University of Stirling Language Ambassadors

1 October 2024 (University of Stirling)

Want to promote languages to your learners/young people? Why not arrange for one of the University of Stirling’s Language Ambassadors to visit your school?

We have students of French and Spanish willing to visit in-person and/or join an online session with school pupils to share their experiences of language-learning at university and the opportunities it has offered them. Many of our students undertake the study of languages alongside other subjects and can provide insights into the transferable skills they have gained combining languages with other areas. Several of them have also studied or worked abroad and are happy to talk about these experiences with young learners.

Language Ambassadors can provide various interventions and will tailor their offerings in line with what teachers/schools require.

If interested, please contact Fiona Noble (fiona.noble@stir.ac.uk).

Aberdeen independent school celebrates European Day of Languages following exam success

25 September 2024 (Aberdeen Business News)

St Margaret’s School for Girls in Aberdeen is preparing to mark European Day of Languages on Thursday 26 September following new data which revealed the dwindling number of Scottish students opting to study languages at Higher level. Head of Modern Languages, Karen Williamson will host an interactive taster session giving learners and parents the opportunity to gain insight into the EPI (Extensive Processing Instruction) approach; a technique designed to help students learn more effectively by reducing cognitive overload.

Last month TES reported that Higher entries for the four main modern languages in Scottish schools had, in overall numbers, been steadily declining since 1986. In 1986, entries for French, German, Spanish and Italian made up 6.5 per cent of all Higher entries (10,833 out of 166,403). By 2024, the same four languages only made up 3.1 per cent of all SQA Higher entries (6,075 out of 196,250).

Whilst modern language qualifications are seeing falling numbers of students taking on this subject nationally, uptake and success by girls in languages has always been strong at St Margaret’s.

Read more...

Senior phase study support

24 September 2024 (e-Sgoil)

Registration for e-Sgoil's 2024-25 Study Support programme is now open!

Open to senior phase students in Scotland working towards national qualifications, the weekly evening Study Support webinars during term time cover a wide range of subjects and levels. Supporting materials are also available.

Visit the website now to see the timetable and register for sessions starting from 28 October 2024. 

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Fiestas and Celebrations in Scotland and Valencia

19 September 2024 (International School Partnerships Scotland)

Are you looking for something to engage your class and bring learning Spanish to life? Join us to explore traditions, culture and celebrations in both Spain and Scotland and connect with a Valencian school partner.

This is a highly motivating, inter-disciplinary project for young learners, combining language learning with expressive arts, technologies, social subjects and global citizenship. It can help young people become culturally aware, to learn about their own traditions and celebrations as well as those of others, and foster tolerance and understanding of diversity. Through collaborating and sharing with international partners, young people develop a variety of skills and abilities, including teamwork, creativity, problem solving, inter-cultural competences, leadership, organisation, linguistic confidence, and more.

How can I get involved?

This project is open to primary 5–7 learners and secondary S1–3 learners in any school offering Spanish language. 

We are seeking to involve 10 schools in Scotland and 10 schools in Valencia. We will match you with a partner school to work with on collaborative activities over a 3 month period (November to February). Throughout this time, we will support you with curriculum related resources and a series of activities as you get to know your partner. 

The project will involve a series of teacher webinars, introducing collaborative activities for classes to take part in, centred around traditional fiestas and celebrations. Young people will learn about traditions and festivals in their partner country, and will research their own cultural events in order to share them. Schools are expected to collaborate with their partner on these activities and share their work. 

Want to take the partnership further? We will offer support to schools who wish to take their partnership further and apply for funding to enable a visit to Valencia.

To register your interest, please contact ISPScotland@outlook.com

Strathclyde Language Ambassadors 2024/2025

19 September 2024 (University of Strathclyde)

Time to book your in-school visit!

At the University of Strathclyde, while fully supporting the SCILT’s monthly Language Ambassadors online sessions and Scotland's Languages Explorer's Programme, we are also offering on-site visits.

So, get your learners to discover the joys of engaging with a new culture and learning and being able to use another language by organising a visit from one of our Language Ambassadors teams to your school!

Our Language Ambassadors are students of French, Italian, Mandarin or Spanish, on various degrees, including BA Honours in French and Spanish, International Business and a Modern Language, Law and a Language but also Engineering and Science degrees and they are keen to share their experiences of learning and using their languages as well as discovering new cultures.

This programme is free of charge and provides student role models to promote languages to young people in your school. We aim to encourage your learners to engage with young adults who have decided to study languages at university and to have a positive impact on the number of learners who choose languages as part of their high school curriculum.

