Evaluation of Channel 4 Modern Languages website (2005)
The Channel 4 Modern Languages website was launched in 2002, in partnership between Learning and Teaching Scotland and 4Learning, the educational arm of Channel 4. The website was designed to accompany two television programmes supporting French and German learning and teaching in P6 and P7. The website offers games for learners of both languages, a vocabulary section and a teachers’ section. The evaluation of the modern languages website was undertaken by George Street Research between May and August 2005.
Evaluation aim
The overarching aim of the evaluation was to provide an understanding of the benefits of the C4 modern languages website and barriers to its usage, and its impact on learning and teaching practice in Scotland.
Research method
A four-stage methodology was adopted for the evaluation. Initially, 120 schools in eight local authority areas completed a survey focusing on awareness and usage of the modern languages website. Following this, a cross section - 19 schools in six local authorities - was recruited to participate in qualitative discussions on the use of ICT in modern language teaching.
The next stage of research involved observation of the use of ICT resources, including the Channel 4 website, in the classroom. Once this had been completed, five schools were selected to take part in case studies, on the basis of good practice in the use of ICT in modern language teaching. These case studies were designed to highlight key themes and findings emerging from the previous stages of research.
Key findings
ICT usage:
- All schools surveyed were developing plans for greater integration of ICT into learning and teaching; however, levels of current integration varied.
- There are barriers to greater integration of ICT in schools, including inconsistent hardware and slow internet access.
Modern languages teaching and ICT:
- The majority of primary schools only teach modern languages in P6 and P7.
- Given that modern languages form a relatively small part of the school week for P6 and P7 pupils, usage of ICT in this area of the curriculum is unlikely to increase by a large amount.
Impact of modern languages ICT:
ICT usage in modern languages is limited to reinforcement and revision of classroom teaching.
C4 Modern Languages website:
- 36% of schools used the French language website.
- 13% of schools used the German language website.
- When the website is used, it is well received and praised for its content.
- Other ICT resources used by schools were felt to provide a closer match to the curriculum than the C4 Modern Languages website.
Recommendations
To increase the usage and impact of the C4 modern languages website the following recommendations were made.
- Encourage holistic teaching: include ideas and resources for extending modern languages teaching to other areas.
- Increase the range of teachers’ resources/support for teachers.
- Include games requiring reduced knowledge of vocabulary for P6 (and younger) pupils.
- Increase promotion of the website, ie direct promotions to Local Authorities.
- Introduce new games periodically (topical/relevant).
Full report
Please contact the Research team (research@LTScotland.org.uk) for copies of the full report.