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Contents
Recommendation
All post-primary schools should be required to have a robust academic tracking system in place for MFLs—a system that could also benefit other subjects.
Concept & application
The proposed model would be a relatively straightforward process:
- Each student’s baseline potential in their MFL would be determined by data-driven software that calculates realistic targets for every learner.
- The data from both the student’s continuous assessment and summative assessment results would be used to monitor the extent to which they are meeting their baseline potential across all four language skills – reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- When a student underachieves by a given percentage, the tracking system would flag this concern to the students, the relevant teacher(s), their parent(s), and other key stakeholders, e.g., their class tutor.
- Bridging support interventions should be employed as required. Bridging is the term employed as it aims to bridge the shortfall in what the student needs to know so that they can return to their baseline potential. Such supports could include: the MFL teacher having a conversation with the student, establishing a plan of action; student drop-in MFL support centres at lunchtime / after school once a week; and so on.
- The student’s progress continues to be monitored to gauge the extent to which they have regained their baseline potential. Further interventions could be used as necessary.
Key benefits
By intervening early, students could be afforded the opportunity to receive the necessary support to get back on track academically and achieve their plurilingual potential. Such a tracking system could also provide invaluable feedback to the MFL teacher, highlighting when students may benefit from additional time and support to engage with certain material.
Some key research findings
The research findings indicate:
- substantial support among key stakeholders for the implementation of an academic tracking system; and
- that such a system has the potential to truly support MFL students to achieve their plurilingual potential.
Survey data from a second-level school that employs an academic tracking system:
- 73% of surveyed students (24% strongly agreed and 49% agreed) advised that they “support the initiative to set a baseline potential for me in each of my curricular subjects”.
- 77% of surveyed students (26% strongly agreed and 51% agreed) noted that they “support the initiative to track my progress and highlight when I fall below my potential in each of my curricular subjects”.
- 70% of surveyed students (19% strongly agreed and 51% agreed) advised that they “believe that the tracking system will positively support me in achieving my academic potential”.
- 60% of surveyed students (25% strongly agreed and 35% agreed) advised that they “believe that the tracking system will motivate me in my studies”.
- 67% of surveyed students (24% strongly agreed and 43% agreed) believe that, in the case of modern foreign languages, it would be beneficial to provide separate tracking for each language skill – reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- 71% of surveyed teachers (25% strongly agreed and 46% agreed) believe the “tracking system is positively supporting students to achieve their academic potential”.
This is a preprint of the following work: Edward P. Flynn, Cross-age Teaching and Plurilingualism: Realising the Barcelona Summit Agreement, 2026, Palgrave Macmillan, reproduced with permission of Springer Nature. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-96656-9.