Learning languages together
“Learning and experience in this Area... aims to encourage learners to transfer what they have learned about how languages work in one language to the learning and using of other languages.”
Curriculum for Wales
This area of learning and experience is founded on the premise that any learning in one language – whether it is the development of vocabulary, grammar, skills or appreciation of literature – can support learning in all subsequent languages.
Effective collaboration will ensure a consistent approach across the Area, facilitating language learning for all learners, increasing their confidence and igniting their enthusiasm for lifelong language learning.
“We find ourselves on a threshold that leads out to a place where languages are perceived in isolation from one another... to a place where languages are seen in relation to one another...”
Professor Mererid Hopwood
The Languages, Literacy and Communication area of learning and experience is broad in scope and encompasses the following disciplines:
Welsh in Welsh-medium settings
Welsh in English-medium settings
English in English-medium settings
English in Welsh-medium settings
International languages
Classical Languages
Literature
Literacy across the curriculum
English as an Additional Language
Home and community languages
Non-verbal languages, e.g. British Sign Language, Advanced Communication Systems.
Response and Reflection
The linguistic landscape of Wales is increasingly diverse and can be quite complex, e.g. a high percentage of learners in Welsh-medium settings do not hear or use Welsh at home. There are also learners who speak neither Welsh nor English at home.
It is important for you to know the linguistic landscape of your school when designing your curriculum to meet the language needs of your learners.
What is your school’s linguistic landscape?
How will this affect your language provision?
To what extent will you use this knowledge to select suitable content, contexts and pedagogies for your learners?
The Languages, Literacy and Communication area of learning and experience has a role in realising national aims, targets and ambitions.
Improved literacy skills will enable learners to access the curriculum and future opportunities.
High expectations for Welsh in English settings will prepare learners to become confident users of the Welsh language.
Learning about languages will support learners to build on their bilingualism to become multilingual.
A renewed vision for language learning
This is an example of a vision statement for Languages, Literacy and Communication, which expresses the ambition and aspirations for learners in this Area.
A celebration of languages and cultures, embracing a bilingual Wales in an international context. All learners will develop a broader perspective, and a positive attitude towards language learning, and will be able to make connections between languages.
Response and Reflection
Select words from this vision statement which are important to you.
Are the words you chose reflected in this video of Japanese children singing Calon Lân?
Which words would you wish to include in a vision statement for Languages, Literacy and Communication in your school?
A new approach to language learning
As new thinking about language learning emerges nationally and internationally, so too does Curriculum for Wales invite us as practitioners to reflect on a new approach to language learning.
Here are some of the key principles of this new approach which underpin the learning in this Area, and which will enable learners to progress towards the four purposes.
Bringing all languages together places an emphasis on the importance of transferring knowledge, skills and understanding from one language to another.
Learning about languages builds on the commonalities and differences between them.
Making connections between languages facilitates progress in an international language at an early stage.
Reflecting on the relationship between languages, cultures and identities brings meaning and purpose to language learning.
Approaching language learning as one continuum develops in learners a positive image of themselves as multiple language users.
Introducing new skills such as mediation and translanguaging enhances learners' capacity to add value to a diverse and evolving society.
This new approach to learning languages is accompanied by a terminology which embodies the key principles of the Area.
Response and Reflection
Click the image on the right to be taken to a playlist that tests your understanding of this terminology. You will need to be logged into Hwb.
Consider the meaning of the terms and match them to their correct definitions.
Think about their implications for language learning in your school and setting.
Working towards the four purposes in Languages, Literacy and Communication
Learning experiences in all Areas should provide opportunities for learners to progress towards the four purposes.
Response and Reflection
Consider the sentences in the resource on the right. They are adapted from the introduction to the Languages, Literacy and Communication guidance.
To which of the four purposes is each sentence applicable?
Suggestions are offered here, but some apply to more than one and therefore your discussions may lead to different answers. This exemplifies the interconnected nature of Curriculum for Wales.
Click on the image to download the PowerPoint.
Consideration of the characteristics which lie beneath the headings of the four purposes will lead to an in-depth understanding of the vision of Curriculum for Wales. This conversation must take place within each Area.
Response and reflection
Using the resource on the left, explore ways in which learning and experiences within Languages, Literacy and Communication will support the development of each of the characteristics.
What matters in Languages, Literacy and Communication
The essential learning required to realise the four purposes in each AoLE is encapsulated in the statements of what matters.
They provide the key concepts for learning from age 3 to 16.
The four statements of what matters in Languages, Literacy and Communication are highly interconnected, and should be addressed in a holistic manner.
“The four statements should be considered holistically when designing the setting/school’s curriculum. They are interdependent, with each one supporting the development of the other three.”
Curriculum for Wales
Statements of what matters in Languages, Literacy and Communication
Languages connect us.
Understanding languages is key to understanding the world around us.
Expressing ourselves through languages is key to communication.
Literature fires the imagination and inspires creativity.
The first statement of what matters in Languages, Literacy and Communication applies to all learners in all settings in Wales. For the other statements of what matters in this Area, there is specific guidance for Welsh/English, for Welsh in English-medium settings, and for international languages.
The first statement of what matters is where all languages are brought together, and the learning derived from this concept permeates the other three statements. It is important, therefore, to understand the key concepts expressed within the statement “Languages connect us”.
Response and Reflection
Read the rationale for this statement of what matters and create a visual which reflects your understanding of the learning required. You may choose to use pictures, diagrams, symbols and some key words.
🌐 Rationale for statements of what matters
The same activity could be done with the other statements of what matters, in order to ensure a balanced interpretation of the interconnectedness of all four.
A stronger voice in society through Languages, Literacy and Communication
One final thought...
Learning within this Area can play a vital role in improving learners’ wellbeing through enriched relationships, enhancing their perspectives on the world and ultimately leading to a more inclusive and cohesive society.
'Pay attention to language. The gap in language is one of the key factors which lead to underachievement later in life, especially among underprivileged learners.'
Sir Alasdair Macdonald
Creating your vision for Languages, Literacy and Communication
You may wish as a next step to start creating a shared vision for Languages, Literacy and Communication in your school/ setting. This could be presented as a statement which will express your ambitions and aspirations for your learners in your school/setting.
Using your understanding of the vision of this Area and your reflections from the activities above, start putting some ideas together as a basis for discussion with your colleagues as you build your vision.
Response and Reflection
These questions may provide a useful starting point:
What are the language needs of your learners in your school/ setting?
What really matters for your learners in your context?
What do you want your learners to remember about LLC in their future lives?
How will the four purposes drive your vision?
Creating a vision for Languages, Literacy and Communication
This vision workshop for the Languages, Literacy and Communication AoLE has previously been offered as online training, a recording of which is available opposite.