L’Association des professeurs de français en Irlande
The official website of teachers of French in Ireland
Chers collègues,
Welcome back ! We are hitting the ground running this school year as we are being asked to vote immediately on the proposed changes at Junior Cycle.
The F.T.A. would like to draw teachers of French attention to the following points on proposed changes to Junior Cycle Reform which we are being asked to vote on at the moment. Union members will receive ballot papers this week while at the same time Information Meetings are being organised this week around the country. We urge all members to attend these meetings and to raise the concerns outlined below. We also urge you to inform yourself of what the proposed changes will entail for languages by immediately visiting the DES/ASTI and TUI websites.
1. Despite all the proposals and debate it is important to remember that the Junior Cycle has not changed in format and that we are being asked to vote for change.
2. All non-core subjects including French will now be examined at a Common Level. Students will no longer have the option of being tested at Higher or Ordinary level. In contrast to the current moves to make languages more inclusive to students of all abilities including those with Special Educational Needs, this is likely to discourage less able students who will never achieve well if examined at the same level as their more able classmates. This will have a significant knock-on effect for Senior Cycle, the consequences of which have not yet been explored.
3. There is no provision for external Oral Examinations in languages despite this being proposed since the last reform of the Junior Cycle in 1990. If this is accepted as part of the new Junior Cycle other agencies working on Junior Cycle Syllabus Reform will have no mandate to change this. Reform will mean lack of external moderation for oral examination. Teachers may be asked to examine students as part of a Classroom-Based Assessment. Although classroom assessment of Oral Proficiency will not contribute to students’ results, students’ experience of same may be recorded as part of their Statement of Learning.( They may be asked to recorded in their Assessment Tasks what they have learned and the skills and competences that they have developed in their oral examination.)
4. Teachers’ work will be moderated through a process called SLAR; Subject Learning and Assessment Review. When teachers undertake this is unclear. It will be done in collaboration with other members of the subject department. If there is one teacher in a subject department, the teacher will work with a teacher of the same subject in a nearby school(see DES and Union websites for more details)
5. Currently 100% of marks are awarded by the SEC. In the new proposal, this percntage is not fixed. This could allow the possibility of school-based assessmnet for examination purposes being introduced without consultation with teachers or other learning partners.
Be informed before you vote!!!
L'exécutif de la FTA prépare la conférence nationale du 2 et 3 octobre 2015 à Maynooth. (Inscrivez-vous ici.) Le thème de cette anné sera Le bouche à oreille. Elle se concentrera sur l'expression orale et la compréhension auditive avec comme intervenante principale Dr Régine Llorca du Centre de Langues Appliquées de Besançon.
Nous innovons aussi cette année avec des petits ateliers (20 personnes). Il y aura 10 ateliers qui seront répétés l'après-midi. Tous les détails seront sur le site dans les semaines à venir.
Assurez-vous d'avoir renouvelé votre souscription pour recevoir les courriels d'information.
Dû au fait que nous innovons avec les ateliers, les places seront limitées donc inscrivez-vous tôt!
A bientôt !
La rentrée approche et l'organisation de la conférence nationale bat son plein.
Cette année, la conférence changera de format avec des ateliers qui vous permettront de choisir entre plusieurs thèmes.
Notez la date dans votre agenda !
Bonne fin de vacances !
For those of you who can't make a local branch meeting and would like to leave feedback, please click on the following links. We'll compile a report from all the feedback, submit it to the S.E.C. and post it on this site.
Thanks for your time.
L.C. Higher https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5PH9FNB
L.C. Ordinary https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5ZFMNTN
J.C. Higher https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KKK25L6
J.C. Ordinary https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KKMGXXJ
Plus de 500 élèves ont participé au concours cette année. Félicitations à tous les participants et leur professeur. Le jury s’est réuni et vous trouverez ci-dessous les résultats.
Il y avait trois catégories :
Les gagnants 2014-2015 sont :
Pour le meilleur film, Coup de Foudre, classe de 3rd year de l’école Adamstown Community College, Adamstown, Co Dublin
Pour le film le plus imaginatif, L’Amour non partagé, classe de Transition Year de l’école Notre Dame Secondary School, Churchtown, Dublin 14.
Pour le film le plus créatif avec la langue française. Le mystère de la dame blanche, classe de 3rd year de l’école Saint Angela’s Secondary School, Ursiline Convent, Waterford.
Nous allons vous contacter pour la remise des prix.
A l’année prochaine !
In the interests of supporting continuing professional development for post-primary teachers of French, the Department of Education and Skills and the Cultural Service of the French Embassy have over the years offered a number of scholarships each year to attend an in-service course in France. The in-service courses offered have enabled teachers to up-skill themselves both linguistically and pedagogically in addition to affording them opportunities to engage with other Irish teachers of French.
This year we have introduced some changes to our initiative for the purpose of affording professional development opportunities to teachers who are unable to travel to France, but who wish to upskill linguistically and pedagogically. We are offering 15 scholarships for in-service training in France and 10 scholarships for in-service training in Ireland.
In-service training in France will take place in
- CAVILAM-Alliance-Française, Vichy, France
From 6th to 17th July or from 3rd to 14th August 2015
In-service training in Dublin:
- Alliance française de Dublin, 1 Kildare Street, Dublin 2
From 29th June 2015 to Thursday 2nd July 2015 (4 days of training - 5hrs per day)
In order to maximise the benefits of a limited resource through the subsequent delivery of the French curriculum by the teacher in the classroom and the dissemination of best practice with subject colleagues, the criteria for selection are in the following order:
| Conference Notes 2016 |
|---|
| Françoise Blin |
| Shane Freeman |
| Nathalie Cazaux |
To apply, please fill in the application form below and return on or before the Monday 27 April 2015
Christopher Pingeon
Cultural Service
French Embassy
66 Fitzwilliam lane,
Dublin 2
To be shared by the Department of Education and Skills and the French Embassy:
To be paid by the teacher:
To be shared by the Department of Education and Skills and the French Embassy:
You can download the application form by clicking on this link
Un très grand merci à toutes et à tous d’avoir participé à notre premier concours haïku. Vous trouverez ci-après les résultats !
A côté du lac
J‘ai vu un petit oiseau
Il est si joli
Bebhinn Flynn (TY student) St Clare‘s Comprehensive School, Manorhamilton.
Tant de beaux cadeaux
Sous un sapin de Noêl
Je dors pas ce soir.
Conor Nolan (TY student) St Clare‘s Comprehensive School, Manorhamilton.
Dans le p‘tit jardin,
Le chien joue, il court, il saute
Du matin au soir.
Louise Feely (TY student) St Clare‘s Comprehensive School, Manorhamilton.
Au fond de mon cœur
La joie de ton existence
Me fait pétiller
Ann Brudell, Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown, Co.Roscommon
This year the individual section is for Language Ambassador of the Year, so if somebody springs to mind, please have a look at the Language Ambassador poster (PDF 540Kb) and fill out the nomination form, downloadable here, from Léargas. Similarly, if you have a language project, please have a look at the ELL poster (PDF 537Kb) and fill out the application form (also downloadable here, from Léargas.
Please print out the PDFs above for your staffroom noticeboard, as required, and pass the email on to anyone who might be interested. See short video clips of past winners.
Application forms are on the Leargas website. The closing date for both sections is Friday 27th February 2015.
If you have any questions, please contact :
Nellie Tattersall
Education Service
Léargas
Fitzwilliam Court
Leeson Close
Dublin 2
Tel: 01 887 1263
Fax: 01 873 1316
Email: