Latest News

A selection of language-related news. Does not claim to be comprehensive or represent the views of SCILT.


Resources

French online ‘Live Lessons’ for primary

1 February 2024 (Argyll & Bute Council)

Gwen McCrossan, PT for 1+2 languages for Argyll & Bute Council, is offering a 5-week block of French online ‘Live Lessons’ for primary learners.

Lessons commence Wednesday 28 February and will last 40 minutes from 1.30 to 2.10 pm. These lessons are aimed at P4 learners upwards. The lessons can be used as consolidation of L2 French or as an introduction to French as an L3. The content can be accessed with no prior knowledge of French but the lessons are reasonably fast paced and include team games, which is why they are not suitable for younger learners.  

These lessons have a team teaching element as the games are led by the class teacher in their own classroom. The learning is chunked throughout the lesson between learning online from the expert to consolidating the new learning through playing a game in the class. This keeps the learning active but the teachers feel well supported. All the resources used during the lessons have sound files embedded to support learners and teachers with the pronunciation of key language. Each lesson contains an element of French phonics which practitioners have found to be very beneficial to develop confidence in pronunciation. Suggested follow-up resources and activities are also provided to allow the class teacher to consolidate the learning during the week.

As multiple classes will be attending these lessons, differentiation is not possible. Therefore, it is important that you decide whether the content of the lessons is suitable for your learners. For example, the content may be ideal for a P5 class which needs to revise and consolidate some simple French language. However, it wouldn’t suit a P7 class which had made steady progression in French from P1 onwards.

Content:

(each lesson will have a phonics element embedded)

Lesson 1-  Numbers to 16, Greetings & Feelings

Lesson 2- Numbers to 20, Days & Weather

Lesson 3- Numbers to 31, Months & Birthdays, Colours

Lesson 4- Numbers to 31, Family

Lesson 5- Pets & description (Colour, size)

Please complete this form if you would like to sign up for these lessons.

If you would like to learn more about this team teaching model please read this case study which describes last year’s national pilot of this initiative.

Ten Steps to Polish - new updated version

1 February 2024 (SCILT)

For teachers looking to introduce Polish as an L3 learning experience, you might be interested to know that we have updated the existing Ten Steps to Polish resource which is now available on the SCILT website. Ten Steps to Polish aims to introduce primary learners to Polish language and culture through a series of ten lessons. The lessons are based on a storytelling approach whereby a child in Scotland learns they have Polish ancestry. The child then embarks on a journey to Poland and travels to various cities and places of interest, learning about Polish language and culture throughout their travels.

Although the lesson guide and framework remain broadly the same as before, we have replaced the existing sound files with brand new audio and video files which we hope will help with pronunciation and understanding. All new files have been embedded into the resource and are easily accessible. Links within the ‘Suggested resources’ section of the progressive framework have also been updated and now include a few video clips to help reinforce language learning and understanding. We hope you enjoy exploring the updated resource!

Dziękuję/thanks to Ania Trusewicz and Chris Sagan from the Polish Social and Educational Society, Glasgow for helping update Ten Steps to Polish and also for the support from the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh.

You can access Ten Steps to Polish on the SCILT website. 

Read more...

Free French and Spanish trials

29 January 2024 (La Jolie Ronde)

To support Languages Week Scotland 2024, La Jolie Ronde are offering Scottish schools now and throughout February, FREE trials of their French and Spanish Scheme of Work for P3-P6. To take up this offer email: schools@lajolieronde.co.uk (quote SCILT). Plus, parents can book a FREE trial session of a French and/or Spanish class that run through their network of Scottish tutors - your local tutor can be found on the La Jolie Ronde website (for new pupils only).

The Languages Gateway - The UK's portal for languages

25 January 2024 (The Languages Gateway)

The Languages Gateway is the UK’s new portal for languages. It's a portal for, and on behalf of, everyone engaged in the sector; a collaborative venture through which we can facilitate access to information, and communicate a clear narrative to prospective and future linguists. The Gateway is designed to support all those interested in languages: learners, families, community groups, teachers, school leaders, academics, policymakers, subject associations. 

The attached briefing note document provides more detail around the site's creation, mission and vision.

Visit the Languages Gateway for opportunities, resources and information about languages and how they link to an understanding and appreciation of cultures and societies.

Read more...

Related Files

NEW! Multilingual Approaches through Art activity pack

25 January 2024 (MtA Project Partners)

We are excited to announce that the new Multilingual Approaches through Art (MtA) activity pack is now published!!

Funded by the Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Fund and created by those involved in the MtA project, this free activity pack contains a series of 10 activities which aim to inspire teachers and language educators to use art-based approaches in their teaching of languages. These activities use art as a content, medium and method for young people to explore who they are, how they can communicate multilingually, and how they build positive attitudes towards languages and language learning. The MtA activity pack aligns with the Curriculum for Excellence and Es and Os for each activity are referenced throughout.

We have a limited number of printed copies available* and there is also a downloadable digital version too. If you would like to receive a printed copy, please complete the form below.

To order a printed copy (*while stocks last), please complete this MS form.

Or access a digital version of the MtA activity pack.

Thank you!

Picture of MtA pack cover

Year of the Dragon Education Pack

22 January 2024 (British Council)

Chinese New Year is set for 10 February 2024, marking the beginning of the Year of the Dragon and bringing in various traditional celebrations. 

The British Council Year of the Dragon Education Pack is designed to help primary teachers and pupils explore Chinese language and culture through activities and stories relating to the dragon.

Visit the British Council website to access the resource.

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Scottish Opera’s free Mandarin teaching resources; a musical and theatrical project for primary pupils

16 January 2024 (Scottish Opera)

Scottish Opera will be celebrating the Chinese Year of the Dragon with a new digital expressive arts project for P6 and P7 pupils: How the Dragon Was Made. Designed for one class of upper school pupils, How the Dragon Was Made aims to improve pupils’ comprehension of Mandarin vocabulary, as well as provide a creative opportunity for performance and an element of peer-to-peer learning. It includes online resources to facilitate a class of pupils to perform their own 20-minute musical show in class, which can be performed for Primary 1-3 classes in school but also families and other guests. 

More information and access to the resources are available on the Scottish Opera website.

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The Language Show 2023 recordings

16 November 2023 (The Language Show)

Language learners, language teachers and everyone who loves languages, if you missed this year's Language Show don't worry! Expert seminars, presentations and panel sessions are all available to watch on catchup until March 2024 for just £11.

Visit the website for more information and to secure your pass.

Read more...

Lingobox Learning launch!

10 November 2023 (Lingobox Learning)

Lingobox Learning is delighted to announce that its primary languages resource website, www.lingoboxlearning.com is now live!

To celebrate, Lingobox Learning is offering all Scottish schools and individual teachers two months completely for free! Please just use the Code LINGOBOXLAUNCH at the check-out. The video link below will walk you through the process and in case of any issues, please just contact Ann@lingoboxlearning.com

Lingobox Free Trial Walkthrough

The website is a bit of a work in progress however Lingobox Learning will be adding lots of new resources over the coming weeks and months! These include songs, games, teaching videos and learning activities.

Lingobox Learning are also running two webinars in November. All details and links for booking are below:

Weds 22nd November 2023 – French Christmas Activities

Monday 27th November 2022 - Active Approaches in Language Learning with Joe Dale

Again, any questions, please just contact Ann@Lingoboxlearning.com

Read more...

Posted in: Primary, Resources

Y-CRED 2023

10 October 2023 (Global Y-CRED)

Y-CRED. Credentialing and Recognising Excellence and Determination is a FREE international language learner event that provides students with connections to native speakers, strategies to improve their skills, ways to leverage their bilingualism and links to future opportunities. Global Y-C.R.E.D.” is all about the “Y.” The “Y” represents “Youth,” but also answers the question, “WHY learn a language?”

Y-CRED. 2023 will offer short, pre-recorded on-demand content for language learners that facilitates flexible viewing for any class schedule.

One of the sessions "Fostering Autonomy: Language Learning with Technology", being led by Joe Dale as part of the "Level Up Your Language Skills" track, looks at how students can use AI to be more independent language learners.

Visit the Y-CRED website for more information and to register for the free online sessions.

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Remembering Empire

31 August 2023 (STRIDE)

The Remembering Empire project, led by Dr Fiona Barclay at the University of Stirling, uses the findings of research on the French empire in Algeria to produce materials for use by secondary teachers of French. Its aim is to use a complex story of empire to develop Global Citizenship values and support the take-up of languages in Scottish schools.

This article explores the resources in more detail and provides links to the free downloadable materials aimed at two separate ages: S3 and Advanced Higher. 

(Note - A link to the Remembering Empire resources can be found in both the S1-S3 and Senior Phase French classroom resource sections of SCILT's website)

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A Global Citizenship Approach to French - Free new materials for French learners!!

4 May 2023 (Scotdec / University of Stirling / SCILT)

‘Remembering Empire’ is an interdisciplinary learning programme for pupils of French in S3 and AH, developed by Dr Fiona Barclay (University of Stirling) with the support of the AHRC to build language competence and global citizenship values by exploring France’s empire in Algeria. You can read more about the project and materials on SCILT's website.

Join Scotdec for a series of workshops for BGE and AH French teachers alongside Dr Barclay introducing you to the materials, and providing guidance on discussing themes of colonisation, immigration and refugees within the context of a Global Citizenship approach. More information, dates and sign-up information on the flyer attached below.

In addition, SCILT and Scotdec are joining forces to present a webinar on Active Global Citizenship Through Modern Languages on Thursday 1 June, 4-5pm. As well as general strategies, this webinar will also introduce the Remembering Empire project materials. Register for the free event!

Related Files

Remembering Empire: Free materials to build global citizenship values and competence in French (S3 and AH)

7 March 2023 (University of Stirling)

Looking for free new materials for French learners? ‘Remembering Empire’ is an interdisciplinary learning programme for pupils of French in S3 and Advanced Higher. Developed by Dr Fiona Barclay (University of Stirling) with the support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, ‘Remembering Empire’ builds language competence and global citizenship values by exploring France’s empire in Algeria. By focusing on the establishment of the colony, life there, and the departure of the settlers when Algeria became independent, learners are encouraged to make connections with Scotland’s history of emigration and colonisation, and with the experiences of refugees today.

The S3 programme consists of five sessions and focuses on an electronic comic book, ‘Entre ici et là-bas’, which tells the story of Jeanne, a young French girl whose family are forced to leave Algeria when it becomes independent. Waiting to board a ship, she reflects on her family’s history, from her great-grandfather who arrived in 1871 and built a farm for his family, to her own experiences of the war that led to independence. We hear about the indigenous Arab population and think about how they experienced this history.

Activities based on the comic include:

  • City/country names and prepositions
  • Asking questions and naming objects (if you had to leave home suddenly, what would you pack in your suitcase?)
  • Describing emotions and using être in the present (how do the different characters feel?)
  • Different daily routines, in Algeria and in France
  • Using the near future (aller + infinitive) to imagine what the characters might do in the future.

Free resources include the comic (available on Webtoons), a video-recording of the comic being read aloud by a native speaker, lesson plans for all sessions with detailed information and interactive activities, and suggested drama activities led by actors with video guides.

For learners taking Advanced Higher French, Remembering Empire offers full support for the portfolio element, including the two required texts (a play and an interview with the playwright). Five sessions of archive footage, readings and activities in French introduce learners to the history and culture of French Algeria and the war which led to independence, and give the background required to study the play.

Six sessions focus on a French play, Les Pieds Tanqués (2012). Set on a pétanque pitch, the play presents the conflicting memories of the Algerian War. Full resources include the interactive electronic text of the play and notes, a written interview with the playwright, Philippe Chuyen, lesson plans with detailed information and classroom activities, a blank fiche de lecture and character profiles for pupils to complete (plus completed versions for teachers), and a video recording of a live performance. The package also includes a plan for a potential AH Portfolio essay question.

Interested? The materials will be available from April 2023. To express an interest and be contacted then, leave your name and contact details on this form: https://forms.gle/JNoer7PA2zkAjzvg9

Express Yourself 2023: NE Festival of Languages

6 March 2023 (NE Festival of Languages)

The North East Festival of Languages takes place throughout the month of March. 

Whilst much of the programme is specifically for schools and communities residing in the North East of England, there are also resources and opportunities open to all, like the Yorùbá language and culture online taster on 11 March and exciting games and activities for language learners, such as the Escape Room challenge available for learners of French, German or Spanish.

Visit the website and check out what's available for your next language class!

Read more...

Education Scotland's language resources

9 February 2023 (Education Scotland)

Languages Week Scotland was celebrated from 30 January to 3 February. If you missed it, don’t worry, there are still plenty of resources to support language learners. Browse our languages wakelet for lots of useful links and resources.

Read more...

French and Spanish free trials

23 January 2023 (La Jolie Ronde)

To support Languages Week Scotland, La Jolie Ronde are offering Schools now and throughout February, FREE trials of their French and Spanish Scheme of Work for P3-P6. To take up this offer email: schools@lajolieronde.co.uk (quote SCILT). 

Plus, parents can book a FREE trial session of a French and/or Spanish class run through their network of Scottish tutors - local tutors can be found on La Jolie Ronde's website.

Read more...

Year of the Rabbit Education Pack

10 January 2023 (British Council)

According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, on 22 January 2023, we’ll be entering the Year of the Rabbit. This marks the start of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

This education pack for primary schools contains teaching resources and activities to help teachers and pupils learn more about this important spring festival and explore Chinese language and culture.

Download the pack from the British Council website.

Read more...

New issue of TECLA magazine and upcoming training opportunities

12 December 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

Please find below the information about a new issue of TECLA magazine (December 2022) and upcoming training opportunities for teachers of Spanish:

  • Publications. New issue of the magazine TECLA with lots of ideas and resources for Spanish classes. FREE DOWNLOAD!!! 
  • Training opportunities. Have a look at the CPD opportunities we have prepared for the first half of 2023: online sessions, face-to-face training in different locations in the UK, and immersion breaks in Spain during the school holidays of February, April, and July. SAVE THE DATE!!!!: 
  • Next online workshop – Saturday 21 January (10:00): Jornada monográfica en línea sobre aspectos culturales en la enseñanza del español. Free registration.

Lingobox Learning Monthly Newsletter

22 September 2022 (Lingobox Learning)

Lingobox’s monthly newsletter for September is due out next week. This month we’ll be sharing some exciting new resources to support use of classroom language in French and Spanish and our new greetings song, Bonjour, bonjour! Our blog will focus on top tips for embedding French and Spanish language into classroom daily routines, instructions and everyday practice.

You can sign up for the newsletter on the Lingobox website.

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Education Scotland – New resource to support 1+2 languages in primary settings

21 September 2022 (Education Scotland)

This resource, in the form of suggested weekly planners for the school session, is designed to support primary practitioners to plan and deliver languages from P1 through to P7. The resource contains suggested timeframes, contexts for learning, supports progression across the four skills in language learning from Early to Second level and contains links to helpful and free to access resources. The resource can be tailored to suit practitioners’ preferred contexts for learning.

Visit Education Scotland's National Improvement Hub website to access the new resource.

Read more...

TECLA magazine for Spanish language teachers

6 September 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

The September 2022 edition of TECLA, the magazine for teachers of Spanish, is now available online.

The electronic magazine has lots of ideas and resources for Spanish classes and is free to download! 

Read more...

Ukrainian resources for schools and families

5 April 2022 (SCILT)

We have collated resources to help support children and families arriving from Ukraine. We hope teachers will find these useful in welcoming young people and their parents into Scottish schools. Please share with your networks!

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Resources for teachers

15 March 2022 (ECML)

The European Centre for Modern Languages encourage excellence and innovation in language teaching and aims to help Europeans learn languages more efficiently. They have just published the following resources which language teachers may find useful. Follow the relevant link for more information:

Royal Zoological Society of Scotland programmes for schools

22 February 2022 (RZSS)

The RZSS offers a variety of activities for schools. Bookings are now open for the following programmes:

Beyond the Panda

A 5-week progressive programme for P4-P7. Four weeks live virtual sessions and 5th week in person outreach. Bookings open now for sessions starting in August 2022. Over the 5 weeks pupils will learn about various Chinese animals, threats, solutions, some Chinese culture while also learning about the Mandarin language and Chinese characters. Key objectives are in the attached pdf. 

Giants

This new live virtual session looks at two very different animals from two very different areas of the world and at two very different languages. The giant anteater from South America and the giant panda from China. The session will introduce some basic vocabulary in both Spanish and Mandarin and will be aimed at upper primary level. Suitable for any class already studying Spanish or Mandarin or both. Bookings open now for a limited number of sessions starting April 2022. 

Further information for both programmes at beyondthepanda.org.uk

Read more...

TECLA magazine for Spanish language teachers

15 February 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

A new issue of the magazine TECLA with lots of ideas and resources for Spanish classes is now available. It includes an article by Louise Glen: “Implementación de la política de idiomas 1+2 en centros educativos escoceses”. Free download! 

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The two Roses

18 January 2021 (SCILT/Twinkl)

SCILT has worked in partnership with Twinkl Scotland and Nil By Mouth to produce a new eBook with accompanying resources. The Two Roses is a tale about friendship, inclusion and tolerance available in English and Gaelic. This First Level resource gives educators the opportunity to talk about similarities and differences, friendship and kindness, teasing and bullying, through the lens of the two central characters.

Further, the resource discusses the ways rural and urban lifestyles can be vastly different for young children and how to be considerate of these different lifestyles. There are opportunities for cultural learning that challenge the notion that some ways of living are better than others. The light-hearted approach allows teachers and learners to tackle problematic beliefs in a kind way.

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British Council Year of the Tiger education pack

18 January 2022 (British Council)

According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, we enter the Year of the Tiger on 1 February 2022.

Our Year of the Tiger education pack celebrates Chinese New Year. Featuring activities to help teachers and pupils learn more about this important spring festival and explore Chinese culture, you can learn about the South China tiger, make a kite, and take part in a Chinese language lesson. 

Visit the British Council website to download the education pack.

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TRANSLA - New resources for parents and educators

8 December 2021 (Bilingualism Matters)

Bilingualism Matters Luxembourg launches TRANSLA, a new program for multilingual children, with resources for teachers and parents in English, French and German.

The programme contains 8 sessions on multilingual classroom, home-school collaboration, multilingual brain and cross-linguistic transfer, oracy, literacy, and teachers’ own experience with translanguaging pedagogy.

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New resources to support bilingualism

30 November 2021 (Twinkl/SCILT/Bilingualism Matters)

What does it mean to be bilingual? Bilingualism is knowing more than one language and the way it affects us is far from simple! Find out all about the different ways we can be bilingual, the effects of bilingualism and some of the benefits to us all with our amazing resources developed for use at First Level alongside the experts at Bilingualism Matters, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, and our teacher team here at Twinkl. The resources are available in English and Gaelic for use in GME contexts and are an ideal way to start celebrating the linguistic landscape in your school.

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Gleans Challenge

29 November 2021 (Gleans Alba)

Gaelic L2 and L3 schools the latest Gleans Challenge is here. Why not have a go at singing our Winter song or make your own colourful bodach-sneachda! 

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Opportunities from LFEE

9 November 2021 (LFEE )

Festival of Languages… connecting with schools from Scotland, France, Spain and Germany…

Our first Connected Learning Festival celebrates the learning and teaching of English, French and Spanish for upper primary and secondary school pupils.

Through short videos and 3D animations, our characters and their avatars take teachers and their learners from the comfort of their classroom to our virtual land where everything is possible!  

Please click on the link below for free access to the Characters presentations in English, French and Spanish.

https://connectlearn.eu/learn-more/meet-characters/

Share what learners produce with other schools from other countries on Padlet. Practitioners are given ideas on how to record what is produced by their learners and to create an exhibition which can be shared on Padlet and/or within their own school.

The Turing Programme... Send your learners to France, Spain and Germany….

LFEE Europe will build a consortium to support pupil mobilities in 2022 – 2023.

Should you be interested in sending your learners to one of the above 3 countries, get in touch with us. We will put in a bid which, if successful, will allow schools to get funding to send pupils abroad. The grant will cover all costs for pupils and accompanying teachers: travel expenses and subsistence.

We have partnered with many primary and secondary schools in France, Spain and Germany where the trip will take place. Alternatively, you can find a partner of your choice.

Should you be interested, please email us on: info@lfee.net

It would be good to write a little description of a specific theme/project you might be interested in exploring whilst abroad: sustainability, history, geography etc.

Resources and activities for COP26

29 October 2021 (Highland Council)

The Northern Alliance has put together the following resources which they are happy to share with schools nationally to link in with COP26.

A Conversation with Lilian Thuram

29 October 2021 (SCILT)

On Thursday, 10 June 2021, SCILT hosted an online conversation with the French anti-racism campaigner and World Cup winning footballer, Lilian Thuram, to mark the launch of My Black Stars, a translation of Thuram’s bestselling 2010 volume, Mes Etoiles Noires. Over the past decade, the Lilian Thuram Foundation for Education against Racism has been at the forefront of the fight for racial equality in France, and this was a great opportunity to bring its work to the attention of an English-language audience.

The conversation, led by Cédric Moreau and David Murphy, from Modern Languages at the University of Strathclyde, took place in French, and a video of the event is now available on YouTube (with the option of French or English sub-titles).

This should be a great resource for French teachers looking to introduce students to issues around racism and inclusion. In addition, the publisher of My Black Stars has a great resource on its blog: a recording of Lilian Thuram reading the introduction to the book in French, plus readings in English by students from the Universities of Strathclyde and Stirling of some sample chapters.

SQA Understanding Standards materials for session 2021-22

25 October 2021 (SQA)

Understanding Standards resources published for National 5 to Advanced Higher Modern Languages in session 2020-21 have been updated for session 2021-22.  

The resources for Modern Languages are available on SQA Understanding Standards website.

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SCHOLAR Modern Languages homework sessions

25 October 2021 (SCHOLAR)

SCHOLAR is hoping to supplement the work of e-Sgoil by covering some areas which they do not. We are offering online homework sessions for Higher German and National 5 French, German and Spanish. The sessions should help prepare learners for dealing with Reading, Directed Writing and Listening. The sessions will be on Mondays at 6pm.

Led by Douglas Angus, our online tutor, the first session will be:

  • Monday 1 November 2021 - Higher Reading and Translation. The sessions are interactive, and for Higher a dictionary would be useful to have handy!
  • Monday 8 November 2021 - Reading at National 5 for French, German and Spanish.

Access is through the SCHOLAR website, but no registration is needed to join in!

Read more...

Discovery Film Festival - 'Migrants' short animation

25 October 2021 (Highland Council/DCA)

Migrants (a French production) is an 8 minute animation about 2 polar bears who are forced to leave their home due to climate change and they meet brown bears. The film is particularly relevant for COP26 and 1+2 Languages, exploring the issues of global warming. Migrants could be used for primary and secondary. There are excellent free resources to download too with lots of cross curricular activities for primary, and second and third level resources for French.

Originally the film was part of the Shorts for Middles ones Bundle that could be purchased to stream online by schools. However, Migrants has now been made available to stream for £1 during the film festival, up until 7 November. Anyone who wants to watch the film has to create an account and has 48hrs to watch the film once they select Play Now. They can watch the film as many times as they want in the 48hr period.  

Language Teaching: Learning from the Past – Teacher Training Packages are now available!

1 October 2021 (HoLLT)

We are delighted to announce that our five teacher training packages are now live.

The materials use the History of Language Learning and Teaching (HoLLT) to help language teachers reflect on language teaching practice and policy today. Five units each take a key theme, with a short introductory video (8-12 minutes), a handbook of activities, and a facilitator’s handbook with further information and guidance. Each handbook also includes a short historical overview and some reading suggestions.

Our themes are:

  1. Differentiation and diversity
  2. What does it mean to teach culture?
  3. Grammar: “The art of speaking well”?
  4. Target language and (m)other tongue use
  5. Making the case for languages – Policy and advocacy

The project is an AHRC-funded collaboration between the University of Nottingham and King’s College London. Many thanks to our Postdoctoral Fellow on the project, Dr Lina Fisher. 

Visit the University of Nottingham website to access the materials, which we hope teachers will find useful.

Read more...

Conversation course for secondary German teachers

28 September 2021 (Goethe-Institut)

Are you a secondary school teacher of German teaching at a school in Scotland? Would you like to practice your conversational skills and keep yourself up-to-date with current affairs in German speaking countries?  

This conversation course will be right for you. We will be discussing a wide range of topics based on current newspaper articles, radio programmes and clips from German television. You will be taking away up-to-date materials and, hopefully, inspiration and lots of good ideas for your classroom.

The free online course will be held over Zoom between October 2021 and February 2022.

Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more details and to register by 4 October 2021.

Read more...

European Day of Languages

23 September 2021 (Council of Europe)

The Council of Europe Director General of Democracy, Snežana Samardžić-Marković, has recorded a video message (4 minutes) to mark the 20th anniversary of EDL. The video, in English, which gives a nice overview of the Day, is available via YouTube.

The latest version of the ‘Secret agent’s language challenges app' is now available in 21 languages and can be downloaded for Apple and Android devices.

Chromebook users can also download the app from the Playstore - by searching for "Language challenges" and clicking on the install button.

RZSS Beyond the Panda FREE virtual programmes

6 September 2021 (RZSS)

P1-P3 Two live virtual sessions available after the October break until December but only on Thursdays. Advisable to book now as limited places. Choose from 'Intro to the giant panda' or 'I can see, hear, smell, taste and touch'. Both are based around the giant panda and include some basic Mandarin language learning. Limited places. Contact Sandie Robb - srobb@rzss.org.uk for further details and booking. 

P4-P7 Seven week progressive programme through live virtual sessions. Book now for delivery in January to March 2022 (already fully booked for 2021). Covers many topics on China, its wildlife, endangered species and culture. Ideal for L3 Mandarin or China topic. Includes some basic Mandarin language learning. Key objectives are on the flyer. Limited places. Contact Sandie Robb - srobb@rzss.org.uk for further details and booking. 

All sessions are delivered on Microsoft Teams within GLOW. Enabled by our partnership with CISS and eSgoil. 

Further details and additional resources can be found on the Beyond the Panda website.

Read more...

Related Files

TECLA 3/2021, magazine for Spanish language teachers

6 September 2021 (Consejería de Educación)

The new issue of TECLA review for Spanish language teachers in the UK and Ireland is now available. Lots of ideas and resources for the Spanish class. 

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ALLNet Cultural Partner Special: The Goethe-Institut

6 August 2021 (ALL)

In this e-bulletin Special from the Association for Language Learning, find out all about the activities and opportunities for teachers and schools from their partner organisation, the Goethe-Institut.

In addition to professional development for teachers of German, and German language resources, there are also initiatives for pupils with no prior knowledge of the language, such as Gaming in German and the Green Sauce Cookery Show.

Read more...

Bòrd na Gàidhlig new website

20 May 2021 (Bòrd na Gàidhlig)

The recently renewed website from Bòrd na Gàidhlig includes useful information about all sectors of gaelic education in Scotland, along with guidance documentation.

Resources are all available in the Education section of the website.

Read more...

Radio Lingua resources

14 May 2021 (Radio Lingua)

This week's round-up of resources from the team at Radio Lingua:

Q and A videos

Each week we are publishing Question and Answer videos, discussing language learning queries from our listeners. This week we talked about the use of Bitte in German, how to apologise in Spanish, Italian possessive adjectives and the phrase ça te dit in French. You can watch all these videos on our YouTube channel here.

Travel Diaries

This week sees us on our fourth episode of our Spanish and German Travel Diaries. Join our Spanish travellers as they head to the wondrous Machu Picchu, while our German tourists reach the historic city of Würzburg. 

French Film Festival UK 2021

13 May 2021 (French Film Festival)

The French Film Festival UK’s Learning Programme continues to bring French-speaking cinema to Scotland’s schools throughout May and June 2021.

A selection of films on DVD are available on request and will be sent directly to schools. To accompany the selection of films for different age groups, school screenings are enhanced by online learning resources prepared by Lise Morel. Participating teachers will be able to download these Learning Packs as PDFs to use in the classroom. These resources have been designed in accordance with the Modern Languages Experience and Outcomes for Curriculum for Excellence.

Please note that for schools within attainment challenge authorities, this resource is available free of charge. For further information, email schools@frenchfilmfestival.org.uk

Radio Lingua resources

6 May 2021 (Radio Lingua)

Here’s a round up of the latest news from Radio Lingua:

French 

  • Did you have a chance to watch our new Question and Answer video last week? Our latest video about how to form questions in French is sure to be of use to your learners. You can find it on our YouTube channel here and if you have any language questions the team could answer in future videos, simply submit your request here: coffeebreakquestions.com.
  • Our Coffee Break French Facebook page focused on pronunciation last week and how words which have very different spelling are pronounced the same way. Why don’t you use our short gap-fill exercise in which you have to put the words vertverre and vers into 3 sentences with your learners? Click here.

Spanish

  • Our second episode of the latest Spanish Travel Diaries has now been published and this week our intrepid travellers are in the city of Cuzco. Did you know there is a unique piedra de 12 ángulo there? Find out more about this city here.
  • In our new Spanish Q and A video,  Marina and Mark talk about the various ways to ask for the bill. Which phrases would you normally use?

Italian

  • If you are learning or teaching Italian, we are sure you will find our latest short videos helpful, as we take a specific language point and talk it through with our native speaker Francesca. This week’s lesson looks at the difference between giorno and giornata. 
  • Do your learners confuse when to use bene or buono? This Facebook Grammar Activity post gives you the chance to practise in class.

German

  • The second episode of our new German Travel Diaries series finds us in Cologne. You can find out how Karl and Birgit spent their time in this beautiful city.
  • We shared a post all about Modalpartikel with our German learners on Facebook last week. Modalpartikel are words which add stress to a sentence, but which don’t really change the meaning. This means they can be quite hard to translate. Click here to see some examples of these words being used in sentences

Coffee Break English

We are delighted to announce a new podcast for pre-intermediate learners of English, which is sure to be of use to learners in your schools and the wider school community. You can check out the first three lessons now.

Radio Lingua resources

29 April 2021 (Radio Lingua)

Travel Diaries

We hope you enjoyed the second seasons of both our French and Italian Travel Diaries podcasts which finished last week. However, you can still access our trips round Northern France here,  or join our travellers as they end their trip in Trento here.

It is with much excitement then, that we announce the release of two new Travel Diaries and would love you to join us on season 2 of our Spanish Travel Diaries round western South America. You can listen here as we set off from Lima in Peru. 

Or, you may prefer to join us on a virtual river cruise through Germany and Austria in our German Travel Diaries, as we have also released Season 2 which you can access for free here.

Q and A videos

We have recently launched a new series of Question and Answer videos on your YouTube channel which are sure to be helpful to you and your learners. Our latest videos cover topics from how to say “I miss you” in French, the difference between muy and mucho in Spanish, how to say good luck in German and the differences between potere and riuscire in Italian.

If you have a language query, you can get in touch with us at coffeebreakquestions.com and we may feature this on a future video. 

Just published: European Language Gazette no. 55 (April-May 2021)

24 April 2021 (ECML)

The European Language Gazette, the ECML's e-newsletter, provides up-to-date news about the ECML (events, projects, resources) and other relevant sectors of the Council of Europe, as well as of our partners. It focuses on national developments in the field of language education in the member states and beyond.

Enjoy the latest issue which can be accessed on the ECML website.

Read more...

Climate action in language education

22 April 2021 (British Council)

Today is Earth Day and British Council is bringing people together around the world through The Climate Connection to meet the challenges of climate change.

Amongst their resources on climate for schools there is a collection to help you integrate environmental issues into language teaching, learning and assessment, including a 3-module professional learning course for language teachers. The first module starts on 28 April 2021.

Visit the British Council website for more information and to register for the course.

Read more...

Radio Lingua resources

25 March 2021 (Radio Lingua)

Reading Club for Schools

We are continuing to publish a daily French or Spanish Cultural Reading text for schools on our RLN Education Facebook page. We’d love to hear your thoughts on their use in schools so we’ve sent a short questionnaire to all those who signed up.

