Points for reflection - Understanding barriers
Barriers to learning
Some pupils are learning modern languages happily and successfully, while others of similar ability are struggling or have become alienated. Why?
One of the characteristics of classes where learners are having fewest difficulties is the way teachers plan differentiation, or, more exactly, what they consider as the starting point for planning.
When planning differentiation, we can ask ourselves two questions:
- Why are some pupils not learning better than they do, despite my best efforts?
- How can I help them to learn better?
We often start with Question 2, but this may allow some basic problems to go unrecognised, and these will interfere with any measures we adopt in response to Question 2.
We really need to start with Question 1: Why aren’t they learning now? What’s stopping them?
What are 'barriers to learning'?
Some of the difficulties facing learners arise not because they can’t learn what we want them to learn, but because they can’t learn it in the way we want them to learn it. Sometimes we unconsciously erect barriers which make language learning seem more difficult than it needs to be.
Often, we modern language teachers do not recognise these barriers. The trouble is, if we are not aware of the barriers we can’t do anything about them; we just assume that it is the language that is too difficult for them. Yet this is rarely the case. At least in the early stages, the target language and the concepts that make up our programmes of work are not too difficult for most learners. So what is the problem?
Some common barriers
Support for Learning staff working on earlier projects identified some of the more common difficulties encountered by pupils in modern languages classrooms. They rated the barriers in order of importance as regards the need to deal with them.
Here they are, in order of importance. Many pupils find these activities very difficult:
- copying accurately and/or legibly from the board
- following instructions, spoken or written
- keeping an accurate record of vocabulary, etc
- keeping up with the pace required
- concentrating for the necessary length of time.
- poor relationship with the teacher
- low self-esteem (‘This is too hard for me. I can’t do this. No point in trying.’).
Isn't the language just too hard?
Modern language teachers are well aware of the difficulties described here. But sometimes they assume they arise because the language is too demanding for the pupils; that the language causes these difficulties.
What the authors of Maximising Potential have discovered through their work with schools is that cause and effect are the other way round. By putting in place measures to help pupils with the barriers identified, their ability to cope with the target language improves. Sometimes, their use of English improves too.