Welcome to tonight's #edchatie discussion.
As usual, before we begin, please introduce yourself.
Remember to include the hashtag #edchatie in all of your tweets for the next hour too, so they can be collated later.
Ciara teacher of French & German, from Kerry based in Cork. Currently teaching in an all boys school so the topic tonight interests me greatly. I especially want to hear from other MFL teachers who teach boys. Teaching MFL to girls is a world apart! #edchatie
I teach French. As with any subject, I do believe that getting students engaged with learning is key. I have made an effort to find penpals for my male students of MFL and this has helped them find a purpose for MFL learning #edchatie
When I had a class of football mad boys I taught the pronunciation of the language through surnames of French footballers. They identified the key sounds from the words they were already familiar with (Mbappé, Giroud). Worked well #edchatie
I found I was able to garner interest from male students to in relation to studying #MFL by telling them about my experience in the #tech sector before I came into teaching #edchatie
When I told them about how languages helped me in that sector and the benefits I had when I worked in that sector. It got them looking into it for a while anyways ! #edchatie
We @langsconnect_ie designed resources for Guidance counsellors to show the relevance of #languages for boys and girls. They are available online: https://t.co/GUXW33zzpp A hard copy was sent to every Guidance department too. #edchatie
You can do anything with a language- that’s the beauty of teaching it. Find out interests of students and work from there. Work reading comprehensions etc around this #edchatie
Primary Teacher Mayo. Trained as a PDST-TIE Tutor for the 'Using ICT in the Primary Modern Foreign Languages Initiative' about 10 years ago. I didn't know MFL and boys was an issue (having been to an all boys secondary school where many of us did 2 MFL to IC/JC). #edchatie
Flex your typing fingers because in 5 minutes we begin tonight's #edchatie discussion on "How can we encourage more male students to study MFL (Modern Foreign Languages)?"
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#edchatie Mary Elaine, English French and Swahili teacher. I’m fascinated by boys attitudes to language learning and definitely think that we need to highlight the opportunities that having (an)other language(s) offer to draw more of them in.
I’ve taught MFL many years in various schools-all girls, mixed & all boys. With many male pupils I see an increasing apathy towards MFL-many opt to do MFL at LC OL so they can focus on HL Maths for bonus points when many are well able to do HL MFL #edchatie
We @langsconnect_ie are working on resources to show the link between languages and skills you acquire from learning languages. Hopefully it will ready very soon. #edchatie
Would the reintroduction of the Primary Modern Languages Initiative be helpful? It was canned in the recession cutbacks. Pupils in fifth and sixth classes were given an hour of MFL education each week. Would (should) it count towards literacy teaching hours? #MFL#edchatie
In some all boys schools MFL tend to take a back seat to subjects that are seen as more “masculine” such as practical subjects, STEM. It all depends on whether management, male pupils & their parents value MFL learning. A vocal MFL Dept is a must! #edchatie
Would the reintroduction of the Primary Modern Languages Initiative be helpful? It was canned in the recession cutbacks. Pupils in fifth and sixth classes were given an hour of MFL education each week. Would (should) it count towards literacy teaching hours? #MFL#edchatie
It would be fantastic for both male and female primary school pupils to see this great initiative being brought back but given the cutbacks in education, I wouldn’t hold my breath! #edchatie
#edchatie According to Rebecca Rogers, “language is the most feminized field in public secondary education”. Whether this large feminine presence in linguistic fields is due to each sex’s intellectual skills in these particular areas, a trait or preference is not yet determined.