French

  • Have you been listening to our brand new episode from Season 2 of the Coffee Break French Travel Diaries? In this episode, our friends spend their final day in Normandy visiting the Abbaye aux Hommes before wandering around the around streets of the city centre. Discover many interesting phrases using the verb être, including être fou de qqch and être inspiré par qqch. We also learn about the difference between en fait, en effet, and au faitListen to the episode here to find out more.
  • As you know Saturday 20th March marked United Nations French Language Day.The day was also marked by the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie as being the International Day of La Francophonie, celebrating Francophone culture around the world. To recognise the event, we're taking a look back at our blog post where we share four aspects of québécois French which prove that learning another dialect of a language can be a wonderfully enriching experience. Click here to learn more about some of the differences between phrases you'd hear in France compared to those you might encounter in Quebec, the one province of Canada whose sole official language is French.

Spanish

  • If you are looking for some challenges for individual pupils, be sure to check out our One Minute Spanish course where they can work independently through this 10 lesson series in short, easy-to-follow video lessons. They can learn just enough Spanish to express themselves in a variety of situations. The course is also the perfect starting point to get a taste of this amazing language. Click here to access all 10 lessons for free over on our YouTube channel.
  • Do your pupils know lots of vocabulary about household chores? In last week’s Spanish vocabulary post on Facebook, we reviewed some words related to just that topic. Do you know how to talk about doing the dishes, ironing, and sweeping the floor in Spanish? It might not be the most appealing type of vocabulary to learn, but it’s definitely useful. Click here to read the full post, including a list of 13 different chores.

Italian

  • The adventure continues for Simone and Anna as they they finally make it to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo in the latest episode of the Coffee Break Italian Travel Diaries, Season 2. Join them as they make the most of the view before having lunch in a mountain retreat while enjoying a bombardino. There's much more food-related vocabulary in this episode as well as some interesting grammar points which Mark and Francesca explore. Click here to listen now .
  • One classic question that all Italian learners are bound to ask at some point in their language-learning journey is ‘what is the difference between essere and stare?’. To help our learners practise the use of these two verbs, we shared a quick gap-fill exercise on Facebook last week, and 40 of our Italian learners had a go at answering. Click here to try it yourself

German

  • Listening to songs in German is an effective and enjoyable way to practise and develop your language skills. It can help improve your listening comprehension and your pronunciation and, on top of this, music is catchy! This means that the new words, phrases and structures that you hear within a song may be easier to remember and reuse in your own speaking or writing. The only difficulty is that there are an almost infinite number of songs which exist throughout the German-speaking world which can make it difficult to know where to start. In this article, we’ve done the hard work for you as we have found a selection of songs to listen to which will help you practise your German.

Learn German on TikTok and Instagram

23 March 2021 (Goethe-Institut)

"Goetheinstitut.Deutsch" is an offer by the Goethe-Institut for German-learners on TikTok and Instagram. With expert knowledge and humor, our host Alexander explains in short videos what you always wanted to know. With tips, tricks, and explanations, you will steadily improve your knowledge of German and gain insights into what Germany is really like.

Read more...

Radio Lingua resources

18 March 2021 (Radio Lingua)

French

  • Our French Travel Diary series continues this week with episode 5 where our friends take a guided Jeep tour of the Normandy landing beaches. From a language point of view, the word dont and the verb accueillir are discussed. You can listen here.
  • In our cultural post on Facebook last week, our French community learned about les 'gibouléesde mars: a weather phenomenon which takes place in France and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere around this time of year. Have you heard this French phrase before? Click here to read more.

Spanish

  • If you’re looking for some supplementary material for your intermediate learners, then Season 3 of Coffee Break Spanish may be of interest to you. There’s a topic discussed in each episode as well as our very own Spanish telenovela called Verano Español. Have a listen to episode 1 here.
  • We hope you continue to find our social media posts of use to you and your learners. Over on our Instagram page, we shared a Spanish idiom: estar de mala leche. Do you know what it means in English? Click here to find out in the full post, which is also linked to our blog article about food-related idioms in Spanish.

Italian

  • Italian Travel Diaries also continue this week. Join Anna and Simone in Episode 5 as they have a go at ice skating on the Lago di Dobbiaco. Of course, we guarantee you'll pick up some interesting grammar points and pieces of vocabulary along the way. All’idea di, tanto che and per sicurezza are just some of the useful phrases which Mark and Francesca discuss in this episode.
  • Last week our Italian vocabulary post was based on the topic of feminine nouns when talking about jobs. In Italian, the spelling and pronunciation of some job titles change depending on a person’s gender, while some others are always written the same way, regardless of gender. Click here to learn more about this in our post.

German

  • Would you like to give your learners some extra practice on asking how someone is feeling in German? To ask someone how they are you can say wie geht's dir?, or in a more formal situation, wie geht es Ihnen? In this episode from Season 1 of Coffee Break German To Go, our host Julia asks this question to passers-by in the streets of Berlin. We hear lots of interesting responses from the native German speakers featured in the episode. Take a look at the video and use the answers of our interviewees to help your learners.
  • In our cultural post last Friday, we played a little game of ‘guess who?’ on Facebook. We gave them some clues and asked them to guess which Austrian figure we were describing. Here’s one of the clues to get your started: Er war Arzt, Religionskritiker und KulturtheoretikerClick here to see the rest of the clues and to have a go at guessing.

Radio Lingua resources

11 March 2021 (Radio Lingua)

French

We hope you have been enjoying season two of our French Travel Diaries. Our latest instalment continues in northwestern France, as our travellers head toward the port city of Caen. Share someuseful vocabulary featured in Charlotte’s diary entry this week, including: démarrer qqchse reconvertir and requinquer qqn Listen here. 

  • In the latest chapter of La Vérité éclate toujours you can hear some interesting structures in the pluperfect tense and examples of modal verbs in the conditional perfect tense, such as: elle aurait dû (she should have), elle n’aurait jamais pu (she never could have). Click here to catch up on the episode if you missed it.
  • If you are looking for ways to bring more culture into your classroom, follow us on social media for some ideas. Last week, we tried something a bit different and asked our Facebook community to share one piece of cultural knowledge from the French-speaking world with their fellow learners.One learner shared a fact about different types of cheese in France, while other learners shared their favourite French-language Netflix shows. Click here to read their recommendations and cultural curiosities, and leave your own too.

Spanish

  • Are you teaching the topic of hobbies and pastimes with your learners? If so, our Coffee Break Spanish season to go asks the question ¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre? (What do you do in your free time?). Your pupils can hear native speakers give their answers by , checking out this episode from Season 1 of Coffee Break Spanish To Go over on our YouTube channel. 
  • Do you have a favourite word in your own language? How about in Spanish? Mine is paulatinamente! We asked our learners to share their favourite Spanish word with us on Facebook last week, and absolutely loved reading everyone’s answers. Why don’t you ask your learners their opinions?  You can read more answers here or even leave us your own..

Italian

  • We're back with the latest episode from Season 2 of the Coffee Break Italian Travel Diaries! This time, Simone and Anna are visiting the village of Ortisei where they go sledging and enjoy a traditional dinner with canederli. Listen out for a range of adjectives mentioned in this diary entry, including accoglientefiabesco and innevato. As always, Coffee Break Italian hosts, Mark and Francesca are on hand to explain the language featured in Simone's diary entry throughout the episode. The next instalment is ready and waiting for you, just click here to get started..
  • Over on our Instagram page last week, we shared an Italian idiom with our community: sogni d’oro. When someone is heading to bed, you might wish them 'sweet dreams' in English, but, in Italian, you wish people 'dreams of gold'... che bello! Click here to see the full post and many more like this.

German

  • Do you have any pupils who want to the basics of German but don't have time to commit to one of our Coffee Break German courses? Or perhaps you would simply like a taster of the language. If so then check out our One Minute German course where you can do exactly that. Throughout the 10 lessons you can learn to use the basics of the language confidently and accurately in short, easy-to-follow video lessons. You’ll learn just enough German to express yourself in a variety of situations. It's the perfect starting point to get a taste of this wonderful language! Click here to access all 10 lessons for free over on our YouTube channel.
  • What do you know about the iconic edelweiss flower? Our cultural post last week on the Coffee Break German Facebook page talked all about this tiny, white flower and what makes it so special, particularly in Austria. Click here to find out more about it.

Radio Lingua resources

25 February 2021 (Radio Lingua)

Reading Club for schools resources

  • We hope you are continuing to enjoy our short Reading texts which are a useful supplement for your Senior Phase learners of Spanish and French. Last week we published an article about La Fête des Voisins and another about how to make the perfect Tortilla Española. Each text is available to download for free and comes with an audio file and answer scheme here.

French

  • It still looks like a while before we can travel abroad again. In the meantime, we published our latest episode of our second series of Travel Diaries in French. Episode two is en route to Rouen in Normandy and includes an explanation about the phrase manger sur le pouce. You can set this link as extra listening practice for your pupils.
  • Have you been following our crime series La vérité éclate toujours for Advanced learners of French? Meet a brand new character in this week’s episode by clicking here.

Spanish

  • We know that translation is an essential skill for all learners of languages. However, there are sometimes words and phrases which are just not translatable at all. Have a look at our blog post ¡Es intraducible!  and share this with your learners to help them understand the challenge of trying to translate word for word.
  • Did you see our Live lesson, where Marina and Mark practised Listening and Writing as a dictation exercise? This type of activity is very useful and could be used during online lessons. You will find the video on our YouTube channel here.

Italian

  • Our Italian Travel Diaries also continue. In this episode, our hosts visit the medieval castle in Thun. Listen here to find out more.
  • Each week on our Facebook page for Italian, we publish a grammar post. Last week we looked at expressions of time. Why don’t you challenge your learners to the translation challenge ?

German

  • If you want to introduce your learners of German to film in the foreign language, look no further than our blog article in which we list our top six film recommendations for German learners. Click here to read the full article.
  • Each Tuesday we publish a language idiom over on Instagram, and  last week was the phrase auf Wolke sieben sein, where we would say to be on cloud nine, but in German it is to be on cloud seven. Click here to read the full post 

ProSign - New resource website for professionals involved in sign language teaching and assessment

11 February 2021 (ECML)

Teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers, and professionals involved in sign language teaching and assessment will find this new open-access resource website a useful tool.

The resources have been developed in a bottom-up process involving deaf experts and experienced sign language teachers.

Find out more on the ECML website.

Read more...

Radio Lingua resources

11 February 2021 (Radio Lingua)

French

  • It's time for some virtual travel once more! This Thursday (11th February) we're launching a brand new series of the Coffee Break French Travel Diaries and you can join Swiss student Charlotte and her friends Lucas and Théo as they take a trip through historic locations in northwestern France. They'll visit the castles of the Loire Valley, the Normandy beaches and the Mont St-Michel among other fascinating locations, and you can improve your French as you join them on this journey. Episode 1 of the new series will be available from Thursday 11th February and you'll find it in the podcast feed on SpotifyApple PodcastsGoogle Podcasts
  • Do you know your famous French-speakers? We played a fun game of ‘Guess Who?’ on the Coffee Break French Facebook page last week, in which we provided learners with some clues and they had to guess who we were describing. Here’s one clue to get you started: j'ai combattu dans la guerre de Cent Ans. Think you know who it is? Click here to see the full post and to have a guess. A great idea to share with your remote learners!

Spanish

  • ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? (What's the weather like today?) Can your learners answer this question confidently in Spanish? We're taking you back to Lesson 21 from Season 1 of Coffee Break Spanish this week to talk about this very common conversation starter. Join Coffee Break Spanish teacher Mark and student Kara where we learn not only some useful phrases for talking about the weather, but also an explanation of the constructions behind these phrases so that you can build on these in future. By the end of this episode you'll be able to plan your activities around the weather forecast in the Spanish-speaking area you're visiting. Share the link with your classes for some extra online practice.
  • Each week we share a cultural post last week on our social media pages and last week we thought it would be interesting to learn about the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla, who was known as the ‘master of light’ for his dazzling works. We asked members of our community to have a look online at some of Soralla’s paintings, and to let us know what they thought of his work. We had a very positive reaction, with lots of our learners saying me gustan mucho sus pinturasClick here to see the full post. You could share this with your learners of Spanish or simply enjoy finding out more for yourself.

Italian

  • Our Coffee Break Italian Travel Diaries Season 2 also launches on Friday 12th February. Have you managed to guess where we're going yet? Here's a clue - you may need to wrap up in your winter clothes this time! We hope you're looking forward to discovering a different part of Italy and building your language skills along the way. The podcast episodes will be published weekly on SpotifyApple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Enjoy this season’s journey and encourage your intermediate learners to join you.
  • Have you heard of the English expression ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’? If you want to convey this idea in Italian, you can use the expression volere è potere (literally ‘to want is to be able to’). This expression was the topic of our latest weekly #tuesdayidiom post on Instagram. Click here to see the full post and to access the rest of our Instagram content.

German

  • Was war der letzte Film, den du gesehen hast? (What was the last film you saw?) Many of us have more time to watch films and TV shows at the moment and so this may be a common topic of conversation among your German-speaking friends. Think about the last film you watched and how you could describe it in German. How would you review the film? Which adjectives would you use to describe it to your friends? As a starting point, take a look at this episode from Season 2 of Coffee Break German To Go where our German host, Julia, takes to the streets of Berlin to ask passers-by about the last film they watched. You may hear some useful words and phrases which you could use to talk about the last film you or your learners saw.
  • Our Friday German culture post got the weekend off to a great start last week. We were learning all about Schlager (German pop) and the Schlagerkönigin (Schlager queen), German singer, Helene Fischer. We shared a link to Fischer’s song Atemlos durch die Nacht, which became synonymous with the genre after its release in 2014. Click here to view the full post and have a listen (or a dance) to the upbeat song.

Reading Texts

  • Have you been downloading our free reading texts for secondary schools? Each day on the RLN Education Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rlneducation we are posting a new cultural text, with accompanying audio and answer scheme. Just follow the link to sign up and give your learners some extra reading material while they are learning remotely.

Radio Lingua resources

4 February 2021 (Radio Lingua)

Reading resources for Senior Phase

Each day on the RLN Facebook page we are releasing a short cultural reading text, freely available to teachers. To access the downloadable and one page pdf, along with the audio file and an answer scheme, just follow the link on the text. The texts will alternate between French and Spanish each day and are ideal to share with pupils working remotely.

French

  • We’ve released a brand new episode of La Vérité éclate toujours here, our series for advanced learners of French. In this episode, we hear many examples of the following relative pronouns: dans laquelle, sur lequel, que and qui, as well as an example of the ne explétif in a comparative structure .
  • As language learners, we all know the power of verbs: the more verbs you learn in different tenses, the greater number of topics you are able to talk about in French. Our Coffee Break French Verbfix course is here to help your learners stay on top of your verbs so that they can use them accurately and effectively in both written and spoken French. Click here to get started with the lesson.

Spanish

  • On our Coffee Break Spanish Facebook page last week we talked about the phrase por los pelos. This extremely useful expression literally means ‘by the hairs’ but really means ‘by very little’. So, for example, you can say that someone passed an exam por los pelos if they only just scraped through. Click here to see the full post and encourage your learners to use this phrase in their written or spoken language this week.
  • For beginner learners of Spanish it’s important to know which prepositions to use when talking about different modes of transport. In English we travel ‘by foot’ or ‘by train’, but what about in Spanish? Click here to read our most recent Grammar Builder Facebook post, in which we explain the simple rule for getting this right.

Italian

German

  • Take a look at this episode from Season 1 of Coffee Break German where we help you learn how to speak confidently about birthdays and dates in German. Not only that, native speaker Thomas also teaches learner Mark how to talk about the important topic of jobs. In our Grammar Guru segment, Kirsten focuses on prepositions which can take either the accusative or dative case, and Julia visits Vienna in the Cultural Correspondent segment to round off the episode. This is a great introduction for beginner learners of German, or for pupils to spend time at home consolidating language they’ve already met.
  • Continuing with the theme of birthdays, we found out how to wish someone a happy birthday in German in one our recent weekly Word Builder post. We also provided our community with some useful birthday-related vocabulary so you can take everything you learn in the episode above a step further. Click here to see the full post.

Chinese New Year resources

4 February 2021 (CISS)

Learn about Chinese New Year and the Year of the Ox with a range of resources collated on the CISS website. They include some fun videos on this important festival created by the CISS Chinese Exchange Teachers. 

Read more...

Languages Week Scotland 2021 quiz

1 February 2021 (Alliance Française)

The Alliance Française Glasgow has produced a fun and instructive digital quiz on a variety of French related topics such as language, sport, music, gastronomy, and more to celebrate Languages Week Scotland.

Interested schools should visit the website for information on how to obtain a link to the quiz, which will be available beyond Languages Week.

Read more...

New French and Spanish reading resources

28 January 2021 (Radio Lingua)

As we continue through these interesting times of online learning, we are delighted to announce that we will be sharing with teachers a free reading resource each day starting on Monday 1 February. Each cultural text will have accompanying comprehension questions, a translation challenge and an audio file , as well as an answer grid. These texts will be available on the RLN Education website, but each day the link to the new text will be posted on our Facebook page here.  We hope you find them a useful addition to your online resources and your learners enjoy the cultural content.

Read more...

Engage with the wider school community and develop blended learning

28 January 2021 (PowerLanguage)

In order to support Schools and their wider communities, we have created a new package to strengthen Home Learning and promote Home-School Partnership

Our Online Home Learning Courses for Families - available in French or Spanish - have been successfully running in many parts of Scotland since 2016. They were designed to develop the partnership between Schools, pupils and the wider community. Parents and carers can embark on a meaningful and exciting language journey shared by all family members!

The courses are accessible online or through an App. They each contain 6 lessons which follow a gentle progression, reinforcing the key language introduced in Primary Schools. 

In each lesson, new structures are presented in French or Spanish, as well as in English, by a native tutor or in an animation. Watch an extract on Vimeo or Youtube

The cultural podcasts introduce slices of French or Spanish life and focus on playground games, songs, special monuments and various landscapes. Small tasks are attached to each video. Watch an extract on Vimeo or Youtube.

Families can assess their progress through short challenges at the end of each lesson. One of the 3 challenges can be delivered at School or in a blended learning context, thus reinforcing the link between School and home learning.

A case study on the impact of this Course on families and schools was produced in Scotland in 2016 by Scotland’s National Language Centre (SCILT). Find out more at: https://scilt.org.uk/Parents/Forpractitioners/FifeCouncilFamilyLearning/tabid/8319/Default.aspx

You can also watch this video to see the impact of our Course for Families on a school and its wider community in Western Australia.

Cost: in order to make the Course available to all, a licence can be bought by the School and shared with their wider community in the form of a coupon. 

The cost of the licence is £100 per course (French or Spanish) and covers up to 200 families (users)

The coupon will give parents, carers and learners access to all videos and resources for a 3-month duration from the date of activation. 

Schools will be responsible for sharing the coupon with parents and carers within 6 months of the date of purchase of the course.

Some schools which have previously purchased this Course used their Pupil Equity Funding to cover the cost. 

Level: The course is available in French or Spanish for primary school learners and their families who are beginners/post beginners.

Please contact us by email: info@powerlanguage.net or visit our website powerlanguage.courses

Read more...

TECLA 1/2021, magazine for Spanish language teachers

25 January 2021 (Consejería de Educación)

We have published a new number of our review for Spanish language teachers TECLA. It includes:

  • National Languages Estrategy in the UK and opportunities for Spanish
  • Interview with the Consul General of Manchester
  • The experience of a Spanish visiting teacher in the UK
  • A sequence for the classroom playing with Rayuela
  • Irish Film Institute Schools Programme 2020-2021
  • Spain as a destination for school and language tourism
  • Quino and Mafalda: a sequence for the classroom

Read more...

Welcome back to a new year of language learning with Coffee Break Languages!

21 January 2021 (Radio Lingua)

French

  • Chapter 15 of our advanced course for French learners, La Vérité éclate toujours has now been published. As we follow the intriguing story, we come into contact with some words and phrases which will help you take your language skills to the next level. Manigancer (to scheme/plot), tueur à gages (hitman), and en avoir vu de toutes les couleurs (to have been through a lot) are just some of the words and expressions you can expect to hear in this episode. Click here to listen to the full episode when it's available.
  • To toast the start of the new year, we welcomed back our Coffee Break French Facebook community after the holiday period with a post all about how to talk about raising a toast in French. You’ve probably heard the word santé, but do you know any other ways to say ‘cheers’ in French? Click here to see the full post and learn some new vocabulary.

Spanish

  • Looking for a quick fix of Spanish to fill those small pockets of downtime during your day? Take a look at our Coffee Break Spanish Espresso series in which we cover key grammar and vocabulary points in just 10-15 minutes. In Episode 3 we learn everything we need to know about how to use the tricky word ni in Spanish. Not only that, our native Spanish speaker, Fernanda helps us get to grips with the subjunctive after es importante que. To round off the episode, we share a Spanish quote of the week, this time, focusing on the theme of the fear of danger. Intrigued? Click here to listen to the full episode.
  • Are you and your learners following us on Instagram for some language learning tips? We kicked off the year with a brand-new Tuesday idiom post. The idiom was the Spanish phrase estar en su salsa which literally means ‘to be in one’s sauce’. Can you work out in which contexts you would actually use this idiom? Click here to find out in the full post.

Italian

  • As we are still unable to travel, we can still do so virtually! Our new series of Coffee Break Italian Travel Diaries will launch very soon. This time, we'll be transporting you to a completely different part of the Italian-speaking world to explore the area and improve your language skills with some brand new characters. Can you guess where we might be going and what we might be doing? We can't wait for our Coffee Break Italian Community to join us on another virtual journey, starting on Friday 12th February. In the meantime, you can catch up on Giulia and Paolo's Tuscan adventure by clicking here to access Season 1, if you haven't already done so. A presto!
  • For our first Coffee Break Italian Facebook post of 2021, we decided to talk all about the Italian word ciaspolata, which translates rather long-windedly as 'the activity of going for a walk in the snow while wearing snowshoes. Ti piace la neve? Click here to let us know in a comment on the post.

German

  • We're revisiting Episode 6 from our Coffee Break German Magazine series this week to draw your attention to author Michael Ende, who wrote one of the most famous works of fiction for younger readers, The Neverending Story, among other books. Click here to find out more about Ende and his work in this edition of the Magazine. Not only do we gain an insight into his work, we also learn about German word order with the help of our question from listener, Soumaya.
  • We jumped straight back into improving our German grammar this year with a post all about using umlauts (the two dots on the German öü and ä). We provided our learners with a list of sentences and asked them to pick whether a certain word in the sentence should be written with or without an umlaut. Here’s an example: Hast du heute schön/schon etwas gegessen?Click here to have a go yourself

Languages Week Scotland 2021 - Using film to teach languages

21 January 2021 (Screen Scotland)

Screen Scotland has put together a resource for Languages Week Scotland 2021 on using film to teach languages. See the attached document. There's also a Microsoft Team available to join for all subject teachers looking to teach with film: Screen Scotland: Film Education

Online French resources

12 January 2021 (Alliance Française)

The Alliance Française Glasgow has collated a selection of online resources to explore French culture and language learning at home. There's something for all ages - check out the links on the website.

Read more...

Year of the Ox Education Pack

11 January 2021 (British Council)

According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, we enter the Year of the Ox on 12 February 2021.

These education resources contain information and activities to help teachers and pupils learn more about this important spring festival and explore Chinese culture. Your pupils can read a version of the traditional story of the New Year Race, create shadow puppets of the main characters and make a traditional Chinese lantern.

These resources are suitable for primary years and adaptable for early secondary years and older.

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La Jolie Ronde French and Spanish Free Trials

11 January 2021 (La Jolie Ronde)

During Languages Week Scotland, 1-5 February 2021, FREE TRIALS will be available of La Jolie Ronde's two award winning French and Spanish resources.  

La Jolie Ronde Languages for Children is a leading early language learning organisation offering a proven method of teaching young children French and Spanish. La Jolie Ronde’s award winning programmes are unique, modern and of the highest quality. FREE TRIALS on their resources are available as follows:

  • Little Languages Resource (P1-P3)
  • French and Spanish Resource (P4-P7)
  • French or Spanish free taster Online class

For more information email schools@lajolieronde.co.uk

#scotlandloveslanguages

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Radio Lingua resources

11 December 2020 (Radio Lingua)

Festive Phrases

  • How would you like to share with your learners a festive phrase in 25 different languages? This December we have launched a brand new, updated version of our Festive Phrases series over on our YouTube channel, where we're releasing a new video every day until Christmas Day. Each of these videos will feature a Festive Phrase for you to learn over the next 25 days. Catch up on the first week of our Festive Phrases here. While you're there, leave us a festive phrase in the comments section in the language you're learning.
  • Our Live Lessons continue this week, but don’t forget, you can catch up on them on our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe while you're there so that you're notified as soon as we publish new videos.

French

  • We continue with our To Go series and this week’s question is As-tu déjà mangé quelque chose de bizarre ? This video works well for perfect tense practice and food topics. Take a look at the video here where we hear a range of interesting responses from passers-by in the streets of Nantes. You'll be sure to improve your food-related vocabulary
  • Are you and your advanced learners following our crime drama La Vérité éclate toujours? Our latest episode has been released and is full of challenging language. Listen out for the following adjectives: comblé (fulfilled), épanoui (blooming), and roublard (sneaky) featured in the episode. click here to find out more information.

Spanish

  • In a similar vein, if you’re looking for a challenge for more advanced learners of Spanish, then check out Season 4 of Coffee Break Spanish. Developed with advanced learners in mind, teacher Mark and native Spanish speaker Carmen help you master the trickiest parts of the Spanish language. This course centres around a story involving characters from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world, and through the story, you'll pick up a huge range of advanced vocabulary, develop a wonderful repertoire of idiomatic expressions and deepen your understanding of complex grammar points. Have a listen to the episodes of Season 4 to get a taste of what our advanced course has to offer.
  • Each week on our Facebook page, we publish language and cultural information. Last week we took a virtual trip to a very luxurious location, where we learned all about the world’s most expensive restaurant, called Sublimotion. But, do you know where in the Spanish-speaking world the restaurant is located? Click here to find out, and to hear about our community members’ favourite places to eat.

Italian

  • We hope you're hungry as the latest episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go is all about food, specifically, the strangest food we've ever eaten. With this in mind, Francesca is in the streets of Stresa, approaching passers-by with the following question: qual è la cosa più strana che hai mai mangiato? Can you encourage your learners to give their own detailed answers to this question in Italian? Take some inspiration and key vocabulary from the answers we received in Episode 9 which you can access by clicking here

German

  • If you’re looking for an different cultural focus for your German learners, we have a historical episode of our Coffee Break German Magazine to share with you this week. Following the events of World War 2, the monumental task of clearing and reconstructing towns and cities fell to the Trümmerfrauen, literally “rubble women”. In Episode 3 of the Coffee Break German Magazine we look at this fascinating period of German history. Not only this, Andrea answers listener Maddie’s question about compound words, and Olivera introduces an interesting idiomatic expression in the Sahnehäubchen.
  • Our cultural post got us all in the festive spirit last week, as we were talking about der Vorweihnachtszeit, or the ‘pre-Christmas season’. We shared a classic recipe for something which will make your home smell like a German Christmas market this year. Can you guess what the recipe was for? Glühwein, of course! Click here to see the full post, and click here to try the recipe yourself at home.

Radio Lingua resources

4 December 2020 (Radio Lingua)

Festive Phrases

This Advent we have updated our Festive Phrases videos on our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/coffeebreaklanguages

Each day at 9 am sees the release of a new language, and the short video teaches your learners to say Merry Christmas in that language. The new videos show more recent figures on the number of speakers of that language and where in the world it is spoken. 

Live Lessons

Our live lessons continue on Facebook and Youtube. Our latest lessons focused on dictation, an excellent method to improve both listening skills and accuracy in writing. Catch up with our latest French exercise here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef4NkT3eeQk

French

  • At this time of year, thoughts turn to hopes of travelling again soon. Where would you like to go? Pierre-Benoît discusses this topic with native French speakers in Episode 8 of Coffee Break French To Go. Quelle serait ta destination idéale ?  Can your pupils understand the answers? On the second playing of the video, the French subtitles are shown to help you explain new or complex, but natural language. You can watch the episode for free here. 
  • If you’re following  La Vérité éclate toujoursour crime drama for advanced learners of French, you’ll find the latest instalment available. Don’t forget to pay close attention to the language used along the way, in particular, some subjunctive triggers including avant quefaire en sorte que and le temps que.

Spanish

  • Are you or your learners following us on our social media accounts for free language learning advice? Last week over on the Coffee Break Spanish Facebook page, we had a great reaction from the community to our Monday vocabulary post. We shared a colourful graphic about Autumn weather, and how to talk about the weather in Spanish. We asked all of our learners what the weather was like where they are, and we had lots of great answers. Click here to view the the handy graphic.
  • What are you thankful for? Last week’s Knowledge Builder post on the Coffee Break Spanish Facebook page was all about the Spanish saying: es de bien nacido ser agradecido. The saying expresses the importance of saying thank you; an appropriate saying for this time of year with the US having celebrated Thanksgiving last week. Click here to read the full post in which we provide a list of different ways to give thanks in Spanish.

Italian

  • As with our French To Go series, our latest episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go has been published. This week’s question is - Se potessi andare in qualsiasi posto del mondo, dove andresti? (If you could you anywhere in the world, where would you go?). We're dreaming about our ideal holiday destination in this latest episode .Take some ideas from the words and phrases used by native Italian speakers featured in the episode.
  • In our Grammar Builder post on Coffee Break Italian’s Facebook page last week, we reviewed a very important aspect of Italian grammar. We looked at the verb essere and the fact that it needs to agree with the subject in gender and number when used as an auxiliary verb in the passato prossimo. We gave three example sentences and asked our community to fill the gaps and post their answers in the comments section. Click here to see how they got on, and ask your learners for their own answers. 

German

  • Have you been talking about your town with your German learners? Was gibt es hier zu sehen? (What is there to see here?) or was gibt es hier zu tun? (What is there to do here?) are two useful questions for your pupils. If they would struggle to respond to these questions in German then take a look back at Episode 17 from Season 1 of Coffee Break German where you’ll learn how to talk about what there is to do in your town. By the end of the lesson, you'll also be able to ask important information at the tourist information office when you're visiting a brand new German-speaking area yourself.

Radio Lingua resources

27 November 2020 (Radio Lingua)

Here's this week's selection of free resources from the team at Radio Lingua:

French

  • If you are looking for some authentic but challenging content for your French learners, why don’t you take a look at the latest episode of Coffee Break French To Go Season 2: qu’est-ce qui t’embête le plus ?  is this week’s question with Pierre Benoît.  Throughout the episode, you'll pick up some useful words and phrases to help you express the things that annoy people the most in life. Click here to hear what annoys the French native speakers we spoke to in the streets of Nantes
  • For advanced learners of French - teachers and pupils alike - the wait for Part 2 of La Vérité éclate toujours is over! The second part of our crime drama for advanced learners of French is now available and episode 11 of the podcast is published in the usual podcast feeds here.

Spanish

  • This week we're revisiting Episode 9 of our Coffee Break Spanish Magazine series aimed at intermediate to advanced learners. In each episode we present cultural topics and grammar study in an enjoyable way, allowing you and your pupils to build your vocabulary and increase your range of expression. We're revisiting Episode 9 this week and we're working up an appetite as we're heading to Mexico to talk about food.Click here to access the episode 

Italian

  • As with our French episode, in this latest episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go Francesca asks the question: cosa ti fa arrabbiare? (What makes you angry?) Join native Italian speakers in the streets of Stresa as they share some interesting words and phrases to express the things that make them angry. Listen to what they have to say about this topic here. You can share this episode with your learners to see how much they understand at the first playing, and then use the subtitles the second time to help discuss any new language or grammar points.
  • If you’re thinking of starting to learn Italian, or have pupils who are interested, why don’t you try out the very first season of Coffee Break Italian. Whatever your language level, you'll be sure to pick up some useful tips in this episode where Mark and Francesca equip you with everything you need to know to acquire the important skill of using the phone in Italian. This episode also features a Caffè Culturale section in which Francesca talks about Italian opera.