Language Ambassadors can deliver a range of activities, such as:

• Presentation aimed at various levels about their experiences as university language learners, transitioning from school to university, and their experiences abroad, followed by a Q&A session about the benefits of studying languages;
• ‘Meet & Chat Sessions’ for Senior Phase students who have already selected a language;
• Micro-presentations as part of a school-wide event.

Please visit the Strathclyde Language Ambassadors webpage or contact the programme leader Cédric Moreau to discover more and book a visit from a Strathclyde Language Ambassadors team in 2024/2025.

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Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival school programme

17 September 2024 (Consejería de Educación)

The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival 2024 takes place from 2-26 October!

The Spanish Embassy Education Office and the Consulate General of Spain in Edinburgh, who promote the teaching of Spanish language and culture in non-university education throughout the United Kingdom, are supporting the event with a programme for schools. This consists of the screening of two Spanish films: one in a face-to-face session in Edinburgh and the other accessible online for classroom viewing in schools in the UK.

‘The Teacher Who Promised the Sea’ - Screening in Edinburgh

The festival offers the opportunity for both students and teachers to attend an exclusive in-person screening of the film ‘El Maestro que Prometió el Mar’, directed by Patricia Font and nominated for 5 Goya awards in its last edition. The film was a great box office success in Spain with more than 270,000 spectators. The screening will take place on Wednesday 9 October at 10:30 am in the cinema hall of the Institut Français in Edinburgh.

View a trailer of the film on YouTube and read an authentic article about the true story of Antoni Benaiges that inspired the film’.

‘The Olive Tree’ - Online screening

The festival will also offer the possibility of facilitating access to all UK classrooms to watch the film ‘El Olivo’, directed by Icíar Bollaín in 2016 and the winner of a Goya award. To do so, it will only be necessary to request an access code that will allow secondary school classrooms to watch the film from 30 September to 4 October. The film will be accompanied by worksheets for the classroom.

View a trailer of the film on YouTube

Both films have been selected primarily for their pedagogical qualities, so we believe would be an excellent opportunity for secondary school students. 

See the attached flyers for full details.

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators

17 September 2024 (University of Oxford)

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators is a UK-wide creative translation competition for students aged 11-18 studying French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish. The competition also runs from French into Welsh. Last year, over 16,000 students from across the UK participated in the prize.    

The 2024-25 prize will launch on 19 September, when our first set of creative translation teaching packs will be shared with registered teachers in time for European Day of Languages on 26 September and International Translation Day on 30 September. These teaching packs are designed to help teachers bring creative translation into the MFL classroom as well as to help students prepare for the competition task. 

Teaching packs for poetry translation will be circulated to registered teachers on 19 September. Fiction resources will follow after October half term, and non-fiction will be released in early January 2025. To receive these resources, register for the prize. 

The competition itself will run over several weeks from 3 February to 28 March 2025. Area and national winners will be announced in May or June 2025. All winners will receive certificates and national winners will receive book prizes. Visit the website to see the list of 2024 winners and commendations.      

There are a number of related activities run by the Queen's Translation Exchange that teachers and pupils can participate in. See the Opportunities for Schools page.   

If you have any queries regarding the competition, please contact the Translation Exchange team at translation.exchange@queens.ox.ac.uk. 

OU TELT course – still time to register!

29 August 2024 (Open University)

Teachers Learning to Teach languages (TELT) aims to increase and improve language provision in primary schools. Teachers simultaneously learn a new language and the skills to teach that language in the classroom. The programme carries the GTCS professional recognition award, and can count towards the University of Strathclyde’s Masters in Education as accredited prior learning.

Available languages are French, German, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

A webinar on the programme was held in June and a recording of that information session can be found on the Open University YouTube channel.

Registration for the programme commencing October 2024 closes on 5 September.

Visit the Open University’s TELT website at the link below for more information.

Read more...

Research reveals the most in-demand languages for UK professionals

28 August 2024 (HR Review)

The ability to speak multiple languages has become an increasingly valuable skill for UK professionals.

Recent research conducted by City Lit has shed light on the heightened demand for multilingual workers across various industries, with European languages such as German, French, and Spanish emerging as the most sought-after.

The study analysed job advertisements across the UK, revealing that German tops the list of in-demand languages, appearing in 25 percent of multilingual job postings. French closely follows at 24 percent, with Spanish rounding out the top three at 15 percent. The demand for these languages is particularly pronounced in sectors like Management, Sales, and Technology.