My Business with French degree (as opposed to Business & French) doesn't qualify me to teach French (according to @TeachingCouncil) because it didn't have a French Literature module. Yet I spent a year studying in France, through French and did a 'stage' #edchatie#mfl@toruairc
In reply to
@languagesdude, @TeachingCouncil, @toruairc
Over 24k students took part in this year’s Irish Life Health Schools’ Fitness Challenge - to improve their #fitness over as little as 6 weeks of exercise and training #edchatie#educationhttps://t.co/ojGkKOWksv
It’s not that boys don’t tend to pick a language as many still do up until LC, it’s more a case of the apathy (and at times derision) shown by some male pupils towards MFL and the fact many don’t bother to make the effort to do HL LC MFL (IMO) #edchatie
You’re not being sexist, I fully agree! I’m concerned with the derision some male pupils show towards MFL (& to a certain extent Gaeilge) subjects which as we all know are predominately taught by female teachers. #edchatie
We're halfway through discussing tonight's live #edchatie topic of "How can we encourage more male students to study MFL (Modern Foreign Languages)?"
#MFL#edchatie
This is one possible option that one might learn langauge(s) but obviously not the only one. I suppose we need to show that there are many reasons to communicate and work is one of them.
Not necessarily. As a pupil I was told you’d have great opportunities with MFL. Hmm! I did 2 MFL because I enjoyed them not because of job prospects.When we graduated with MFL qualifications only job options were teaching or telesales!!! #gofigure#edchatie
I guess it is finding the inspiring ones. During the visits I have done to schools where I showed some of the Working with languages videos from @langsconnect_ie we got great reactions from boys and girls about i did not know a language could be this useful. #edchatie
It's different now though isn't it with the large tech firms having European HQs here? Aren't the levels of challenge offered a step or two higher than telesales now? #edchatie#mflire#MFL
Yeah but they see plenty of top level male footballers, formula one drivers, rugby players or athletes they admire or seek to emulate who speak foreign languages or whose mother tongue is French/German/Spanish #edchatie
Well hopefully there is more now. All sectors are employing candidates with languages. For some, they would not have the job they have if it was not for their language and they are not language purists. Ciarán comes to mind: https://t.co/2x1L5HLhjdán-macsamhráin #edchatie
We're discussing "How can we encourage more male students to study MFL (Modern Foreign Languages)?" on tonight's live #edchatie
Join in the conversation around #MFL
#edchatie Laurence Cuffe Math teacher checking in. I knew some who specialised in translating key turns of phrase and colloquialisms with the UN. He Lived well in New York.
There are great opportunities but when announcements are made we are told IT jobs, STEM jobs when a lot of them also require a language. Perceptions I guess. #edchatie
I don’t agree. I only used French & German on a daily basis (& got well paid to boot!) when I lived & worked in France & Germany. When I graduated I had no desire back then to work in a call centre on meagre wages or become a teacher. So I left. #edchatie
With English as an international language of science, engineering and probably technology, working in those industries one could probably 'get away' without having a #MFL#mflire But with an #MFL one could possibly bee mite successful in the long run. #edchatie
I think it’s v important to dispel the myth that you need to leave ireland to use MFLs when, in fact, many organisations in Ireland have to import foreign language speakers as they can’t get them here. With Brexit looming that number is likely to increase
yes but I think there are more jobs with languages nowadays than telesales jobs. I agree that it all started with telesales but there are more opportunities now. #edchatie
Yes MFL can be an asset in many careers but pupils often don’t see long term benefits. Although I love MFL & being an MFL teacher I’m wary of the spin “oh you’ll go places with MFL” It’s down to passionate teachers promoting MFL & school management respecting MFL #edchatie
when you go and do business, knowing the language of the country you visit is crucial. They are usually the deal breaker. Check Hugh's video about doing business in China: https://t.co/z4M1fng4Fp#edchatie
We're into the famous final five minutes of tonight's #edchatie discussion on the topic of "How can we encourage more male students to study #MFL (Modern Foreign Languages)?"
Any last thoughts, ideas, strategies or solutions?
@languages_ie is supporting Chinese, Japanese, heritage languages such as Lithuanian, Polish.. I am probably forgetting some. It needs to be bought in by the school management too. #edchatie
#edchatie So any practical ideas as to how to get male pupils more open to MFL or being less apathetic towards them? This was my main reason for being tonight. I knew I should added some rugby/GAA prowess to my MFL teaching qualification! 🇫🇷⚽️🏉🇩🇪😉 @shffnn