German

  • Don't miss out on the valuable content included in Seasons 1 and 2 of our Coffee Break German To Go series. Developed for beginner and intermediate learners of German, we help you put what you've been learning into practice with access to interviews featuring native German speakers. We cover a different topic in each lesson so by the end of the series you and your learners will be well equipped with the necessary vocabulary and expressions to share your opinions in German. Access all episode from Seasons 1 and 2 for free here
  • In Season 2 of Coffee Break German for lower intermediate learners, we take a closer look at grammatical constructions to help you develop a better understanding of how the language works so that you can communicate more confidently in German. This week, we're revisiting  Episode 13 from Season 2 to learn how to translate 'much', 'many', 'some', 'few', and lots more quantifying words – something learners often find difficult. By the end of this lesson you’ll be able to talk confidently in German using the words viel(e), wenig(e)etwasmanche, and say how much chocolate you eat, how many glasses of water you drink, or how many portions of fruit you have.

Radio Lingua resources

20 November 2020 (Radio Lingua)

Live Lessons

  • Do you and your learners need some help with sounding more like a native speaker when talking in the foreign language? This week saw two live lesson with a focus on pronunciation. You can view the German video here and the Spanish one, where we looked at how to pronounce the r / rr sound  here.

French

  • We're more than halfway through our brand new series of Coffee Break French To Go! In Episode 6, we're discussing different times of the year as we're asking passers-by which season they prefer - summer or winter. Préféres-tu l’été ou l’hiver ? - Do your learners prefer summer or winter? To find out how to express your own opinion in French, join Pierre-Benoît in the latest episode and ask your pupils to state their preference.
  • We are always looking to include different sayings and expressions in our teaching, so why don’t you have a look at our Coffee Break French Facebook page where last week we looked at the expression: faire froid dans le dos, which is the equivalent of ‘to send shivers down your spine’. We asked our community to comment below the post with something that sends shivers down their spine, and we received some great replies, like this one from Jean: Quand je vois une araignée, ça me fait froid dans le dos. Can you encourage your pupils to come up with their own example? Click here to view the full post for some inspiration.

Spanish

  • If you finished our Coffee Break Spanish Travel Diaries and are missing being virtually in Spain, why not join Mark and the Coffee Break Spanish team 'on the road' in the south of Spain with our popular En Marcha series for intermediate learners of Spanish. Throughout the season we visit some beautiful places in the Málaga area and talk to people who live or work in the area or who are visiting the area. In Episode 2 we find out what it's like to live and work in Málaga as Mark talks to Sara who works in the Tourism department of the Ayuntamiento de Málaga. These conversations feature authentic Spanish, with a whole range of different accents and speeds of delivery, so it’s the perfect way to improve your listening comprehension. ¡Vamos!
  • In our Spanish Grammar Builder post last week, we recapped the different uses of the words bien and bueno, which can often be quite confusing for learners. Click here to see the full post and a full explanation of when to use bien and bueno.

Italian

  • Preferisci l’estate o l’inverno? - Do you prefer summer or winter? This is the question Francesca asks native Italians in the streets of Stresa in the latest episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go for intermediate learners. Click here to hear how native Italians express their thoughts on these seasons and listen out for any new words or phrases you're not familiar with.
  • Have you ever had a dream that you’ve set aside, which will hopefully come true one day? In Italian, this type of dream is called a sogno nel cassetto, literally a 'dream in the drawer’. We love the idea of keeping a dream in a drawer until it’s ready to come true! Do you have any 'dreams in the drawer'? Click here to see the full post and to see the impressive dreams shared by our community.

German

  • If you’re looking for help with Grammar in German for yourself or learners, have a look at Season 2 of Coffee Break German for lower intermediate learners. This week, we're revisiting  episode 13 from Season 2 to learn how to translate 'much', 'many', 'some', 'few', and lots more quantifying words – something learners often find difficult. By the end of this lesson you’ll be able to talk confidently in German using the words viel(e), wenig(e)etwasmanche, and say how much chocolate you eat, how many glasses of water you drink, or how many portions of fruit you have.
  • Do you know the English translations of the German words nach and zu? They are both translated as ‘to’ which means it can be quite tricky for an English-speaking German learner to know when to use each word. In our Grammar Builder Facebook post last week, we gave our community an explanation of the differences in use between these two small words. Click here to see the post, then try and come up with two example sentences using nach or zu correctly.

Beyond the Panda free virtual sessions

18 November 2020 (RZSS)

Beyond the Panda flyer

FREE virtual Beyond the Panda sessions available for all primary levels linking science with Mandarin language learning. Delivered on Microsoft Teams within Glow. Fully booked this term but taking bookings now for the new year. Booking up fast! Email srobb@rzss.org.uk.

Also see the Beyond the Panda website for follow-on resources.

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Radio Lingua resources

13 November 2020 (Radio Lingua)

Here's this week's selection of free resources from the Radio Lingua team.

French

  • Are you talking to your learners about the benefits of continuing to study a language? It might be useful to hear how native French speakers respond to the question: pour toi, est-il important d’apprendre une langue étrangère ? (Is learning a foreign language important to you?). How would you respond to this question in French? Take some ideas from the responses we receive in the episode by watching here.
  • With autumn well and truly here in the northern hemisphere, we thought that it would be useful to share some autumn-related vocabulary with our community over on the Coffee Break French Facebook page last week. Do you know the French words for rain, pumpkin, wind, chestnuts and dead leaves? Try and test yourself, then click here to view the post and see if you were right.

Spanish

  • We're going back to basics this week as we're revisiting Episode 14 from Season 1 of Coffee Break Spanish to talk about the town. In this episode we look at places in the town and help learners talk about places in their own town with a very catchy song. After listening to this lesson you'll be able to tell Spanish speakers all there is to offer in the town where you live. 
  • As we mentioned in last week's newsletter, on the 2nd of November, countries around Latin America celebrate El día de los muertos, or the Day of the Dead. We decided to base all of last week’s Spanish Facebook posts around this event, starting with a vocabulary list at the start of the week. Click here to learn a bit more about El día de los muertos, and learn some interesting vocabulary associated with this celebration, from calacas and calaveras to ofrendas.

Italian

  • As with our French series, this time with we're talking about the importance of languages. Francesca asks the question: pensi che sia importante studiare le lingue straniere? (Do you think that studying foreign languages is important?) and we received many interesting responses. Click here to take a look at what native Italians had to say about the subject . Their responses might help your learners see the benefits of continuing to study languages.
  • Over on the Coffee Break Languages Instagram page last week, it was time to share an Italian idiom with our followers. The idiom was tutto fa brodo, which translates literally as ‘everything makes broth’ but is used to express the idea that everything, no matter what it is, can be made into something useful. Had you heard of this idiom before? Can you use it in a sentence? Click here to see the full post.

German

  • If you're looking for some authentic material to use with your beginner or intermediate learners of German then you can take your German 'on the road' with Seasons 1 and 2 of Coffee Break German To Go. In these series, our German presenter, Julia engages with a range of native speakers on location in Germany. We hear their views on a range of topics from family to sport, food, languages, work and more. There are 10 video episodes ready and waiting for you in each season. Access all episode from series 1 and 2 for free here
  • How many different ways of greeting people do you know in German? Have you heard of the phrase Grüß Gott? Used in rural areas of South Germany and in Austria, this greeting literally means “God greet you”. Last week, we challenged our Facebook community to come up with any more regional greetings that they knew, and to share them with their fellow learners.

Facebook Lives

Next week our Facebook Lives are focusing on pronunciation. If you can’t watch the Live, the videos are available to view on YouTube any time after the event. 

  • Wednesday 18 November at 15.30 is German pronunciation
  • Thursday 19 November at 15.30 is Spanish pronunciation

“A guide to teacher competences for languages in education”: New resource website for teacher educators and designers of teacher education programmes

12 November 2020 (ECML)

The European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) of the Council of Europe is pleased to announce the completion in both English and French of its resource website “A guide to teacher competences for languages in education”, an output of the ECML programme “Languages at the heart of learning” (2016-2019).

This comprehensive resource platform has been developed for teacher educators and those responsible for teacher education programmes. It provides an overview of frameworks and descriptions of language teacher competences in various contexts, as well as national and regional standards or guidelines for all teachers working in public education. Having considered the overview, users can then examine more closely those frameworks that are potentially useful to them in their specific roles.

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ELAPSE project resources

10 November 2020 (LFEE)

LFEE is delighted to announce that their 2-year Erasmus+ funded project ELAPSE (Embedding Language into Primary and Secondary Education) has been completed.

Visit the LFEE website for information about the lesson plans and resources, all freely available to teachers around the world. 

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Radio Lingua resources

6 November 2020 (Radio Lingua)

French

  • Are you teaching negatives in French to your classes? We cover ne … plus meaning “no longer”, and ne … que meaning 'only', as well as about ne … plus quein this episode of Walk, Talk and Learn French
  • Qu’as-tu fait hier ? (What did you do yesterday?). Being able to use the perfect tense accurately is fundamental for pupils studying for national qualifications.? Click here to watch Episode 4 from our new season of Coffee Break French To Go, to see the ways in which native speakers use the past tenses in their responses.

Spanish

  • We have come to the end of this series of the Coffee Break Spanish Travel Diaries. We hope that you've enjoyed discovering some beautiful locations in the north of Spain from the comfort of your own home as we’ve not been able to travel ourselves this year. We arrive in the vibrant city of Santiago de Compostela and take a look at the Spanish language throughout the episode including the word picoteo and the lo + adjective grammatical structure. Listen to Episode 10 for free here 
  • Our Coffee Break Spanish To Go series allows you to take your Spanish 'on the road'. Learners can join Spanish host Marina, as she takes to the streets in Spain to interview native speakers on a number of interesting topics. From the responses we hear, your learners can develop their comprehension skills and learn new natural words and phrases. Access Series 1 and 2 for free here 

Italian

  • In a similar vein to our French series, in the latest episode of Coffee break Italian To Go, Francesca asks passers-by in the streets of Stresa: cos’hai fatto ieri? (What did you do yesterday?). We hear lots of interesting responses which will help our intermediate Italian learners with the use of the past tense. Click here to see how native Italian speakers responded to this question 
  • Have you joined our Facebook community? We introduced a very useful little expression in a Facebook post last week. The expression was farcela, which means ‘to make it’ or ‘to manage’. Here’s an example of the expression used in context: L'esame era difficile, ma ce l'abbiamo fatta. Can you use farcela in a sentence? Click here to see a more detailed explanation of how to use this phrase

German

  • Join us in the 10th and final episode for this series of the Coffee Break German Travel Diaries. Karin and her family are back in the camper van, driving the last few kilometres of their memorable 450km trip. As they make it to their last stop in Lindau, Karin reflects on the time she has spent travelling with her family and the wonderful places they have visited - einen besseren Familienurlaub kann man sich kaum wünschen (one could hardly wish for a better family holiday). While listening to Mark and Andrea discuss the language in Karin's diary entry, listen out for the use of the perfect tense. 
  • Our cultural post on Facebook last week talked about the popular German Jahrmarkt-Süßigkeit (funfair candy): gebrannte Mandeln (candied almonds). Have you ever tried this delicious treat? If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine the sweet smell wafting through a cosy Christmas market. Click here to see the full post on Facebook, and click here for a recipe to make your own gebrannte Mandeln.

Languages and Music

  • Have you ever tried listening to music in a foreign language as a way of developing your vocabulary and range of expression? Here at Coffee Break Languages we love combining music with language learning which is why we created our Tune for Tuesday series on our blog. In each article, we introduce you to some new styles of music from around the world, while helping you develop your language skills. You can find our full range of carefully selected songs in French, Spanish, Italian and German over on our blog. Be sure to check out our Spotify playlist while you're there.

Radio Lingua resources

30 October 2020 (Radio Lingua)

Here is this week's selection of resources from the team at Radio Lingua:

French

  • Do you teach daily routines in French to your classes?  In the second episode of Season 2 of Coffee Break French To Go, Pierre-Benoît asked passers-by about their daily routine with the question: C’est quoi une journée typique pour toi? (What is a typical day for you?). How would you answer this in French? Click here to get some inspiration from the answers we received in the streets of Nantes to share with your pupils.
  • Last Friday we decided that the best way to end the week would be with some music, so we asked the Coffee Break French Facebook followers to share the cheeriest French-language songs that they know. We had some great responses in the comments section such as Je veux by Zaz and Alors on danse by Stromae. Click here to see even more toe-tapping recommendations. Please send us any of your own!

Spanish

  • We also recently released Season 2 of Coffee Break Spanish To Go for intermediate learners which you can access for free here. In each episode Marina interviews native speakers about a range of topics but this time she's in the city of Málaga, in the south of Spain. These videos are great starter activities for beginner learners of Spanish.
  • Do you follow us on Instagram? Last week, we shared a Spanish idiom over there with our followers: en un abrir y cerrar de ojos. Have you heard of this expression before? It’s equivalent to the English expression ‘in the blink of an eye’. Follow us by searching for @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram to help your learners build up a bank of useful and natural phrases to use in their classwork.

Italian

  • We're also back with Episode 2 of our brand-new season of Coffee Break Italian To Go for intermediate learners of Italian. This week, our host Francesca is talking to native Italian speakers in the streets of Stresa to ask the following question: com’è la tua giornata tipica? (What is your daily routine?). Watch the video and listen to the podcast version here to find out what our respondents get up to on a daily basis.
  • Last week in our Grammar Builder post on Facebook, we talked about the verbs portare and prendere: ‘to bring’ and ‘to take’ in English. We provided our community with a gap-filling exercise as an opportunity to practise using these two verbs. See if you can complete this sentence with the correct verb: Laura ____ la sua borsa dalla sedia. What do you think? Click here to see the answer in the comments section, and to have a go at two more exercises. Follow us on Facebook for some more ideas and practice.

German

  • Last Friday, we asked our Facebook learners if they had any cultural recommendations to share with their fellow German learners, whether it be a TV series, book or film. As we said in the post, “no one understands the challenges and tricks to do with learning a language better than the community you're learning with.” Click here to see some great suggestions left in the comments.

Live Lessons

We have started our next series of Live lessons which may be difficult for teachers to access during the day. However the videos will be available to view on both YouTube and Facebook. You can download our full schedule of live lessons planned for October to December from the website: click here for more information.

International Education Week is back from 16-20 November 2020!

22 October 2020 (British Council)

Every November we come together to recognise the value of bringing the world into the classroom and celebrate international work in schools. This year we are excited to be going online. For the first time ever, we are offering a week of fantastic events that you can access wherever you are in the world.

The line-up is packed with online webinars, ideas and activities to keep us connected by learning and enable young people to take action on the global issues that matter to them today. 

So whether it's a session on increasing language uptake in schools that interests you, or learning about other cultures throughout the world, visit the website for more information about the range of free webinars and activities on offer. 

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In Short, Europe ESCAPE

18 October 2020 (EUNIC London)

A free online European Short Film Festival by EUNIC London will take place from 28 October to 4 November 2020.

The second edition of In Short Europe embraces the theme ESCAPE, offering our audience an online collection of short films that negotiate the concept through their form, themes and style. Through a variety of genres and styles, fifteen shorts from all over Europe feature characters and images that appear and disappear, following physical or mental journeys, reaching points of arrival or points of departure, always on the move, seeking an escape that may or may not come.

Whilst most films in the programme are foreign language with English subtitles, there are some with no dialogue providing an opportunity to use these in any language class with learners 16+.

Visit the website for more information.

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Radio Lingua resources

9 October 2020 (Radio Lingua)

This week's selection of freely available resources from the team at Radio Lingua:

French

  • Have you been following our Advanced French novel? This week sees a brand new episode of La Vérité éclate toujours and secrets are revealed!  Listen to Chapter 10 here . Don't forget to pay attention to the spoken register of French featured in this dialogue with words such as les flics (cops) and colloquial questions including comment ça ? (how come?) and où ça ? (where's that?).
  • As we know, learning new verbs and how to conjugate them is key to pupils’ success in developing their range of expression in another language. Knowing which verb to use and of course, how to conjugate it can often be tricky for language learners. That is why we developed our French Verb Fix course, in a bid to help learners 'fix' their verbs with conjugations of various verbs in the present, perfect, imperfect and future tenses. We use the art of repetition, interactive quizzes and even musical backing tracks, to help our learners build their confidence when learning and using verbs. Take a look at the very first lesson of the series where we focus on the verb parler meaning “to speak” or “to talk”. This is an example of a regular -er verb so we not only learn how to conjugate parler in the present, perfect, imperfect and future tenses, but also how to conjugate hundreds, if not thousands, of other regular -er verbs.

Spanish

  • Our latest episode of our Spanish Travel Diaries takes our couple from San Vicente de la Barquera in Cantabria as they make their way to the village of Lastres in Asturias and visit the Bufones de Arenillas geysers and the Playa de Gulpiyuri – an inland beach. Mark and Anabel talk about these places being de ensueño (dreamlike) and discuss the use of the verb madrugar (to get up early) among many other interesting expressions and phrases. Access the podcastAccess the course
  • The Coffee Break Spanish team is in the classical Spanish city of Salamanca for Season 2 of Coffee Break Spanish To Go. Our host Marina, takes to the streets of this beautiful city and approaches native Spanish speakers to hear their views on a number of interesting topics such as, food, film, languages and much more. You can catch up on all 10 episodes for free on our YouTube channel

Italian

  • Are you an intermediate learner of Italian? If so then take a look at our Coffee Break Italian Magazine. In each of the 10 episodes, CBI hosts Mark and Francesca present cultural topics and grammar study, allowing you to build your vocabulary and increase your range of expression. We cover a whole range of topics and in Episode 2 we head south to the region of Puglia and, more specifically, to the area known as Il Gargano. Francesca and Mark also have some advice on how to learn vocabulary, based on listener, Tricia’s question. The episode concludes with a scioglilingua – a tongue twister.
  • Are you following our Coffee Break Italian Facebook page? Our community enjoyed a task we set for them on Italian diminutives, which are used to make nouns sound ‘smaller’. We provided them with three words and asked them to pick the correct diminutive ending from -ino, -ina, -ini or -ine, based on the nouns’ gender and number. Click here to have a go.

German

  • It’s also Episode 6 of the Coffee Break German Travel Diaries where we head to spend a day in Garmisch-Partenkirchenm, one of the most popular German skiing areas. Although skiing isn't on the cards for the family, they still have a fantastic, fun-filled day and even make some new friends. As Mark and Andrea discuss Karin's travel diary entry, we hear examples of the pluperfect tense as well as some interesting expressions and vocabulary including the word hetzen and the demonstrative pronoun diejenige. Listen to the podcast | Access the course
  • If you have completed Seasons 1 and 2 of Coffee Break German and are ready to take the next step then our Magazine might be the right course for you. In each of the 10 episodes, CBG hosts Mark and Andrea focus on a text, based around a particular topic, and discuss the interesting language points alongside some useful cultural information. In this musical episode, our theme is Schlager, an immensely popular style of music with catchy melodies and happy-go-lucky lyrics. Find out more about this cultural phenomenon, and learn about reflexive verbs and using the perfect or Präteritum with als.

Radio Lingua resources

2 October 2020 (Radio Lingua)

Here is this week's selection of free resources from the team at Radio Lingua

French

  • Chapter 9 of La Vérité éclate toujours, our course for Advanced Learners of French has now been released. This episode offers the chance to  look again at the past historic and present subjunctive, as well as the use of the present participle in structures such as tout en + present participle and rien qu’en + present participle. Plenty of challenge here for Advanced Higher pupils and teachers alike. Click here to listen to the episode
  • Our Coffee Break French Magazine series is another course suitable for intermediate learners. Each stand alone lesson helps you build your vocabulary, increase your understanding of grammar and learn to use the French language in a more natural way. Take a look at Episode 5 where we find out more about how the French spoken in Quebec is different from the French spoken in France. We also look at the very useful expression il s’agit de, and learn about how to use this in context.

Spanish

  • Our Spanish Travel Diaries sees us reach the halfway point of our trip around the north of Spain. In Episode 5 we’re making the most of our time in Santander before heading to our next stop in the Cantabria region of northern Spain. We’re visiting Santillana del Mar, often considered one of the most beautiful towns in Spain. Join hosts Mark and Anabel as they discuss the language used in Victoria’s travel diary entry, focusing on interesting vocabulary such as the adverb bien and the phrase en rumboAccess the podcast Access the course
  • If you're a teacher looking to boost or refresh your Spanish, but short on time and would like a quick 'espresso shot' of some Spanish learning then our Coffee Break Spanish Espresso course is for you. The short lessons in this series have been developed to help you deepen your understanding of the language and help you learn to express yourself in a more authentic way. In Episode 7, Mark talks about the word por and also looks at feminine nouns which use masculine articles. Native Spanish speaker Fernanda introduces the expression es una lástima que in the Subjunctive of the Week segment, and we have a quotation to share with you, focusing on knowledge and how little – or how much – we have. Can you guess which quote we're talking about? Click here to find out.

Italian

  • We're almost ready to release Season 2 of Coffee Break Italian To Go so there's not much longer to wait. Until then, we're taking a look back at Season 1 of Coffee Break Italian To Go so that we're ready to move on to the next level in the coming weeks. This time, we're talking sport as Francesca asks the question: qual è il tuo sport preferito? We receive a range of answers from native Italian speakers, featuring a variety of vocabulary and expressions which will help tune your ear to the language used in everyday speech. Click here to hear what passers-by in the city of Milan had to say.
  • It was time to revise a common Italian verb in our Grammar Builder post over on Facebook last Wednesday. The verb was ‘to play’, which is interesting as it can actually be translated in several different ways in Italian, depending on the context. Do you remember which verb would be used for the phrase: ‘to play the guitar’ and which verb would be used for: ‘to play football’? Click here to have a go at translating some sentences which use the verb ‘to play' in different ways.

German

  • We've also reached Episode 5 of the Coffee Break German Travel Diaries which means that we're halfway through our journey along the Deutsche Alpenstraße. This week, we're joining Karin and her family as they climb to the top of the mountain, Der Herzogstand and enjoy the cable car on the way back down before lunch. As Mark and Andrea discuss Karin's travel diary entry, they identify and review a number of verbs, including separable verbs, reflexive verbs and modal verbs. Listen to the podcast Access the course
  • Do you understand station? Over on our Instagram page last week, we learned a curious German idiom. Where English speakers may say 'it's all Greek to me', meaning they don't understand something at all, German speakers say 'I understand only station' or ich verstehe nur Bahnhof. Do you know any similar idiomatic phrases in other languages? Click here to see the post.

Action research communities for language teachers: new ECML resource website

28 September 2020 (ECML)

The 'Action research communities for language teachers' website offers resources to support language teachers use action research as a tool for the development of reflective classroom practice, taking them step-by-step through the process of engaging in action research in their respective contexts. It also provides materials for teacher educators in initial teacher education.

Given the challenges teachers and learners have faced during lockdown and the challenges ahead as schools across Europe attempt to return to some kind of normality, the need for teachers to reflect on their practice and to benefit from professional learning communities is greater than ever. These new resources can strengthen teacher development and the provision of quality inclusive language education.

Read more...

EU 'CATAPULT' project latest developments

25 September 2020 (TELLConsult)

The latest developments in the EU Project 'CATAPULT' - Computer-Assisted Training And Platforms to Upskill Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) Teachers include the realisation of the beta version of the project's Teachers' Community of Practice (CoP) ‘LinguaCoP’. This platform supports LSP teachers to find and share resources and tips and with its matching tool ‘LinguaClick’ facilitates professionals to offer their services, also internationally.

View this short presentation video to see what this online CoP has in store for you and become a member for free.

Furthermore we gladly announce the start of the second (revised) edition of the free online course (MOOC) based on the LSP competence framework on October 10, 2020. Watch this video to get a sneak peek at what course participants can expect. Those interested can already register here

More information about these and other project developments can be found on the website or by following @ProjectCatapult on Twitter.

Read more...

Radio Lingua resources

17 September 2020 (Radio Lingua)

Here's this week's selection of free language learning resources from the team at Radio Lingua.

French

  • In the latest instalment of La Vérité éclate toujours, our course for advanced learners of French, there’s a huge rebondissement (plot twist) as we discover the identity of the mystery visitor. Tune in to find out.
  • Do you know how to thank someone for something in French? Find out exactly when to use when to use merci de and merci pour in this episode of Walk, Talk and Learn French, the series in which we WALK around the streets of France, we TALK about the language we see around us to help you and your pupils LEARN more French!

Spanish

  • Have you been following our Spanish Travel Diaries? As we all missed out on our trips to Spain, join, Victoria and Abel as they travel through the north of Spain. This episode takes us to the Basque city of Bilbao Access the podcast Access the course
  • The video content included in our Coffee Break Spanish To Go series features our Spanish presenter, Marina in the streets of Salamanca asking passers-by their opinion on a variety of topics. We have two seasons available which are free to watch on our YouTube channel.and are an excellent resource to show authentic Spanish to your learners.

Italian

  • Our Italian Travel Diaries series has now been published and you can access all ten episodes. We discover a different area of Tuscany while discussing the language used in diary entries from protagonists Giulia and Paolo as they travel around the wonderful region. Have a listen to the free podcasts 
  • While we're busy preparing materials for Season 2 of Coffee Break Italian To Go, we're taking a look back at lessons from Season 1. This time, we're talking about family as Francesca is in Milan asking passers-by: hai fratelli?. How would you answer this question in Italian? Click here to take some inspiration from responses we received from native Italian speakers.

German

  • Join Karin, Johannes, Alex, and Janina in this week’s episode of the Coffee Break German Travel Diaries exploring the Wendelstein and the Wasserfall Tatzelwurm before relaxing by the Lagerfeuer (campfire) on the banks of the lake bei Sonnenuntergang (at sunset). As we enjoy the journey, Mark and Andrea review the language used in Karin’s travel diary, this time, focusing on methods of transport and prepositions in German. Listen to the podcast | Access the course
  • For beginner learners of German, our  Coffee Break German To Go Season 1 features simpler questions and answers. In Episode 2, Julia asks the question: woher kommst du? (Where do you come from?). Wondering how you would respond to this question in German? Check out the episode by clicking here.

Les Pépites internationales

17 September 2020 (Institut français)

The Institut français is partnering with the Salon du Livre et de la Presse Jeunesse (SLPJ) in Montreuil to promote French-speaking children's literature to French learners around the world.

In addition to literary selections for 3-14 year olds and associated teaching materials, videoconferences between classes and several authors and illustrators from the book selection are available during October and November 2020.

Visit the Pépites internationales website for more information.

Read more...

StampIT language learning resources

7 September 2020 (StampIT)

StampIT offers resources to help teach primary learners different languages using the medium of stamps. Follow the relevant link below to find out more about the latest additions to the resource bank:

  • Let's Look at China - StampIT’s new Let’s Look at China Mandarin learning pack with workbooks, Powerpoint presentation for teachers; detailed CfE links across literacy, arts, language and social studies aimed at upper primary level. Investigates the culture and language of China.  
  • Find out all about StampIT - Sandie Robb, Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies Development Officer and Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Language Project Coordinator, explains the concept in this video and how the various courses and resources can assist with language learning but also include links to the wider curriculum.  

StampIT website updated

10 August 2020 (StampIT)

StampIT is the Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies youth programme where children can discover a world of stamps through interactive games and activities. StampIT also provides a number of ideas for teachers to use stamps across the curriculum. Stamps are a great medium for learning about a wide range of subjects including arts, music, history, geography, science, sport, culture and languages.

StampIT is launching ‘Stamp over October’. This series develops various skills and increases knowledge across the curriculum for the broad general education phase. The range of activities cover experiences and outcomes in many areas within expressive arts; language and literacy; mathematics; sciences; social studies and technologies. The activities will also last beyond October!

See the attached flyers for more information and visit the website for a range of games and activities for learners of French, Spanish, Mandarin and Japanese.

Read more...

Related Files

Survey - Resources to support SQA Modern Languages

28 July 2020 (Hodder Gibson)

Publishers, Hodder Gibson, are keen to commission new resources to support Modern Languages departments at National 3-5 and would be grateful to hear directly from teachers to establish what they would find useful.

Please help by taking part in the research survey. It will take about 10 minutes to complete.

Read more...

Back to school offer

14 July 2020 (La Jolie Ronde)

As schools return from the Summer break, La Jolie Ronde Languages For Children continues their support to Scotland's schools and teachers with a Back To School Offer.  Schools can receive 20% off all French & Spanish resources until 20 September. Simply use promo code: 
 
  • For French Resources:  BTSFRENCH 
  • for Spanish Resources: BTSSPANISH
at checkout on their online shop or if you'd like an invoice please email your order to quoting SCILT/back to school.
.

Terms: Not applicable on any current promos, structured course books or for Licensees

Transform your playground into an outdoor classroom

1 June 2020 (La Jolie Ronde)

Outdoor play is great for encouraging children to be physically active as well as improving health and well-being. So why not transform your playground into an outdoor classroom with one of La Jolie Ronde's award-winning language learning Theme Days? The Theme Days are perfect for small groups of children, across the school, to join in a fun and worthwhile language learning activity, in either French or Spanish, plus "no specialist language skills" required so any teacher or teaching assistant can participate.  

Schools why not replace Sports Day with our Olympic Theme Day? Create your own mini Olympic games! Perfect for pupils to learn all about the history of the games. Includes: Mini Olympic events, templates for coloured flashcards of the events, role play activities, templates for passes, ideas for certificates, 3 board games to revise language learning.

French - www.language-resources.co.uk/products/theme-days-fr-olympics

Spanish - www.language-resources.co.uk/products/theme-days-es-olympics

If you're wanting an abundance of playground games, then our Around My School Theme Day ticks all boxes - Such a great topic for everyone to have fun with! There are plenty of outdoor activities in this Theme Day. Includes: Video clips of French/Spanish children showing us their school, lots of typical French/Spanish playground games, a school treasure hunt, and a fun non-uniform day activity to reinforce items of clothing & colours. Buy here:

French - https://www.language-resources.co.uk/products/theme-days-fr-around-my-school

Spanish - https://www.language-resources.co.uk/products/theme-days-es-around-my-school

Celebrate on 14 July, with our Bastille Day Theme Day.  Perfect for teaching pupils all about France's very important holiday. Includes: the story of the storming of the Bastille, ideas for a Bastille Day picnic, traditional French games like pétanque, instructions for making French flags and rosettes. Buy here:

French - www.language-resources.co.uk/products/theme-days-fr-bastille

***SPECIAL OFFER FOR SCILT  - We're giving you 20% OFF all our Theme Day, simply use promotional code TD20 at checkout.

We can invoice you as well - simply email your order to schools@lajolieronde.co.uk quoting SCILT.

New Website Harnesses The Power Of Music And Drama To Teach Welsh And Spanish

27 May 2020 (Wales 247)

Primary school teachers and parents can now harness music and drama to help children learn Welsh and Spanish by using a new, free to use website. 

The website includes more than 30 activities, such as simple drama games and songs in three languages.

Everything needed to lead children through the activities is provided, including full instructions, demonstration videos, downloadable sheet music, lyrics, audio files and suggestions for extension and reflection.

Read more...

Scotland Learns - Gaelic medium resources

21 May 2020 (Education Scotland)

Education Scotland has created a new portal, Scotland Learns, to help practitioners and parents support children's home learning during school closures.

This week on Scotland Learns the team has added a range of learning activities for parents and carers whose children learn through the medium of Gaelic. Learning activities are also available in English to support parents and carers who may not speak Gaelic. 

Read more...

Language learning resources during school closures

21 April 2020 (SCILT/CISS)

If you are a parent or carer looking for materials to support language learning for your child while the schools are closed, we have compiled a list of materials for children of different ages/stages and in different languages. These resources:

  • are free to access
  • children can do independently and
  • can be enjoyed together as a family

They can be found on the 'Home learning' page of the Parents section of our website.

Read more...

uTalk Classroom

16 April 2020 (uTalk)

uTalk Classroom - an offer free for all UK secondary schools from now until the end of July. 

  • Choose 3 languages out of over 140, plus EAL if required.
  • An unlimited number of students can use the award-winning uTalk app to play speaking and listening games in over 60 topics. 
  • Works on any standard device - tablets, phones, laptops... online or offline.
  • Each learner has their own account.
  • Teachers get a dashboard to monitor pupil progress and attainment.
  • Easy set-up; we do the work so your students can start learning immediately!

See the attached document for more information.

Interested?

Get in touch - susannah@utalk.com 07749288578 so we can get you up and running straight away.

Related Files

Around the World resources

8 April 2020 (British Council)

We all know the importance of keeping connected whilst distancing. That’s why we’ve curated a special collection of our favourite resources about life and culture in different countries around the world. Designed by specialists and tested by teachers, our resources are packed with ideas and projects to help you plan face to face or online classes and support parents with home-learning.

