, or receiving language in other ways
producing them when speaking and writing or through other means of communication.

Drawing on a learner's whole linguistic repertoire – however uneven that may be – enables them to progress in all languages. Understanding linguistic concepts in the language of instruction, for example, can be applied to learning a new language, which facilitates progression in that language as well as improving understanding of the way in which their own languages work. While learners may be at different points of progression in different languages, a focus on plurilingualism allows them to call upon their knowledge of a number of languages to make sense of a spoken or written text, whatever their command of that language, and to increasingly understand and learn from the relationships between different languages.

Refinement and growing sophistication in the use and application of skills (progress in skills )

Progression in the refinement and sophistication of skills moves from literal and simple communicative purpose to more abstract, inferred or implied and nuanced levels of meaning with more complex purposes. Oral language precedes and underpins pre-literacy skills. Learners gradually develop greater awareness of language and more sophistication in using this awareness to achieve intended purposes in interpreting and producing communications in speech or writing or through other means.

For younger learners the acquisition of language follows the same sequence as for older learners, although the speed at which it does so can vary considerably. As learners experience, engage with, understand and apply increasingly complex ideas and language awareness, accuracy and fluency in using communication skills grow.

Progression in this Area is also seen in the production of language. As learners become more accomplished, they can adapt and manipulate language to communicate effectively to a range of different audiences. This allows learners to form and develop strong relationships and the confidence to use their voice in society.

Second language learners may use formulaic language with few mistakes initially and, as they progress and when being more ambitious and spontaneous in their use of language, they may appear to make more mistakes. This intrinsic part of successful language learning leads to becoming more fluent and accurate language users. Second language or bilingual learners may not necessarily show the same pattern of linguistic progression as first language learners.

Making connections and transferring learning into new contexts (progress in application)

Progression in this Area has a significant inter-relationship with the learning in all other areas. The learner moves forward along the progression continuum partly through exposure to rich challenges and resources offered by other Areas. The thinking needed to understand and to communicate all learning is closely related to that which enables learners to develop receptive, interpretive and expressive language skills. They progress in the languages, literacy and communication set out in this Area alongside the development of disciplinary literacy in the other curriculum Areas.

The ability to transfer existing knowledge and skills into new contexts is an integral part of progression in this Area. This includes the social and cultural aspects of language. As learners develop an understanding of additional languages, patterns of language use are identified, adapted and applied in new contexts. Modes of communication are adapted for different audiences, and to different disciplinary contexts. Skills in learners’ first and second languages enable learning in subsequent languages. As learners progress, they will be able to make links within and between ways of communicating, making good choices about effective methods of communication.

Response and reflection

Read and discuss the narrative for each principle of progression in LLC. Summarise each paragraph into bullet points, asking the question 'What do learners need to do to make progress within this principle?'

e.g. Increasing effectiveness as a learner

ask increasingly sophisticated questions

The process of undertaking this activity together will enable you to gain a shared understanding of what learners need to do to make progress. Click on the image below to see an example.

What is the role of the Statements of what matters, the principles of progression and the descriptions of learning?

‘The statements of what matters, principles of progression and the descriptions of learning articulate the essence of what should underpin learning and provide the same high expectations for all learners.’

Curriculum for Wales

All three underpin learning and provide the same high expectations for all learners across Wales.

When designing your curriculum, they should be used in the following order, as they appear in the guidance:

statements of what matters (mandatory)
principles of progression (mandatory)
descriptions of learning (not mandatory)

When we decide what our learners need to learn, we go to the statements of what matters. They are mandatory and encapsulate the learning required to realise the four purposes.

When we want to understand progression in this learning , we go to the principles of progression.

The descriptions of learning serve as signposts to show how learners should progress in different threads of learning within each statements of what matters.

Selecting learning from the statements of what matters

In our last workshop, we suggested that you undertake an activity to select learning from the statements of what matters. The example below shows how one group of practitioners selected the learning from the statement Expressing ourselves through languages is key to communication. They have placed the selected learning on the surrounding post-its and grouped them in different colours. For instance, the learning on the green post-its refer to speaking and writing with a different focus, one for expression, one to share information and so on. For the next activity, we will take the learning from the orange post-it on the right, which is selecting language for audience and purpose.

Using the principles of progression to understand progress in the selected learning

When learning to express themselves for different purposes and audiences, learners need to have experiences which allow them to progress in all five principles,
e.g.

