All of these are obviously excellent language learning strategies.

The only reason I am contributing to the thread is because section 5 OFSTED Inspections in schools have dropped an expectation of ‘demonstrable progress in learning’ during twenty minute drop ins, and many leadership teams in schools  have rethought – as they have about grading lessons which no longer takes place in school inspections.  ‘Evidence of learning’ has been a hotly contested area for the last  three or four years and the school guidance was amended a couple of years ago. Some schools persist, it’s true.

The current inspection handbook for schools contains an ‘Ofsted myths’ page covering issues like this, also frequency/kind of marking and so forth.

I know FE has its own Inspection Handbook/Guidance – at least I assume it does - but it might be worth asking some questions about comparability. Perhaps try the EAL/ESOL lead at OFSTED, Mark Sims?

It’s not very joined up or justifiable for FE and Schools to have such different Inspection practice/expectations.

If that is indeed the case then in my view, it should be challenged, or at least noted if you are not in a position to challenge.

Good luck, anyway

Di

Hi Anna

There are ways to show that learning is happening in 20 min.

1. You can start a lesson with 1-5 questions, 5 words or a problem and ask them to write an answer. They can write their answers on the posting note or small paper and put at the side of the table. At the end or in the middle of the lesson you ask them to go back to it and correct or add in a different colour what they have learnt.
It can be explained and shown to an observer or have it explicit in your lesson plan. It's a good evidence of their learning.

2. Ask them to underline words they don't know and while you're monitoring their reading activity you pick main 3 and talk about it. In 10-15 you check if they remember or ask them to make sentences out of those words.

3. You do more frequent Question and Answer time between you and your students. You don't just give them a worksheet and ask them to get on with it for 20 min. You constantly check and correct. When they talk, you stop, repeat their incorrect sentence or show a learner that there is something wrong with their sentence and prompt to correct. If the learner doesn't know how to correct it, you prompt the others in the class to correct. You then, if you have time, write on the board or wait and check if they remember it after the activity. Lots of facilitating and checking throughout the lesson.

Learning is happening all the time but you can only show it when you keep asking, checking things with students.
When they sit and do something on their own it's difficult to see it for the observer. You can always stop the activity because for example while you were monitoring them you saw a common error and elicit the correct answer.

I hope those ideas can be useful to you.

Good luck.

Urszula
ESOL lecturer
Leeds City College




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