Why not plan a virtual trip around the world for your students and choose which countries you’d like to explore together? We’re always here to help you bring the world into your classroom, wherever your classroom is.

Read more...

Beyond the Panda resources for home learning

30 March 2020 (RZSS)

New online books for home learning. Everyone can access these and they include a good mix of science and Mandarin. These are different from our other online content as they don't require to be downloaded and printed. They also all include sound files and Mandarin learning points. 

At present, there are books which provide an online experience of the giant panda expert visit aimed at upper primary level and the Chinese Endangered Species outreach. In addition there is a book version of the Science Specialist Confucius Classroom 'China's animals and habitats'. Finally, a section comparing China and Scotland. This China/Scotland project is in partnership with the JASS scheme.

All the books are available on the Beyond the Panda website.

Read more...

RZSS Science Specialist Confucius Classroom - What's on offer?

7 November 2019 (RZSS)

RZSS Specialist Confucius Classroom has limited free places for two sessions at Edinburgh Zoo.

  • Our P3-P4 'It makes Panda Sense' session is available to book from October through to December.
  • Our P5-P7 'China's animals and habitats will be available from January to April but bookings are being taken now. The P5-P7 session is in our new amazing immersive space!

Please read the attached pdf flyer for more information and please include all the details requested in your email if you wish to book. 

International Education Week 2019

5 November 2019 (British Council)

International Education Week takes place 18-22 November 2019, and British Council has a range of ways to help your school #BeInternational.

International partnerships have changed the lives of pupils in thousands of schools. Pupils who have learnt new languages, developed their understanding of different cultures, and discovered more about the global issues that affect us all. Here are some of the ways you can participate in International Education Week 2019:

  • Take the #BeInternational languages quiz 
  • Enter our Unexpected Voices speechwriting competition
  • Partner with a school in Europe through eTwinning 
  • Partner with a school outside Europe with Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning 
  • Download The Great Languages Challenge and get your students to design their own challenges for their classmates or peers in their partner school overseas.
  • Apply for funding to take your students on an international exchange
  • Get recognised for your international work through the International School Award . 
  • Share your international activity with us using the hashtag #BeInternational 

Visit the British Council website to find out more.

Read more...

Get ready for Hallowe'en!

25 October 2019 (Various)

A selection of spooktastic activities to celebrate Hallowe’en in the languages classroom:

Call for help!

12 September 2019 (SCILT)

You will no doubt have seen in the news the terrible situation our colleagues at Woodmill High School in Fife are facing. Janet Monaghan, the Principal Teacher of Languages there, has asked SCILT if the languages community could help her replace some of the materials that she and her colleagues have lost in the fire. Janet is determined to keep the learning experience for her young people as normal as possible and this is our chance to help her ensure that her youngsters don’t miss out. If you can help, please email us at scilt@strath.ac.uk with details of any materials you’re able to share with her. In particular she is focusing on the senior phase and is looking for the following resources:

  • A4 plastic wallets
  • Foolscap folders
  • CD Players
  • DVDS (French/German/Italian films or video clips)
  • Verb Tables book (French / German)
  • French, German and Italian pocket dictionaries
  • French Hachette or Collins Grammar plus dictionaries (for Higher)
  • German Collins and Grammar dictionary
  • Plastic boxes (for storage)
  • French & German literature e.g. le petit prince
  • Show me boards/erasers/pens
  • External Hard drives
  • Voice recorders
  • USBs
  • Notebooks/tablets
  • Studio 1, 2,3
  • Echo 1,2,3
  • Stimmt 1,2,3
  • Study Guides - Nat 5 and Higher French and German

SCILT will be in touch about collating and distributing the materials to her.

Translanguaging has made it to Scottish primary education and it is alive and 'coleando'!

11 September 2019 (Creative Multilingualism)

All the World is Our Stage: primary pupils never lost in translanguaging, a multilingual performance showcasing heritage and school languages, has brought pupils and teachers from Whinhill Primary School together with actress-singer, Rebecca Cameron, and creative language learning social enterprise, The Language Hub.

Warm and welcome feelings and emotions engulfed me the first time I set foot in Whinhill. Bilingual signs in English and Gaelic adorn the school, leaving no wall silent, and as you venture inside, the building also speaks through imagery and words in French. What a pleasure to the eye, and a delicacy for the soul!

The school currently offers Gaelic and French under the 1+2 language approach to language learning, and hosts a Gaelic Medium Education (GME) unit allowing pupils to learn through the medium of Scottish Gaelic.

The multilingual realities of our pupils is not always acknowledged, or even recognised, in the school context. English as the societal and school language can stifle pupils’ heritage languages. This project sought to combat that by raising awareness about multilingualism and celebrating linguistic diversity through the performing arts. 

Visit the website to read the full article, which contains links to the resources used in the project.

Read more...

Education Scotland Gaelic resources

30 August 2019 (Education Scotland)

Education Scotland has recently published the Gaelic version of the Slavery and Human Trafficking resources. The Gaelic versions of the Review of Family Learning and the Review of Learning at Home are also now available.

Beyond the Panda resources - update

19 August 2019 (RZSS)

The China Mobile Library panda packs are now available online and free! Although the expert visits and outreach have been free of charge since November 2018, the resources in the panda packs used to be either on loan or available to purchase. They are now available online to all - beyondthepanda.org.uk under the China Mobile Library section. 

Associated expert visits and outreach sessions are still free and include different materials and resources which are only available on booking. These enhance the learning from the panda packs. Free teaching training sessions can also be booked. See the attached document for more information and visit the website.

Read more...

Related Files

Bring the world into your classroom

8 August 2019 (TES/British Council)

We believe every young person should have intercultural and international experience. As the UK’s cultural relations organisation, the British Council creates opportunities for schools and teachers in the UK and worldwide to connect and work together to share ideas and practices.

Our range of international education programmes can help develop teaching skills with funded professional development, connect schools across the globe and bring language learning to life.

TES and the British Council have joined forces to explore different ways to bring the world into the classroom and open the door to a host of international learning opportunities.

Visit the TES and British Council websites to access a wide range of resources and information.

Read more...

New job profile on the SCILT website

9 November 2018 (SCILT)

The job profiles on our website cover a range of professions where languages are being used. 

We have a new profile from David Cant, Managing Director of Albion (Overseas) Ltd, a company which helps UK businesses to enter the Russian market. After learning French and German at school, David tells us that he took up Russian by chance at university - a choice which became life-changing.

Teachers use our profiles in the classroom to enhance learning about the world of work and how languages can play a part.

Read more...

New job profile on the SCILT website

2 November 2018 (SCILT)

We have a range of job profiles on our website where language skills are being used. The latest addition comes from Erin Duffy, a student of Spanish and Linguistics at the University of Glasgow.

Erin is currently teaching in Spain and tells us her knowledge of languages has also enabled her to study and work in China. Her language skills have been integral to the job opportunities she has acquired and helped her form friendships across the globe.

Teachers, share Erin's profile with your pupils to demonstrate the advantages and benefits of learning languages.

Read more...

La Jolie Ronde free trials

29 October 2018 (La Jolie Ronde)

FREE TRIALS available of La Jolie Ronde's two award winning French and Spanish resources and classes.

La Jolie Ronde Languages For Children is a leading early language learning organisation offering a proven method of teaching young children French and Spanish. La Jolie Ronde’s award winning programmes are unique, modern and of the highest quality. FREE TRIALS on their resources are available as follows:

P1-P3 - Little Languages Resource - FREE TRIAL AVAILABLE

Little Languages is a unique resource for introducing languages to P1-P3. It provides the perfect solution for introducing some of the different languages and cultures from around the world. To support the non-specialist and as a guide to aid the expert language teacher, Little Languages enables you to start teaching straightaway!

Activities demonstrated in French and Spanish:

  • Additional vocabulary & songs in Italian, Chinese, Hindi and African Shona
  • Includes fun, play-based activities including IWB material
  • Real life DVD clips featuring children from around the world

Product contains detailed lesson plans in a sturdy ring binder & software featuring:

  • Lesson plans
  • Resources
  • IWB activities and games
  • Colourful classroom wall frieze (5 x 2m lengths)
  • DVD clips
  • Also includes French and Spanish traditional and original songs plus songs from other languages
P4-P7 - French and Spanish Resource - FREE TRIAL AVAILABLE

La Jolie Ronde’s award winning resource contains everything you need to help plan and implement your policy for teaching a language in one go. The resource is a flexible four-year programme providing support to teachers with no previous experience of teaching languages and a guide for the more experienced, who can modify to suit. One of the biggest benefits of the resource is that everything is already pre-prepared and planned, so you can literally start teaching straightaway!

  • Perfect for the non-specialist or an aid for the more experienced languages teacher
  • Split into two schemes – for years P4-P5 and P6-P7
  • Plenty of material to fill two years and four years
  • Pre-prepared lessons, divided into short sessions for flexibility
  • Comprehensive and detailed lesson notes
FREE French or Spanish Class

Years of development, dedication and experience in the sector of early language learning, La Jolie Ronde has become the market leader, committed to offering the best possible start to young learners. Through their loyal network of over 560 tutors, who teach in over 1,660 centres, they currently teach in the region of 20,500 children. To find your nearest French or Spanish class and book your FREE TASTER CLASS, visit La Jolie Ronde website.

For your FREE RESOURCE OR CLASS TRIALS simply email your request to La Jolie Ronde quoting SCILT - email schools@lajolieronde.co.uk

International Education Week 2018

29 October 2018 (British Council)

Teachers and school leaders in the UK and across the world are being encouraged to bring the world into their classrooms to celebrate International Education Week (IEW).

Each year, the British Council encourages schools to celebrate International Education Week to promote the benefits of international collaboration, languages and cultural exchange. During International Education Week, 12-16 November, The British Council is focusing on global communication and particularly language learning, believing these skills are more important now than ever. That is why this year’s theme is ‘Be International’.

Visit the British Council International Education Week website to find out more about how your students can take part in the Great Schools Online challenge and to access the IEW teaching resources.

Read more...

Get ready for Hallowe'en!

23 October 2018 (Various)

It's that time of year again and to help celebrate Hallowe'en in the languages classroom we've compiled a range of spooky resources! Click on the relevant link below for more information:

Try the Unuhi iPad app for FREE! Read bilingual books to your kids in any 2 languages of your choice

16 October 2018 (Unuhi)

No matter what languages you speak in your family, Unuhi wants to help your children learn. Unuhi claims to be the most comprehensive bilingual book platform in the world and includes 4 launch books in almost 200 different language combinations.

Unuhi is offering a free trial of its bilingual book app for kids, free to any schools that have iPads (Android version out by Christmas) in return for feedback and spreading the word!

The app currently contains 4 original books in 20 languages, beautifully illustrated with interactive sound and flashcards to support learning.

Visit Unuhi and find out more

Find out how to trial the app for free

SCHOLAR online tutor sessions for Modern Languages

19 September 2018 (SCHOLAR)

The schedule of online tutor sessions for Higher and Advanced Higher Modern Languages 2018-19 is now available online.

Read more...

Free language learning and cooking app now available

1 August 2018 (Linguacuisine)

For anyone interested in languages and food!

The free Linguacuisine web app helps you learn a language while you’re cooking a meal! Choose a foreign language and a delicious recipe from that country. Then your own smartphone or tablet will speak to you in the foreign language and talk you through all of the stages of cooking the recipe in your own kitchen. If you can’t understand, just press a button to get a photo or video explaining what to do. When you’ve finished, eat the food you’ve cooked and learn something about the culture of the country. Linguacuisine has a range of recipes now available for language learning from around the world. We now have recipes available in: English, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Quechua, Chinese and Korean.

You can also use the free recipe builder app so that you can upload your own favourite recipe in your own language. That means that anyone anywhere in the world will be able to watch videos and listen to audios of you guiding them through cooking your recipe and learning your language! Use your own smartphone or tablet to make recordings of yourself and upload them using our user-friendly software to create your own recipe.

You can also join our worldwide online community so you can rate and discuss other people’s recipes and post information, stories and photos. They can do the same for your recipe, so it’s a good way to make friends in other countries.

So Linguacuisine is a really fun way to learn about foreign languages, cultures and cuisines and you get to eat what you produce. You can also tell other people around the world about your own cooking, language and way of life. You learn foreign words better when you are physically touching food and cooking utensils and using them to prepare food. When you are cooking, you involve all of your senses in the learning experience – touch, smell and taste as well as hearing and seeing. So this is multi-modal and multi-sensory language learning. This is task-based language learning with a real product at the end of it and is intended to improve international understanding and communication.

Linguacuisine is available now for all devices, smartphones, tablets and computers from our website, where the online community will also be located https://linguacuisine.com/

The Linguacuisine app is the end result of a 10-year collaboration between computing scientists and linguists at Newcastle University. The Linguacuisine project is a collaboration between Newcastle University, Action Foundation (UK), Hellenic Open University (Greece), Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy) and the Workers’ Educational Association (UK). It is funded by an Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership grant of €324K.

For Teachers

The Linguacuisine app can be used for foreign language lessons, but also for cookery lessons and cross-curriculum projects. Students can use the app to cook and learn in the kitchen at home as well as at school.

The app is a good way of preparing students for a foreign trip as it helps engage them with the cuisine, culture and language in advance. Students can also write their own recipes in their own language, informing people abroad about their culture and cuisine.

It is also an excellent way of getting learners to communicate with learners in other countries. Video links have been available for some time, but Linguacuisine means that learners in different countries can do enjoyable shared activities together, cooking recipes from the other countries whilst learning about the other language and culture.

Digital skills can also be developed by using the ‘recipe builder’ authoring software.  This was co-authored with learners and designed to develop a wide range of digital skills using the DIGCOMP 2.1 framework; it has been shown to be successful in improving learner competence.

For Professionals working with Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers

The Linguacuisine app was co-designed with a group of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from Action Foundation, Newcastle, UK and seeks to help them in two ways. Firstly, immigrants to a country can cook the recipes to learn about the language, cuisine and culture of their host country and help their integration. Secondly, immigrants can produce their own recipes in their own language using the recipe builder software, so they are able to have a voice and so people in their host country are able to learn something about their life prior to arrival here. A number of recipes currently on Linguacuisine have been produced by migrants in the UK.

For Catering Professionals

Chefs and other catering staff who are travelling to work abroad can introduce themselves to the language, culture and cuisine of their destination country by using the Linguacuisine app. They can also increase their repertoire and employability by trying recipes from around the world and improving relevant language skills.

Chefs can also produce their own recipes in their own language or English using the recipe builder software. Their recipes can then be tried out by users anywhere in the world. Users can post feedback about the recipes and rate the recipes, so chefs can gain an international reputation and increase their own job opportunities.

Invitation to London Event

Please come to our free London dissemination event in Europe House on 11 September. Book a place.

Try out the app, cook a recipe and learn a new language!

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Stòrlann put Runrig and Sporting Hero resources on-line for Gaelic Medium Education in Secondary

20 June 2018 (Stòrlann)

Stòrlann have also published new literacy resources for Gaelic Medium Education, including a resource about legendary Gaelic rockers Runrig. This multimedia unit comes as the band prepare for their swan song gig in Stirling in August, bowing out after 45 long and successful years promoting Gaelic song and music. It is hoped the resource will teach learners about Runrig’s important legacy for many years to come. There is also a new resource about Highland Sporting Heroes - Laoich Spòrs Gàidhealach.

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Ceumannan 5 - New Health and Wellbeing unit on-line for Gaelic Learners by end of session

20 June 2018 (Stòrlann)

Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig are about to publish online the second unit of the final book in the Ceumannan series for Gaelic Learners. Like all the resources in the series which launched in 2009, Ceumannan 5 Aonad 2 - Slàinte agus Sunnd, has been written by Emma Christie. It is aimed at Higher and Advanced Higher Gaelic (Learners). When the resource becomes available at the end of June 2018, it will be available on the Stòrlann website.

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A National Framework for Languages supporting implementation of 1+2

19 June 2018 (SCDE)

The Scottish Council of Deans of Education (SCDE) Languages Group, which represents all language strands within the Schools of Education across Scottish Universities, has created a National Framework for Languages (NFfL) and associated digital resource to support teacher educators and teachers at all stages of their careers, with the aim of transforming the 1 + 2 Languages Policy in Scotland into purposeful classroom pedagogies promoting plurilingualism and pluriliteracies.

The NFfL is based on four overarching principles: plurilingualism, diversity, policy and legislation and transformative practice, and reflects the strands of the Professional Standards established by GTCS. For each of these strands the NFfL has identified a series of statements which encourage practitioners to consider a broad and inclusive understanding of the role of language in and for learning. These statements are linked to the associated digital resources: a reflective tool and digital resource bank.
The reflective tool includes a personal biography based on Pepelino and the European Language Portfolio as well as a series of reflective questions. These reflective questions are directly linked to the statements of the NFfL and aim to support teachers in evaluating their own practices.

The digital resource bank was created after a systematic review of the international literature covering formal language learning across all ages and stages, the increasingly complex demands of plurilingual and pluricultural classrooms and the need to develop a shared understanding of the role of languages for learning, which addresses the fundamental role played by languages (including the learners’ first language) in developing global citizens.

The NFfL and accompanying digital resources are now being piloted and can be accessed on the National Framework for Languages (NFfL) website.

Further information can be obtained from Ingeborg Birnie (Ingeborg.birnie@strath.ac.uk).

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New job profile on SCILT's website

4 May 2018 (SCILT)

For relevant, labour-market focused career advice on languages, direct from the workplace, read our latest Job Profile on Michael Dewar, whose love of languages has led to him working as a language tutor. Teachers, use this resource in your classroom to enhance learning about the world of work.

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The year of the dog: primary education pack

23 January 2018 (IOE / British Council)

To help primary schools celebrate Chinese New Year and the Year of the Dog, UCL IOE and the British Council have developed some creative teaching resources.

The education pack is free to download. It contains information and activities to help teachers and pupils learn more about this important spring festival and explore Chinese language and culture. 

Your pupils can read a traditional story to find out how Er Lang and his dogs captured the Monkey King and learn to give commands in Chinese to our animated dog called Dumpling (Jiaozi). You can also read letters from Chinese children about their pets and get creative making clay dogs and paintings and cooking Chinese dumplings!

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Posted in: Chinese, Resources

Resource for French learners - interview with Matthew Fitt, translator of Harry Potter into Scots

6 November 2017 (La Gazette du Sorcier)

This interview, in French, with Matthew Fitt, who has translated Harry Potter into Scots, will be of real interest to Harry Potter fans and a great opportunity for for learners to test their French.

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Posted in: French, Resources

Language resources from Schools Online

29 October 2017 (Schools Online)

Polish your Polish

Grow awareness and understanding of Polish language and culture with our newest resource pack. Activities include fun facts about Poland and learning about culture through illustrated maps. For example, did you know that scientist Marie Curie was born in Poland’s capital, Warsaw? Download now

Fascinated by Arabic language and culture?

Explore the richly diverse world of Arabic language and culture with our resource pack. Created as part of the Arabic Language and Culture Programme, the pack enables students to learn about prominent Arabic inventions and discoveries like the art of calligraphy, and its creative cousin – calligraffiti. Download the pack

New resources from Schools Online for International Education Week

29 October 2017 (Schools Online)

International Education Week is just around the corner, running from 13 to 17 November.

This year Schools Online is inviting you and your class to take The Great Schools Online Challenge. Sound intriguing? A series of language-themed activity sheets encourage students to find out more about different languages and cultures. Can your students find out what the world’s most spoken language is? Or, how about learning how to write a phrase in a language with a different script? Download the resource

You can also download other activity ideas to help you celebrate. Schools Online will be adding to these over the following weeks, so go and take a look.

Gaelic World War II project resource

27 September 2017 (Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig)

An interdisciplinary resource which aims to provide Gaelic Medium Education teachers with a ‘one stop shop’ of topic-specific material for the classroom was launched at the national An t-Alltan conference for GME practitioners held in Aviemore last week.

An Dàrna Cogadh was developed by Gaelic educational resources organisation Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig in response to Gaelic Medium Education practitioners’ requests for a comprehensive teaching package, based online, on the subject of World War Two.

The online resource brings together many informative Gaelic texts and books— some created especially for this project — with a rich variety of other material from the wider world, including web, print and video. It is designed to support teachers delivering this subject in the primary sector.

Visit the website to access the resource and for more information see the attached press release.

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Online course: How to succeed in the global workplace

11 May 2017 (British Council)

Beginning your career or starting a new job brings to mind lots of questions, so we’ve designed a course to guide you through those initial weeks and months so you can make a positive start to your career.

You’ll see videos from employers, giving you insights from around the world into what they look for from their employees. You’ll learn how to communicate across cultures and discover the skills to build and maintain relationships with colleagues, managers and clients.

This is a free 4-week course and is hosted online by FutureLearn.

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New job profile on SCILT's website

28 April 2017 (SCILT)

The job profiles on our website cover a range of professions where languages are being used.

Our latest addition comes from Charlie Foot, founder of Bili, the online language exchange platform for schools. Charlie explains how speaking to people in their own language creates opportunities for much deeper connections and cultural understanding.

Teachers use our profiles in the classroom to enhance learning about the world of work and how language skills can play a part.

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New job profile on the SCILT website

21 April 2017 (SCILT)

We have a selection of job profiles on our website demonstrating languages being used in a wide range of professions.

Our latest addition comes from David Rodger, Area Manager at Amazon Germany. He tells how people engage with you and realise you're on their side if you demonstrate the willingness to understand their language and culture.

Teachers use our profiles in the classroom to enhance learning about the world of work and how language skills can play a part.

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New job profile on the SCILT website

31 March 2017 (SCILT)

We have a selection of job profiles on our website demonstrating languages being used in a wide range of professions.

Our latest addition comes from Jane Robb, PhD student at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich. Jane has studied several languages, including French, German and Spanish and says her Spanish language skills enable her to conduct fieldwork and live and work in Guatemala.

Teachers use our profiles in the classroom to enhance learning about the world of work and how language skills can play a part.

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New job profile on SCILT's website

17 March 2017 (SCILT)

For relevant, labour-market focused career advice on languages, direct from the workplace, read our latest Job Profile from Lynn Sheppard, Masters Student and travel writer, former English teacher, diplomat and civil servant.

Lynn tells how languages have not only helped in all her diverse job roles, but in developing and maintaining personal and professional relationships around the globe. Language skills have given her a cultural insight into how others think and behave.

Teachers, use this resource in your classroom to enhance learning about the world of work.

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Chinese L3 resources

13 March 2017 (CISS)

In order to build capacity for L3 in Scottish schools throughout Scotland, CISS has focused on developing a variety of resources. The latest L3 materials can be used to support the introduction of Mandarin as the L3 by using stimulating cultural contexts, whilst carefully building in progression. They are the first of a series of L3 resources which will support non-specialist Chinese teachers – including complete beginners! – as well as specialist Chinese teachers. The resources favour a gentle progression and will help practitioners embed Chinese into their learning context. These resources can be used as stand-alone resources or in conjunction with The Happy Emperor ebooks 1-5.

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New job profile on SCILT's website

10 March 2017 (SCILT)

We have a range of Job Profiles on our website designed for teachers to use in the classroom to enhance learning about the world of work and how language skills can play a part.

Our latest addition comes from Kirsten Matthews, a Distillery Tour Guide and Public Service Interpreter. Kirsten tells us her language skills make it possible for her to perform a service and to help people in her roles.

You can see Kirsten's profile on our website.

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New Job Profile on the SCILT website

3 March 2017 (SCILT)

For relevant, labour-market focused career advice on languages, direct from the workplace, read our latest Job Profile from Sandie Robb, Senior Education Officer for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).

Working on conservation projects around the globe, Sandie explains how knowing even a little of a language is respectable and polite when working with colleagues worldwide.

Teachers, use this resource in your classroom to enhance learning about the world of work.

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Fairtrade Fortnight

28 February 2017 (SCILT / Traidcraft)

#mfltwitterati it’s Fairtrade Fortnight! Please tweet @scottishcilt and @FairtradeUKEd the lesson ideas and resources that you’re using with your learners as a meaningful context for language learning #Fairtrade.

We’ve already found these from @traidcraft, tell us what you think.
  • Explore the world of cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire with a range of teaching resources for learners of French at 2nd level, 3rd level and in the Senior Phase.
  • Explore a range of resources relating to Apicoop - honey and blueberry producers in Chile. Aimed at 2nd level learners of Spanish materials include a poster, an advert and a game.

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Josh Martin, student of Psychology & German and part-time racing driver

3 February 2017 (SCILT)

Our Job Profiles are designed for teachers to use in the classroom to enhance learning about the world of work and how language skills can play a part.

Our latest addition comes from student and part-time racing driver, Josh Martin, who appreciates how languages are key in helping him communicate with fans around the world and in negotiating sponsorship deals.

Read his profile and others on our website now.

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New STEM job profile on SCILT's website

20 January 2017 (SCILT)

If you're looking for relevant career advice on languages direct from the workplace, read the Job Profiles on our website. These resources are designed for teachers to use in the classroom to enhance learning about the world of work and how language skills can play a part.

Our latest addition comes from John Barry, a former petroleum engineer and manager with Shell, who explains how his language skills helped him to develop his career with the company.

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ELEO: Spanish Centres of Resources Digital Library

15 December 2016 (Consejería de Educación)

The Consejería de Educación has recently launched a digital library. If you are a teacher of Spanish, you can have an access to a myriad of resources.

Visit the site for more information and register now!

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Chinese Language Pack 2017 - Year of the Rooster

5 December 2016 (British Council)

According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, we enter the Year of the Rooster on January 28, 2017. This education pack for UK primary schools contains information and activities to help teachers and pupils learn more about this important spring festival and explore Chinese culture and language.

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Posted in: Chinese, Resources

International Education Week 2016: Make Time for Languages

26 October 2016 (British Council)

The British Council celebrates International Education Week every year, promoting the benefits of international learning and cultural exchange to a huge community of teachers and school leaders in the UK and all over the world. We believe that international learning, global communication and language learning is more important now than ever. That’s why this year’s IEW theme is ‘Make Time For Languages’.

We’ve got a whole raft of offers, opportunities and resources to help you celebrate International Education Week and make time for languages in your schools and classrooms.

Visit the British Council IEW website to find out how you can get involved from 14-18 November.

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SCHOLAR support for Advanced Higher modern languages

11 October 2016 (SCHOLAR / Heriot-Watt)

SCHOLAR would like to bring to your attention their support for learners at Advanced Higher French, German and Spanish tackling the Specialist Study and Portfolio. Within the ‘Culture’ area, there is an extensive set of activities taking learners through every aspect of these areas. There is also a record, downloadable as a word document in both French and German, to help learners keep a record in the target language. This has the aim of helping them both prepare for the visit of the external examiner, and collect information to allow them to present their evidence for the Specialist Study Unit in the target language.

Search for Scholar HW, or use the login link.

Log in with your ID and password, which your school has!

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Celebrate National Poetry Day!

6 October 2016 (SCILT)

Today is National Poetry Day and the theme this year is 'Messages'. To mark the occasion we've created our own triolet poem in French on this theme.

You can see the poem on the National Poetry Day webpage of our MTOT website. We hope it will provide some inspiration for those taking part in the Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition in Scotland! There are lots of other poetry resources on our website too. So take a look and get creative!

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SCHOLAR and the National Assessment Resource

30 September 2016 (SCHOLAR)

SCHOLAR has a new feature: for all the SQA listening and reading assessments for Higher French, German and Spanish, we have put together a set of SCHOLAR activities which cover much of the vocabulary and concepts in each of those assessments.

When planning an assessment, teachers can give their pupils links to the SCHOLAR activities which will help them prepare for the assessment. They can be found in the Exam Preparation area of each language. Log in with your ID and password, which your school has!

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Deutsch mit Karla and Kai

9 September 2016 (Goethe-Institut)

‘Deutsch mit Karla & Kai’ is a scheme of work that follows on from the ‘Deutsch mit Felix & Franzi’ programme. It is intended for children who have finished two years of German at primary level, having had around 40 minutes of German per week.

‘Deutsch mit Karla & Kai’ consists of 6 chapters, each of which opens with a video clip. The films introduce the new learning and teaching content in a playful way. The learners will already have a basic knowledge of German. They will therefore be able to access completely new structures and vocabulary in the context of the stories.

Access the resource on the Goethe-Institut website.

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Six professionals on why UK teenagers should learn languages

6 September 2016 (British Council Voices)

For many young people in the UK, learning another language is not a priority – only nine per cent of teenagers progressed beyond a basic level in the language they were learning in 2013. But with so many people around the globe already speaking English, I wanted to know if learning another language is really worth it. Here's what I found out from some people who would know.

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EDL packs 2016 out of stock!

26 August 2016 (SCILT)

SCILT's packs of materials to celebrate European Day of Languages 2016 have now sold out! We are delighted to know there are so many schools on board to celebrate this year’s event.

Don’t worry if you are too late to order materials. You can still visit our website for a range of ideas and resources to help your school to mark the day. We would love to hear how schools across Scotland celebrate the day. Email us (scilt@strath.ac.uk) with a short summary and some photos, and we will feature your event on this year’s EDL blog.

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An effective way to kick start primary languages

7 June 2016 (ilanguages)

In September 2014 KS2 modern language teaching became compulsory in English primaries for children from the age of 7. Given that the vast majority of primary teachers are not trained or confident linguists this has been a challenge for many schools; especially as the new curriculum requires considerable learner progress in the four years leading up to secondary school.

Juliet Park and Wendy Adeniji, practising teachers and nationally renowned trainers and authors of creative resources decided to develop a scheme of work which would support teachers of all linguistic abilities. Additionally, they wanted to ensure that teachers had a comprehensive set of integrated resources which would work in harmony and be easy to follow.

The resources include pedagogical approaches which were presented at the language show in Glasgow in March such as Kagan co operative learner and Talk4Writing. These approaches raise engagement and also literacy levels and are equally useful to other areas of the curriculum.

The packs also include two effective approaches to teaching French and Spanish phonics, a key element for improving learner confidence in pronunciation and making the sound spelling link. Songs have also been embedded into the scheme from the Aberdeen based company The Language Factory.

To ensure children can get further practice between lessons, an app to support the scheme is being launched in the autumn.

The reaction from teachers using the ilanguages resources has been overwhelming and it is fast becoming the scheme of choice in England.

Helen Walker from Hursthead school says ‘my learners have made double the progress than in the past and I am an experienced teacher’

Richard Williams from High Lane school commented that he is a complete beginner in French but he ‘can rely on the resources do the talking because it’s such a user friendly scheme’.

Teachers can download free starter packs from the ilanguages website.

Juliet and Wendy are now looking to set up regional hubs in Scotland to support teachers in the 1+2 initiative. This will include expert training on the delivery of French and Spanish to regional networks and access to free resources.

If you would like to become a regional hub to support your local network please contact Juliet on julietpark@icloud.com. First come first served! 

Find out more about ilanguages and what they can offer to primary and secondary schools on their website.

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LACS: Empowering language networks

2 June 2016 (ECML)

The LACS (Language associations and collaborative support) network mediates between ECML projects and language teacher associations and other networks at regional and national levels. Its purpose is to raise awareness of existing ECML projects and resources, and to motivate teachers and others involved in language education to adapt these to their local environment, in order to facilitate widespread impact on learning and teaching.

Discover the searchable online directory of language associations and organisations and how it can be used on the ECML LACS website, along with guidelines and examples of using ECML resources in different contexts.

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Deutsch für dich

30 May 2016 (Goethe-Institut)

Register to join the learning and teaching community free of charge to help learn and improve your German.

Find out more in the 'Deutsch für dich' promotional video and visit the Goethe-Institut website to register.

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How to prepare students for international communication

25 May 2016 (British Council Voices)

To communicate successfully in an international environment, you need to be able to grasp what is being said and respond appropriately.

In this blog, Chia Suan Chong offers three strategies to help students use English in international environments, including considering different cultural views of the same situation - an ideal exercise for those with a multinational class.

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Football and German - Materials for your German classroom

23 May 2016 (Goethe-Institut)

Popular events like the European Football Championship 2016 provide ample opportunities for motivating young learners. The Goethe-Institutes in France have developed some practice materials for the German classroom suitable for various levels and ready for kick off.

Visit the Goethe-Institut website to download the free resources.

