Student Teachers

by Katie Thwaites,
Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages



I have recently been looking at ways that I can engage and challenge students by giving them more responsibility in lessons.


Role Reversal
As part of a transition morning for MFL, a class of Year 10 students recently taught Year 6 students French vocabulary. In the lesson prior to this session, students had to reflect upon how the techniques I use to introduce vocabulary. After various discussions, students worked in groups to practise teaching each other vocabulary and planning the language that they would use to give instructions. Giving students this responsibility has had a huge impact on their confidence and also encapsulates the transition they have made themselves since primary school.


Temporary Teachers

Challenging high achievers is a continual challenge for many teachers. Recently, I asked six of the high ability students in my GCSE cohort to complete an exercise on idioms to use in their written work. Following this, they had to learn their favourite three idioms and teach a small group of peers. The other students had to try to use one of the idioms at some point in the lesson. This was a great way to promote independent learning.

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