For the past few months, Chantry and Newminster have had the pleasure of hosting Ruth Hedley in their MFL departments.
“As a School Direct Languages Trainee, I spent my long placement teaching French (and a little German!) across both middle schools in Y6-8.
Having spent my short placement in a High School, adapting to the pace of working with younger learners was one of the biggest challenges I faced. The initial experience of KS2 language delivery, and transition into the KS3 framework, was invaluable in terms of my appreciation of the challenges involved in striving for consistency across the key stages. Another beneficial aspect of this placement – and one new to me, despite having worked in schools for many years – was the experience of working within a Trust, and across two schools.
Of course, the highlights of my placement have been all about the students, and I remain impressed by the positive attitudes and ‘have a go’ approach to learning by so many pupils. Much of my training has focused on group work and encouraging the students to create a supportive atmosphere. I can confidently say that all of my classes demonstrated some really wonderful collaborative skills, producing thoughtful work and reflections. Très bien fait! It was also rewarding for me personally to use my knowledge of the Swedish language to deliver DLE sessions to very enthusiastic Year 7 students – many of whom surprised themselves with the accuracy of their pronunciation. There are, in fact, many similarities between Northumbrian/Geordie and Swedish! Keep it up! A big thank you to everyone involved for making my experience at Chantry and Newminster so rewarding. Hejdå!”
We wish Ruth the best of luck with the rest of her training and continued success as an NQT this September.
Au revoir et bonne chance.