Effectiveness

using language effectively to convey their own ideas and viewpoints

Knowledge

communicate effectively through speech, writing, gestures, images or other media

Understanding

developing language awareness
increasingly complex engagement with ideas

Skills

adapt and manipulate language to communicate effectively to a range of different audiences

Application

use all thinking and learning to develop receptive, interpretive and expressive language skills

The sentences above come from the bullet points we showed you earlier, and we can see now how they can be applied to support learners to progress in this learning within each of the five principles.

Response and reflection

On the left of the table below, you can see the learning which we have selected for this activity: selecting language for audience and purposes from the statement Expressing ourselves through languages is key to communication.

Remembering what learners need to progress in from the principles of progression, discuss what progress could look like in this learning at the early and later stages of the language learning continuum. What generally does the learning look like for learners in the foundation phase, end of primary, and as they continue their journey to secondary school?

What are you teaching your current learners to do so that they know that their language will be different depending on whom they are talking to and what the purpose of their communication is? What do they know and understand and are able to do in the early years and how does this progress as they move along the continuum?

How the descriptions of learning can help us to understand progression in learning

Although the descriptions of learning are not mandatory, they are there to support us to plan for progression in different threads of learning within each statement of what matters. Below you can see the descriptions for progression in selecting language for audience and purpose, and we can see that on this continuum - which encompasses 12 years of learning – learners progress from recognising appropriate language to selecting and adapting appropriate language, from starting to make choices to meet the intended audience to fully engaging the audience in a range of contexts.

We must remember that the descriptions of learning should not be used as a starting point for curriculum design, neither should they be treated as boxes to tick. They are rather points of reference or signposts to help us as practitioners support our learners to move along the language learning continuum.

Another resource we have available as a reference point in LLC is the revised Literacy Framework. Even though it is no longer statutory, it is a useful supplementary resource to assist us with progression.

Another approach to developing a shared understanding of progression

This last activity is designed to further develop a shared understanding of progression in LLC.. As an example, we have taken a thread of learning from another statement of what matters, Languages Connect Us. Within this statement, learners are required to understand that languages are connected to each other .

As this diagram shows, learners at the early stages of learning may engage with simple activities to discover similarities between basic words in different languages.
This may lead them to inquire why languages are connected and to seek different ways in which they are connected. Learning about language families at this stage will enhance their understanding of language evolution and etymology.

Progress in this learning would involve moving from how words are constructed to how sentences are put together. They may also learn from differences as well as similarities between languages, using examples from a wider range of languages.

Further progress in this learning could include applying learned strategies to new languages and contexts. It could also include explaining interconnections, learning from contrasting as well as similar patterns, and ultimately using this knowledge as inspiration to create new language.

In this example, we have selected a circle as a model, which has allowed us to show how learning in one thread builds in layers over time, becoming broader, deeper and more sophisticated.

We suggest you undertake the same process with your colleagues, using another thread of learning, maybe from another statement of what matters, e.g.

Literature fires the imagination and inspires creativity: developing empathy through literature
Expressing ourselves through languages is key to communication: speaking to share information and for interaction.

You can follow these steps:

Identify one thread of learning from one of the statements of what matters
Use the circle provided to build layers of learning which reflect progress
Use the bullet point slide to show how this learning allows learners to progress within each of the five principles of progression.
You may wish to refer to the descriptions of learning to support you
Reflect on how useful this process is in developing a shared understanding of progression.

Response and reflection

In this next activity, consider how the learning that 'languages are connected' enable learners to progress within each of the five principles of progression. The slide with the bullet points from the second Response and Reflection activity will support you to do this, and we have given one example, e.g. in order to progress in application, learners need to be able to transfer existing knowledge and skills to new contexts and languages.

The aim of this activity is to show how the principles of progression guide schools to design a curriculum which allows learners to progress in the learning required in the statements of what matters, the learning which enables learners to realise the four purposes.

What are the next steps for you and your team?

As the importance of a shared understanding of progression to ensure coherence and continuity for your learners has been emphasised above, we suggest you undertake the following steps:

Arrange to meet with colleagues in your school, cluster and beyond to develop a shared understanding of progression
Create together a bullet-pointed summary of the principles of progression for your use when planning for learning
Select a thread of learning from the statements of what matters and discuss how progress could look from early to later learning along the continuum
Continue these discussions until you have a shared understanding of progress in learning within each of the statements of what matters.

Here's a video that consolidates this page that you may want to use for training purposes.

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