An important part of feedback is to set targets that to support students’ further progress in their use of the target language. Assessment information can also be used to help the teacher decide on the next steps in their teaching and inform their planning of future lessons.
These targets give every learner a ‘next step’ to take in improving their learning in a logical and systematic manner. The more that the students are involved in setting these next steps themselves, the more they learn – and the more they also learn about the skills involved in language learning.
Good language learners are usually able to set out their next steps with only minimal assistance. Helping less accomplished or less effective language learners to consider criteria and set out appropriate next steps for themselves can be difficult, but it will help them move towards becoming more successful and independent learners of the target language.
To be effective, student targets should be:
Allow about 1 hour
Watch the video clip ‘Secondary assessment for learning – modern foreign languages’ about assessment for learning (AfL) in MFL. (Alternatively, you can read a transcript.) As you do so, make notes on the different approaches to AfL in MFL that you see. How do they support students in becoming good language learners? Use the following questions to help you:
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