MFL + Maths = all in a day's work

Michael Gove's plans to extend primary languages into KS1 were greeted with cautious optimism in the MFL community.  Some members of the public, some other teachers and headteachers, however, preferred the "What's the point of teaching them a language when they can't even read/write/speak English?" approach.  An afternoon of comparing the MFL Frameworks for KS2 and KS3 and the Literacy objectives for EYFS through to KS3 will show beyond doubt the contribution that learning another language can make to literacy skills in the mother tongue.  Generally speaking, learning a language reinforces the Literacy from the previous key stage.

In a press article earlier this year, the CBI criticised the "inadequate" literacy and numeracy skills of school leavers.  So English and Maths teachers obviously have some work still to do.  I wonder if they are aware how much MFL teachers are helping them out?  Are MFL teachers aware how much Literacy and Maths they are teaching?  I've done a fair bit of work on Literacy, and always kind of knew that in MFL we cover some Maths, but, until I started to look into it in some detail recently, was unaware exactly how much.

KS3 MFL reinforces KS2 Literacy, and it would appear that it also reinforces KS2 Maths.  I would urge any MFLer to have a look at the KS2 Maths curriculum to see just how much they do.  A particular eye-opener for me was looking at the key vocabulary for KS2 Maths.  Here is the key vocabulary for "Time":

Familiar?  When we consider the new Ofsted framework for January 2012, I think it is vital for MFL teachers to find out exactly how they reinforce Literacy and Maths, and for them to open a dialogue with English and Maths teachers to let them know exactly how MFL supports and reinforces their subjects.

From the draft proposals for the new Ofsted framework:

When evaluating the achievement of pupils, inspectors will consider

• the extent to which pupils develop a range of skills well, including communication, reading and writing and mathematical skills and how well they apply these across the curriculum
•  the standards attained by pupils by the time they leave the school, including their standards in reading, writing and mathematics

When evaluating the quality of teaching in the school, inspectors will consider

• how well teaching enables pupils to develop skills in reading, writing, communication and mathematics

I asked the #MFLTwitterati what are their favourite ways of incorporating Maths into their lessons, and combined the answers with things that I have done in my own lessons:

Numbers

Simple calculations

Ages

Comparative (older than, younger than, more than, less than, more expensive etc)

Countdown (the numbers round)

Loto (play with calculations and not just numbers)

Number tennis

C’est quel numéro?

Crosswords where the clues are sums in words and answers are numbers written in words

Higher / lower (plus / moins, más / menos)

Numbers Tai Chi

Hold up small cards to show the right number

Put small cards in order

Pupils hold number cards in right order to make a telephone number

Songs to reinforce order

Games like Snakes and Ladders, Blue Numbers etc to reinforce

Strip bingo

Dominoes or shape puzzles to match the written word to the figures

Psychic counting

PowerPoint activities such as Fly past

Colour by numbers

Follow-me cards with the numbers in figures and words, or phone numbers

Use number words for phonics practice

Standing-up-sitting-down games for practising multiples while counting

Noughts and crosses, Connect 4

Surveys

Carry out surveys

Show the results of the survey in graphic form

Work out the percentages

Shopping

Compare prices

Le Juste Prix – higher or lower

Multiply prices of individual items at market

Buying stamps

Sending parcels

Use a French website to “buy” equipment for school using budget of a certain number of Euros

Find out the price of the same items in £ from a UK website

Weights and measures

Add up a bill

Time and Dates

Telling time

Speed, distance, time calculations

Dates

Cinema prices and times

School timetables

Bus and train timetables

Dates Cluedo

Follow-me cards with the times in figures and words

Battleships with dates (numbers on x, months on y) Can use the same grid for Connect 4

Plurals

Count the number of items and write how many there are, making the noun plural as appropriate (worksheet or mini-book)

Make pictures with different shapes and write/say how many of each shape there are

Past tenses

Years for big numbers

Calculate how long ago something was

Intercultural*

French départements

Numbers of countries that speak the language, speakers within those countries

Number of languages spoken in the world, number of speakers of the top 10 languages and lesser languages

Cocoa bean calculations (Spanish)

*Many of these aspects of Maths have links to intercultural understanding

I have also simplified the KS2 Maths objectives to make them more accessible (and understandable!) for MFL teachers, and you can download them here.

Here are some more ideas for incorporating Maths into MFL:

Number sequencing
What is the next number? - neuf, dix-huit, vingt-sept, _______

Put the numbers in the right order: siete  doce  cuatro  veinte  catorce

Addition and Subtraction
Use a website like www.bonbonsgourmands.fr.  Give the students a budget of a certain number of Euros, they choose what to buy, work out the total and the change they would receive.  All in the target language of course.

Multiplication and Division
Work out who receives the most pocket money, when given sentences giving the amount that people receive and how often they receive it.  (Thanks to Fiona Joyce for passing on that idea.)

Play the Number Challenge (like the numbers round of Countdown) from Triptico.

Fractions and percentages
A good vehicle for introducing some comparative and superlative work.

Shapes

Make pictures out of certain shapes and write correct plurals to say how many of each shape there are.

Take this one step further and make a picture with coloured shapes.  Then the writing will involve numbers, shapes, plurals and adjectival agreement.

Measures

For something a bit different to shopping lists and recipes, have a look at websites like this one.  "Avec un dollar je peux acheter trois paires de tongs au Vietnam."

Reading temperatures from a thermometer is a skill that students need to practise.  This could be an introduction to climate and weather.

Maths?  All in a day's work for an MFL teacher.