The conclusions and recommendations of the 2025 independent review of the curriculum led by Professor Becky Francis are now available for all to see and read. With a focus on making all curriculum subjects more ambitious and relevant to all children, Francesca Pini, the founder and creator of Language Angels, outlines what she believes this means for making assessment in foreign languages more relevant and impactful.
What are the Benefits of Assessing
Young Learners in a Foreign Language?
Assessment should be an integral part of any planning and at any learning stage, even when first starting to learn, as:
- It supports teachers' professional judgment and does not replace it.
- It helps teachers make decisions on planning next steps.
- It helps teachers decide whether to recap, revise or move on.
- It helps determine the concepts pupils understand/don’t understand.
- It can help provide timely feedback to pupils and adjust instruction to meet their needs.
What Does
Effective Assessment Look Like in Foreign Languages at Primary Phase?
It should be exactly as in other curriculum areas and other teaching stages. The goal is always to help teachers ascertain, with evidence, if their pupils are making progress and to provide feedback that moves learners forward. It will also help pupils understand better what they have learnt, if they have really learnt it well, and if they are making progress in learning a foreign language.
- Assessment that sharpens the focus of what has been taught.
- Assessment should be used in different shapes and sizes.
- Assessment should help raise expectations, not just attainment.
- Assessment should help teachers focus on their pupils’ strengths, not just their weaknesses.
- Assessment should help create a positive mindset and desire to improve and progress in any curriculum area.
What are the Different Types of Assessment in a Foreign Language at Primary Phase?
I see three types of assessments being impactful and, in my experience, a mixture of all three being the ideal scenario:
- Diagnostic - every lesson.
- Formative - many times in all four language learning skills over a period of weeks.
- Summative - at the end of a unit/topic with a data collation opportunity which can be analysed.
How is
Language Angels Supporting Primary Schools with Assessment?
Language Angels has carefully crafted a product that
has assessment opportunities weaved all the way through. As experienced
educators, we fully understand how regular assessment can help teachers
articulate what is happening in primary foreign language teaching and learning
in their schools, from the very first lessons in our Early Language teaching
units all the way through to the last units in our Progressive teaching type. This
helps to demonstrate whether classes and pupils are managing as they gradually
move through the progressively more challenging units.
Foreign
language subject leads can discuss with senior leaders what they expect all
curriculum subjects to provide in terms of data and targets matched and then
teachers can decide what assessments to complete and when. There is plenty of
choice and flexibility within the Language Angels platform to suit the needs of
any school/trust.
Our
assessment opportunities are complemented by a bespoke Tracking &
Progression Tool which can analyse data if teachers require so. It also
indicates which pupils are on/below/above target. It will help teachers
determine how their pupils are progressing in the four language skills and
clearly track and monitor progress in foreign languages across the whole
primary phase. It will ensure that every single pupil, including SEND, EAL and
PP, is fully catered for.