Read more...

RZSS Science in the Language Class

22 August 2024 (RZSS)

There are still some opportunities for FREE in-person outreach sessions aimed at P5-P7 level across Scotland. The projects link to Spanish and French. Both programmes cover some basic greetings, numbers, colours, body parts etc in the relevant language.

• Spanish - learn more about the giant armadillo, the giant anteater and the two-toed sloth from South America.   
• French - learn about the Partula snail story in the French Polynesia Islands. 

Visit the Science in the Language Class webpage for more information and contact srobb@rzss.org.uk to book. 

Read more...

OU TELT course - still time to register!

16 August 2024 (Open University)

Teachers Learning to Teach languages (TELT) aims to increase and improve language provision in primary schools. Teachers simultaneously learn a new language and the skills to teach that language in the classroom. The programme carries the GTCS professional recognition award, and can count towards the University of Strathclyde’s Masters in Education as accredited prior learning.

Available languages are French, German, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

A webinar on the programme was held in June and a recording of that information session can be found on YouTube.

Registration for the programme commencing October 2024 closes on 5 September.

Visit the Open University’s TELT website at the link below for more information.

Read more...

Upcoming Online Team Teaching for Languages - Live Lessons available for French, Gaelic and Spanish

15 August 2024 (Argyll & Bute Council)

This offer is open to all Scottish primary schools using Glow Teams. Teachers learn alongside their pupils in real time and are supported to lead the learning in their own class. The lesson structure alternates between short bursts of direct teaching from the online teacher, followed by the class teachers leading their own class in a game. This format allows the learning to remain active and fully engage the learners. These courses provide on the job professional learning and help teachers make the time for languages in the curriculum. 

Each lesson lasts approximately 40 minutes and will take place via GLOW Teams. All resources will be available to download in advance of the session and will be stored in the GLOW Team.

Suitable for P4-7 classes. Please sign up via the Live Lessons 2024-25 link. 

Read more...

‘To be or to be?’ Why this fundamental concept is so difficult for learners of Spanish

14 August 2024 (The Conversation)

Learning a second language is a non-linear process that goes far beyond memorising vocabulary and grammar. It opens up new worlds and ways of perceiving what linguists call “units”: sets of objects or forms and the interconnected relationships between them.

These units are recognised, understood and ultimately learned through exposure to a variety of contexts and real communicative situations, but they can vary massively from one language to another, often in fundamental questions like what it means to “be”. Just ask anyone who has studied Spanish, which splits this most basic concept into two completely distinct verbs.

There is growing research-based support for incorporating a unit-based approach to language learning in the classroom, but many second language teaching methodologies still focus on lists of rules and usages. These lists are often accompanied by a litany of exceptions that lead only to confusion and frustration.

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Teaching bursary in Scotland - Modern languages now eligible!

20 June 2024 (Teaching Bursary in Scotland)

The Teaching Bursary Scheme is open to individuals wishing to undertake a one-year PGDE ITE course in Scotland that leads to the award of registered teacher status in Scotland's hardest-to-fill teaching subjects.

This year's eligbile teaching subjects include Modern Languages at secondary level and Gaelic at both secondary and primary.

Teaching Bursary in Scotland 2024 will be open for applications shortly. Visit the website for more information.

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Fewer pupils in England studying drama and media at GCSE and A-level

30 May 2024 (The Guardian)

Fewer pupils in England are studying drama, media and performing arts at GCSE and A-level, while the popularity of statistics, computing, physics and maths has gone up.

Provisional figures for exam entries in England this summer, published by the exams regulator Ofqual on Thursday, also reveal a growing enthusiasm for modern foreign languages, which had been in long-term decline.

The number of French A-level candidates has grown by 8% over the last year, Spanish by 2.3% and German by 3.1%, the last albeit from a very low base, taking numbers up to 2,280. The biggest jump at A-level is in further maths, where entry numbers have shot up by almost 20%.

Read more...

Language scheme a 'win-win' for Ballyclare pupils

9 May 2024 (BBC)

Sharing knowledge between schools is a "win-win situation" when it comes to learning a second language, according to a Ballyclare teacher.

Pupils in the County Antrim town have come together to tackle the falling numbers of children who learn a second language in Northern Ireland.

Sixth form students from Ballyclare High School teach language classes to pupils in several local primary schools.

Jonny Nelson, head of Spanish at the school, said the lessons are mutually beneficial for the students.

Learning a second language is not compulsory for primary school children in Northern Ireland.