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Launch of High Five Spanish

9 May 2016 (Radio Lingua)

Radio Lingua is delighted to announce the launch of High Five Spanish which follows a similar model to our French resource. Learners can join Scottish learner Sophie who is learning Spanish, in Spain, with her friends Marina and Miguel.

We’re making the trial version of High Five Spanish available to all schools until 30 June. All existing High Five French schools are ‘pre-approved’ and the Spanish trial will automatically appear on their account. Any other schools should register for the free trial on the Radio Lingua High Five Spanish website and we’ll set up trial accounts for them. The free trial provides access to the first ten lessons of the series including video and audio resources, teachers’ notes, classroom ideas and activity sheets for pupils.

Visit the High Five Spanish website for full details about the resource.

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The Language Magician - German for children

28 April 2016 (Goethe-Institut)

One of the main aims of this Erasmus+ project is to develop an assessment tool to be used in primary schools called THE LANGUAGE MAGICIAN. The game will be fun for the children, build on their language and IT-skills and provide information on their progression. It will support teachers by giving them a tool to assess their pupils’ abilities using non-threatening testing methods and hopefully also increase the enjoyment of learning a foreign language at this age.

The project is still under development, but visit the Goethe-Institut website to find out more.

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Advanced Higher French resource: Silence de la mer

19 April 2016 (SCILT)

We have developed a pack of resources on Silence de la Mer which are suitable for Advanced Higher French pupils who have limited teaching input.

The pack includes information on the Specialist Study Unit; suggested timescales; character analysis; themes; suggested portfolio titles and a glossary of vocabulary.

The resource can be accessed on the Senior Phase French AH resources section of our website.

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New French and Polish resources

19 April 2016 (Education Scotland)

Education Scotland is pleased to launch new resources for French and Polish. Both resources include teacher’s notes, activity packs, film clips and sound files.

The French resource is designed as an L2 learning journey, aimed at second level learners and involves Astérix on a journey to Scotland, based on the story ‘Astérix chez les Pictes’

The Polish resource supports an L3 beginners’ language experience and can be used in either primary or secondary as an L3 insert. The language journey here is based on an animated film, based around the scientist Copernicus.

Links to both resources can also be found in the Primary and S1-S3 classroom resource sections of the SCILT website.

SQA Modern Languages Audio Presentations

31 March 2016 (SQA)

SQA has published Modern Languages Audio Presentations providing additional support for centres and practitioners. The presentations provide a detailed overview of the standards and assessment for both Unit and Course assessment.

The presentations can be downloaded from the SQA website.

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Welsh footballers help pupils go global

23 March 2016 (Welsh Government)

Players from the Wales National Football team have been doing their bit to help pupils concentrate on their modern foreign languages lessons by launching a new learning resource pack linked to this year’s Euros.

The educational resources have been produced as part of the Welsh Government’s Global Futures plan which aims to improve and promote modern foreign languages in Wales.

The Euros-based resources have been published on Hwb, the digital learning platform for schools, so teachers can capitalise on their pupil’s excitement in the run up to June’s tournament, and use the packs to promote the importance and relevance of modern foreign languages.

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World Book Day - 3 March

3 March 2016 (SCILT)

Why not celebrate World Book Day with books in different languages? Here are some suggested websites:

New job profile on the SCILT website

19 February 2016 (SCILT)

We have a range of job profiles on the SCILT website to let your pupils see that languages are valuable in the world of work. People from a range of sectors - including sport, marketing, technology and many more - explain how language learning has influenced their professional lives.

Our latest profile features Adam Williams. a Spacecraft Operations Engineer working for the European Space Agency on the ExoMars mission, whose goal is to send a robotic vehicle to Mars to try and find evidence of past or present life on Mars. He explains how beneficial language skills are when working with a diverse range of international colleagues.

See this and other job profiles on our website now.

Read more...

Touring Exhibition - Erfinderland Deutschland

18 February 2016 (Goethe-Institut)

Our new touring exhibition "Inventions from Germany" takes place from 21 March to 1 April 2016 and focuses on ground-breaking, German inventions which affect the daily lives of each of us and does so in an interactive way.

The exhibition promotes the concept of STEM teaching combined with German and is suitable for both, German-oriented and science-oriented school classes. We offer a guided programme (one-hour slots) with worksheet activities for school classes (group size up to 30, S4 to S6). Beginners are welcome too as English translations are provided.

Visit the Goethe-Institut Glasgow website for further information and to book a slot.

The exhibition is also accompanied by a dedicated website with more detailed information and resources:

Read more...

Shakespeare Lives 2016

25 January 2016 (British Council)

This Shakespeare Lives schools’ pack has been created by the British Council in partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016.

Specially designed to encourage learning across the curriculum, the resource is split into five key themes; Leadership and Power, Family and Relationships, Identity and Equality, Fate and Destiny, Justice and Rules. Within each themed section you will find a wide range of activities for pupils aged 7-14. These can be used as starting points in individual lessons or as elements of a cross-curricular project, which could be carried out with a partner school overseas.

Visit the British Council website for more information and to download the pack. On the site is a link to a number of videos created as part of the celebration. In addition to the English version, the 'Shakespeare Lives in 2016' animation is also available on YouTube in French, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Mandarin.

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World Arabic Language Day - 18 December

18 December 2015 (British Council)

It's World Arabic Language Day so why not learn about the language and culture with this resource from British Council Schools Online?

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Year of the Monkey education pack

17 December 2015 (British Council)

Discover what 2016's Year of the Monkey symbolises using our new pack filled with fun activities for primary pupils based on Chinese culture and traditions. Start preparing for Chinese New Year, explore the mythology behind the Chinese zodiac and uncover what the Year of the Monkey actually means in 2016. 

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Erasmus+ 'Creative Thinking in Literacy & Language Skills' project.

10 December 2015 (LEAP)

LEAP are coordinators of the Erasmus+ 'Creative Thinking in Literacy & Language Skills' project.

The project aims to bring the often illusive skills of creative thinking to teachers of literacy and/or languages, through a comprehensive 'how to' manual that is packed with instructional exercises.

This manual is now freely available to downlaod, along with two ready-to-use classroom activities, one from the project 'training package' and one based on a teacher submission to the project.

More of these type of activities will follow in the new year.

Please follow the links within the attached document or head straight to the project web site for more information.

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Languagenut supports 1+2

3 November 2015 (SALT)

Languagenut is a professional teaching tool that offers teaching resources across 19 world languages, including French, Spanish, German, Italian, Gaelic and Mandarin. Languagenut also supports EAL students by offering 80 native languages as support to learn English.

It is the perfect tool to support the 1+2 approach to language learning, as all audio files are recorded by native speakers. With a range of games, songs and stories, Languagenut supports the four key skills of language learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

In addition, Languagenut offers special integrated tools which allow teachers both create their own classes and content, and also set and track homework, generate certificates and evaluate students’ progress in real time. These timesaving tools help teachers to deliver more personalised teaching and customise lessons to fit each individual.

Accessible at school and at home and through GLOW, Languagenut helps to bridge the gap between classroom and home learning and is free for all Scottish schools.

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SCHOLAR Modern Languages sessions

8 October 2015 (Heriot-Watt University)

The SCHOLAR programme offered by Heriot-Watt University offers a number of support sessions in a variety of subjects for students undertaking National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher examinations.

Attached is the programme of online events taking place from October 2015 to March 2016 to support Modern Languages.

For more information about the SCHOLAR programme visit the Heriot-Watt SCHOLAR website.

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Related Files

Principles and practice: modern languages

8 September 2015 (Educaiton Scotland)

Education Scotland has just published a new principles and practice document for modern languages including new learning statements for P7.

Visit the Education Scotland website for more information.

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Happy Emperor and other stories

4 September 2015 (SCILT/CISS)

We are very pleased to publish the 5th animated e-book in the Happy Emperor series. This new adventure sees the Happy Emperor and his friends celebrating the Moon Festival and will help teachers develop children’s talking and listening, reading and writing skills in Mandarin.

Including interactive activities for use on a whiteboard, PC or tablet, the e-book presents an engaging way of introducing and practising simple vocabulary including food, clothes and telling the time. We hope you’ll enjoy using the e-book and would love to hear what you think of it and how you’ve used it with your learners.

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International Literacy Day - 8 September

20 August 2015 (British Council)

For International Literacy Day on 8 September, British Council has a range of activites you could try with your class.

  • Bookworms - activity to study a piece of writing
  • Words, Words, Words - explore words in English that have their origins in other languages
  • 10 Words - see if your class can capture the essence of a language and culture in a short play using no more than 10 words in that language

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival - Moon Festival

20 August 2015 (British Council)

The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is the second most important festival in the Chinese lunar calendar after Chinese New Year. This year the festival will fall on 27 September.

To tie in with the Festival, the British Council has developed an education pack to help primary schools celebrate the event with lesson plans, an assembly plan, activities and supporting materials.

Download the free pack now from the British Council website.

Read more...

First and Second Level Modern Languages Learning Map Updates

27 July 2015 (Education Scotland)

Updates to first and second level learning maps are now available on the Education Scotland website.

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Advanced Higher Route Maps online

11 June 2015 (Education Scotland)

Assessment route maps providing key guidelines, advice and support for qualifications at Advanced Higher modern languages are now available on the Education Scotland website.

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Lesson planner - Secondary French

28 May 2015 (TES)

This “grammar challenge” was designed to motivate my 14- and 15-year-old pupils and make assessment more fun and interactive.

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Get the ball rolling in Spanish – with #fútbol

28 May 2015 (TESS)

Pupils can learn a surprising amount from foreign language tweets about football matches I began my lesson with that breezy staple “What are we going to learn today?” The answer to this question shocked the class: “Vamos a estudiar el encanto de la Copa FA.” Yes, the romance of the FA Cup. There was a palpable frisson of excitement.

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Related Links

Giant panda online game

18 May 2015 (RZSS)

Danestone Primary P7 have designed a giant panda online game. It was created by the help of AVC Media and was part of Edinburgh Zoo's Beyond the Panda Take Action Challenge. Pupils presented the game at the recent SCEN China Day and had an official launch on Friday at their school. It has some language matching games. Take a look and why not play!

Read more...

Digital European Language Portfolio (ELP)

15 May 2015 (SCILT)

For anyone who has been experiencing difficulties using the electronic version of our European Language Portfolio, please note the technical glitch has now been resolved. The ELP is available on the following pages of our website:

Animated French resource for First Level

11 May 2015 (Education Scotland)

This animated video resource aims to support and stimulate young language learners by exemplifying pronunciation in French and allowing them to match the written and spoken word. They also aim to support practitioners by offering a platform that can lead to wider learning opportunities.

Read more...

New resources for Gaelic Learner and Medium Education

27 April 2015 (Education Scotland)

New resources for Gaelic Learner and Medium Education

  • National 5 Modern Studies Democracy in Scotland
  • National 3, 4, 5, Higher Media and glossary of terminology
  • National 2 Physical Education, Food, health and wellbeing, Business in Practice and Lifeskills Maths.
  • Advanced Higher Gàidhlig and History.
  • Advanced Higher Gaelic (Learners).

Please visit Glow for previously published support materials, National 3, 4, 5 and Higher Gàidhlig, Gaelic (Learners), and Gaelic Medium mathematics, Lifeskills mathematics, geography, history, modern studies.

Posted in: Gaelic, Resources

Lern Deutsch- Die Stadt der Wörter

24 March 2015 (Goethe Institut London)

"Lern Deutsch - Die Stadt der Wörter" is an online game for learners of German as well as absolute beginners. Beginners are enabled to enlarge their vocabulary and to compare their language skills to others. In addition, basic grammatical structures are learned in a playful way.

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How to teach ... Italian

23 March 2015 (Guardian)

Europe’s language of romance (and pizza) will be vital to the UK over the next 20 years. Here’s how to tackle it in your classroom.

Read more...

Digital European Language Portfolio (ELP)

19 March 2015 (SCILT)

We have now created a digital version of the European Language Portfolio enabling primary pupils to record their language learning journeys electronically.  You can find the ELP on the primary section of the SCILT website.

Read more...

Welcome to Mexico

3 March 2015 (British Council)

To celebrate the visit of the President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto to the UK, we have put together some resources to help schools to celebrate Mexico and the Spanish language. These include

  • A PowerPoint presentation about Mexico that can be used in an assembly
  • A story in Spanish and in English by the Latin American Children’s laureate Francisco Hinojosa (who is from Mexico) El peor senora del mundo/The worst woman in the world 
  • Two lesson ideas using the story – a writing activity and a Spanish activity 
  • An art activity based on the work of Mexican artist Diego Rivera

Access the resource pack on the British Council website.

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'Teaching languages to Caregivers' free resources pack

3 March 2015 (TLC Pack Project)

The European project TLC Pack, 'Teaching languages to Caregivers' has completed its first phase of development and published FREE language learning resources. The resources are primarily aimed at migrants entering or working in the care sector, but as we have found through our pilot testing, they are equally valued by language teachers.

The project will continue to produce a total of 30 video dialogues with accompanying in-class and out-of-class activities; currently printable but ultimately available via an online interactive platform. 

The pilot videos in German, Italian and Spanish can be accessed on the website.  You can also download the attached newsletter giving further details about the project.

Read more...

Related Files

New resource for Gaelic Medium Education: Weather & Climate Change and Media

24 February 2015 (Education Scotland)

The Education Scotland website, Weather and Climate Change, is now available through the medium of Gaelic. This is aimed at providing practitioners with resources to help them include climate change within the curriculum for Gaelic Medium Education.

Resources for Media Studies National 3, National 4, National 5 and Higher for GME are now also available on Glow (login required).

Other Education Scotland websites that are available through the medium of Gaelic are: Scotland's HistoryScotland's Songs, Scotland's Stories, and Scots and Canada.

Read more...

How to teach … German

16 February 2015 (The Guardian)

Deutschland ist wunderschön! Our collection of lesson ideas and resources will help you get students excited about learning German.

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Happy Emperor and other stories

13 February 2015 (SCILT/CISS)

We have great pleasure in launching three new exciting Mandarin ebooks. These motivating stories, activities and suggestions will engage younger learners and will develop their literacy and language skills. We really hope you enjoy using them and please let us know how you have incorporated them into your classroom.

Download the three books in the ‘Happy Emperor’ series through the link below.

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CILT Cymru January 2015 newsletter

22 January 2015 (CILT Cymru)

See the January newsletter from CILT Cymru outlining the latest language news and events in Wales.  There are lots of useful resources and ideas for language teachers to use. 

Related Files

Year of the Sheep Education Pack

15 January 2015 (British Council)

Celebrate Chinese New Year, the Year of the Sheep, on 19 February. Introduce pupils to the differences and similarities between the lives, languages and cultures of people in China and the UK with the Year of the Sheep primary education pack, available to download now on the British Council website.

Read more...

Coffee Break Italian coming soon

14 January 2015 (Radio Lingua)

See the preview episode of Coffee Break Italian and find out about the new course Radio Lingua are launching soon.

Read more...

New job profile on the SCILT website

11 December 2014 (SCILT)

Let your pupils see that languages are valuable in the world of work by visiting the 'Job Profiles' section of the SCILT website. People from a range of sectors - including sport, marketing, technology and many more - explain how language learning has influenced their professional lives.

Our latest addition to the section comes from the Reverend Alan Miller, who describes his language learning experiences and passion for Chinese.

See this and other job profiles on our website now.

Read more...

MTOT blog: The Creative Bag of Tricks #6

4 December 2014 (SCILT)

To support activities for the Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) competition, SCILT is sharing practical ideas for helping learners to write simple poems in the target language. These are published through our “Creative Bag of Tricks” series on the MTOT blog. The second of our items about short form poetry, “Chinese Portraits”, is available to read now on the blog.

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Beyond the Panda education project - new website!

2 December 2014 (RZSS)

Thanks to a partnership with Jaguar Land Rover (China), Sandie Robb, Senior Education Officer for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland got the opportunity recently to visit Chengdu and Ya'an - along with 10 students and 4 staff from Lasswade High School. You can see an excellent video of the trip on the 'Beyond the Panda' new website, which not only includes a wealth of information on the giant panda project but has excellent lesson plans and activities.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland outreach sessions 'Beyond the Panda' and 'Giants' are still available for schools, however they are always revised and redeveloped each year to build on new resources and ideas. Please email Sandie Robb, srobb@rzss.org.uk, for full details.

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Giant Pandas - Modern languages: Second level resource

24 November 2014 (Education Scotland)

Education Scotland has developed a new website on the Giant Pandas.  The website provides access to relevant, contextualised resources to support learning and teaching about giant pandas through Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes.

The resource features information about the arrival of Scotland’s giant pandas, current information about their life at Edinburgh Zoo, an image gallery, videos and learning journeys for languages, sciences and health and wellbeing.

Language teachers will particularly appreciate the second level learning resources which develop understanding and knowledge of the giant pandas through the medium of the modern language.

A learning journey takes learners through a number of foreign language tasks that will build on their knowledge of pandas and allow them to make comparisons between life in Scotland and life in China.

There are also two activity booklets - one in French and one in German - which contain a variety of challenges linked to cross-curricular themes.

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MTOT blog: The Creative Bag of Tricks - “Cinquains”

12 November 2014 (SCILT)

To support activities for the Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) competition, SCILT is sharing practical ideas for helping learners to write simple poems in the target language. These are published through our “Creative Bag of Tricks” series on the MTOT blog. The first of our items about short form poetry, “Cinquains”, is available to read now.

This is #6 in the "Creative Bag of Tricks" series.  If you've missed any of the previous activities these can still be accessed via the blog archive.

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Our Europe’s new Script Centre – an online language tool

12 November 2014 (SEET)

Following on from the launch of this years’ Our Europe Film Competition, the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) has launched ‘Script Centre’. This brand new online language resource is designed to help pupils at various levels of learning construct sentences in foreign languages as well as provide the vocabulary they may need to talk about European issues. SEET aims for this new interactive study aid to assist Our Europe entrants in constructing sentences which they can use within their foreign language scenes. In addition, Script Centre should allow pupils to rely less on input from their teacher in terms of content and be able to express their views more independently, with only grammar needing checked.

The resource is available to any class who wish to use it, all teachers need to do is create an account. Script Centre is accessible via the ‘resources’ page of the Our Europe website or directly at the Script Centre webpage.
 
Please note that the Our Europe Film Competition is still open for registration, with the deadline for submissions being 10th December 2014. More details about the competition as well as links to register can be found at the website provided above.

If you have any questions or experience difficulties in using the resource, please contact: madeleine@seet.org.uk.

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Chinese eBook now online

11 November 2014 (CISS/SCILT)

We are delighted to let you know that the first CISS eBook, Warriors: The Emperor's Incredible Army has now been uploaded to the SCILT website. This free resource was created in partnership with our fantastic colleagues at LFEE and Scottish Opera. The animated book is accompanied by a number of resources which can be used in the classroom.

A number of additional eBooks will be uploaded in due course, so keep your eyes peeled!

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Double Club German

31 October 2014 (UK-German Connection)

With Germany as the current winners of the World Cup, now has never been a better time to kick-start a programme combining football and learning German! Double Club German is an award-winning educational programme for primary and secondary pupils using Arsenal FC to show pupils that language learning can be fun! Teachers have access to a range of recently updated resources, including detailed, step-for-step teachers' notes, interactive PowerPoint presentations and a brand-new, bright and colourful pupils' workbook.

If you are interested in taking part, please contact Steve Eadon, Double Club Languages Coordinator at languages@arsenal.co.uk - expressions of interest will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Note: if organising Double Club German sessions as an after-school activity is not feasible at your school, it can also be run as an activity in lessons or during the lunch-hour.

Double Club German is a project developed and run in partnership between Arsenal FC, the Goethe-Institut London and UK-German Connection.  More information is available on the Arsenal Double Club website.

New resources now include interactive video activities with Arsenal winger and German U19 international, Serge Gnabry. The full set of videos is available to all teachers participating in Double Club: German, however two sample videos are publicly available. 

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Voyage Kids: St Martin's Day special

31 October 2014 (UK-German Connection)

St. Martin's Day is fast approaching (11 November), and children throughout Germany are looking forward to making lanterns and singing songs at a traditional St. Martin's Day procession. Why not teach your pupils about these fascinating German customs with the voyage kids St. Martin's Day Special?

  • Teach your pupils how kids celebrate St. Martin's Day in Germany
  • St. Martin's Day memory game. How quickly can your pupils find the pairs? 
  • Basteln - Make a colourful St. Martin's Day lantern
  • Laterne, Laterne & Ich geh' mit meiner Laterne songs – sing along with your pupils! (featuring recordings from UK primary schools)

Access the resources on the UK-German Connection website.

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MTOT blog: The Creative Bag of Tricks

9 October 2014 (SCILT)

To support activities for the Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition, SCILT is sharing practical ideas for developing creative writing skills through the “Creative Bag of Tricks” series published on the MTOT blog. The fourth item, “I am” poems, is available to read now.

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Oor Wullie has fun weys tae lairn Scots

8 October 2014 (National Library of Scotland)

A website to help primary schoolchildren learn Scots is launched today by the National Library of Scotland.

The 'Oor Wullie guide tae Scots language' site uses the famous cartoon character to get six-to 11-year-olds thinking about and using Scots words.

Several schools across Scotland worked with the Library to develop and test the learning activities, which include quizzes, a 'comic maker' and a word search.

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Introduction to European Cinema 2014

7 October 2014 (The Little Black Book Edinburgh)

Introduction to European Cinema is now in its tenth year and returns with another fantastic selection of classic films curated by specialists in European cinema at the University of Edinburgh. Each film screening is preceded by a brief introduction by Dr Leanne Dawson (Lecturer in German and Film Studies at the University of Edinburgh and IEC Course Organiser) or another University of Edinburgh academic.

The event runs from 1 October to 26 November and offers some screenings in French, German and Russian.

Read more...

GrowStoryGrow

19 September 2014 (GrowStoryGrow)

Every year, to help celebrate the European Day of Languages, GrowStoryGrow opens up its site allowing children all over the world to experience over a hundred enchanting stories, in several different languages, for free.

This year the GrowStoryGrow is free to use from 22 - 29 September 2014 and to link with this year's centenary of World War 1 there is a very poignant story about Remembrance Day.

Visit the website for further information and to access the materials.

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Early Films of China on BFI Player

19 September 2014 (BFI)

Our collection of early films of China (1901-1949) are now available online in the UK (with plans to make them available in China next year). There’s an introduction to the collection on YouTube.

The collection includes clips on:

Thoughts about the films from director Xie Fei, amongst others, are also featured.

This collection is still being researched, so always very grateful to find new information about the films. If anyone has any additional information that they’d like to share (including further information about locations), please can they email Holly Hyams – holly.hyams@bfi.org.uk.

Read more...

Posted in: Chinese, Resources

MTOT blog: The Creative Bag of Tricks

16 September 2014 (SCILT)

To support activities for the Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition, SCILT is sharing practical ideas for developing creative writing skills through the “Creative Bag of Tricks” series published on the MTOT blog. The third item, “Calligrams”, is available to read now.

Read more...

MTOT blog: The Creative Bag of Tricks

10 September 2014 (SCILT)

To support activities for the Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition, SCILT is sharing practical ideas for developing creative writing skills through the “Creative Bag of Tricks” series published on the MTOT blog. The second item, “Metaphor”, is available to read now.

Read more...

Love Languages - French (resource)

10 September 2014 (Into Film)

Interactive languages resource using film to teach French in primary. This is a cross-curricular second level resource with CfE links for Technologies, Expressive Arts, Social Studies, as well as Literacy and Languages and comes with teachers' notes, activity sheets and an accompanying Powerpoint.

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Languages and the Christmas Truce

9 September 2014 (British Council)

Learn some new languages and all about the Christmas truce during WW1 with this activity from the Football Remembers pack.

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Primary languages starter pack

9 September 2014 (British Council)

Our primary languages starter pack contains materials to support teaching of languages in UK primary schools.

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Chinese mid-Autumn Festival - primary education pack

5 September 2014 (British Council)

The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is the second most important festival in the Chinese lunar calendar after Chinese New Year. This year the festival will fall on 8 September. To tie in with the festival, our education pack helps primary schools across the UK explore Chinese culture and language.

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Eurotoolbox 2014-15

4 September 2014 (Goethe-Institut London)

The Eurotoolbox consists of 5 specially chosen collections of children's and youth literature from Europe in the original language - German, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian, with between 12 and 15 books in each language.

The exhibition of books is free to borrow for 2-4 weeks at a time and is available from September.

Visit the Eurotoolbox launch webpage for more information about the collections and contact Mariella Riccobono at the Italian Cultural Institute to arrange a booking slot: maria.riccobono.iic@esteri.it 

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Voyage Kids - back to school special

3 September 2014 (UK-German Connection)

Why not start the new school year by teaching your pupils all about school life in Germany with the 'voyage kids' Back to School special? If you're feeling creative, you could even get started the German way by making 'Schultüten', using our handy step-by-step instructions!

The Back to School Special includes:

  • Find out: A typical school day in Germany 
  • Basteln: Make a Schultüte! 
  • Memory game: How quickly can your pupils find the matching pairs? 
  • 'School words' quizzes

If you're busy planning lessons, you might be interested in our calendar of features, which gives you a 'heads up' about forthcoming seasonal and topical specials on voyage kids.

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An Cogadh Mòr (1914-18)

2 September 2014 (Education Scotland)

Please visit the Education Scotland website for resources to support learning in Gaelic Medium Education about World War I. These resources include looking at the causes of the war, stories from veterans and reflections on the impact of the conflict.

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Japanese teaching resources

1 September 2014 (Japan Foundation)

The Japan Foundation has released two new resources for teaching Japanese - the Japanese Taster Lesson Sample Activity Pack, and the JFL Scheme of Work for Primary Schools. These resources are absolutely free to download and use straight away!

You can find out more about the resources on the Japan Foundation website.

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How I teach – Making the foreign familiar

29 August 2014 (TES)

Combat fear of new languages by using phonics techniques. 

When I began teaching languages, I found that speaking was the biggest obstacle for most pupils. They needed to work on pronunciation, but at that time I had never heard of phonics being used in MFL. However, after speaking to primary teachers about how they used phonics and looking at phonics websites used by French schools, I built up a bank of resources suitable for children from beginners upwards.

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Language Festival 2014

27 August 2014 (The Guardian)

The Guardian and the British Academy are holding a UK-wide Language Festival to celebrate the UK's diverse cultural heritage. The festival will provide a platform for schools, higher education institutions (HEIs), students, policy makers and businesses from across the UK to discuss, debate and explore the academic, cultural and economic benefits of language learning.

Downloadable language resource packs for both primary and secondary students are available on the Guardian website.

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Primary languages: How our partners and supporters can help

19 June 2014 (British Council)

We have compiled resources and opportunities from professional development courses to online libraries and free teaching materials. Visit the Schools Online website and select a language or organisation to find out more.

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Science Across the World

19 June 2014 (ASE)

Science across the World brings an international dimension to science education in schools and colleges.

Students gain a global perspectives on scientific issues related to their personal lives, their impacts on the environment and the varying cultural impacts of science on people in different countries. The project is open to all schools and the key to success is to build up your network of contacts between schools across the world.

Resources are free and most topics are available in several languages.

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New FLAME website

10 June 2014 (ALL)

FLAME is an initiative led by the Association for Language Learning to support the integration of language learning with other curriculum subjects. They hope that the initiative will increase the number of primary and secondary schools that combine subject and language teaching, and that in this way help to transform the quality of language learning in schools. It’s called FLAME Plus and includes information about FLAME and links to cross-curricular primary resources.

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High Five French now available

23 May 2014 (Radio Lingua)

Radio Lingua is delighted to announce that their new resource for primary French learners is now available. High Five French is a collection of video and audio resources featuring Scottish learner Emma and French native speaker Mathilde in a colourful, interactive and engaging format. The resource includes challenge activities, worksheets and teachers' notes with background information, cultural references and classroom ideas. Find out more at the Radio Lingua Schools website.

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UK-German Connection Scholarships Essays

22 May 2014 (UK-German Connection)

Read this year's winning essays on the UK's EU role, language teaching in the future and youth unemployment, written by participants of the German Scholarships Programme 2014.

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CLIL4teachers

21 May 2014 (CLIL4teachers)

CLIL4teachers is part of the Association for Language Learning's FLAME initiative to support cross-curricular approaches to language learning. FLAME stands for Future for Languages as a Medium of Education and our aim is to provide support for cross-curricular language learning and to raise awareness of its benefits. CLIL4teachers enables teachers to share and find learning resources.

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e-Stòras, a new resource for Gaelic Medium Education

19 May 2014 (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar)

The Multimedia Unit of the Education and Children’s Services Department of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has developed a new website to support 3-18 Gaelic Medium Education. Resources support Gàidhlig as well as a range of other curricular areas. The website is being continuously updated with new materials to enhance young people’s learning opportunities through the medium of Gaelic.  For more information, visit the website or contact evelyn.coull@cne-siar.gov.uk.

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New materials for BGE and Senior Phase in different languages from European Parliament

12 May 2014 (European Parliament)

Looking for new materials for BGE and Senior Phase in different languages?

If you would be interested in hosting a talk in your school from the European Parliament Information Office in Edinburgh, please contact:

European Parliament Information Office in Edinburgh
Marta Majchrzyk
Communications Assistant
The Tun
4 Jackson's Entry
Holyrood Road
Edinburgh
EH8 8PJ
+44 (0)131 557 7866
www.europarl.org.uk/edinburgh

Posted in: Resources

Football remembers the 1914 Christmas truce

9 May 2014 (British Council)

An education pack from the British Council is launching today to commemorate the truce. The pack contains accounts from soldiers from Germany, France, Belgium and India who were there in 1914 and wrote about what they had seen.

There is a section of the pack with resources in French and German that can be used to support MFL teaching, as well as video material in those languages

The pack acts as preparation for a mass participation call to action in December 2014 when clubs at every level of the game in the UK (and beyond we hope) will play matches to commemorate the Truce.

We hope that schools will select from these activities, adapt the suggestions and resources for their own use and for use with partner schools, and join in this special Centenary event.

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New resources for secondary German

25 April 2014 (SCILT)

We have uploaded materials to support secondary German onto the SCILT website. These materials were developed by the Modern Languages Department at Greenwood Academy.

The Gruffalo

Are you looking for a different way to teach descriptions to your German classes? Here is a novel approach one teacher took. By using the German translation of The Gruffalo, S2 German learners were exposed to different and unusual vocabulary in an engaging and interesting way.

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Erlkönig

Looking for a way to incorporate the literature of another country into the new Higher syllabus and develop literacy skills among your learners? Here is an approach taken by one teacher which links Erlkönig with Rammstein and develops learners literacy skills at the same time.

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Film to engage and inspire

22 April 2014 (Teaching Scotland)

Teachers working hard to meet the requirements of Curriculum for Excellence will welcome the arrival of FILMCLUB, an education charity which provides free access to thousands of films and educational resources and which, since August 2013, has become widely available to state schools throughout Scotland. The charity helps schools set up and run free film clubs to educate and inspire young people through watching, understanding and making film. With its emphasis on using film to introduce new ideas, arouse curiosity, boost literacy, raise aspirations and spark debate.

Films can be selected by topic or by age. It is also possible to browse films by language.

More information on FILMCLUB is available on the Teaching Scotland website or by accessing the FILMCLUB website directly.

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Felix and Franzi Songs now available

2 April 2014 (Goethe-Institut)

The songs and lyrics accompanying the Felix and Franzi primary materials are now available as a free download from our website. There is also an appendix available providing further information and materials such as flashcards, cultural tips as well as explanations on grammar and sounds.

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Paques en France (resource)

27 March 2014 (Institut français)

Did you know ther is no easter bunny in France, but a lot of flying bells which bring Easter eggs to the French children? Discover through this free ressource online for P5-P7 the tradition of "Paques en France" with your class.

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The Voyage: Easter Special

27 March 2014 (UK-German Connection)

The voyage Easter special will be online from 31 March, featuring quizzes, articles and recipes on Easter in Germany and the UK - read about the Ostereiersuche and Osterfeuer, and try your hand at making an Osterzopf!

Easter in Germany 

Ostern in Großbritannien

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Extending listening sticks (primary resource)

25 March 2014 (Primary Language Learning Today)

The blog outlines the use of “Listening Sticks” and how these could be used to encourage children to practise listening and responding for key information. The sticks can contain any core language you have been practising.

