Language learning at St. Anthony’s School for Boys

At St. Anthony’s School for Boys in Hampstead, learning languages gives the boys confidence, provides them with an opportunity to express themselves, and helps them to find joie de vivre.

Fun is at the heart of language lessons at St. Anthony’s. In response to the class warm-up song of Aujourd’hui, ça va, ça va? Mon ami, ça va, ça va? (to the tune of ‘That’s the Way’ by KC and the Sunshine Band), one Year 6 student managed to simultaneously impress and taunt his teacher. “Ça va bien, parce que Arsenal va gagner le match de foot contre Manchester United le samedi porchain" was the phrase that he used to demonstrate both his confidence with the near future tense and in his football team’s dominance over that of his teacher.

At St. Anthony’s we have a drive for mastery in all academic areas. In the Languages Faculty this translates into having appropriate fluency combined with grammatical certainty. The 10 year-old’s sporting joust was a delight to his teacher, Matt Evered, the head of the Languages Faculty, as the student had demonstrated the skills that had been carefully cultivated in a recent series of lessons about organising future activities alongside a fluency that comes from a meticulously planned structure to achieve appropriate fluency. To the untrained ear, the boy was fluent in his jibe, however his teacher could see the fruits of building structure upon structure alongside a deep learning of key vocabulary, aside from the names of the respective football clubs.

The staff of the Languages Faculty at St. Anthony’s have a strong belief in the concept of appropriate fluency, which allows the boys to communicate clearly in a manner which overrides the challenge of the breadth of an entire language. This encourages the boys to be creative in their writing and speaking, as well as having a strong understanding of texts and the spoken language that they encounter. To achieve this the ‘Languages Pathway’ has been introduced at St. Anthony’s which provides a bespoke step-by-step approach to achieve key levels of language proficiency at each level, most importantly to allow all of the boys to achieve their potential.

From Reception to Year 2 the boys learn French using a communicative approach. From songs to story-telling the students are allowed to become familiar to the key sounds of the French language, as well as learning to respond to simple questions. A particular highlight has been the fantastic teaching of French colours, using the adaptation of a class favourite ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’, or ‘Rébellion Chez les Crayons’ if you will. The boys are very fortunate to have expert language teaching from such a young age, which allows them to be prepared for the next steps in their journey.

From Year 3, still in the Junior House, through to Year 5, the boys are introduced gradually to the concepts that allow them to feel confident and secure in their learning: the grammar. While once this was seen as an onerous task for pupils and teachers alike, the staff at St. Anthony’s are passionate about making the explicit learning of grammar both accessible and fun. The repetitive use of new grammatical structures and a scrupulously chosen range of vocabulary allows for the boys to gain a foothold with the nuts and bolts of the language. The well-thought-out pathway introduces and builds upon the understanding that the boys have of grammatical concepts, both in English and French.

A range of techniques from the ever-catchy verb conjugation songs to the modelling and repetition of the extensive processing approach allow the boys to master the necessities to get to grips with the Key Stage 3 curriculum at an early age. This approach of ‘teaching up’ is an expectation at St. Anthony’s where all boys are supported, and yet all boys are stretched to meet their potential. This is supported in the Language Faculty by always remembering to make the learning relevant. The teachers treat relevance as a central tenet to language education, meaning they ask is the learning relevant to what the boys want to achieve, relevant to their interests, relevant to their world and relevant to how they learn.

From Year 6 to Year 8 the boys are taught Latin, which is structured in a very similar manner to how French is taught, with less speaking and more gladiators. The addition of Latin to the boys’ diets allows them to feel the ‘relevance’ in how they learn languages, as the shared terminology and approaches to learning make them feel empowered. For example, the boys can ‘tap-out’ a verb conjugation in both subjects, which gives them a great sense of understanding even if it looks like a slightly passive version of the Haka.

With the addition of Spanish and Mandarin enrichment classes the boys’ horizons are expanding and the languages offered at St. Anthony’s is becoming broader and more engaging. The enthusiastic of which the boys in the Senior House use the Mot de la Semaine (Word of the Week) to try to outdo their classmates is testament to the confidence and enjoyment they gain from their language experience. The residential trip to Normandy for the senior boys is hugely popular and another chance for the boys to embed their learning.

The journey for a language learner at St. Anthony’s is truly exciting, so please wish all new students a Bon Voyage.