As we start the final term of the year I have found myself reflecting on my many years at Fyling Hall. It is as usual a very busy term. Year 11 and year 13 are about to 3 start their external exams (the first to run since June 2019) and KS3 and Year 10 will have internal exams over the next few weeks. For those who have been part of the school for some time […]

I have always loved the start of the Spring Term as it holds all that promise of new beginnings and longer days. Cold, bright mornings are wonderful as, before the trees come into leaf, I can see the sparkling waters of the North Sea from my classroom window and then start to look out over the gardens for the first signs that winter is over. The snowdrops and then the daffodils seem to mark the […]

After 2 years of disrupted learning it is great to be back and teaching in a ‘normal’ way. I’m sure we have all discovered that the simple things in life really are the things which make us happy and I am no different to anyone else. Year 7 are delighted that we can play face to face games again and it is a joy to see such fun in the classroom whilst practising their French. […]

What are French lessons like from the perspective of international students? Ms Hornung, Fyling Hall’s Head of Modern Languages, asked Yamina (Year 10, from Germany) and Tim (Year 10, from Hong Kong) to share their thoughts . . . Lock down again from January, although this time many of us have known what it is like to be doing lessons online. French has always been our favourite lesson even in the last lockdown, normal lessons […]

French in a ‘new way’ is difficult concept when you have been teaching for 30 plus years…..but a ‘new way‘ is happening successfully throughout the school. No more moving around the classroom to practise key phrases with your friends, no more stealing sentences from classmates’ boards, and no more face to face board games. We have found a way and French lessons still include lots of games and activities for every age group. We have […]

When the lockdown period started in March, I found it really difficult to imagine how I could incorporate my interactive teaching in ‘virtual learning’. My lessons tend to be fast paced with lots of changes of activity and lots of pupil involvement as we learn to say and use new language. Speaking and listening are hugely important elements of learning a language and even in a classroom situation these skills are not always easy to […]

Wonder what it’s like to be a virtual teacher? Ms Hornung, Fyling Hall’s Head of Modern Languages, gives her insight into days of late . . . The launch of virtual learning at Fyling Hall a strange feeling walking into the place you’ve worked in for over 30 years knowing that the staff room is off limits and that the boarders and boarding staff cannot mix with us. Waving hello to friends through the window […]

All our EAL pupils at Fyling Hall are given the opportunity to learn a new foreign language whilst they are with us. Whilst many of our overseas pupils are here primarily to improve their level of English many pupils also join French or German lessons. Some may have already done some French but many are beginners. All of the pupils who come to French lessons mention how different our classes are to the lessons in […]

End of term activities in Fyling Hall’s French classroom involved a Mary Berry style technical challenge. In true Bake Off fashion, pupils received limited information, forcing them to rely upon their existing knowledge. In this case, a photo of a typical French Christmas treat, instructions in French and a pile of ingredients. I am pleased to say that they didn’t do too badly! Kindly judged by Ms Anders, Carla and James were delighted to be […]

How do teachers learn to teach? How do they keep their lessons fresh? It is not always easy, but sometimes something comes along which makes you really think. At the end of the Summer Term I attended some training with Gianfranco Conti. He is an inspirational language teacher who has done considerable research into how best to learn a foreign language. Following an intensive day course, I decided that the time had come to re-assess […]

Fyling Hall’s Year 7s love playing one pen one die. It becomes very competitive, but the aim is for accuracy and to embed structures into the working memory. Just another one of Ms Hornung’s clever ideas proving that learning is fun!

So how do you persuade language pupils to learn vocabulary at the end of a long and busy term? Chocolate, of course!! Ms Hornung set her Ks3 French classes a challenge over the final weekend of the term. Could anyone score 1,000 points on Duolingo, a free online language learning app? From Thursday evening to Tuesday at 4pm pupils were spotted furiously tapping through lessons to earn points. Each completed lesson is worth 10 points […]