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What's so funny about German?

19 March 2014 (Routes into Languages NE)

Stand-up comedian, Henning Wehn, takes a humorous look at the German language in ten short videos.

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Languages on Screen

19 March 2014 (Languages on Screen)

Languages on Screen is an exciting new educational resource that puts French, German, Spanish and Italian - and soon Gaelic, short films online for free download and use in schools across Scotland. With a Glow username and password you have free access to these educational resources - you simply login to this site via Glow. If you don’t have a login you can request one via the website.

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Resource pack for GME to develop learning on Commonwealth Games

17 March 2014 (Education Scotland/Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig)

Education Scotland have supported Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig with a resource pack for Gaelic Medium Education to develop learning on Commonwealth Games.

The pack includes: 

  • posters illustrating the Commonwealth flags 
  • posters illustrating the 17 sports which will be at the Glasgow Games
  • fact cards about the sports 
  • fact cards about  the Commonwealth countries.
This pack has potential to be used as part of interdisciplinary learning for which the Commonwealth Games are used as a context. The resource presents opportunities for applying learning in numeracy and mathematics and literacy and Gàidhlig.   

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Posted in: Gaelic, Resources

Into Film

13 March 2014 (Into Film)

Into Film seeks to put film at the heart of children and young people's learning, contributing to their cultural, creative and personal development. Our UK-wide programme of learning through and about film provides 5-19 year olds with unparalleled opportunities to see, think, make and imagine. Visit our website for details of the free resources and opportunities available in your area to support all curriculum areas.

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Audio Lingua

12 March 2014 (Audio Lingua)

Audio-Lingua offers mp3 recordings in several languages. It is a collaborative bank of authentic audio resources, recorded by native speakers, and can be searched by level, topic and language.

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Pop from Germany – our Spotify playlist

10 March 2014 (Goethe-Institut)

Discover the brand new playlist Pop from Germany on Spotify and combine language learning with the enjoyment of music. Spotify is a digital music service that can be used free of charge.

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Videos/podcasts for learning German

7 March 2014 (Miss Myers: Learning Languages)

Revise numbers, learn to tell the time and talk about your day with native German speakers.

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Youth Ambassadors online magazine

7 March 2014 (UK-German Connection)

The latest edition of our online magazine, written by the UK-German Youth Ambassadors, is available now!

With content in both English and German, this edition focuses on society, integration and social inclusion as well as discrimination and exclusion. It features articles on inclusion in education, discrimination in the fashion industry, dealing with Alzheimer's disease, the effect of technology on society, and much more! You'll also find a fantastic podcast on whether the German East-West divide still exists in people's minds.

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Oxford MFL workshop: Joe Dale – Languages and new technologies

6 March 2014 (YouTube)

As part of a series of free workshops by Oxford University Press for MFL teachers, Joe Dale presented this session on Languages and new technologies.

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Introduction to iPads in the primary language classroom

18 February 2014 (Lisibo)

See the presentation shared at the #ililc4 conference last week on using iPads in the primary language classroom.  The blog also includes links to further ideas and information including lists of useful apps.

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New Resources for Language Students: Creating the Global Graduate - Sell your language skills on your CV

18 February 2014 (Routes into Languages Cymru)

This new set of resources, authored by the Careers Department at Cardiff University and in partnership with Routes into Languages Cymru, includes a Sample Languages CV Format and a Cronological CV which will show how those studying languages or those who have language skills can present their skills and experiences in the most effective way possible. With a greater call for ‘global graduates’ the resources also include Tips for the Year Abroad for Language Students which will give ideas on how to make the best of time spent abroad and to continue to build on the CV whilst studying.

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Arsenal DC Challenges - Brazil World Cup 2014

17 February 2014 (Routes into Languages (London))

This activity aims to harness the enthusiasm surrounding the Brazil 2014 World Cup and provide an ideal opportunity for your students to:

  • learn more about Brazil and the Brazilian World Cup
  • pick up some basic Portuguese
  • develop their team work and creativity whilst drawing on a range of skills across ICT, Geography, Languages, Numeracy, Art and Design and PE.

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World Stories

14 February 2014 (Global Dimension)

One in eight children in the UK speaks a language other than English as their first language. This website is a growing collection of short stories, both new and traditional, from all around the world. The stories are available in English, plus their original language, and can be read and listened to online, or downloaded, all for free.

Read more...

ML resources for Valentines Day

13 February 2014 (TES)

Use the following resources to celebrate St Valentine's Day in the modern languages classroom:

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resources.

Urdu teaching materials for National 4 and 5

12 February 2014 (Education Scotland)

Education Scotland has new Urdu teaching materials for National 4 and National 5 available on GLOW.  You will need a GLOW userid and password to access these resources.

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Justin Bieber: L’expulser des États-Unis ?

11 February 2014 (Mary Glasgow)

Tell your students about Justin Bieber with Mary Glasgow news.

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Olympic Games quiz in French

11 February 2014 (Canadian Games website)

Try this quiz with your class and test their knowledge of the summer and winter Olympic Games.

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Voyage Kids - Karneval Special

11 February 2014 (UK-German Connection)

Karneval / Fasching is on its way! That's right, from 27 February to 5 March, large parts of Germany will descend into a jamboree of fancy dress, sweet-throwing and general merrymaking. Why not teach your pupils all about it with the voyage kids Karneval special?

This year's special includes an interactive 'through the telescope' feature, an online jigsaw, a quiz, and, of course, the ever-popular Karneval-esque song by a singing hairdresser! (with worksheet and PPTs to teach the vocabulary in the song).

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Linguaswap

6 February 2014 (ECML)

European Language Label 2013 award winner Linguaswap is a moderated language swapping and learning web-site specifically for second level students developed by teachers Anne Burke, Aisling Crowley , Rhoda Brookes & Siobhan Carley in Carnew, Ireland.

The European Language Label is an annual award given to projects where participants have found creative ways to improve the quality of language teaching, motivate students, and make the best of available resources. As part of a promotional offer, all users can sign up for one year's free membership for a limited time only.

Watch the YouTube video to learn more about the ELL winning project and visit the Linguaswap website.

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Watch Bradley Cooper speak French at the American Hustle Paris Premiere

5 February 2014 (Grazia)

Ooh la la! Bradley Cooper can speak French, but which other leading men have language skills?

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Promoting spontaneous speaking

3 February 2014 (TES)

Templates to make it quick and easy to include varied speaking activities in lessons. Examples are in French and German but these could be adapted to any language/key stage.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

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How to celebrate the Winter Olympics - primary Spanish resource

3 February 2014 (Zapatito Ingles blog)

A selection of ideas to help celebrate the Winter Olympics with your primary Spanish learners.

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Spanish Football/Soccer Idioms

3 February 2014 (One Year in Spanish blog)

Talk football with your pupils and teach Spanish sports idioms.

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A Chinese New Year story for children

27 January 2014 (GrowStoryGrow)

A video, lesson plan and resources to support this Chinese New Year story for young learners.

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Transport in Spanish

27 January 2014 (One Year in Spanish blog)

Infographic to display on your white board and/or classroom blog, which might be handy to help Spanish students to remember the correct prepositions for means of transport.

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What's hot - resources

24 January 2014 (TES)

In this week's round-up of resources in TES magazine, the following have been highlighted for the modern language classroom:

  • No 6 - En ville - a PowerPoint presentation that introduces phrases to help S1-S3 French students describe their home town.
  • No 10 - Spanish spats - a collection of slides to help S1-S3 students argue in Spanish.

You will need a TES userid and password to access these resources.

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Encouraging the use of target language: French

24 January 2013 (TES)

Collection of display and support materials for secondary students.

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Subject choices - promoting languages

23 January 2014 (SCILT)

If you are looking for ways of persuading pupils, parents and school managers that learning Modern Languages is a positive choice, then look no further. The team at SCILT have prepared some materials, ideas and suggestions that may help you.

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Glasgow Youth Film Festival 2014

22 January 2014 (Glasgow Film Festival)

The Glasgow Youth Film Festival 2014 runs from 31 January to 7 February 2014 and offers a programme of screenings for both primary and secondary schools, including foreign language films:

Primary:

  • Le Gruffalo et le petit Gruffalo (French)
  • Sputnik (German)

Secondary:

  • Playground Chronicles (Chroniques d’une cour de récré) (French)
  • Sputnik (German)
  • O Apóstolo (Spanish)

Full details of all the screenings and how to book are on the Glasgow Film Festival website.

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Speak to the Future 1000 Words Challenge

19 January 2014 (Vocab Express)

Sign up for your free Vocab Express account to learn the first 1,000 words in a new language!

Vocab Express is proud to be the official partner of the Speak To The Future 1,000 Words campaign for vocabulary learning and has teamed up with Oxford University Press to develop vocabulary lists to enable you to learn the first 1,000 words of a new language.

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Les expressions idiomatiques

19 January 2014 (TES)

A matching activity for some idiomatic french expressions for your S1-S3 students. The images are from TV Monde.  You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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Online Resources for Teachers & Students

19 January 2014 (TES)

A booklet detailing some key free online websites which can be used in the teaching and learning of modern languages.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resources.

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What’s Hot - resources

17 January 2014 (TES)

Amongst this week's list of 'What's Hot' resources in TES magazine.

At number 7 is Facebook French - a PowerPoint-based lesson for developing French reading skills that imagines what Marie Antoinette would write on her Facebook page. For S1-S3.

At number 9 is Los Colores - a presentation on colours in Spanish. For S1-S3.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resources.

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My best lesson - Language learning goes high-tech with TED talks

17 January 2014 (TES)

I teach English as a foreign language at a high school in Stockholm, Sweden. My students are part of a cross-curricular technology programme, so I try to incorporate technology into my lessons as much as possible. One of my favourite methods is to use the hugely popular TED talks, in which prominent or knowledgeable figures explore issues of technology, entertainment and design.

Why not use the TED talks to promote discussion in the modern languages classroom?

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The Silk Road

17 January 2014 (RGS)

For schools looking for IDL ideas, there are some interesting materials and photos from an exhibition provided by the Royal Geographical Society on the link below. The images might be used as a context for any language to discuss countries, weather, clothes, houses, etc. Worth a look!

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Need help convincing children to take GCSE Spanish?

16 January 2014 (One Year in Spanish blog)

A resource to help persuade students to make a Spanish GCSE choice, that allows you to discuss the question of ‘Why learn Spanish?’ during your Spanish language lesson. There is even an extension activity, asking pupils to create a PowerPoint presentation that will convince others to take up GCSE Spanish.

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New Paul Hamlyn resources now available

15 January 2014 (Film Club)

In 2013 we launched three exciting inclusion projects alongside The Paul Hamlyn Foundation, focusing on using film to help students who face different forms of disadvantage.

The project is well underway now, with approximately 50 schools on each strand — Identity and Belonging, Rural Inclusion and SEN Inclusion. Now, a new selection of films have been added to each strand, along with brand new resources for each. These additions now mean that each film on the project has a free, accompanying resource to really enrich their screenings.

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Plus ... que + age! - resource

15 January 2014 (TES)

Useful lesson starter or online homework listening practice for introducing comparisons in French. 'Plus .. que' + age. Useful for encouraging chat about birthdays and being older or younger than somebody else. Suitable for Primary to early Secondary levels. You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

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Spanish Worksheet - Leisure activities

15 January 2014 (TES)

Spanish Vocabulary exercises to reinforce and expand the vocabulary for Leisure and Free Time activities. Suitable for secondary learners.

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La crisis energética - resource

13 January 2014 (TES)

This is a starter activity for students to consider the problem of the energy crisis, and provides a list of verbs for them to suggest ideas/solutions to the problem. Suitable for Senior Phase Spanish students. You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

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Henri Matisse - Colours, shapes and opinions

12 January 2014 (TES)

Cross-curricular PowerPoint and worksheet to introduce Matisse's work to BGE French learners whilst learning colours, shapes and opinions.

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How I Teach - Simulate a culture clash

10 January 2014 (TES)

When teaching about intercultural issues, it is crucial to let students experience how it feels to be culturally isolated from another person. A great way of doing this is through a game I like to call Ninja Chopsticks.

This article includes several ideas to introduce Japanese language and culture to your students. You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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New materials for the German classroom - Youth in Germany

7 January 2014 (Goethe-Institut)

The 2013 calendar JUGEND in DEUTSCHLAND provides materials on themes such as ‘Hobby & Freizeit’, ‘Zukunft’, ‘Freundschaft’ and can now be downloaded from the Goethe-Institut website. This resource contains topical information, authentic texts and comes with teaching resources and worksheets for each of the 12 themes presented in this file.

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Film Study Days for Pupils S4 - S6

7 January 2014 (Goethe-Institut)

We are pleased to announce two further screenings of Colour of the Ocean accompanied by discussion and language specific workshops (German, French, Spanish). This recent German feature film mixes three languages in a testimony to a multilingual world. It is ideal to stimulate and motivate Modern Language students while exploring themes from the wider curriculum.

The film study days are jointly organised by the Institut Français d’Ecosse, the Spanish Consejeria de Educación and the Goethe-Institut Glasgow and will take place on 17 January and 7 February.2014 at the Goethe-Institut Glasgow and Institut Français d’Ecosse.

Visit the Goethe-Institut website for further details and to book.

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Teachersmedia

6 January 2014 (Teachersmedia)

Teacher’s Media International provide online professional development services for the education sector. Sign up for free to access a range of video clips sharing best practice in both primary and secondary modern language classroom settings.

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The LearnGaelic Beginner's Course

6 January 2014 (LearnGaelicNet)

Why not try LearnGaelicNet’s new online course as an introduction to the language?

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Big Bang Theory - Meine Routine

18 December 2013 (TES)

A resource for secondary German pupils.  Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory describes his very precise daily routine. The text is followed by true / false questions, a find the phrase exercise, a manipulation exercise, and a reminder about the verb needing to be the second idea.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

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Free Christmas stories

17 December 2013 (GrowStoryGrow)

GrowStoryGrow is offering some free stories for Christmas in English, French, Spanish and German - the nativity amongst others.

Visit the website and log in (via the red button on the top right hand side of the screen)
username: Christmas
password: stories

Read more...

How I Teach - Stay afloat in Spanish lessons

13 December 2013 (TES)

Can Japanese poetry really help with another language? Si, si.

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Marché de Noël/Christmas market – lesson plan

12 December 2013 (One Year in Spanish blog)

There are about 25 notable Christmas markets or Marchés de Noël in France. Among these the traditional Christmas market in Strasbourg is the oldest and one of the largest. It dates back to the 16th century and spreads from the place de la Cathédrale throughout the city.

In our French beginners’ magazine Allons-y !, we have an article about the Christmas market in Strasbourg. It provides a glimpse into the magical world of its market stalls and local produce. It also gives information about the history of the town itself. Why not use this article with your students in class?

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Year 7 looking for conjugations of “Vivir” in the article ¡Vivimos aquí!

9 December 2013 (One Year in Spanish blog)

Sue’s Y7 students are doing detective work: They are looking for conjugations of “Vivir” in the article ¡Vivimos aquí!  I always thought this is a great starter to learning verbs: familarizing oneself with the way its conjugations look through discovering them in an authentic text.  Additionally, knowing the various ways a verb can look is a great tool for accessing written texts. It’s a fantastic reading tool. See how many conjugations your students can find in our article!

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50 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Languages

5 December 2013 (Edudemic)

Learning another language is important. And even in the United States (where learning non-native language has typically been lagging a bit behind many other countries), nearly all students are studying another language.

Languages are a part of everyday life – whether you speak one or more, they are one of the main keys of communication. Other than being able to speak a language (or not being able to speak it) there are a lot of fun facts about languages more generally.

Read on to discover more.

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Festive gift for your Spanish lessons

5 December 2013 (Pearson Education)

Your pupils know about Navidad, but have they heard about El Dìa de los Reyes Magos? As a special festive gift we're giving you a whole unit to explain about this very traditional Spanish festival from ¡Viva! 1, our new Spanish course. Just add sweets! Download the free unit now.

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Christmas resources – Spanish, French and German

4 December 2013 (The Language Point)

Christmas resources for use or adaptation with students learning Spanish, French and German.

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Der Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt

4 December 2013 (DaF-Gewinnspiel)

A German grammar exercise on the passive present tense.

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Food and Drink – Likes and Dislikes

4 December 2013 (German Teacher Resources)

Powerpoint and worksheet for the German language classroom on cognates for food and simple opinions.

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Flipping the Learning in MFL

3 December 2013 (fliplearningmfl)

A blog detailing our journey through flipping the MFL classroom in the UK in a techy school on the outskirts of Southampton, Hampshire, including podcasts, videos and lesson plans.

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Festive Phrases: free video lessons each day of December

2 December 2013 (Radio Lingua Schools)

Access our daily episodes of Festive Phrases and learn to say “Happy Christmas” or “Happy New Year” to 2.6 billion people around the world!

The Festive Phrases course is available to members only, but you can sign up for a free account with Radio Lingua Schools.

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What’s Hot? – Fancy Flash Cards

29 November 2013 (TES)

An introduction to colour words in Spanish for your early primary learners.  You will need a TES userid and password to access the resources.

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TeachMeet Presentations

28 November 2013 (SALT)

Many of the presentations delivered at November’s SALT TeachMeet are now available in the members area. You must be registered as a SALT member to access these.

Read more...

Related Links

Presentations from TeachMeet Languages Glasgow (audio file) EduTalk, 4 November 2013

Secondary German

28 November 2013 (SALT)

Some new Secondary level German teaching materials have been published in the member area. You will need to register, or already be registered, as a SALT member to access these resources.

Read more...

Advanced Higher French

28 November 2013 (SALT)

A set of Advanced Higher French teaching materials are now available in the members area of the website. You will need to register, or already be registered, as a SALT member to access these resources.

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Free Language Lessons and Courses

26 November 2013 (Multilingual Books)

We have gathered together here a number of free language lessons and language courses for those learning languages, along with some other language resources, such as online courses and exercises, podcasts, video lessons, alphabets, dictionaries, lexicons, verb conjugations, language communities, newspapers, articles, and books.

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Les vacances par Philippe

25 November 2013 (Francotoile)

Listen to children from Quebec speaking about school and holidays.  A useful listening resource for the French classroom.

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Catching Fire – article and lesson plan!

22 November 2013 (One Year in Spanish blog)

Have you watched the new Hunger Games film yet? We wrote about it in our November/December issue of Ahora. It’s a big hit with teens world-wide, we’re sure your students would love to have an excuse to talk about it in class!

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My best lesson - Turn language learning into a guessing game

22 November 2013 (TES)

What is the eternal fascination with guessing games? Shakespeare's work is full of riddles, the Victorians played charades, my own offspring loved Pictionary and schoolchildren will grab a pen and play hangman at any opportunity.

As a teacher of languages - French, Spanish and English as a foreign language - I have always tried to tap into this fascination as a way of helping students of all ages to learn vocabulary and structures.

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German Advent lesson plan

21 November 2013 (One Year in Spanish blog)

To start our new page of German MFL teaching posts, Britta has written about the beginning of the Christmas season.

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Five closure activities for a world language classroom

20 November 2013 (Classroom 2.0)

There are so many parts of a lesson that each teacher wants to successfully teach. I'm sure we all have different opinions on which parts are most important. But what happens when you have only a minute or two left and you don’t want to miss your closure? As a Spanish teacher, I often teach a grammar lesson and then feel that I have to rush my closure as the minutes tick by. I would like to share a few ideas to do as a wrap up at the end of the period…

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Coffee Break German – Lesson 28

20 November 2013 (Radio Lingua)

In this new lesson in our series you’ll learn to talk about likes and dislikes in German.

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Music and Mandarin

20 November 2013 (Create Your World Book blog)

Melody and rhythm are important to learning a tonal language like Mandarin, but learning a tonal language through music is not the same as learning a non-tonal language like French. Listening to the language’s melody is critically important if you want to learn correct pronunciation or understand natural speech, but real ‘music’ – as in songs – is somewhat less helpful (although not useless) in learning pronunciation than it is in other languages.

I think about melody and music much more in learning Mandarin than I ever have when learning any other language. Scientific research has also confirmed that tonal languages share space with musical memory in the brain. In this post, I would like to share the many ways that thinking musically will help you advance in Mandarin, as well as how to (and how not to) use songs as part of your language learning.

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The Voyage/Voyage Kids Christmas Specials

18 November 2013 (UK-German Connection)

The festive season approaches, and our websites for both primary and secondary pupils will be full of UK-German seasonal cheer with our Christmas Special!

Your pupils can: 

  • find out about St. Nikolaus and Knecht Ruprecht - Have they earned presents or the Rute on 6 December? 
  • practise their festive vocab with a Christmas memory game and jigsaw 
  • sing along to German carols such as Stille Nacht and Kling, Glöckchen 
  • learn Christmas facts, play games and enter this year's Christmas competition in our interactive Advent calendar (online from 1 December) 
  • learn how to bake a Lebkuchenhaus and Herrenplätzchen

Follow the links below to the relevant magazine pages:

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New youth profile on the Auf Deutsch website

15 November 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

In this new video clip Felix is telling about his life in a small village in Bavaria and in particular about his project “Plant-for-the-planet”. The video is available with English subtitles and in addition an interactive transcript is provided to make it easily accessible to young learners.

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Latin teen celebrities – Y7(S1)/Level 1 lesson plan

14 November 2013 (One Year in Spanish blog)

Sue’s Year 7s have been working with the article ¡Uau! ¿Son Latinos?. As groups, they had to work out the meaning of the different paragraphs – as you can see and hear in the video.

Our Teacher’s Notes writer suggests that this article is a great springboard for beginners to learn to write a brief biography that introduces a person to a group.

Article and lesson plan available for free download.

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Ascolta Il Tuo Cuore

14 November 2013 (Lyrics Training)

Italian pop song by Laura Pausini with lyrics and games for beginner to advanced level.

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Succeed with SCHOLAR

11 November 2013 (SCHOLAR)

New ‘How To’ video tutorials are available to help teachers familiarise themselves with SCHOLAR. “Succeed with SCHOLAR” is a new course that is available to teachers (a student version of the course is coming soon) after logging in to SCHOLAR, featuring a series of short 'How To' video tutorials that provide explanations and advice about how to make the best use of key aspects of the online materials.

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French, English, German – call for blogging MFL teachers!

11 November 2013 (One Year in Spanish blog)

We are thrilled to announce that we will soon be adding pages for French, English and German to our blog, and we would love you to join in and use these pages to post your own teaching ideas. Whether you have testimonies, activities, lesson plans, pictures of classroom displays, student work or performances from your classroom to share with the world, we would love to hear from you. This is your invitation to become one of our guest bloggers!

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Molly le chat

11 November 2013 (Sylvia Duckworth)

A Google Presentations interactive story where you choose the adventure Molly the cat takes.

Also see how to make a “choose your own adventure” story with Google apps via the link below.

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¿Qué hora es? – El tiempo pasa volando

10 November 2013 (neiljones.org)

The resources attached to this post are linked to teaching the time in Spanish to beginners. In slides 22 and 59 there are links to some great websites where you can get some interactive practice taking place. The site contains a variety of resources and teaching ideas for secondary Spanish and French, with a small section on teaching numbers in Mandarin Chinese.

Read more...

Double Club primary and secondary resources updated

8 November 2013 (UK-German Connection)

A reminder that the primary and secondary versions of the award-winning Arsenal FC Double Club: German resources have been updated for the 2013-14 season.

In particular, the primary module has been completely overhauled, with detailed, step-for-step teachers' notes, interactive PowerPoint presentations and a brand-new, bright and colourful pupils' workbook.

Visit the Double Club website for more information.

Read more...

What’s Hot - cinéma français

8 November 2013 (TES)

A comprehension activity inspired by trailers for French- language films for secondary students. A great resource to use as a starting point for a lesson on French cinema, this reading activity is fun and focuses on key language skills.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

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Chinese TV - “Dad, where shall we go?”

6 November 2013 (YouTube)

A Chinese TV programme, on YouTube, which gives insight into China and the Chinese and is very good for pupils who may not know a lot about China even if they have a Chinese background.

There are subtitles all the way through so it is suitable for many types of classes/teachers/pupils. It is a TV series called: “Dad, where shall we go?” Children and their fathers are followed in various places in China. The programme aims to develop the independence of the child, to develop them as responsible citizens and get them to think and stand on their own two feet.

Follow the link below to the first episode of 爸爸去哪儿

Read more...

Coffee Break French

5 November 2013 (Radio Lingua)

In lesson two of our new series, we’ll be listening to Sylvie’s reply to Monique’s email from last week.

Read more...

9 jokes for Spanish learners

4 November 2013 (Mary Glasgow)

Reír es sano – laughing is healthy – is what they say in Spain. To help you restore your energy levels for the count-down to Christmas, we have compiled a list of 9 Spanish jokes – with a linguistic twist. Do you know what it is?

Read more...

Posted in: Spanish, Resources

GrowStoryGrow

1 November 2013 (GrowStoryGrow)

GrowStoryGrow is launching 50 new bite-sized stories in 6 different languages in summer 2014.

Find out more on the GrowStoryGrow website. 

Read more...

Related Links

On the website you will also find a story for Guy Fawkes and Remembrance Day, available for free until the end of November.   Visit GrowStoryGrow.

What's hot?

1 November 2013 (TES)

Resources for the MFL classroom from TES:

  • Onze, douze, treize - an activity for practising counting in French for lower primary pupils.
  • Spanish scenes - a worksheet on towns and neighbourhoods for senior phase Spanish lessons. Fantastic for revision of key vocabulary and for practising dictionary skills.

You will need a TES userid and password to access these resources.

Read more...

Si, Si, Si publication for primary Spanish

1 November 2013 (Consejería de Educacíon)

Si, Si, Si is an effective tool for teaching Spanish to children from five years. The materials have been designed in such a way that they can be used by teachers with limited Spanish proficiency in most educational settings. Each volume includes: lesson plans, vocabulary cards, worksheets, audio and video scripts, songs, multimedia activities and flash animations.

Read more...

A Level French Phrases Bookmarks

1 November 2013 (TES)

A bookmark to help senior phase students use idiomatic expressions in their speaking & writing.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

Read more...

YazikOpen: Open access research in teaching and learning modern foreign languages

31 October 2013 (YazikOpen)

YazikOpen is an online directory linking to over 4000 items of FREE open access research into the teaching and learning of Modern Foreign Languages.

Whether you are a student, a language teacher or a researcher how wants to learn more about how people learn languages then YazikOpen is for you.

Read more...

‘German with Felix and Franzi’

31 October 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

‘German with Felix and Franzi’ is a brand new resource to support the teaching of German in the Primary School.

The content has been developed by German native speakers in partnership with UK primary teachers. Children will be introduced to the language by a frog called Felix Frosch and a duck called Franzi Ente. A central element of the course is to enable the children to develop cultural awareness of aspects of life in German speaking countries as well as creating a love for language learning.

The resource is free to download from the Goethe-Institut website. 

Read more...

Voyage Kids - St. Martin's Day Special (German resource)

30 October 2013 (UK-German Connection)

St. Martin's Day is fast approaching (on 11 November), and children throughout Germany are looking forward to making lanterns and singing songs at a traditional St. Martin's Day procession.

Why not teach your pupils about these fascinating German customs with the Voyage Kids St. Martin's Day Special?

  • Teach your pupils how kids celebrate St. Martin's Day in Germany
  • St. Martin's Day memory game. How quickly can your pupils find the pairs? 
  • Basteln - Make a colourful St. Martin's Day lantern
  • Laterne, Laterne & Ich geh' mit meiner Laterne songs – sing along with your pupils! (featuring recordings from UK primary schools)

Read more...

Introducing High Five French

29 October 2013 (Radio Lingua)

Coming soon from Radio Lingua: learn French with Emma and Mathilde in our audio and video French lessons for children.

High Five French is aimed at learners aged 8-11 and encourages children to build their language skills, increase their understanding and to develop an awareness of another culture. Topics covered include greetings, personal information, birthdays, home, family, pets, clothes, sports and pastimes.

Full details of the course will be released in the coming weeks and months.

Read more...

Monsters University Helps you Learn Spanish with Translated Trailers

28 October 2013 (Learning Spanish for Beginners)

Learn Spanish with ‘Monsters University’! Really engaging way to learn using a movie trailer.

Read more...

Coffee Break French

28 October 2013 (Radio Lingua)

In this first episode of our new series, we’ll be listening to Monique’s first email to her daughter Sylvie. As we heard in the season preview last week, Sylvie has recently moved to Paris and, like any mother, Monique is worrying about her daughter, but is equally excited for her as she begins this new adventure.

Read more...

Celebrity Linguists

25 September 2013 (TES)

List of celebrity quotes about the value of language learning from CILT, put into powerpoint, plus pictures (Google Images) for corridor display.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

Read more...

Harry and his magical friends (German resource)

24 October 2013 (TES)

Using J K Rowling’s novels, this worksheet contains five tasks to enable your secondary students to develop reading, writing and speaking skills in the context of describing self and others in German.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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TECLA online magazine – October 2013 now available

23 October 2013 (Consejería de Educación)

Tecla is an online publication for teachers and students of Spanish. It is published monthly by the Consejería de Educación in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

It includes texts for levels A (beginner), B (intermediate) and C (advanced) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, besides learning tasks and their solutions. It is also accompanied by recordings of the written texts.

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Hallowe'en: Potion Magique (resource)

23 October 2013 (TES)

A PowerPoint to introduce your secondary pupils to some Halloween vocabulary in French, to practise quantities and to enable them to write their own magic potion recipes.

Follow the link below to access a German version.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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Related Links

German version of Geekie’s Potion Magique (TES, 17 October 2013)

Speaking task on personal information (French resource)

23 October 2013 (TES)

Activities for your Senior Phase French students including:

  1. map of France with task to do first (optional)
  2. Cards with new 'identities'
  3. Find someone who - personal details/description/likes/ dislikes (round 1)
  4. Find someone who - town/part of France one comes from (round 2).

You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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Describe Van Gogh's bedroom (German resource)

23 October 2013 (TES)

Sequence of questions relating to Van Gogh's painting of his bedroom. Practice of colour, prepositions, and bedroom objects. For the first set of questions, students can see the painting. For the second set they have to do it from memory. Suitable for S1-S3 German students.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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Embedded Recordings to go with Embedded Readings

23 October 2013 (Palmyra Spanish blog)

One thing I know my students need more exposure to is listening to the target language from someone other than me. Today I tried an activity using the Mary Glasgow website that worked well and required little preparation. News recordings and readings are available in Spanish and French at different levels.

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Coffee Break French – Season 4 (Episode 400)

21 October 2013 (Radio Lingua)

Welcome to this brand new season of Coffee Break French, and in this opening introductory episode, Mark and Pierre-Benoît talk about what you can expect in this season. They introduce two of the featured characters in the series, Sylvie and Matthieu, both of whom have recently moved to Paris for work.

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Videofrancaisful. You Tube Channel of video clips

19 October 2013 (TES)

Video clips on a variety of topics, themes and skill areas for your French classroom. Use as starters, motivators and presentations to engage your students with the target language. Always check the clip before use in the classroom as a wide range of age groups are catered for.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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Murder mystery lesson - food & drink

18 October 2013 (TES)

Thinking skills on food & drink for your secondary French students - a family have been poisoned, pupils use clues and menu to work out what they chose in the restaurant and which food they all had in their meal that poisoned them.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

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El Día de los Muertos – the Day of the Dead

18 October 2013 (One Year in Spanish)

El Día de los Muertos is celebrated between the 31st of October and 2nd of November. To help you to introduce your students to the Mexican holiday and to encourage your students to take part in the festivities we have prepared a variety of resources for you to download. First up our article ¡Viva el Dia de los Muertos!

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Spanish Halloween Flashcards

18 October 2013 (Lanternfish)

These Spanish Halloween flashcards can be used to teach the rooms of a house, prepositions of place, furniture in a house, and lots of monsters!

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Shopping for food - how much does it/do they cost?

17 October 2013 (TES)

This activity develops the use of the question 'How much does it/do they cost?' in Spanish and the response using euros. Incorporates cross-curricular themes: literacy and numeracy in the primary classroom.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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Spanish Quiz - General Knowledge

17 October 2013 (TES)

A Powerpoint quiz to introduce pupils to Spanish through some general knowledge on culture and language.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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Introductions: Meeting & Greeting in French

15 October 2013 (TES)

Simple introductions in French for young beginners. A video to add a bit of joy to learning French if you have online access to YouTube. It introduces them to Billy - star of lots of other free resources by agreenmouse.

