Use of Asset in Primary School
On googling ASSET_CASE_STUDY
Bournemouth
Local Authority
Hundreds of pupils in Bournemouth are
being given the opportunity to have their
languages skills recognised. All 10 secondary
schools in Bournemouth have registered for
Asset Languages and Bournemouth Local
Authority plans to introduce the scheme into
primary schools later this year.
Proud of its ethnic diversity and
multiculturalism,
Bournemouth is already
considered a popular
destination for language
students. The local
authority has ensured all secondary school pupils have
access to a diverse range of languages; as well as being
taught French, Spanish and German, they can also learn
Mandarin, Cantonese, Turkish, Polish, Persian,
Arabic, Panjabi, Urdu, Russian and
Gujarati, through either their
curriculum based languages
lessons or after-school
and lunchtime clubs.
Asset Languages
gives pupils the
opportunity to
have these skills
and achievements
recognised.
Bournemouth
local authority’s
modern foreign
languages advisor
Judith O’Hare says:
"Pupils have a broader
perspective of the world, and they
appreciate why we should celebrate
the multicultural, multilingual society we live in. Language
learning also promotes the ‘inclusion’ and
understanding of minority, community groups living in
the town. Speakers of
community languages
living in
Bournemouth,
for example,
are keen to
help their
friends
and peers
to learn
about
their
language,
country of
origin and
culture."
Students at Leicester
Adult Education College
Swanlea Secondary
School
Swanlea School is a co-educational school for 11 – 16
year olds set in the heart of Whitechapel, East London.
Attended by 1,050 students, the multi-cultural centre
was recently called "a smashing school" by Tony Blair.
As an East London based centre, Swanlea School is
already looking forward to welcoming the 2012
Olympics as a great opportunity to increase student
awareness of the need to learn languages. The school
wants to help pupils understand how they are part of a
larger community and how through working together
and communicating, they can make changes for the
better. The school,which is also a dedicated centre for
Business and Enterprise, believes that language
learning gives students the opportunity to look
further a field for employment and leisure, and
encourages awareness of different cultures.
In 2005, 55 Swanlea students from Years 8
and 9 took part in Asset Languages’ French
pilot scheme with impressive results.
Aldjia Touati, head of languages at
Swanlea School, introduced the scheme.
"At Swanlea School,we value the fact that
our students are from a diverse range of
backgrounds where many speak English as
a second language and converse in a
different language at home. The school
supports the languages department as
students perform well in
the subject and it is
seen as an
opportunity to
build self esteem.
"In 2005,Asset
Languages was
introduced to two mixed
ability groups at Swanlea
School, one class in Year 8,
one class in Year 9. At the
time, the Year 8 group were
studying French twice a week
whereas the Year 9 class were taught
French four times a week. For me, this meant that there
was a diverse range of abilities
to assess.
Swanlea School already
operates a policy to assess
learners every term for units completed, so introducing Asset
tests was also very straightforward – in fact student
feedback about the Asset assessments was very positive.
Students like the idea of being able to study and be assessed
at their own pace as well as receiving a formal certificate for
what they have achieved."
West
Berkshire
Primary
Consortium
Thomas,Year 6 – “I was so proud of myself
when I got my certificate.”
Benjamin,Year 6 – “I'm
really enjoying French since we've been doing the tests. I can
see that I'm getting better.”
Rosie,Year 6 – “I really want to do well in the tests because I
will feel proud of myself.”
Jonathan,Year 6 – “I think the tests are a great idea. They
show us how good we are at French!”
Andrew,Year 6 – “I think the tests are great because
they challenge you in all areas of French.”
From the parents…
Lisa - mother of Alex Yr 6 – "I think that the
scheme is excellent because it encourages
children to learn French well at an early age. The
children are very eager to do well in the tests
and are not frightened of them which will
obviously boost their confidence."
And from the languages teacher, Siân…
"The Asset Language assessment scheme is a great
motivational tool for all pupils. The children feel that
they have real proof of their achievements. The teacher
assessments provide for regular and fairly instantaneous
feedback to which all children respond
positively. For primary children it
helps with the transfer to
secondary school as they feel
more confident in their
ability in the subject area."
"My
first impression of Asset
was how easy it was to implement
into my existing lesson plans. I didn’t
need to teach anything new as the Asset
Language topics matched our schemes of
work very well.“
Aldjia Touati,head of languages,
Swanlea School
"We are proud to
be one of the first centres to
award Asset Language
qualifications. Being involved in the
pilot scheme has been an exciting
experience for us."
Cecilia Rojas,Tutor Organiser,
Leicester Adult Education
College
"The
Asset Languages scheme
has certainly helped my children.
They have responded positively to the
tests and to the certificates. A welcome
addition to the school timetable."
Karen,mother of Thomas Yr 6
and Kathryn Yr 4
Cedars School Students
"Teenagers
in the town have a real
aptitude for languages; they find
learning fun and interesting and want to
discover more about the different languages,
cultures,groups and communities that co-exist in
today’s multicultural Bournemouth – we’d
estimate that over 20 languages are actually
spoken in the town.”
Judith O’Hare,modern foreign languages
advisor, Bournemouth
Local Authority
A useful first guide to language learning, 
