Gather munitions. Select a target. Start firing and keep on firing.” It sounds like a military campaign, and in many ways it is. Getting pupils to do the minimum homework is an achievement in itself. Persuading them to “volunteer” for extra, takes the strategic vision and manoeuvring skills of a general.

It all began when Andrea Osborne, head of German at Beal High School in Ilford, greater London, had to teach Latin GCSE on one lesson a week. Homework took on crucial importance, and she set to cutting up old textbooks and pasting appropriate exercises on to cards. And so was born “Operation Blood Out of a Stone”, which she subsequently adapted for other classes, honing her persuasive techniques and the quality of her materials along the way.

The first step is to come up with a name designed to motivate the group concerned, perhaps the “A* Scheme” for a top set. The same principle applies to rewards. “Able children like to collect points which build up into commendations,” she says. “Lower sets will do anything for a lollipop, especially the ones that turn your tongue blue.”

Next comes the hard sell, followed, if she is lucky, by a rush of volunteers. Even if initial uptake is modest, she goes overboard to express her delight. “You’ve got to make those who don’t participate feel they are missing out,” she explains. “If only two cards come in, I might say how thrilled I am to receive 10. They are none the wiser. Once the momentum gets going, it has a snowball effect.”

Winning the first skirmish is one thing, sustaining the campaign is another, and when the first flurry of activity dies down, she fires her next weapon. This is the time to announce a bonus, perhaps a large chocolate bar or a double points week. This strategy comes in useful too when cards go astray, and often elicits not only the missing material, but all sorts of other work beyond the normal call of duty.

Involving parents is another effective ploy and she always attends parents’ evenings with a copious stock of cards. The scheme also allows her to give a negative situation a positive spin. “If someone is expecting a bad report, I suggest it might help their case if I could tell their parents they had done some extra work,” she says. “It’s blackmail, but if it works, I’m happy.”

She chooses materials which target specific weaknesses and cater for the ability range of the given group. Packaging is also important. “I photocopy exercises on to pastel-coloured card, because apparently that helps poor readers. The final product is protected with a plastic pocket,” she says. She recently extended her armoury to take account of modern technology. One new resource is www.reallyusefulfrench.co.uk, which contains vocabulary games (parents sign a record book to confirm the task has been done). Another exploits the teenage obsession with mobile phones. “I invite them to text me in a foreign language on a subject of their choice. One girl sent a message from town to tell me she had bought a T-shirt. Afterwards she said she had just been messing around with her mates. That’s fine by me. She still did it.”

The principle of choice lies at the heart of the scheme. There is no compulsion, no deadlines are set and pupils are free to select whichever card they wish.

“Sometimes they deliberately pick something simple, and then complain that it was too easy,” she says. “That’s my cue to suggest they try something more challenging.”

Preparation is time-consuming, but she would rather spend hours up to her elbows in glue than supervise detentions. That is not to say that every pupil is convinced, and the conversion of just one reluctant learner gives her tremendous pleasure. She recently took on responsibility for tracking results across the department, giving her the opportunity to measure the impact she has made on SAT levels and GCSE grades.

Andrea Osborne believes, however, that there is more to life than examination results. “Enjoyment, a sense of achievement, improved take-up of a second language in Year 10... these are equally valuable and worth pursuing in their own right.”

Case study French

Year 9, set four: comprises 26 pupils: 15 fairly motivated, eight indifferent, three hostile.

Target: majority of class to at least level 5 by the end of the year.

Weaknesses: writing at above level 23, poor productive vocabulary and reading skills, failure to exploit known vocabulary orally or in writing.

Tasks: puzzles to increasepractise vocabulary Reading tasks at levels 345 Writing tasks such as changing model dialogues or extending short minimalist paragraphs.

Speaking challenges, for example, how many sentences can pupils say on tape beginning “Je suis. . .”?

Tel: Andrea Osborne, 020 8506 2089 Email: ouraggie@currantbun.comwww.languagelearn.co.uklanguage_world_conf.htm Tel: 01788 546443

Alison Thomas is a former languages teacher and a freelance writer