University College Plymouth St Mark & St John

Literacy Assessment

All applicants will be asked to take a literacy ‘test’ at interview.  This is in order to assess their command of written Standard English and reading.  Command of spoken Standard English is assessed during the interview.

For the literacy assessment at interview:

• Applicants are asked to read a short article from a national newspaper on an educational topic and respond to this in writing
• Applicants are given a pupil’s written response and asked to identify any errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar

Areas focused upon in interview

Professional Attributes
This includes high expectations and commitment to realising and raising pupil potential; professional behaviour; facility for collaboration, reflection and innovation.

Professional Knowledge and Understanding
This includes subject knowledge as defined with your degree/academic qualification, but also the curriculum context of the subject – i.e. what and how it is taught in schools.

Professional skills in relation to teaching and learning
This includes your reflections from your own observation/experience of teaching/learning.  All applicants are expected to have had some experience/observation in a secondary school.

You will be assessed upon the following elements:

Subject knowledge per se - The essential knowledge and understanding needed in order to teach a subject effectively
Pedagogy: subject theory and practice - An understanding of the teaching skills and strategies needed to teach all pupils effectively
Pupils' development - An understanding of how learning is linked to pupils' development and their social, religious, etnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and contexts
Attitudes - Positive attitudes to pupils' learning that underpin subject knowledge, skills and understanding
(For more information, go to www.tda.gov.uk )

Preparation for interview

In order to prepare for the interview, all applicants for MFL are asked to:

1. Access/read the National Curriculum for MFL www.qca.org.uk/curriculum 
2. Visit DfES website, and read the guidance provided on effective teaching and learning of MFL
3. Access/read the GCSE specifications for OCR or AQA or Edexcel in the first foreign language you intend to teach (e.g. French, Spanish, German)

Applicants are asked to choose one of the four Attainment Targets as detailed in the National Curriculum for MFL – that is one from listening, speaking, reading, writing – and to talk about what they found of interest/importance in a 5 minute presentation.  You will be expected to provide the two Tutors attending with copies of slides etc.  Applicants will also be asked to write in the first foreign language they intend to teach and may be asked to speak in that language and/or the second foreign language they intend to teach.