You will need a TES userid and password to access these materials.

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Eurotoolbox

15 October 2013 (CILT Cymru)

Children’s and youth literature from Europe, in the original language: French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. The collection can be borrowed free for 2-4 weeks.

See the Eurotoolbox webpage for more information and how to book the resources.

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Language Launchpad - Graduate Career Interviews

15 October 2013 (European Commission/ThirdYearAbroad)

The European Commission has teamed up with ThirdYearAbroad.com to interview UK language graduates and discover how their language skills have benefited their careers. 

The graduates featured in the clips have found work in business, finance, the media, the police, international development, education, sport, diplomacy and translation thanks to their language abilities and the skills developed on the year abroad.

There are fourteen two-minute video interviews, each featuring a different graduate, and one longer five-minute video summarising the key message that languages boost your career.

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How I Teach - Seeking the right words

11 October 2013 (TESS)

If students are unable to speak English, how can they learn Spanish or French?

Alex Harrison, a foreign languages teacher in North London, outlines his techniques for addressing this issue.

The item also contains a list of Top 10 resources for teaching your French, German and Spanish learners.  You will need a TES userid and password to access the resources.

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Halloween ideas for modern languages

11 October 2013 (Education Scotland)

Education Scotland’s resource calendar contains links to a selection of Hallowe’en resources in French, German, Italian and Spanish.

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Discovery Film Festival 2013 - language films for schools

10 October 2013 (Dundee Contemporary Arts)

The Discovery Film Festival 2013 takes place between 19 October and 3 November and offers a variety of foreign language films for all ages.

Opening this year's festival is the UK premiere of 'Victor and the Secret of Crocodile Mansion' – a hugely enjoyable mystery thriller that will have all the family guessing as to exactly what lies behind the secrets of Crocodile Mansion. Suspenseful and atmospheric, it’s a classic Hitchcockian mystery for thrill seekers aged eight upwards. Screening is in German with English subtitles and open to the public.

For schools, there is a programme of events running from 22 - 31 October, with screenings suitable for primary and secondary students in a variety of languages including French, German, Spanish, Russian and Japanese.

See the DCA website for full programme details.

The schools programme and booking information can also be accessed directly via the link below.

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Inspiring Projects

10 October 2013 (Speak to the Future)

We’re highlighting inspiring projects happening across the country which are promoting languages to the wider public – showing those in the languages community what you could do, and helping to give those outside an insight into the value of languages and language learning.

There are a host of projects and websites covering a number of languages for all ages – take a look and see what will inspire you.

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Flexible Learning: New German Online Course

9 October 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

This online course suits those with busy schedules who want to learn German fast. The course enables you to study an entire level in just 4 months. On offer are levels A1 (A1.1 & A1.2) and A2 (A2.1 & A2.2).

The course will be fully online through use of tailor-made online materials. Please plan to spend about 7 study hours per week. There will be written interaction with your fellow students on a dedicated website, regualr tutor support and virtual conferences for practising speaking with others.

Visit the Goethe-Institut website for further information and to enrol by 24 October 2013.

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Hallowe’en activities – German

8 October 2013 (SCILT)

See our Vampirschule resources for S1-S3 pupils.

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Hallowe’en activities in French

8 October 2013 (La Souris)

A selection of Hallowe’en themed games and activities for your pre-school and primary French learners.

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The German Language Adventure: Discover Germany in 16 challenges

8 October 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

Available from mid October 2013, the Goethe-Institut are offering a new opportunity for pupils ready to embrace a new language. This free, motivational game is suitable for P7 to S3, with the main target group being S2 and S3 before subject choice.

This unique motivational game sends its participants on a discovery tour through 16 cities in Germany and Austria cities, each with an interactive task to complete.

A team of native German speakers will visit your school and set up a German adventure course with 16 discovery stations for a half-day of interactive German language fun.

Visit the Goethe-Institut website for full details and to register your interest.

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French Film Festival 2013 - Schools Programme

8 October 2013 (Filmhouse)

As part of the French Film Festival 2013 (Fri 12 Nov to Thu 25 Nov) Filmhouse are screening these fantastic new films for Edinburgh schools:

  • Little Lion - Tuesday 12 November, 10am (101 min)
    Suitable for P7 - S4
  • Day of the Crows - Tuesday 19 November, 10am (96 min)
    Suitable for 8+, P5 - S2

Tickets for both films are £2.60 per pupil, teachers free. To book please call our Duty Manager on 0131 228 2688 or email admin@filmhousecinema.com.

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Join the debate: language packs for schools and businesses

7 October 2013 (The Guardian)

The British Academy and the Guardian are holding a national Language Festival throughout November 2013 to celebrate the UK's diverse cultural richness and raise the profile of language learning among learners of all ages. Throughout November, the festival will provide a platform for schools, higher education institutions, policy makers and businesses from across the UK to discuss, debate and explore the academic, cultural and economic benefits of language learning.

To celebrate the launch of the Language Festival, we have created a series of downloadable packs for primary and secondary schools, as well as businesses, to provide ideas for organising your own language-related events.

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Spanish Grammar Posters & Display

6 October 2013 (TES)

A set of posters (6 in total) to be displayed and referred to in class as a reference point for students to improve their language. Includes formation of Verbs & Tenses, Opinion and Reason Phrases, justifying opinions and main Question words.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resources.

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Speak Italian!

6 October 2013 (Speak Italian)

Part of the Speak Languages! network of websites, the site offers a wide range of materials to help learn Italian, with phrases and vocabulary broken down into topics and themes. Access to the site is completely free. We are currently adding sound, and soon users will also be able to hear all the phrases and vocabulary spoken by native Italian speakers.

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‘İBicis sí! ¿Por qué?’

6 October 2013 (Experiencia Prezi HCFN)

‘İBicis sí! ¿Por qué?’ is an eye-catching presentation created by Experiencia Prezi HCFN. This transport themed prezi in Spanish compares and contrasts bicycles and cars in terms of their impact on the environment. Freely accessible and suitable for BGE learners.

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Infografias de futbol

6 October 2013 (Spanish Plans)

Radamel Falaco, who plays club fútbol for Atlético Madrid in Spain’s La Liga, is a major component of getting Colombia to the World Cup in Brasil in 2014. Read about this tremendous goal-scorer. Always a good debate: who are the 11 best soccer players ever? See if your Spanish students agree with this editor’s Starting 11 for All-Time World’s Best Players.

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12 Traditional Games in Spanish

5 October 2013 (Spanish Playground)

Traditional games in Spanish teach language and culture. These 12 games are from Latin America and Spain. All of them incorporate language, so they are excellent to play with children learning Spanish. In addition to vocabulary and common grammatical structures, the games are culturally relevant and fun.

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Learning journey - Scottish tourism

2 October 2013 (SCILT)

More from Game On! SCILT and Education Scotland have developed a learning journey designed to support the learning and teaching of modern languages at 3rd level.

Using the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games as a context this learning journey suggests opportunities for learners to explore ideas about how to promote Scotland as a destination to foreign visitors and encourages them to consider the importance of being able to communicate in different languages. Learners are also encouraged to consider the sustainability of the tourist industry by considering the impact of tourism on the environment, examining Eco-tourism projects overseas and designing similar projects in Scotland.

A Game On GLOW Meet to introduce all the literacy and languages learning journeys will take place later in the year. On your marks for GLOW tv!

The resource is available to download now at the Game On! website.

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Body Parts Bingo French/Spanish/German

2 October 2013 (TES)

Body parts bingo cards which can be used in any languages. Print and laminate them so they can be used with board pens, be wiped off and re-used over and over again.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

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Tree Seasons - free resource

1 October 2013 (GrowStoryGrow)

A free Autumn story in English, French and Spanish which teaches colours, weather, seasons and sentence-building, of course!  You can access this story with all its resources from the 1st of October to the 25th.

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Mind maps to support learners using the perfect tense

30 September 2013 (TES)

Useful resources to help your secondary French students.

You will need a TES username and password to access the materials.

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2013 National Poetry Day

30 September 2013 (Scots Language Centre)

National Poetry Day 2013 is on Thursday 3 October, and this year's theme is water. Among the poems being promoted is the Scots language poem by George Campbell Hay 'Seeker, Reaper'. Suitable for study by secondary pupils, the following resources have been provided by the Scottish Poetry Library.

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Parlons Français, C'est Facile!

27 September 2013 (Parlons Français, C'est Facile)

Parlons Français , C'est Facile! is a free online resource for learning French, designed specifically for young adults.

Just like at the cinema: let yourself be guided by the webdocs and discover life in France through the eyes of four characters. As you go, workshops and games will help you to understand, learn and practise French.

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What’s Hot? - French dressing

27 September 2013 (TES)

A collection of French language resources looking at fashion. Suitable for secondary students.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resources.

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Spanish Grammar Notebook - Cuaderno de Gramática

27 September 2013 (TES)

A 40 page booklet on basic verbs and tenses: Presente, Futuro, Condicional, Pretérito perfecto, Pretérito indefinido, Pretérito imperfecto. You can print it in an A5 booklet. Perfect for exam skills and revision for the Senior Phase.

You will need a TES username and password to access the materials.

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Arteta supports language programme

27 September 2013 (Arsenal Football Club)

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta has spoken about the importance of learning language skills ahead of the European Day of Languages, which encourages more people to learn a foreign tongue both in and out of school.

Arsenal in the Community has long championed language learning through its successful Double Club model – an innovative education and football programme which aims to fuse football and education to form a fun and enjoyable way for young people to engage with their academic studies and football at the same time.

In addition to Arsenal-themed language learning materials for German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, a DVD of one of Arsenal’s players speaking in their native language is provided as an exciting classroom resource.

Read more...

Related Links

Double Club German – new resources for 2013-14 season! (UK-German Connection, 24 September 2013)  Double Club: German is a joint project by Arsenal FC, the Goethe-Institut London and UK-German Connection. It is an innovative education and football programme which aims to show pupils that German can be fun, improving their knowledge of the German language and culture in a joint football / German club. Pupils attend one session per week, which can take place after school, in lesson time or during holidays, and is split up into two 45-minute sessions. Available as a module for primary or secondary level pupils, new materials for the 2013-14 season are now available. Follow the link above to find out more about the programme and how to sign up.

Game On Scotland! Commonwealth Games language resources

26 September 2013 (Education Scotland/SCILT)

Learning ideas around the context of the Commonwealth Games are available at the Game On! website.

SCILT and Education Scotland have developed a learning journey designed to support the learning and teaching of modern languages at primary level.

Read more...

Languages, camera, action: using film to inspire your students

25 September 2013 (The Guardian)

According to recent reports the popularity of foreign languages at GCSE and A-Level has reached an all-time low.

Those of us involved in teaching languages – and anyone who's experienced the satisfaction derived from mastering another language – will find this disappointing and worrying. In our global world learning languages is important for many reasons – it expands cultural horizons, breaks down barriers and increases opportunities for young people interested in living or working abroad. In addition, studies have shown that studying a foreign language can improve memory, brain power and use of English. All of which is why we, as educators, must be creative and use all available tools to reverse the current trend and inspire more of our students to study languages.

One such tool is film.

Read more...

Celebrate EDL 2013 with Babelzone

25 September 2013 (Linguanet)

In celebration of the European Day of Languages 2013 we are allowing everyone to access the popular online learning website 'Babelzone' from now until the end of September for FREE.

This special offer is ideal for MFL teachers celebrating the European Day of Languages, and for young French and Spanish learners. Packed full of songs, animated stories, games, worksheets and phonics, Babelzone is an exciting interactive resource for the classroom.  

To login go to the Babelzone home page http://www.lcfclubs.com/babelzonenew/index.asp and login with these details:

Username: babelzone
Password: LCFCLUBS2013

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Cartoons in Spanish

24 September 2013 (RTVE)

Ideal for your early Spanish learners. Cartoons including Peppa Pig, Spongebob, Postman Pat and many more favourites from the Spanish channel RTVE.

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Oktoberfest-Regeln

24 September 2013 (Mary Glasgow)

A Mary Glasgow resource on Oktoberfest for your German classroom. Register for free to download the materials. The site permits 5 free downloads following registration or you can obtain an annual subscription to access all the language magazine materials for just £15 per year.

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Tres Saltos – Three Jumps

23 September 2013 (Spanishbootcamp)

Try some active Spanish lesson resources with your primary learners.  ‘Tres Saltos’ is another really simple game which gets the children actively involved in learning a language as well as physically fit. The game moves along at a nice pace and it’s only the next day when the children realise how much of a workout it is! It really works the legs and the core muscles when done properly.

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Related Links

La Lucha - ‘La Lucha’ is a favourite game for many of the children. So easy to play, extremely visual and kinaesthetic, perfect for a bit of competition.

Language films at the first National Youth Film Festival

19 September 2013 (ALL)

Free screenings of foreign language films to inspire young people From Therese Desqyeyroux to Wadjda, from Clara and the Secret of the Bears to AninA, over 30 foreign films in languages including French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Arabic and Hindi will be on offer at the first National Youth Film Festival, taking place from 21 Oct – 08 Nov 2013.

This groundbreaking new Festival is free to school groups all over the UK and offers young people aged 5-19 the chance to enjoy a wide variety of films, learn about film-making and meet film industry professionals. Linked to a packed programme of over 1600 free screenings, Q&A’s, workshops and events are over 100 teaching resources, including several related to the curriculum, to enable teachers to use screenings to bring learning to life, develop review writing and critical skills, or teach pupils about film and filmmaking. These range from a Beginner’s Guide to French Movies, to teaching ideas for, and guides to, individual films to encourage post-screening discussions and continued work back in the classroom.

Visit the ALL website for full details.

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¡Viva la moda!

19 September 2013 (Mary Glasgow)

It’s fashion week in Madrid. Why not use this article to kick off your Spanish lesson in style!

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The European Day of Languages on film

19 September 2013 (ALL)

26 September is the European Day of Languages, so to tie in with this event and help schools to celebrate Europe's linguistic diversity, ALL has teamed up with FILMCLUB to put together a new resource featuring five foreign language films, each from a different country and each with synopsis, talking points, teachers’ notes and activities.

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German film screenings for S4-S6 - The Colour of the Ocean (Die Farbe des Ozeans)

18 September 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

We are delighted to present this superb new German film in co-operation with a number of local cinemas. In German, Spanish and French with subtitles, it is ideal for the multilingual classroom and its relevant topic lends itself to further exploration in a cross-curricular learning context.  The Colour of the Ocean is woven around attitudes to the waves of African refugees seeking a better life in Europe. The struggle to do the right thing places issues of responsibility, compassion and moral duty at the heart of an utterly compelling human drama.

There is also a study guide available with language specific exercises in German, French and Spanish. This resource has been developed by the Goethe-Institut, in association with the Institut Français d’Ecosse and the Spanish Consejeria de Educación. It can be downloaded from our website.

Screenings take place during October in Bo'ness, Edinburgh and Dundee.

For those unable to attend the screenings, the film can also be borrowed from the Goethe-Institut's own library.

Full details are available on their website.

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GrowStoryGrow

17 September 2013 (GrowStoryGrow)

Every year, to help celebrate the European Day of Languages, GrowStoryGrow opens up its site for two weeks allowing children all over the world to experience over a hundred enchanting stories, in 5 different languages, for free.

Visit the website for further information and to access the materials.

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FREE BOOK: Case Studies of Openness in the Language Classroom

16 September 2013 (Open University)

The book showcases some of the ways in which practitioners in different settings are engaging with the concept of openness in language teaching and learning. It contains contributions on: open tools for collaboration; sharing resources; sharing practices; collaborative learning and student-generated content; and learner autonomy. We hope it will provide ideas for language teachers who might want to dip their toes into the world of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP), or maybe experiment further.

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Primary language resources

16 September 2013 (Primary Languages)

Primary Languages have highlighted new Peppa Pig and Caillou resources available free on YouTube. They are approachable with clear pronunciation and relevant vocabulary. You can do lots of vocabulary work prior to watching them plus the animations are short enough to keep their attention.

Versions are available in French, Spanish and Italian:

Mid-Autumn Festival: China Education Pack

16 September 2013 (British Council)

The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is the second most important festival in the Chinese lunar calendar after Chinese New Year. This year the festival will fall on 19 September.

To tie in with the festival, the British Council has created an education pack to help primary schools across the UK explore Chinese culture and language.

Focusing on the most famous story associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, the legend of the great archer Hòu Yì and his love for the moon goddess Cháng É, the pack is designed to introduce young people to Chinese festivals, legends and geography.

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Le Docteur, c’est qui?

13 September 2013 (TES)

A French test where Senior Phase students must match questions and answers from an interview with the new Doctor Who.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resource.

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New French resources online for P1-P4

13 September 2013 (Institut français)

The Institut français has produced many activities around "Les nombres / numbers" which are free to download from their website.

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Les Célébrités Françaises

12 September 2013 (TES)

A powerpoint about French celebrities to revise and work on descriptions, with songs links for singers, just to add a little bit of fun. 

You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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Posted in: Resources

Jeffrey at JKG

11 September 2013 (eTwinning via Twitter)

Be inspired by this site set up by German students trying to motivate language learning. Follow the travels of Jeffrey the vulture…or get involved and invite him to visit your school! You could even start a travel buddy scheme with your own MFL students and get them to produce a travel diary in the target language.

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Weil and opinions using a German pop/rock song

10 September 2013 (TES)

This lesson uses the song Du schreibst Geschichte by Madsen to explain the use of weil (nearly every line in the verses starts with weil). There is a gap fill sheet to do while listening to the song, and then a worksheet to practise using weil. Both sheets have two different versions depending on level.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the resources.

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NAR Gaelic exemplars

9 September 2013 (Education Scotland)

Over the past few weeks, Education Scotland has published a number of new assessment and moderation exemplars, produced by practitioners, on the National Assessment Resource. This includes examples of innovative assessment practice in Gaelic in both primary and secondary sectors. The Gaelic exemplars may also be of interest to teachers of Modern Languages looking for creative ways to assess the broad general education. 

Access the materials  (you will need your Glow username and password)

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5 ways to use authentic language-learning videos in class

7 September 2013 (Mary Glasgow)

For more than two years now we, at Mary Glasgow Magazines, have been producing language-learning videos especially for the MFL classroom – like this video here, featuring Aitor and Ana, two siblings from Barcelona.

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Posted in: Spanish, Resources

Snakes and ladders - transport - any language

7 September 2013 (TES)

This resource is a snakes and ladders board which could be used with any language - just teach them the appropriate vocabulary first. Suitable for S1-S3.

You will need a TES userid and password to access the materials.

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No more zoos!

5 September 2013 (Mary Glasgow)

Use this article to discuss zoos and animal welfare with your secondary Spanish pupils.

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Coffee Break Spanish

4 September 2013 (Radio Lingua)

Find out the difference between encontrar and encontrarse in this week’s episode of Coffee Break Spanish.

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How to teach … Chinese

2 September 2013 (The Guardian)

This week the Guardian Teacher Network has resources for pupils and teachers to help with learning and teaching Mandarin Chinese.

There are lots of useful materials and tips from various sources including Pete Goodman of Bamboo Learning.

The British Council's new pack exploring the Chinese mid-Autumn festival (also known as the Moon Festival), which this year falls on 19 September, will be available on Schoolsonline before the festival begins. The Confucius Institute at Manchester University has also shared their lovely PowerPoint on the stories of the Chinese Moon Festival.

Read more...

FILMCLUB - French themed Scalarama resources

2 September 2013 (FILMCLUB)

Throughout September FILMCLUB will be going "tous les francais" and be challenging your clubs to screen a film from a special French topic from the FILMCLUB website. So dig out your berets, get baking those croissants and download our special resources which include fun ways to decorate your film club room as well as games and costume ideas.

Resources are available for primary and secondary on the website.

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Modern foreign languages - It's good to go mad

29 August 2013 (TES)

These days the pupils have easy access to a zip-zap virtual world and the demands of foreign language learning can seem tedious, demanding and unreal. To survive, we need to harness the new technology - and have our zany moments. Read on for some creative lesson ideas to break free from repetitive languages teaching.

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Voyage Kids 'Back to School' special

28 August 2013 (UK-German Connection)

The traditional 'Back to School' special is now online on the Voyage Kids website. Why not start the new school year by teaching your primary pupils all about school life in Germany? If you're feeling creative, you could even get started the German way by making Schultüten, using our handy step-by-step instructions!

The Back to School special includes:

  • Find out: A typical school day in Germany 
  • Basteln: Make a Schultüte! 
  • Memory game: How quickly can your pupils find the matching pairs? 
  • 'School words' quizzes

Lesson planning:

To help you plan and get the most out of our seasonal special features, we've created a calendar overview of all of the specials throughout the year. These include our Christmas and Easter specials, as well as topical specials (e.g. the Birthday special), which vary from year to year.

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Mandarin Explorer

27 August 2013 (Mandarin Explorer)

'Mandarin Explorer' is a platform for learners of Mandarin that is created & owned by Gabriella Belcher, an experienced Mandarin teacher based in Hong Kong. These visual tools are designed for Mandarin teachers & learners.

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Lesson Plans - European Day of Languages, 26 September

23 August 2013 (TESS)

TESS has produced 10 lesson plans for the MFL classroom to help celebrate the European Day of Languages on 26 September.

You will need a TES userid/login to access the materials.

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Le français animé

22 August 2013 (Teresa Mackinnon)

Le français animé website contains bite-size clips explaining elements of grammar in an accessible way.  Best suited to the secondary French classroom.

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Materials to support IDL learning in French

22 August 2013 (SCILT)

The following websites contain materials which could be used to support interdisciplinary learning in French:

For secondary learners:

Universcience.tv - short clips explaining aspects of science.

Culturetheque - online comics with a historical focus.

For primary learners:

Milan schools - register for authentic downloadables to support IDL in French.

Materials for National 4 Added Value Unit

22 August 2013 (SCILT)

Materials created by one of the teachers in North Ayrshire Council have been uploaded onto #mlscilt for National 4 Added Value Unit in French.

You will need a Glow userid/login to access the materials.

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Coffee Break German – Lesson 21

19 August 2013 (Radio Lingua)

There’s nothing worse that bad weather when you’re on holiday and in this week’s Coffee Break German you’ll learn to avoid it so that you can enjoy travelling in a German-speaking part of the world even more.

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Roald Dahl Day, 13 September

16 August 2013 (TESS)

Introduce your class to some of Dahl's much-loved characters in French - for example, Monsieur Fox and Le Bon Gros Geant.

Scroll down the Lesson Plans page to find this Roald Dahl Day resource.

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German Film Learning Initiative

16 August 2013 (GFLI)

Here you will find video presentations, teaching material, study guides and useful links to key German films. All the material has been developed by postgraduate students at universities across the UK and is designed for students at Senior Phase. Even if you are not studying an individual film, the presentations and supporting materials will allow you to develop your understanding of key topics such as German national identity, regions of Germany, social issues and German history.

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World Languages, Facebook, Pinterest, Culture & Literacy

12 August 2013 (Connect Learning Today blog)

Learning and teaching opportunities for languages sometimes occur in unexpected places. As exam pressure was starting to get unbearable for some of my classes, I discovered this summer how visuals from Facebook and Pinterest could be used to motivate students in my French and Spanish lessons as well as support their literacy in general.

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eTwinning: Transforming Teaching and Learning

12 August 2013 (British Council eTwinning)

eTwinning promotes school collaboration in Europe through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This YouTube film illustrates how eTwinning can transform classroom practice to motivate teachers and pupils and help raise standards. Children and young adults of all ages from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland all feature in the video celebrataing their success through eTwinning partnerships. 

The video contains a strong focus on eTwinning partnerships providing a collaborative tool for language learning.

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Related Links

More information on eTwinning can be found on the British Council eTwinning website.  There is also free support available to help schools set up their eTwinning partnership.

French Number Line – Numbers with words 1-20

9 August 2013 (TES)

A simple French Number Line to be used on display in a classroom. This could be printed full size or reduced to print in multiples to make flashcards. A lovely free teaching resource for an Early Years or Primary classroom.

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Short films for language learning

2 August 2013 (Languages on Screen)

Short films can make fantastic authentic texts for language learners. 

Languages on Screen has a selection of shorts that is freely available to Scottish educators with a GLOW log in, and each is accompanied with teaching resources. Most appropriate for secondary learners. Films in German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Several of the shorts on the Screening Shorts and Moving Image Education websites have a soundtrack though no spoken word. Discussion and response to these films could be done in the target language. Teaching resources are also provided to accompany all of the films are provided. In addition, thanks to a creative commons licence, the shorts are available for download for education purposes. The films could then be imported into Windows Movie Maker and learners could add their own audio track in the target language. Potentially suitable for secondary and primary learners.

Also available to buy for primary learners of French, is the ‘Ciné-mini’ DVD from British Film Institut which also includes teaching resources.

MFL Dictionary Skills Lesson

29 July 2013 (TES)

Why not begin the new term with this powerpoint guide for students on using a foreign language dictionary for their studies.

You will need a TES userid/login to access the materials.

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Voyage Kids website questionnaire

25 June 2013 (UK-German Connection)

Help us shape the future of voyage kids and win goodies for the classroom!

With the changing educational landscape in mind, we are currently in the process of evaluating the voyage kids website to ensure that it continues to meet teachers' needs and remains a useful source of information, ideas and features for use both in and out of the classroom.

As a UK primary teacher, your input in this review is vital! To take part, all you need to do is fill in a very brief questionnaire - this is designed mainly to gain an impression of how you use voyage kids and which features you find most useful, as well as gathering your suggestions for new content and features.

You can download the questionnaire from our website.

Your input and ideas would be greatly appreciated! If you can spare a few moments to take part, please fill in the questionnaire and send it back to us at kids@ukgermanconnection.org by Monday 22 July.

As a little 'thank you' for completing the questionnaire, we will be delighted to send you a pack of voyage kids 'animals / fairy tales' postcards for use in the classroom. We also have some fantastic goodies to give away to the senders of the most informative questionnaires, including picture dictionaries and geographical jigsaw puzzles - perfect for teaching geography in German!

Read more...

Money, enterprise and child labour

21 June 2013 (TESS)

LANGUAGES/ART

A personal touch

People love owning things that reflect their personalities. Ask your students to devise a business creating bespoke personal items for their friends. Even if they have to wear a uniform their pencil case can be unique, just like them.

Start with a "style board" of the kind used by professional designers: a collage made from scraps of material, photographs, text, sweet wrappers - anything that captures something of what they want from their finished design.

For a modern foreign languages lesson, incorporate words or short phrases in the target language. These could evoke the personalities of the student's clients by describing them or naming things that matter to them.

Read more...

Grammar Usage - MFL - A whole new futbol game

21 June 2013 (TESS)

The use of social media sites in language learning does not have to preclude good grammar - in fact, it can introduce students to words through a familiar medium.

We begin with a lesson starter of verb conjugation. "Tuiteo, tuiteas, tuitea ..." The group soon deduces the words' meaning - tuit (tweet) and tuitear (Twitter) will be included in the 2014 edition of the Royal Spanish Academy's dictionary.

Next we follow an El Clasico football match between Real Madrid and Barcelona on the Twitter feed of sports daily Marca. Students quickly appreciate the value of the medium: bite-sized chunks of colloquial language prompting immediate intellectual engagement.

Read more...

Should MFL teachers show films at the end of term?

20 June 2013 (Frenchteachernet blog)

I gather that some schools and departments have a policy which forbids teachers from showing films to classes at the end of term. I used to have slightly mixed feelings about this issue, but on balance I believe that showing a movie in the foreign language with subtitles, even without any attached work, is a valid activity.

Steven Smith explains why and suggests some French films to share with your students, including a collection of quirky short movies.

Read more...

SCHOLAR Bus

19 June 2013 (SCHOLAR)

In an exciting change to our Annual Conference, we are pleased to announce that this year we will be touring Scottish schools in our own SCHOLAR Bus.

The SCHOLAR Bus timetable has still to be finalised, however, our staff will be on their journey during the 2nd to 6th September 2013. There will be 10 bus stops throughout the central belt of Scotland and we hope to stop at your school or one near you. If this venture is a success, then we will extend it to all of Scotland in future years.

Visit the SCHOLAR website for more information about the SCHOLAR bus and to experience some of the material provided by SCHOLAR for both teachers and students covering a range of subjects, such as Mandarin, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Read more...

Lesson Plans - La Bella Durmiente

14 June 2013 (TESS)

Bring language to life by retelling the story of Sleeping Beauty in Spanish.

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Young Europeans Love Languages (YELL) Handbook

12 June 2013 (elearningeuropa)

Young Europeans Love Languages (YELL) is a network of European partners committed to promote language learning as a key skill of lifelong learning.

The project (2009-2011) identified a number of tools to raise awareness and to demonstrate the importance of language learning and produced the YELL Handbook, targeted at multipliers in non-formal and formal education, providers of cultural, social and sport activities for young people.

The Handbook provides insight on how to implement best practices on raising awareness about cultural diversity and motivation of young people to learn foreign languages. The tools are designed for all education and vocational qualification institutions and for the trainers.

Read more...

Coffee Break German – Lesson 16

8 June 2013 (Radio Lingua)

In this latest episode of Coffee Break German you’ll be learning to deal with shopping situations in German.

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End of term German activities

7 June 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

Looking for end of term activities? Have a browse on our resources pages. You will find presentations on topics such as recycling, Berlin, Frst day of School, Birthday celebrations and many more.

Read more...

MFL - The scoop on ice cream

7 June 2013 (TESS)

Got it licked.

We all know people for whom the phrase "when in Rome" was invented. They are usually the ones trying to familiarise themselves with the local language without a phrase book, mistaking bonjour for au revoir or turning a dinner order into a mime act.

Your students can take the lead on trips abroad with a lesson in transactional language.

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Meet the Germans Materials

16 May 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

Our Meet the Germans Website now also features free teaching resources. The material is designed for A2 and B1 language levels. Introduce your pupils in a playful way to different aspects of German culture and train speaking, listening, reading and writing skills.

Read more...

Kurz und Gut macht Schule II

16 May 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

Kurz und Gut macht Schule II is a selection of animated short films from Germany, which are great for your secondary German classes. Teaching resources are available as a free download online.

Read more...

Learn German with fun!

15 May 2013 (Learn German Easily)

This website is full of funny things in German and English – for example: basic lessons, jokes, stories, articles, learning tips, songs and much more.

There are materials available for use across all levels from beginner basics to Advanced Higher.

Read more...

Learn Spanish with TECLA

15 May 2013 (Consejería de Educación)

Why not have a look at our latest pack of TECLA teaching materials? The topics are as follows:

  • Level A (Basic) El día de la madre. Mother’s Day in Spain
  • Level B (Intermediate) El 1º de mayo. El día del trabajo. International Workers’ Day
  • Level C (Advanced) Los Mayos. An Ancient Tradition Celebrating the Arrival of Springtime

TECLA is a collection of teaching material for teaching Spanish to adults and young adults. It deals with socio-cultural aspects of today’s Spanish speaking world. The learning units comprise of a reading comprehension part and a language section (vocabulary, grammar, discourse). A recording of the text is also available for pronunciation and listening comprehension work.

Read more...

New assembly packs - Exam stress

14 May 2013 (BBC World Class)

See our new assembly packs for primary and secondary pupils. The packs contain scripts for teachers alongside a World Class film called 'Gaokao fever,' which is about the notoriously difficult Gaokao exams in China.

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Ideas and resources for presenting new language

14 May 2013 (TES MFL blog)

One of the most exciting things about teaching languages is that there isn't one universally-held view about how to do it. Although most of us would say that we pursue the goals of ‘communicative language teaching’, we might still differ in the ways we go about it. It’s always a good thing to question our preferred ways of doing things too, and to share ideas with others. Recently, I’ve been thinking about how we present new language to students.

I will be hosting a live web chat about this topic on Thursday 16 May at 8pm. Why not get involved and share your own ideas.

Rachel Hawkes is the TES MFL subject adviser. She’s a classroom teacher of languages with 13 years of prior experience as a head of department.

Visit the website to find out how to join her chat or to read some of her teaching ideas.

Read more...

Song for Europe… from China!

13 May 2013 (FluentU)

This a catchy tune which might suit Intermediate 2 or Higher level pupils – or even lower levels if the lyrics were printed out for the pupils.

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Italian texts

10 May 2013 (SCILT)

SCILT has sourced a selection of texts in Italian which teachers may find helpful. These texts can be used for a variety of purposes. You may want to use them based on a common theme to help deliver the Added Value Unit at National 4. They could also be used in conjunction with Bloom’s Taxonomy to help pupils develop Higher Order Thinking Skills.

Access the texts on our website.

Read more...

Der kleinste Film der Welt

10 May 2013 (Mary Glasgow)

The film, produced by physicist Andreas Heinrich and his team in IBM, appears in the Guinness Book of Records for being the smallest in the world with the stars of the clip being tiny atoms! Use the article to open up a discussion with your German students about the world of Physics.

Read more...

Zambombazo - Spanish teaching resources

7 May 2013 (Zambombazo)

A wide range of fun activities based on songs, comics, movie posters, advertising, art, and more! Learn about the Spanish language and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Suitable for use with Secondary pupils.

Read more...

New Materials for the German Classroom

6 May 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

We are pleased to introduce another popular topic for your classroom which can be downloaded from our website. Recycling and the environment have been central topics in Germany since the 1970s.  With this presentation we would like to familiarise young learners with some of the devices used in Germany in order to protect the environment, particularly the system of separating waste and recycling.

Read more...

Website of the month - Hwb

6 May 2013 (SCILT)

Hwb now includes all the content from the NGfL Wales website and hosts a resources section, 'find and use', including materials for language learning in French, German, Spanish and Welsh from primary through to senior phase.

Read more...

New resources to support MFL National 4 and 5

2 May 2013 (Education Scotland)

Education Scotland have recently published new resources to support the implementation of National 4 and 5 in Cantonese, French, German, Italian, Mandarin (simplified), Mandarin (traditional), Spanish and Urdu.

To access the materials follow the link below to Glow (you’ll need your Glow password).

Read more...

El País News May 2013 - resource

2 May 2013 (Consejería de Educación)

Medardo Fraile sadly passed away in Glasgow last March. In order to pay tribute to this Spanish writer who lived in Scotland for most of his life, the Consejería has developed some materials from an interview published by El País in 2004.

El País News is a collection of materials for teaching Spanish at advanced level to Adults and Young adults. It deals with socio-cultural aspects of today’s Spanish speaking world. The learning units comprise of a reading comprehension part and a language section (vocabulary, grammar, discourse).

Read more...

Coffee Break German – lesson 12

1 May 2013 (Radio Lingua)

In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German you’ll be learning more words and phrases to deal with ordering food and drinks.

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German language Scotland magazine launching in June

26 April 2013 (All Media Scotland)

A German language magazine about Scotland is launch in June, to cater for the estimated 250,000 German tourists who visit the country every year and being published by an Edinburgh-based former journalist for the German edition of the Financial Times.

Read more...

6 Ways to Motivate your Students in the Foreign Language Classroom

28 April 2013 (Lingua Garden)

What do you do in order to motivate your students to speak the target language in your classroom? At home?  As educators and loving caregivers, we understand that every child is unique; the way they acquire knowledge, their motivations, their struggles, and their strengths vary so much between each one. Motivating your students and encouraging them to participate in the foreign language is not an easy job. Although, it is not impossible.

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MFL - Found in translation

26 April 2013 (TES)

Immersion is helpful but so is relating a language to your own.

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Coffee Break German – lesson 11

24 April 2013 (Radio Lingua)

We’re back with a new episode of Coffee Break German, the first in a new season of ten lessons which focus on practical German you’ll need on a trip to a German-speaking country. In this episode you’ll be learning to order drinks – and coffees – in a café.

Read more...

Beginners' French booklet

23 April 2013 (Guardian Teacher Network)

A short booklet designed for complete beginners in French. Great for revision or cover classes as well as for students with no language background who come into the class in the middle of term.

You will need to register on the site to download.

Read more...

Walpurgisnacht (resource)

22 April 2013 (Voyage Kids)

Teach your primary German pupils about Walpurgisnacht (Walpurgis Night) - the night from 30 April to 1 May. Legend has it that on this night, witches hold a festival on the Blocksberg mountain to await the arrival of spring. People throughout Germany use this occasion to welcome the beginning of May and warmer weather. There is usually lots of singing and dancing.

With Spring around the corner, there is also a resource for pupils to learn some really useful German spring words! Follow the 'Der Früling' link below.

Read more...

Related Links

Der Frühling

Youth in Germany materials available

22 April 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

The Goethe-Institut London offers twelve fascinating language materials covering the main topic “Youth in Germany”. We also provide you with attractive pictures, interesting texts and statistics tailored for young people. In combination with our teaching resources, you will be able to integrate them easily in your class.

Suitable for use with S3-S4.

Read more...

MFL - Creature features

19 April 2013 (TES)

Every one of your students can have their very own "talking" pet in this lesson. All they need is a sock, some basic vocabulary and lots of imagination.

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British Airways Language Learning Resources

16 April 2013 (British Airways)

British Airways’ award winning language programmes aim to improve students’ understanding and use of a number of key languages in practical situations.

Further details and resources are available from the British Airways website, including language learning resources for the BA Language Flag Award (BALFA), which is designed to promote the learning of languages and to show pupils how important languages are to business.

Read more...

Coffee Break German - Lesson 10

3 April 2013 (Radio Lingua)

In this latest episode of Coffee Break German you’ll realise how much you’ve learned since you started following the course by listening to a conversation using lots of the language you’ve covered so far.

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Language World 2013: Music to my ears

24 March 2013 (My Languages blog - Isabelle Jones)

Download the slides and reference sheet for my session on using music in the languages classroom presented at Language World 2013.

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Step into German

22 March 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

The Goethe-Institut San Francisco has developed this web resource which steps into the worlds of German music and Germany’s most popular sport, football, and provides an interesting web quest "Why German is 4 u!". Take a look for yourself and share it with your pupils.

Read more...

MFL - In at the deep end

22 March 2013 (TES)

Let students learn by playing with language
"I learnED French at school. Spent 10 years doing French and can't speak a word." Sound familiar? Disillusioned scepticism is a common challenge faced by language teachers at parents' evenings. "I was never any good at languages at school." "We didn't do Spanish, so I can't help."
"Stop right there," you feel like saying. Basta! Unwittingly cast in the role of counsellor, you try some positive thinking: "The first step is belief, and fortunately most young children have it in spades. Don't write them off before they have given it their best shot. Try a little role reversal and let them teach you."

Read more...

Coffee Break French wins European podcast award

21 March 2013 (Radio Lingua)

We’re delighted to announce that Coffee Break French has won Best Professional Podcast UK in this year’s European Podcast Awards. The shortlist of podcasts for each category was originally generated by listener votes, so we’d like to thank everyone who voted! A jury then considered each of the podcasts on the shortlist and Coffee Break French was voted Best Professional Podcast in the UK. Coffee Break Spanish came fifth in the rankings!

Radio Lingua offers language-learning for your iPod, iPhone, mp3 player or computer. Take your lessons with you wherever you go by downloading our free materials or purchasing our courses to learn even more.  All the information you need is on the website.

Lesson 8 of Coffee Break German is now available. This episode build’s on the previous lesson, asking for more complex directions around town. The link below takes you directly to the podcast.

Read more...

Related Links

Coffee Break German - Lesson 8 (Radio Lingua, 20 March 2013)

Parlez-vous français?

20 March 2013 (United Nations blog)

This week we are celebrating Journée de la langue française. French is one of six official UN languages.

Find out about a few online resources with daily updates in French.

Read more...

Joe Dale on Technology and Language Teaching

18 March 2013 (Inside Education on 103.2 Dublin City FM)

On this week's programme, Joe Dale, who presented at the CESI Conference 2013, talks about many ways in which technology can support language learning.

Follow the link to the website to listen to the broadcast.

Read more...

Learn German with Songs

18 March 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

On 18 and 19 April 2013 Martina Schwarz, songwriter and performer, will visit Springburn Nursery, Glasgow and Primary Schools in Paisley and Fife. Her resource “Learn German with songs” and “Learn more German with songs” has been a popular teaching resource for Primary schools and provided lots of fun and enthusiasm among pupils and teachers.

Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information about these resources.

Read more...

Do you engage with iTunesU? – Spanish resources

15 March 2013 (LLAS blog)

iTunesU is an area within Apple iTunes which allows institutions to publish their own, branded educational content and LLAS have taken existing open educational materials from University of Southampton and repackaged them as learning modules in iTunesU.

A key aspect of the project has been to demonstrate that materials created for one particular discipline (Spanish language, migration studies) has wide applicability across the humanities. Open Educational Resources (OERs) used for this project consists of oral testimonies collected from Spanish migrants, and includes images, learning objects, and various teaching materials. Materials are in Spanish and English and may be of interest to pupils in the Senior Phase.

Read more...

MFL - Runaway success

15 March 2013 (TES)

Combining language lessons with gym sessions is a hit. French has always been popular with students at my school, but we continue to seek innovative ways to increase take-up and raise standards. So when we had the chance to teach French in the gym with Technogym's "active learning" gym equipment, it was too good to turn down.

Read more...

Coffee Break German – Lesson 7

15 March 2013 (Radio Lingua)

It’s time for another episode of Coffee Break German and in this week’s episode we’re learning to get around the town using German.

In this lesson you’ll be learning to talk about places in the town and to ask for directions. You’ll learn:

  • the German words for some places in the town
  • to ask for help from a native speaker
  • the phrase for “where is…?” in German
  • how to ask someone to show you on a map where you are

This audio lesson is free, as are all the main audio lessons of Coffee Break German.

Read more...

YELL2 Project (Young Europeans Love Languages)

14 March 2013 (YELL2)

Supported by the Lifelong Learning Programme, the main aim of the project is to disseminate the results of the European Language Label Award winning "Yell Network" to raise awareness of its main product, the Virtual Documentation Centre, which hosts an array of resources designed to: 

  • improve language learning
  • encourage creative teaching to inspire more young learners to learn languages

We are pleased to feature as the Excellence of the month example, an exciting project submitted by Joel Josephson. The project, calledPopuLLar, takes a very interesting approach to harnessing a youthful enthusiasm for popular music within language learning contexts.

To find out more visit the PopuLLar site via the link below or visit the YELL2 website for more information on all their activities.

Read more...

Jewish Community Secondary School young entrepreneurs hope to boost children's language skills

11 March 2013 (Times Series)

Young entrepreneurs are hoping to boost children's love of languages with their hand-designed activities book. Fifteen teenagers at Jewish Community Secondary School in New Barnet made the book Flying Away with Languages as part of their Young Enterprise scheme. The group, known as TryLingual, were inspired by Michael Gove’s plans to provide more emphasis on languages in primary schools and are hoping the book will prove popular with schoolchildren across Barnet.

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MFL - Direct their Passion

8 March 2013 (TES)

The Passion play is an active way to prepare for Easter, dramatising the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ. Originally in Latin, it developed in European vernacular languages during the medieval period and is still performed in many countries, including Germany, Spain and Poland. From Europe, the tradition has spread as far as Australia and Brazil.  Study and perform the religious play in different languages.

Read more...

Easter Special (German)

5 March 2013 (Voyage Kids)

Easter is on its way, and children across Germany are looking forward to such seasonal activities as baking Easter cakes, going to Easter bonfire celebrations and, in some areas, even decorating village wells. Why not introduce your pupils to some seasonal German customs in the run-up to the Easter holidays with the 'voyage kids' Easter Special? Including:

  • Can your pupils guess who's hiding in the Easter egg? Complete the jigsaw to find out! 
  • Colour your own Easter eggs the traditional German way with easy-to-make vegetable dyes. 
  • Teach useful vocabulary with our Easter memory game. 
  •  Fun facts about 'Ostereiersuchen' (Easter egg hunts), Easter cakes and 'Osterbrunnen' (decorated village wells)

Read more...

Related Links

Did you know that April Fools' Day is celebrated in Germany?

What to do with your language skills?

4 March 2013 (Lexiophiles)

After spending countless hours on trying to understand grammar structures, memorizing long vocabulary lists, learning idioms and struggling with pronunciation, you have finally reached your goal: fluency! It’s been a long way and you’ve worked hard to get here. The question is, now that you've mastered a new language, what are you going to do with it?

Read more...

Fair Trade Fortnight – resources

1 March 2013 (SCILT)

If your school is involved in Fair Trade Fortnight, you may well find these resources useful. SCILT has sourced these resources from YouTube and Glow.

Related Links

Glow

For those of you teaching French, a school in Aberdeen has posted interesting teaching materials in the “Resources and Sharing” section of the National Glow Site. This link will take you directly to the folder, but you will need your Glow login.

YouTube

You Tube is an open forum where anyone can post clips and comments. Please check the appropriateness of all content before using with your class.

Spanish Videos:

French Videos:

Italian Videos:

German Videos:

ICT to Support Modern Languages in the Primary School

27 February 2013 (Glow Scotland blog)

Malcolm Wilson, ICT Curriculum Development Officer in the Curriculum Support Team of Falkirk Council Education Services, presented a session with primary class teachers on a variety of ICT resources to support teaching Modern Languages in the Primary School.

Read more...

Recognising the power of voice recording

26 February 2013 (The Guardian)

Simple and free web audio capture tools are creating exciting opportunities for students to develop oral proficiency and could boost the effectiveness of language learning portfolios.

Read more...

MFL - Step on the gas

22 February 2013 (TES)

The topic of climate change provides a great opportunity to look at how different countries are tackling the problem. Once you get them started, pupils could pick one issue from the country in question and research it themselves. They could then present their findings in simple forms such as posters, giving them plenty of focused practice in the target language.

Read more...

MFL - Get their teeth into it

15 February 2013 (TES)

How do you encourage your pupils to pick up a book written in a foreign language? Start with illustrated books to help them follow the story. Books written for children are good because they are designed to teach new vocabulary but have matching pictures.

Select a range of children's books in the target language and get your class to analyse the language. What tenses are used? What vocabulary? Are the sentences simple or complex? Then get your pupils to plan, write and create a short book of their own in the target language - for a younger brother or sister, perhaps, or for pupils in younger classes.

Read more...

Top 10 – Chinese New Year

15 February 2013 (TES)

Join communities around the world in celebrating Chinese New Year. Our collection of activities and ideas includes dance, films, flashcards and the zodiac.

Read more...

Posted in: Chinese, Resources

German films for the classroom

14 February 2013 (Goethe-Institut)

A series of contemporary German feature films and a new collection of 11 animated short films are now available on loan from our library: a great opportunity to improve young learners’ knowledge and understanding of German language and culture through the medium of film.

Read more...

MFL - Ring in the changes

8 February 2013 (TES)

How do pupils learn a language at school? One topic at a time, with plenty of time to think. But in real life we draw upon several topics at once, thinking on our feet. Revision followed by comedic role play gives children excellent practice in this. Select two or three language points to revise, then set up a brief role play with simple props. Plastic money and toy telephones work well.

Read more...

Fasching / Karneval

8 February 2013 (UK-German Connection)

It's that time of year again when large parts of Germany descend into a jamboree of fancy dress, sweet-throwing and general high jinx. That's right, Fasching / Karneval is almost here, and you can teach your pupils all about it with the 'voyage kids' Karneval special!

This year's special includes an interactive 'through the telescope' feature, an online jigsaw, a quiz, and, of course, the ever-popular Karneval-esque song by a singing hairdresser! (with worksheet and brand new PPTs to teach the vocabulary in the song).

Read more...

Multilingual Mr Men

1 February 2013 (TES Resources)

Mr Men books are a great topic for language lessons. Excellent for learning new vocabulary and practising verbs and idioms, the books are almost guaranteed to be funny, which makes them perfect for a Red Nose Day class. Secondary school pupils love inventing new Mr Men using words such as "sarcastic", "worried" and "technophobe" in English. By translating these into the target language, they will learn some quite subtle new vocabulary in a memorable way.

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TES webchat - How learning foreign languages can improve students' understanding of English

31 January 2013 (TES)

TES MFL subject adviser Rachel Hawkes looks at how foreign languages learning can support literacy without us needing to use English. The chat will be an informal way for you to share ideas on the topic as well as ask questions and seek advice from Rachel and each other.

Read more...

Learn Languages with Arsenal FC

31 January 2013 (European Commission)

Arsenal Double Club Languages is the north London football club’s innovative education programme for children that are learning French, German, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese at school.

The programme uses Arsenal and football as a theme to inspire school children to learn a language. The Club produces fun, relevant learning materials in collaboration with specialist language partners including the Goethe Institute, Institut Français and the Consejería de Educación. These resources include colourful workbooks that are filled with language activities based around football, and also a DVD featuring one of the Gunners’ players speaking in their native language.

Read more...

Valentine teaching ideas for French, German and Spanish

31 January 2013 (Brilliant Teaching Resources)

Germany has only recently started to celebrate 'Valentinstag'. As in this country, it is celebrated on 14th February, when people send romantic cards and presents to each other. Visit the Brilliant Teaching Resources website for ideas on how to discuss this tradition in the German classroom.

Follow the additional links for similar resources for Spanish and French.

Read more...

Famous Linguists

29 January 2013 (RiL South West)

These YouTube clips of famous linguists will motivate your students.

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Autocues for language learning

25 January 2013 (The Language Box)

This resource documents the evolution of an in-studio project at Swansea University, in the department of Languages, Translation & Communication. Students had to prepare a presentation on a current or cultural issue in the target language (French), read their presentation in the studio from a teleprompter, and then answer questions from the student panel and from the floor where their classmates sat during filming.

Read more...

MFL - Fighting for equal rights

25 January 2013 (TES)

Inspire pupils by introducing them to famous foreign activists. Do your pupils know the national motto of France: Liberte, egalite, fraternite? In any language, this makes an excellent topic for discussion and debate. Pupils could also write essays exploring whether one quality is more important than the others.

Read more...

MFL - Shopping en francais

18 January 2013 (TES)

Shopping online in a foreign language is such fun that pupils absorb new vocabulary without too much effort. Words in the target language are illustrated with photographs without the need for intervening translation. It is a great way to connect the new words with the reality they describe.

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Les Misérables

15 January 2013 (Mary Glasgow Plus)

With the latest Hollywood adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel now released, this article in French can be used to discuss the story in your language class. Different versions are available to suit all levels from P7 to the senior phase.

Read more...

Chinese New Year Packs

15 January 2013 (Chinese Made Easy)

CME Books Europe are distributing (on behalf of Dragons in Europe) packs to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the snake.  For more details and to order please see attached document.

Related Files

Modern Languages - Topsy-turvy learning

11 January 2013 (TESS)

Recently, we made a short film in Spanish with a small group of Year 4 (P4) pupils. It won a competition and caused a stir. Now we have a learning epidemic, with children leading the way, writes Heather Martin.

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MFL - Making a meal of it

11 January 2013 (TES)

World travel and a Monty Python sketch will get pupils talking.
Learning a new language can take you anywhere. Pupils sometimes need reminding of this to motivate them. In the cold grip of January, they are learning words that could one day take them to new worlds.

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Why study languages calendar 2013

7 January 2013 (Language Box)

The why study languages calendar has been produced by LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies and includes a variety of languages, beginning in January with Italian. This is the first of a 12-month series lasting until December 2013.  The calendar can be downloaded or printable versions can be ordered.

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Top 10 most dangerous... !

7 January 2013 (SCILT)

SCILT have sourced the following YouTube clips for use at 3rd Level with French classes. Not for the faint-hearted!

The top ten…

most dangerous insects

most dangerous marine animals

killer animals

slowest animals

fastest animals

ugliest and strangest

animals with the shortest life expectancy

animals who can hold their breath the longest

Please be aware that these links will take you away from the SCILT website. You Tube is an open internet forum where clips and comments are posted by the general public. Practitioners should therefore check the suitability of the content of the clips and any links, advertising materials and comments posted around them before using them with a class.

Having difficulties convincing your school to spend money on MFL?

14 December 2012 (Brilliant Teaching Resources)

As MFL Coordinator, you know that teaching foreign languages is important.  But does everyone else in your school? To help you convince them of the importance of MFL, we have produced an information sheet: 10 Reasons for Teaching Foreign Languages in Primary School.

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MFL - Bah, humbug!

14 December 2012 (TES)

"What I love and hate about Christmas" is a rich topic for teenagers. Advertising tells us to aim for "the perfect Christmas". Yet Christmas is a strange and unpredictable mix. Different members of the same family experience it in different ways.  Teenagers love expressing their opinions and feelings about things. Doing so in a foreign language motivates them to extend their vocabulary so they can say exactly what they want to.

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Spanish Christmas resources

13 December 2012 (Mary Glasgow Plus)

You will find a variety of Spanish resources about Christmas posted on this Pinterest board. You will need to register to download the resources, however registration is free. The articles are all available to suit learners at different levels, from P7 to S6.

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On Location German / On Location Italian

13 December 2012 (Radio Lingua)

Read the latest blogposts from Germany and Italy and pick up some useful phrases relating to Christmas.

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Related Links

On location Italian (Radio Lingua blog, 13 December 2012)

Wirkin Wi Wirds – Modren Scots Grammar

13 December 2012 (Engage for Education)

Modren Scots Grammar: Wirkin Wi Wirds is one of the recent projects undertaken by Scottish Language Dictionaries to celebrate their first ten years.
The book accords with Curriculum for Excellence in that it seeks to give readers an understanding of how language works and to give them the tools with which to discuss Scots, English and other modern languages.

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A few Christmas activities for the second week of Advent

12 December 2012 (ALL)

Here are some ideas for celebrating Christmas with your class, from ALL.  They cover different languages and different levels.

Les Français en NBA

11 December 2012 (Mary Glasgow Plus)

Covering the topic of sport in your French language class? This article on French basketball players in the American NBA is a useful resource to introduce the sport. Different versions are available, adapted for use with pupils from P7 upwards.

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Celebrities speaking languages

10 December 2012 (Routes Cymru / YouTube)

Routes Cymru posted the following YouTube links on Twitter. We thought you would enjoy using them with your pupils to promote languages.

MFL - characters to admire

7 December 2012 (TES)

Heroes and heroines is a great subject for language lessons because it involves strong characters and exciting stories. Children can explore what they think a hero is and who may be a hero to them.

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Christmas websites

7 December 2012 (SCILT)

We have pulled together a list of our favourite Christmas websites for teachers to use in class. These websites cover Christmas in France, Germany, Spain and around the world.

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Festive phrases advent calendar

6 December 2012 (Radio Lingua)

With Festive Phrases you can learn a festive greeting each day of December, and you’ll soon be able to say “Merry Christmas”, “Happy New Year” or “Happy Holidays” to many millions of people around the world. In each short video Radio Lingua director Mark is joined by a native speaker of the language, and we’ll provide some background information about the number of speakers, where the language is spoken and much more.

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Coffee Break Spanish Magazine (Episode 107)

5 December 2012 (Radio Lingua)

The latest edition of the Coffee Break Spanish Magazine is now available. Join the team and improve your Spanish! In this edition: 

  • Alba asks her interviewees, ¿ayer hiciste algo especial? Answers cover a range of topics – and accents!; 
  • Laura teaches us what hablar por los codos means; 
  • and JP and Nahyeli discuss medical Spanish in response to a listener’s question.

The free version of the audio programme for this episode is available through the links and audio players.

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On Location German

5 December 2012 (Radio Lingua)

Read the latest blogpost from Germany and pick up some useful German vocabulary for when you're moving house or feel under the weather and have to visit the doctor.

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Spanish Christmas Songs

30 November 2012 (The Comprehensible Classroom)

Martina Bex’s favourite traditional Christmas songs from Spanish-speaking countries, as well as some Spanish-language-versions of English songs. Contains YouTube videos and lyrics.

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MFL - to err is divine

30 November 2012 (TES)

Language mistakes can be funny - and a useful teaching tool.

Mistakes are comedy gold. Most children make corrections in a rush. Take time over them, though, and you can have a laugh while learning a lot about languages. Start a lesson by writing mistakes on the board and waiting for the class to notice. It's a fun way to recap the last lesson.

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Millionaire sports stars (resource)

28 November 2012 (Mary Glasgow Plus)

Read this article in Spanish about the richest athletes in the world. Different versions are available, adapted for use with pupils from P7 to S4.

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Nutella (French resource)

27 November 2012 (Mary Glasgow Plus)

Article in French about the nutritional and environmental impact of the spread, Nutella. Adapted for use with pupils from P7 – S5.

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French Christmas resources for primary and secondary classes

26 November 2012 (Institut français d'Ecosse)

The Institut français d'Ecosse has produced some new resources about Noël (Christmas) for use with primary and S1-S3 pupils.

The resources can be accessed from the Institut français website.

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Related Links

Noël for S1-S3

Voyage Kids - Christmas special (German)

23 November 2012 (UK-German Connection)

The festive season approaches, and the 'voyage kids' website is full of UK-German seasonal cheer with our Christmas Special!

Your pupils can:

  • find out about St. Nikolaus and Knecht Ruprecht - have they earned presents or the 'Rute' on 6 December? 
  • practise their festive vocab with a Christmas memory game and jigsaw
  • sing along to German carols such as 'Stille Nacht' and 'Kling, Glöckchen' 
  • learn Christmas facts, play games and enter this year's Christmas competition in our interactive Advent calendar
  • learn how to bake a 'Lebkuchenhaus' and 'Herrenplätzchen' 
  • upload their own home-made German Christmas cards

If you are singing German Christmas carols such as 'Stille Nacht' or 'Kling, Glöckchen' with your pupils in the next few weeks, just send us a recording as an MP3, and we'll put it online. (All participating classes will receive 'voyage kids' goodies, so don't forget to mention your school name and address, class name, and number of pupils.)

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Related Links

Many thanks to the pupils of Vicarage Park Primary School, Kendal, and Logie Primary School, Dunphail, for their marvellous renditions of the St. Martin's Day 'Laterne, Laterne' song.

MFL - turn the key

23 November 2012 (TES)

Fairy tales can be as much fun to make up as they are to read or listen to. Their magic ingredients are quite simple and they use a lot of pattern and variation.
Start by giving pupils familiar tales like Cinderella in the language they are studying. Cartoon versions in French, German and Spanish are plentiful on YouTube. Show them Jean Cocteau's masterpiece La Belle et La Bete. You could give them key words and phrases in advance to listen out for.

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Related Links

Spotlight on ... Twisted fairy tales (TES, 23 November 2012).  Listen to storyteller Vicky Parson tell the creepy original French version of what we now know as Little Red Riding Hood in a TaleTimesStories video.

Twilight in Berlin

22 November 2012 (Mary Glasgow Plus)

Feature in German about the premier of the new Twilight move in Berlin. The article is suitable for use in the secondary German classroom.

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Une chanson sur les cadeaux de Noël

22 November 2012 (Mary Glasgow Plus)

Feeling Christmassy? Download this French resource about Christmas presents, which is suitable for P7-early secondary students. You will need to register to access the resource, but registration is free.

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MFL Christmas songs

21 November 2012 (CânSing)

New material for Christmas is now on the CânSing website with versions of the Christmas song ‘O holy night’ in Spanish (Santa la noche) and German (Heilige Nacht).

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Related Links

Heilige Nacht

Transition: the band's story in Taiwan

21 November 2012 ('Speak Chinese with Hannah' / YouTube)

See the YouTube video telling the story of the band, Transition, their move to Taiwan and how they embraced Mandarin.

There's also a link below to one of their songs, sung in Chinese - a great resource to use in the classroom!

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The Coaches: part four

20 November 2012 (Twitter - UEFA on YouTube)

UEFA.com speaks to the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Gérard Houllier, Arsène Wenger and Roy Hodgson about how they handle multilingual squads.

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It's worth having a word about Wordles

16 November 2012 (TESS)

Whatever your teaching style or subject, you could benefit from creating 'word clouds', writes Dan Roberts. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that's certainly true of the Wordle website, where teachers or pupils can generate their own customised "word clouds".

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MFL - the long and the short of it

16 November 2012 (TES)

Foreign-language media such as films and advertising can be excellent teaching resources - their use of characters and stories is great for engaging pupils' attention and making vocabulary memorable.

Learning is reinforced when pupils use the target language in role play and written work. If they create a cheesy advertisement with a catchy slogan in Spanish, for example, the vocabulary they use becomes an in-joke they will remember long after the lesson has ended.

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English - MFL - singing their praises

9 November 2012 (TES)

Religion can be hard for small children to grasp as it involves abstract ideas. So it helps to have an activity that allows you to discuss world religions in a way that children of all faiths and none can relate to.

Start by asking pupils what problems people all over the world have. Put these words on the board and teach them in the target language.

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Clipbank MFL learning resources

8 November 2012 (Channel 4)

Follow the links to see previews of Channel 4’s learning portal, Clipbank.  Clips are available for learners of French, German and Spanish, all addressing a particular topic, or area of grammar in the target language:

French 

Spanish 

German 

Please note this is a preview only.  To access the resources you will need to subscribe to the service.

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Gaelic numeracy questions available in NAR

7 November 2012 (Education Scotland)

The National Assessment Resource now includes approximately 200 numeracy questions in Gaelic, which can be combined to form customised packages for assessment in the classroom at first, second and third level.

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Memrise vocabulary learning resource

7 November 2012 (Memrise)

Do you have trouble learning new words in a foreign language?  Memrise makes vocabulary learning fast, fun and effective.  Memrise improves your ability to learn vocabulary by adding three powerful ingredients to normal flashcards…what’s more, it’s free to use!

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Related Links

Les sports – French interactive wordsearch

6 November 2012 (MFL Sunderland)

Introduce a fun element to learning French sports vocabulary with this online interactive wordsearch from MFL Sunderland. 

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Language Apps

6 November 2012 (Linguascope)

A range of Linguascope apps for individual learners are available from the Apple app store (vocabulary, verbs, word of the day, news, Linguatrivia, Talking Dice...). If you would like to advertise the apps to your students, we have a new colourful A2 poster for you to display in the classroom. If you would like to receive some posters free of charge, simply drop us an e-mail (www.linguascope.com/contact.php) with your name, school, school address and the number of posters required.

For more information about the apps, visit our website.

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German teaching resources - Christmas special for primary schools

2 November 2012 (Goethe Institut London)

The Goethe Institut in London have created an area of their website where you will find useful resources you could use in your primary school in the pre-Christmas period.

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New GCSE-website 'Auf Deutsch'

2 November 2012 (Goethe Institut London)

While we were starting work on our new “Auf Deutsch” website we were pleased to see the positive feedback on our existing A-level website in our survey among German teachers conducted in 2011. It gave us a strong incentive to get going on a draft website that would include all the features of the final product and would cater for all levels of learning German including GCSE. Trips had to be made to Berlin, video footage as much as audio material had to be recorded, and blogs had to be written.

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Related Links

Auf Deutsch website

MFL - a darker vocabulary

2 November 2012 (TES)

When we learn a foreign language, we often deal with nice things such as buying ice cream and listing our favourite animals. But bullying is a topic that allows pupils to talk and write about darker things - and every pupil has opinions about it. Wearing a mask or adopting an "alter ego" can make it easier to tell the truth. Similarly, exploring this topic in a foreign language allows pupils to discuss painful things from a safe distance.

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James Bond – Skyfall (resource)

30 October 2012 (Mary Glasgow Plus)

Bring 007 to the classroom with this article in French about the new James Bond movie, Skyfall. Several versions are available, adapted for use with pupils from P7 upwards.

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TECLA October 2012

25 October 2012 (Consejería de Educación)

TECLA is a collection of teaching material for teaching Spanish to adults and young adults. It deals with socio-cultural aspects of today’s Spanish speaking world. The learning units comprise of a reading comprehension part and a language section (vocabulary, grammar, discourse). A recording of the text is also available for pronunciation and listening comprehension work.

In order to celebrate the success of the well-known Spanish novelist Arturo Pérez Reverte, the Consejería has developed three new TECLA teaching materials around the writer and his works:

•Level A (Basic) Carta desde Cartagena
•Level B (Intermediate) Arturo Pérez Reverte, autor de éxito
•Level C (Advanced) No queda sino batirnos

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Posted in: Resources

Kristen Stewart interview in French

25 October 2012 (Mary Glasgow Plus)

Read the magazine interview with Kristen Stewart, the American actress best known for her role as Bella Swan in the Twilight Saga. The interview is in French and is adapted for different levels from KS3 (P7) upwards.

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