The 'Language Leaders' scheme allows primary school pupils to get a taste of German, French and Spanish, which they would not otherwise learn on the primary curriculum.

The sixth form students lead lessons including games and interactive activities for younger pupils, while they in turn are provided with leadership and teaching experience.

"Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK at the moment that doesn't have a primary languages programme as part of the curriculum so we have to take the steps to try and instil that knowledge and enthusiasm from day one," Mr Nelson told BBC News NI.

Read more...

Language courses for pupils at Edinburgh College

2 May 2024 (Edinburgh College)

School pupils who find their chosen language qualification is not offered in their school can study their NQ language course online for free with Edinburgh College.

The college offers National 5 courses in French, German and Spanish as well as Higher and Advanced Higher French, German, Italian and Spanish.

See the attached flyer for details.

Young Applicants in Schools Scheme

25 April 2024 (OU)

The Young Applicants in Schools Scheme (YASS) run by the Open University is now accepting applications for 2024-25.

The scheme is fully-funded by the Scottish Funding Council and enables S6 pupils to study first year university-level courses alongside school studies, enhancing skills and UCAS/college applications. 

A range of subjects are offered, including French, German, Spanish and Exploring Languages & Cultures.

Whilst registration for the scheme closes on 2 September, students are encouraged to apply before the summer holidays to ensure they are able to register onto their chosen course.

Visit the YASS website for more information.

Read more...

Employing a Language Assistant in Scotland

16 April 2024 (British Council)

A Language Assistant can make a vital difference to students’ achievement and motivation to learn a language. It can also help schools fulfil Curriculum for Excellence requirements and support the 1+2 languages policy. 

Language Assistants are native speakers of French, German, Italian, Spanish or Mandarin Chinese. They bring the language and culture of their home country to life and motivate students to learn and develop their understanding of the world around them.

Visit the British Council website to discover more and submit your application to host a Language Assistant in session 2024-25 by 30 April.

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OU TELT course open for registrations

16 April 2024 (Open University)

TEachers Learning to Teach languages (TELT) aims to increase and improve language provision in primary schools. Teachers simultaneously learn a new language and the skills to teach that language in the classroom. The programme is General Teaching Council for Scotland approved, and can count towards postgraduate qualifications.

Available languages are French, German, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

Registration is now open for the programme commencing October 2024.

Visit the Open University website for more information.

Read more...

RZSS Science in the Language Class

16 April 2024 (RZSS)

RZSS Science in the Language Class has three new FREE language linked outreach sessions aimed at upper primary level and available for August 2024 but as places can fill up fast early booking is recommended. 

French: A one hour outreach session linked to RZSS work in the French Polynesia Islands with the Partula snail. We don't just work with the big charismatic animals. We can't forget the importance to the ecosystem of the wee beasties. Learn more about the conservation work with activities linked to French. 

Gaelic: A one hour outreach session linked to RZSS work in Scotland with the Scottish wildcat. RZSS Highland Wildlife Park has a special centre which is breeding the Scottish wildcat for release to the wild. The first release was in 2023. Learn more about the Scottish wildcat with activities linked to Gaelic. 

Spanish: This can be a one hour outreach session or there is the option for a short 2 week course, where in the first week there is a 45 minute live virtual introductory session, followed by a one hour in-person outreach. The session(s) are linked to the RZSS work in South America with the giant armadillo, the giant anteater and the two-toed sloth. Although they seem very different animals, they all belong to a group called Xenarthra which means strange joints! Learn more about this work with activities linked to Spanish.

All are available throughout Scotland including the Islands. However, if further afield (ie not in the Central Belt) then we do need a cluster of schools booking together to come for a few days or a week. Or possibly one school booking a number of sessions over a few days. Sessions are aimed at P4-P7. Maximum number per session is 33. Contact Sandie Robb - srobb@rzss.org.uk for further details and to discuss options. Also see the Science in the Language Class website. 

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Immersion courses in Spain

9 April 2024 (Consejería de Educación)

British/Irish teachers of Spanish can apply for a one-week immersion course for Summer 2024 in Ávila, Segovia or Santander (a good command of Spanish is required).

The grant covers the course, accommodation and meals, as well as the cultural programme. The grant does not cover the journey to Spain or the return to the UK. Travel and/or health insurance is also not included

This call is not for Spanish nationals.

Visit the Consejería de Educación website for more information and apply by 24 April 2024.

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11th call for “Best Spanish Student Award”

21 March 2024 (Consejería de Educación)

Do you have a student currently enrolled in A-level / Advanced Higher Spanish with a brilliant academic record? You can nominate them for the 11^th call for “Best Spanish Student Award in the United Kingdom" in collaboration with Junta de Castilla y León. The prize consists of a 3-day stay in Spain for two people.

Deadline for nominations: 5 May 2024.

Visit the Spanish Embassy Education Office website for more information.

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Easter Study Support 2024

5 March 2024 (eSgoil)

Registration for eSgoil's Easter Study Support 2024 is now open!

Easter Study Support is for Senior Phase learners who are working towards National Qualifications. This year there are seventy-four different webinar Teams, covering a wide range of subjects and levels.

Live, interactive and free, the sessions will support learners towards final exams.

Visit eSgoil's website for the full timetable and to register for the webinars.

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Online workshops for teachers and Spanish courses for students under 18 in Salamanca

1 March 2024 (Consejería de Educación)

Online workshop

The next in the series of online workshops being run by Consejería de Educación during February and March 2024 takes place 12 March. Follow the link below for more information and to register: 

• Upcoming workshop, Tuesday 12 March 2024 (16:30-17:30): « La gramática española a través del verso y la poesía», organised alongside Andalucia TRADE and with the collaboration of Maravillas Programas Internacionales.

More information and free registration (before 10 March).

Spanish courses for students under 18 in Salamanca

Cursos Internacionales (University of Salamanca) is offering a programme in Spanish aimed at students under 18.

The programme (ranging from 1 to 2 weeks in length) includes lessons and full board accommodation in a residence, health insurance for the duration of the program, afternoon activities and transfer to and from the airport.

For further information see the attached brochure or email internat@usal.es

Applications to host a Modern Language Assistant for 2024-25 are open now!

29 February 2024 (British Council)

Hosting a Language Assistant helps enhance language learning, boost student results and build cultural capital. Flexible hosting options are available with different placement lengths and sharing possibilities.

Applications to host a Modern Language Assistant for the 2024-25 academic year are now open (29 February – 30 April). To guarantee a Mandarin Chinese Language Assistant, you must submit your application by 28 March.

Our team is well-equipped to support you and we would love to hear from you if you would like to discuss how we could help make it work for you in 2024-25. To speak to a colleague, please email LanguageAssistants.UK@BritishCouncil.org. 

Visit the British Council website to find out more. 

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The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators

22 February 2024 (University of Oxford)

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators is run by Queen's Translation Exchange, University of Oxford. The competition is free to enter and aims to promote language learning across the UK and inspire creativity in the modern languages classroom. 

• For students of French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish in KS3-5.
• In addition to the competition task, teachers receive up to 15 sets of resources for each language on translating poetry, fiction, non-fiction for use in the build-up to the competition.
• Deadline for competition entries: 28 March 2024.
• Winners selected for 10 geographical areas. National winners selected for each level in each language. All winners and commendations announced on our webpage.
• Last year over 14,000 pupils across the UK took part and the feedback from teachers was enormously positive.
• Teachers can register to receive classroom resources and competition tasks on the Anthea Bell Prize website.

For more information visit the website or contact: translation.exchange@queens.ox.ac.uk.

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Eslei! How a new generation is reinventing Spanglish

15 February 2024 (BBC Future)

When Spanish meets English, new dialects emerge – giving us real-time insight into language evolution, linguists say.

"Vamos de punches punches punches", Yamilet Muñoz texted her friends in Austin, Texas. It means "let's go and party", but it's not a phrase you'll find in any dictionary. It's a remix of Spanish and English words seasoned with a in-joke about punching the air as you dance, and it's just one example of the countless linguistic innovations happening every day as these two major American languages meet.

Read more...

IberoDocs 2024

13 February 2024 (IberoDocs)

IberoDocs will return to Edinburgh and Glasgow for its tenth edition, 21 February - 2 March 2024.

The festival offers a carefully selected programme of the latest and most relevant documentaries from Spain, Portugal and Latin America, plus a string of events designed to connect communities in celebration of rich cultures. 

IberoDocs X features six feature-length documentaries from Argentina, Brazil, Cape Verde, Panama, Portugal, and Spain, and two short films made by Scotland-based filmmakers. The screenings will represent the Scottish premiere of all films (except I Miss Hugs), including two UK premieres (One Day Lobo Lopez; For Your Peace, Build Your Own Museum) and one international premiere (Infinities). 

The festival will feature several in-person and Zoom Q&As with international filmmakers. Each feature film will screen once in each city.

See the attached pdf for more information or visit the website to access the full digital brochure.

