Hard to Teach

Using ICT in Secondary Modern Foreign Languages

Using Web-based software to develop speaking skills.

This video shows how a teacher of Modern Foreign Languages at Key Stages 3 and 4 uses technology to enhance the teaching of a topic which is often hard to teach, in particular, to develop speaking skills among boys.

The video shows ICT being used as a valuable tool to:

work on hard-to-teach topics

engage students;

develop confidence;

build learning skills;

promote independence;

foster a more flexible approach to teaching and learning;

improve target language competence;

develop creativity;

enable learning to take place in ways which reflect the place that ICT has in the lives of young people nowadays.

In the video, students speak enthusiastically of the value and appeal of using ICT in a creative and effective way to improve target language competence and develop learning.

The teacher featured in this project strongly supports the deeper integration of ICT into teaching and learning, seeing new technologies as readily-available tools relevant to the lives of young people and with the power to transform learning and enable students to develop their potential.

José Picardo at Nottingham High School

Teacher José Picardo useseasy-to-learn web-based applications with three groups of Spanish students across Key Stages 3 and 4. The applications are used with great success to engage students and to develop confidence in speaking, a skill which is often hard to develop.

Students are set a topic-based task for which they prepared a script which they then recordto the online application. They are instructed to use complex sentences, and a range of relevant language. In some cases they include digital images, their own photographs or copyright-free images from the internet.

José uses these applications to consolidate work covered over several lessons to provide an opportunity for creative work and assessment of student performance. He believes that the technology allows students to develop speaking skills in a non-threatening environment. They can record, edit and re-draft alone and submit their work to their teacher online and receive feedback rapidly.

The multimedia aspects of these applications are attractive to learners. They allow users creative freedom and, crucially, can be mastered quickly with appealing results.

Moreover, using such applications places learning in the ICT-based world with which contemporary learners are so familiar.

As each application is web-based, for both student and teacher a more flexible approach to learning, teaching, monitoring and feedback is possible. Students can access any work begun in classfrom home, and can post the finished product to their teacher, who likewise can access their work and provide feedback from anywhere with an Internet connection.

José believes that these applications motivate students and focus effort specifically on improving speaking skills because they facilitate the setting of a clearly-defined task with clear outcomes and are extremely easy to master. They also help students identify and act upon areas for improvement immediately and easily, a facility which only ICT brings to learning.

Lesson 1

Year 9 students work with speaking avatars, or ‘Vokis’, to express their likes and dislikes. They had previously prepared a script based on work completed in class, bearing in mind the rubric that they must use complex sentences and a range of relevant language. They choose an avatar and made their recording directly to the application. They play back and re-record their pieces until satisfied with the outcome. Students are clearly engaged and comfortable with the software and find the process stimulating and a relevant learning experience.

Lesson 2

Year 10 students use the online application ‘Glogster’ to create multimedia posters on the theme of Healthy Living, working with audio, text and images. Having previously prepared a script for assessment, students upload the text to Glogster and record their voices speaking the script. They find it quick and easy use and to re-recordtheir narrative if necessary. Most of the content was completed at home by students and posted online, where it is accessed in class to add the voice recordings. This flexible approach to learning is mirrored by their teacher who accesses student work online and posts feedback which can be picked up at home or in school.

Lesson 3

Year 11 students use ‘Stupefix’ to create an online slideshow on the theme of holidays. This is part of their preparation for the presentation element of the GCSE Oral exam (2010) and is used to help them develop memorisation skills. Students upload images, often their own holiday photographs, from home and then create and add their voice recording in class. The finished product, is saved in movie format, and will remain online for viewing or to be downloaded to students’ phones or iPods as a portable study and revision aid.

Useful links for this topic

Teacher José Picardo’s own blog at
Nottingham High School MFL Dept Spanish Resources at
Pupil work and discussions at

‘Voki’ speaking avatars at
‘Glogster’ presentation tool at
‘Stupefix’presentation tool at

Other useful links

CILT-ALL: Languages ICT:
CILT, The National Centre for Languages:
ALL, Association for Language Learning;
BECTA: