Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students will be able to:
- understand the bigger picture of Junior Cycle reform
- become familiar with their respective language specification for JC (MLF and Irish)
- understand the interconnectedness of the CEFR with the language specifications (JC/SC)
- start planning using JC learning outcomes from their respective specifications
- understand the difference between formative and summative assessment
- critically reflect on the purpose of curriculum and assessment in Junior Cycle
- examine their role as teachers in translating curriculum from policy into practice (eg: explore pedagogical approaches such as tasks)
- identify the role of curriculum and assessment in issues relating to inclusion within the education system
- identify emerging trends in language curriculum and assessment
- engage with research literature exploring the nature of curriculum and assessment in language classrooms.

Indicative Module Content:

- Junior Cycle (JC) reform: the big picture
- The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and its interconnectedness to the language specifications (MFL/Irish)
- Unpacking learning outcomes from the JC specifications
- Understanding the difference between Formative and Summative assessment
- Formative assessment in JC: Student Language Portfolio
- Tasks in the language classroom
- Target language use
- Introduction to Curriculum Adaptation for Diverse Learners (step 1)
- Emerging Trends in Language curriculum and assessment

Student Effort Type	Hours
Specified Learning Activities	40
Autonomous Student Learning	61
Lectures	12
Tutorial	12
Total	125

Not applicable to this module.

Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy  

Description	Timing	Component Scale		% of Final Grade
Group Work Assignment: - In-class group presentations drawing on the lectures (50%) - Individual reflection on the presentation 1,000 words (50%)	Week 11, Week 12	Graded	Yes	100	Yes

 

Resit In	Terminal Exam
Spring	No

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

Not yet recorded.

Black, Paul, and Dylan Wiliam. “Classroom Assessment and Pedagogy.” Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice 25, no. 6 (2018): 551–75. doi:10.1080/0969594X.2018.1441807

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the Black Box: Assessment for Learning in the Classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(1), 8-21

Ellis, R., Skehan, P., Li, S., Shintani, N., and Lambert, C. (2019). Task-based language teaching: Theory and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Erlam, R., & Ellis, R. (2018). Task-based language teaching for beginner-level learners of L2 French: An exploratory study. Canadian Modern Language Review, 74(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.3831

Ellis, R. (2018). Towards a modular language curriculum for using tasks. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818765315

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Jiménez Raya, M., Lamb, T. (2021). Differentiation in the Modern Languages Classroom. Berlin, Germany: Peter Lang Verlag. Retrieved May 3, 2024, from https://www.peterlang.com/document/1095631

Little, David, Dam, Leni and Legenhausen, Lienhard. Language Learner Autonomy: Theory, Practice and Research, Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters, 2017. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783098606

Novak, K., UDL Now!: A Teacher's Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning, third edition. (2023, September). Internet Bookwatch, NA. https://link-gale-com.ucd.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A768703767/AONE?u=dublin&sid=summon&xid=0a131058

Pachler, N. (2007). Choices in language education: principles and policies. Cambridge Journal of Education, 37(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640601178782

Prabhu, V.S. (1987). Second language pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Printer, L. (2023). Positive emotions and intrinsic motivation: A self-determination theory perspective on using co-created stories in the language acquisition classroom​, Language Teaching Research.

Printer, L. (2021) Student perceptions on the motivational pull of Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS): a self-determination theory perspective, The Language Learning Journal, DOI: 10.1080/09571736.2019.1566397

Wiliam, D., What is assessment for learning?, Studies in Educational Evaluation, Volume 37, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 3-14, ISSN 0191-491X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2011.03.001.

Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2007). Doing task-based teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Wyatt-Smith, C., & Adie, L. (2021). The development of students’ evaluative expertise: enabling conditions for integrating criteria into pedagogic practice. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 53(4), 399–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2019.1624831