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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).

Upcoming training opportunities for teachers of Spanish

25 January 2024 (Consejería de Educación)

The Consejería de Educación offers a range of professional learning opportunities for UK teachers of Spanish. Follow the relevant link below to find out more about each upcoming event and to register:

• 'Artifical intelligences and tasks for the ELE classroom', Tuesday 6 February
  
  This is the first in a series of online workshops for Spanish teachers from February to March 2024. Register for the free workshop by 4 February.
   
• Grants for an immersion course in Spain (Ávila, Segovia and Santander) 
  
  14 one-week immersion courses in July or August 2024 in Ávila, Segovia or Santander aimed at British/Irish teachers of Spanish.
  
  The grant covers the course, accommodation and meals, as well as the cultural programme.  The grant does not cover the journey to Spain or the return to the UK. Travel and/or health insurance is also not included.
  
  This call is not for Spanish nationals. Application period will be announced from March.
   
• Immersion course in Santiago de Compostela (Spain), April 2024
  
  Registration is now open for the Spanih teacher training course "Curso de actualización para el profesorado de ELE: lengua, cultura y didáctica" organised by the University of Santiago de Compostela.
  
  ​Dates: 8 - 12 April 2024
  
  Number of hours: 20 (face-to face)
  
  Contents:
  ​
  • Nuevas tecnologías en el aula de ELE
  • Dinámicas de proyecto, actividades cooperativas y pedagogías innovadoras
  • Lengua y cultura española( literatura, cine y música)
  • El Camino de Santiago en el aula el ELE
  • Actividades culturales incluidas en el curso:
  • Visita guiada a la ciudad monumental
  • Visita guiada al Patrimonio Histórico artístico de la Universidad
  • More information about registration, prices and accomodation:  gene.gonzalez@usc.es

Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators

16 January 2024 (Queen's College Oxford)

Inspired by the life and work of the great translator Anthea Bell, the competition aims to promote language learning across the UK and to inspire creativity in the classroom. By providing teachers with the tools they need to bring translation to life, we hope to motivate more pupils to study modern foreign languages throughout their time at school and beyond.

The Prize is free to enter and open to all secondary schools across the UK. The Prize currently offers French (into Welsh and English), Spanish, German, Italian and Mandarin. Teachers can register for the prize at any point in the year. The competition will run from February to March in 2024. 

Visit the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators website for more information.

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eSgoil online courses for 2024-25

5 January 2024 (eSgoil)

Looking to broaden your learners' horizons and your school's curricular offer? We are offering a range of language NQs and work-related courses for 2024-25, delivered at no cost via live, online and interactive lessons.

Explore the details in the online brochure. 

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Writing competitions for language students

18 December 2023 (King's College London)

The Department of Languages, Literature and Cultures at King's College London invites Year 12 or 13 (S5 or S6 in Scotland) students of German, French and Spanish/Portuguese to submit original pieces of work in their chosen language. Prizes include the chance to have their article published. 

Follow the appropriate link below to find out more about the competition, the subject topic and how to enter:

• A-Level French Writing Competition
• A-Level German Writing Competition
• A-Level Spanish/Portuguese Writing Competition

The entry deadline for all is 20 February 2024.

Online workshops for senior phase language learners

12 December 2023 (King's College London)

King's College London are hosting a number of online workshops for A-Level and equivalent learners of languages during the Spring term.

As well as film discussion workshops offering students the chance to develop their language skills for film analysis, there are taster events to discover other options available to those considering language studies at university. Follow the relevant link below to find out more and to register for the event:

• 7 February 2024 - Comparative Literature: Online taster event
• 28 February 2024 - Workshop on the French film 'Entre les murs'
• 6 March 2024 - Spanish and Portuguese at King's College London: Online taster event
• 13 March 2024 - Workshop on the German film 'Das Leben der Anderen'

Controversial uni modern languages proposal to be discussed

11 December 2023 (BBC)

Controversial University of Aberdeen proposals which could see its modern languages degrees scrapped are set to be discussed.

The university has blamed a steep fall in the number of students studying modern languages for the move.

More than 12,000 people have signed a petition opposing the proposals, and a protest meeting was held on Monday evening.

The university court will meet later to discuss the future of modern languages provision.

Mathématiques sans Frontières competition

5 December 2023 (Scottish Mathematical Council)

The Scottish Mathematical Council would like to welcome schools to participate in the world-wide Mathematics and Language competition Mathématiques sans Frontières. 

We are hopeful that we continue to offer a stimulating and light-hearted competition for senior phase pupils which combines Mathematics and Modern Languages. For those of you who have not taken part previously, this competition aims to motivate pupils in these subjects, promote teamwork throughout pupils of all abilities, and bridge borders between countries across the world.

Attached is a discovery training test for “Mathématiques Sans Frontières” alongside some more formal competition instructions, and an entry proforma for the competition. Entry deadline: 26 January 2024.

You can also find more information on the Mathématiques sans Frontières website.

Read more...

Summer 2024 Spanish immersion courses and online CPD opportunities

31 October 2023 (Consejería de Educación)

The following professional learning opportunities are available for UK teachers of Spanish:

Immersion courses in Salamanca (Summer 2024)

• Grants to follow a one-week Spanish language course at the University of Salamanca aimed at Spanish teachers in the UK or Ireland: language, culture and teaching resources. Various dates offered during June and July 2024.
• Visit the Consejería de Educación website for more information and registration.

Free CPD online sessions for teachers of Spanish (13 & 14 November 2023)

• Register for the free online CPD sessions organised by FEDELE on 13 and 14 November 2023. Ten hours of free training which can be followed live or recorded until 31 December 2023. Certificate of participation will be issued by FEDELE.
• Full programme and registration on the FEDELE website.

Virtual Spanish and Latin American Film Festival - University of Stirling / Pragda

31 October 2023 (University of Stirling)

Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of Stirling are hosting a Spanish and Latin American Film Festival as part of the Spanish Film Club series, made possible with the support of Pragda, SPAIN arts & culture, and the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain. 

The following film will be available virtually Wednesday 8^th to Wednesday 15^th November 2023: 

Niñas araña

If you would like your learners to access this virtual film screening, please register via this Form to receive the sign-in information for the screening room and the associated discussion guide. 

If you have any questions or would like further information about this initiative, please contact Fiona Noble (fiona.noble@stir.ac.uk). 

RZSS Programmes for Schools

12 October 2023 (RZSS)

RZSS Science in the Language Class - Many free language resources are available on the Science in Language Class website. There are a wide range of resources for Mandarin, Spanish and French along with free outreach sessions. Next year look out for further resources available in German and Gaelic and a new upper primary course for Spanish. 

Mandarin course - The Mandarin upper primary course is 3 weeks virtual sessions followed by an expert for the day!  (An in-person outreach visit to your school which can include other sessions for additional classes.)

Giants - A free outreach session aimed at upper primary level which can be linked to either Spanish or Mandarin. 

Stripy Tails - A free outreach session aimed at upper primary level which can be linked to either French or Mandarin. 

Contact srobb@rzss.org.uk for bookings. All are fully booked to December but there are still a few opportunities left from January 2024. 

See the Beyond the Panda webpage for details and resources. 

Read more...

eSgoil study support 2023-24

5 October 2023 (eSgoil)

Registration for eSgoil's Study Support programme is now open!

Study Support is for Senior Phase learners who are working towards National Qualifications, with weekly evening webinars during term time covering a wide range of subjects and levels, including Gaelic, French and Spanish.

Visit the eSgoil website for full programme details and to register. Programme commences week beginning 30 October.

Read more...

Discovery Film Festival

2 October 2023 (DCA)

Discovery Film Festival, Scotland’s international film festival for young audiences, is back for its 20th year!

Taking place from 21 October to 5 November, there's another packed programme of the best new films for young audiences from around the world, with free education resource packs to accompany the screenings. The festival will be available both online and at Dundee Contemporary Arts.

Visit the website for full programme details.

Read more...

Online Preparation Course for the Instituto Cervantes Teacher Accreditation Diploma (DADIC)

28 September 2023 (Instituto Cervantes)

The Instituto Cervantes is developing a professional accreditation system consisting of a series of diplomas that certify the professional training of ELE (Spanish as a Foreign Language) teachers - the Instituto Cervantes Teacher Accreditation Diplomas (DADIC): Autonomous, Expert, and Teacher Trainer. These diplomas have indefinite validity and enjoy broad national and international recognition, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Spain. The first level, the Autonomous DADIC, certifies that the holder possesses the basic competencies required for the professional practice of teaching ELE for general purposes.

This is an introductory course aimed at people with no experience or prior training in teaching Spanish as a foreign language, who wish to obtain the Instituto Cervantes Teaching Accreditation Diploma (autonomous level).

More information is given on the attached flyer or you can visit the Instituto Cervantes website. 

Read more...

Invite a team of Strathclyde Language Ambassadors to your school!

