Project Title: MustLearnIT project

Project Team: Alan Pritchard, Ann Barnes, Marilyn Hunt with EU partners in Greece, Poland, Cyprus and Finland.

Sponsor/Collaborator:  European Funding 

This European funded research project aimed to investigate ways of teaching and learning modern foreign languages (MFL) for early learners in small/remote primary schools where there are no specialist MFL teachers through new technologies, for example, videoconferencing. In the UK distance was less of a problem, whereas lack of linguistic expertise (subject knowledge and pedagogy) for primary school teachers may prove a challenge given the government’s plan for all pupils to study a foreign language throughout Key Stage 2 by 2010. The UK project therefore examined the use of secondary teachers to teach French to primary school children through videoconferencing. The benefits of this project are clear in terms of pupil learning and staff development. The MustLearnIT project has shown that there is a way forward which makes use of expert subject and pedagogical knowledge and state of the art technology.

Publications

• Pritchard, A. (2007) Effective Teaching with Internet Technologies: pedagogy and practice Paul Chapman: London
• Barnes, A. Hunt, M., Neofitou, A. (2007) ‘Primary pupils accessing MFL via videoconferencing: a European project’ paper presented at University of Oxford for the Language World Conference, ‘Expanding horizons’, 31^st March, 2007
• Pritchard, A., Barnes, A. Hunt, M. (2007) ‘MustLearnIT in the United Kingdom 2005 – 2007: the Warwick approach and experience’ presented at the MustLearnIT conference, Syros, 27th July, 2007