Assessment on MFL with ICT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Assessment on MFL with ICT - Essay Example characterized by some or all of the following features: under-performance in all four language skills; the setting of impossible or pointless tasks for average (and in particular less able) pupils and their abandonment of modern language learning at the first opportunity; excessive use of English and an inability to produce other than inadequate or largely unusable statements in the modern language; inefficient reading skills; and writing limited mainly to mechanical reproduction which was often extremely inaccurate. Such was the opinion of HMI. A teacher writing in the Audio-Visual Language Journal in 1978 described a number of other problems, too. He analyzed the situation from both his and the pupil's point of view. He wrote: It has been very hard work, demanding an inordinate amount of preparation and a great expenditure of energy in an attempt to motivate the apathetic core that exists in every CSE class. But the examinations are always a bitter disappointment and a derisory return for those children who have shown interest and worked well: a grade higher than 4 is rare, even though the candidates always include children who have the potential for a 1 or 2. From these two perspective... The CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education), first introduced in 1965, and the GCE 'O' level (General Certificate of Education Ordinary level) examinations, in existence long before, seemed inappropriate and needed revision. It was in this context of producing an examination better suited to the needs of learners of all abilities, and of motivating all children aged from 11 to 16, and especially those of average and below average ability, that the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and Graded Objectives in Modern Languages (GOML) were developed. A combination of the new, joint 16+ examination and the GOML movement were seen by many people as realistic ways of assessing and motivating the whole ability range of pupils in secondary schools. Graded Objectives in Modern Languages The Graded Objectives movement achieved its momentum in the 1970s. It was prompted largely by a feeling among teachers that, in the context of the proposed new 16+ examination, the majority of their pupils could not be expected to sustain their interest and motivation for five years without some formal indications of successful learning. The principle of the five year course which must be completed before a public examination could be taken [was considered unacceptable]. The first principle of the graded objectives scheme was therefore that the traditional five year course to CSE/'O' level should be broken up into a set of shorter term objectives, each one leading to the next and each one building on its predecessor. (Harding, Page and Rowell 1980:3-4) The second principle of the Graded Objectives movement was that learners should be given worthwhile and realistic tasks to do which were (A) Achievable by all abilities

Should the EU focus on acting as a civilian, normative or military Essay

Should the EU focus on acting as a civilian, normative or military power - Essay Example Before answering the question whether the EU should focus on being a civilian, normative, or military power, it is important to establish how these different forms of power have historically manifested in the EU's policies and activities. Conceptualising the terms 'civilian', 'normative', and 'military' is important in any analysis where these terms are used to describe the activities of EU's. Maull's (1990) view of a civilian power includes the employment of "solidarity with other societies, and a sense of responsibility for the future of the world - and particularly the global environment". (p.106) It is important to note that Maull's analysis of the exercise of civilian power is quite restrictive as it relates to the state or the exercise of national civilian power. Thus using a 'statist' perspective of the exercise of civilian power in the context of a supranational EU, would have its possible limitations. Vital lessons can, however, be drawn from his analysis and can be transpos ed into the EU's experience. Manner's (2002) conception of the EU as a civilian power is interpreted primarily in economic terms. Simply put, civilian power can be said to be the exercise of non-military power and would include "economic, diplomatic and cultural policy instruments." (Smith, n.d. p.1) Smith's conception of civilian power would thus exclude any use of the military, even if the military were used in situations of peace-keeping, whether armed or unarmed. To Smith (n.d.) even though the military can be used in unarmed peace-keeping situations, they have also been trained to kill and thus such an activity cannot be said to be civilian. Smith (n.d.) further identifies four core elements in the exercise of civilian power - "means; ends; use of persuasion; and civilian control over foreign (and defence) policymaking". (p.2) Consequently, in employing civilian policies, the means and the ends of those policies must be non-military, with persuasion (and not coercion) being the main instruments of achieving policy objectives. Based on the above conception of civilian power, Smith (n.d.) has argued in relation to the EU that: " clinging to the notion of civilian power EU not only stretches the term 'civilian' past its breaking point, but also tends to induce excessively rosy-eyed views of the EU as an international actor. 'Civilian' often means 'good', and deploying the 'civilian power EU' argument can close down critical analysis of actual EU foreign policy activities". (p.1) With regards to concepts of normative power, Manners (2002) views the EU's normative power as its capacity to mould or influence notions of what constitutes 'normal' in politics at the international arena. This exercise of normative power is very evident in the EU's relationship with Africa. The Council of the European Union has for instance stated that "Europe has a strong interest in a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Africa. Our strategy is intended to help Africa achieve this. "Â