Research School Network: Helping Pupils Think Before They Write: Metacognition in KS3 French Helping KS3 pupils write in French by using simple metacognitive questions that build independence and confidence.

Last week, I asked my KS3 pupils to complete a piece of writing in French.
I’d structured the task carefully and was confident the expectations were clear.

What followed was a constant stream of questions:

How do you say …?

How do you spell…?

What does … mean?

There was very little evidence of independent thinking. Even pupils who had the language they needed seemed unsure where to start or what to do next. They weren’t stuck because they couldn’t write – they were stuck because they didn’t know how to approach the task strategically.

It was time for a rethink.

The new EEF Metacognition and Self‑Regulation Guidance Report (2025) offers a really helpful lens here, particularly when it comes to making the writing process more strategic and more manageable for our learners.

One vignette in the report has stayed with me. A teacher supports pupils to plan their work using three simple questions:

1. What do I already know?

2. What do I need to know?

3. Where will I look?

Simple questions – but surprisingly powerful. They sit neatly within the planning
phase of the metacognitive cycle and transfer beautifully to the KS3 MFL classroom. Here’s how they can strengthen the way we teach writing in French.

1. What do I already know?

Activating prior knowledge before writing

Before pupils write in French, they need time to stop and notice what they already know. Without that pause, many default straight to ​‘How do you say…?’ or reach for the dictionary or the dreaded Google Translate before they’ve thought at all.

The result?

- Questions about language they already know
- Over-reliance on translation tools
- Lower confidence than is actually warranted

In KS3 French, ​‘what I already know’ might include:

- Verbs they can use reliably

- Topic vocabulary from recent lessons

- Sentence structures they’ve practised before

- Opinions and simple connectives

- Grammar they’ve already secured (e.g. present tense, adjective agreement)


A quick retrieval-style warm-up here can unlock confidence before writing even begins


2. What do I need to know?

This second question moves pupils from recall to strategy. It nudges them to analyse the task and identify what’s missing – rather than concluding, ​‘I don’t know enough French to do this’ useful prompts might include:

- Which tense does this task need?

- Do I need vocabulary I haven’t met yet?

- What does a successful answer include?

- Which grammar points am I least confident with?


This helps prevent the familiar ​‘I don’t know what to write’ spiral and starts building independence.

3. Where will I look?

Teaching deliberate use of resources

This is the step pupils rarely do without support. When they get stuck, they often reach for the wrong resource – or none at all.

In MFL, knowing where to look matters just as much as knowing what to write.

Useful resources might include:

- Knowledge organisers

- Vocabulary books

- Model texts

Bringing the Three Questions Together

Used together, these three questions create a simple planning routine pupils can return to every time they write in French.

They slow the cognitive rush, reduce dependency, and position pupils as strategic decision‑makers rather than passive task‑followers.

Over time, pupils start to internalise:


I know more than I think.

I can work out what I need.

I know where to look.


And that, far more than another writing frame – is the heart of metacognitive development in KS3 MFL.