Sue Gibbs, Modern Foreign Languages AST and teacher at Vicarage Park Primary School, Kendall.

When I first came across the phrase ‘assessment for learning’ (AfL) it puzzled me.  What did it mean exactly?  Why was it such a buzz word? Would it be hard to implement? Is it relevant within primary languages?

Now, a few years down the line, it is the most important aspect of my primary teaching. It makes all the difference to how I teach and how my children learn German from Y1 to Y6.

What does the phrase mean?
The word ‘assessment’ is derived from Latin assidere, meaning ‘to sit by’.  I try to see myself sitting beside my learners, showing them where they are, pointing out where the journey will be taking them and helping them to work out their best route forward.

One definitive explanation of ‘assessment for learning’ is from Black and Wiliam (1998, Inside the Black Box):

All activities undertaken by teachers, and by the students themselves, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged.

Or alternatively, it is simply teaching and learning at its very best.

Why was it such a buzz word?
Research and experience show that AfL makes a huge, positive difference in classrooms. It really helps children to focus on what they are learning over what they are doing. This supports and demystifies average and below-average learners in particular. Challenge your learners to tell you what they learnt in the previous lesson, rather than just what they did! 

Would it be hard to implement?
For me, surprisingly it wasn’t difficult at all.  In many areas, I was already using key aspects of AfL. I just hadn’t recognised it as such. Read on and see whether you too have been subconsciously using AfL methods! If some of these ideas are new to you, give them a whirl with your learners...

Five key components of AfL, which mesh beautifully with primary language learning:

1. Embedding assessment in the teaching and learning
Accompany your learners on their learning journey.  Adjust and re-adjust your teaching to suit their needs. Teach them how to teach you what they need most. Create a trusting learning environment where they are confident to ask seemingly daft questions. Most daft questions turn out not to be daft at all - why is it ‘Das Auto fährt, tut tut!’ in the song but we’re now saying, 'Ich fahre mit dem Auto'?. 

Encourage your learners to dare to share ‘juicy mistakes’ without embarrassment. Most ‘mistakes’ are grounded in sensible thinking. By openly discussing them, it not only clarifies misconceptions among the learners but also gives the teacher important insights into the ways those learners are learning / thinking. Incidentally, for young language learners to gain most benefit from such discussions, a quick step out of the target language is usually necessary.

2. Sharing learning goals
Let the children understand the learning journey. With so many exciting distractions en route, the active games, memorable songs and noisy role plays (all the essential sparkle and fun of a good language lesson), teachers need to keep gently reminding learners of where they’re heading.

I tend to present the learning objective in fairly formal language, encouraging the children to ask about any words they don’t understand and then have a go at ‘translating’ it into informal ‘child-speak’. This stretches the most able learners and supports those who are struggling.

3. Providing regular, useful feedback
By matching your feedback to the learning goals, you can help your learners to recognise where they are along the road, and where they need to go next.  Where quality feedback is openly given within a trusting class atmosphere, children can begin to learn the language of supportive feedback. This behaviour modelling by the teacher in turn helps the children become sensitive, sympathetic and astute peer assessors.

You can also take feedback a stage further and reverse roles, by asking them which elements of your lesson were most useful and whether they have any suggestions to make it even better. Their comments may be both surprising and useful!

4. Involving the children in peer and self assessment
When you decide to assess more formally which children have arrived at a particular stage of the learning-journey, a whole range of enjoyable assessment opportunities can be used. This can happen before, during or after a unit of teaching. A good place to begin is with the teacher modelling assessment comments, before moving the children on to peer assessment.

Children who have then practised peer assessment can make good self assessment decisions. ‘Two Stars and a Wish’ (two positive comments and a new target) can provide a useful structure to support children learning the skills of peer and self assessment.

Children can work together in a group playing a game and taking part in peer and self assessment. This results in useful information to then feed back into the teaching and learning cycle. The process should be fun, non-threatening and will really help the learners develop a better understanding of the whole learning process.

5. Believing in every child
By focusing on achievement over attainment, every learner can celebrate their steps forward. In an environment which supports collaboration and cooperation, children begin to help each other to see the ways forward and some amazing, exciting, child-to-child learning can take place.

Reassure children who are experiencing difficulties that it is a good sign. Namely that it shows they are moving onto new learning and that you have confidence in their success.

So, is AfL relevant within primary language learning?

Absolutely! Its techniques do need to be implemented carefully and used regularly, but it really is the only way to teach and gauge progress in language learning.