28 September 2023 (University of Strathclyde)

At the University of Strathclyde, beyond supporting the Language Ambassadors Online and the Language Explorers Programme, we are still offering on-site visits in 2023-24.

So, get your learners to discover the joys of discovering a new culture and learning and being able to use another language by organising a visit from one of our Language Ambassadors teams to your school!

Our Language Ambassadors are students of French, Italian, Mandarin or Spanish, on various degrees, including BA Honours in French and Spanish, International Business and a Modern Language, Law and a Language but also Engineering and Science degrees and they are keen to share their experiences of learning and using their languages as well as discovering new cultures.

This programme is free of charge and provides student role models to promote languages to young people in your school. We aim to encourage your learners to engage with young adults who have decided to study languages at university and to have a positive impact on the number of learners who choose languages as part of their high school curriculum.

We can deliver a range of activities, such as:

• A presentation about their experiences as university language learners and their experiences abroad;
• Q&A sessions about the benefits of studying a language;
• A small group discussion for Senior phase students who have already selected a language;
• Micro-presentations as part of a school-wide event

Want to book a visit from a Language Ambassadors team in 2023-24? Simply contact Cédric Moreau now!

Virtual Spanish and Latin American Film Festival - University of Stirling / Pragda

21 September 2023 (University of Stirling)

Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of Stirling are hosting a Spanish and Latin American Film Festival as part of the Spanish Film Club series, made possible with the support of Pragda, SPAIN Arts & Culture, and the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain. 

This term, we are screening two films: 

Carajita available Friday 6^th to Friday 13^th October 2023 

Niñas araña available Wednesday 8^th to Wednesday 15^th November 2023 

If you would like your learners to access one or both of these virtual film screenings, please register via this form to receive the sign-in information for the screening room and the associated discussion guides. 

If you have any questions or would like further information about this initiative, please contact Fiona Noble (fiona.noble@stir.ac.uk). 

Online and face-to-face workshops for teachers of Spanish

14 September 2023 (Consejería de Educación)

The Spanish Education Office is offering the following free workshops for UK teachers of Spanish. Follow the relevant link for more information and to book:

Online workshops - Saturday 23 September, 10:00 - 12:00

Two different workshops with practical ideas and resources to bring to your Spanish classroom:

• «Dimensión social y cultural de la gastronomía en el aula de ELE», por Alfredo Pérez Berciano, Colegio Delibes
• «Vacía de información para llenar de contenido: propuestas visuales para una clase comunicativa», por Alejandro Rodríguez López, Hispano Continental

Discover Andalucía - Face-to-face workshops

The following two events have been organised in partnership with Trade Andalucía:

• London, 3 October (5pm-7pm): Instituto Cervantes, 15-19 Devereux Ct, Temple, London WC2R 3JJ
• Edinburgh, 4 October (5pm-7pm): The University of Edinburgh, School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, 50 George Square, room G.02, Edinburgh EH8 9LH

​Free registration on a first come, first served basis.

SNP grassroots demand more language teaching provision in schools

9 September 2023 (The Herald)

Ministers are facing a demand from the SNP grassroots to improve language teaching provision in Scottish schools after falling Higher entries for French and German.

A motion on the draft agenda to the party's conference raises concerns over the teaching in European languages for senior pupils at secondary school.

It underlines the importance of language learning as a life skill "particularly if we are striving for membership of the EU post-independence" and calls for native speakers to be recruited as language assistants to help secondary school students gain qualifications.

A total of 4,239 pupils sat French Higher in 2013 with the number falling to 2280 this year, according to the Scottish Qualifications Authority's statistics. In 2013 a total of 1051 entered German Higher compared to 520 this year.

The figures also showed an increasing trend towards pupils taking Spanish, with 1,645 Higher entries in the subject in 2013 rising to 2605 this year (overtaking French).

However, Scotland is considerably lagging behind the Republic of Ireland which has made language teaching a central part of its successful economic strategy with GDP growing by 12% in 2022, compared to 4% for the UK's.

(Note, subscription may be required to access full article)

Read more...

Spanish cinema in British schools

5 September 2023 (Consejería de Educación)

Bring Spanish cinema to your school! Join the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival school programme for free (2^nd to 6^th October) and enjoy a film from the comfort of the classroom. Films for Primary and Secondary level accompanied by worksheets. Book now and get the code for your school.

Read more...

SQA Advanced Higher Modern Languages: new resources to support with performance-talking

1 September 2023 (SQA)

From session 2023-24, the Advanced Higher Modern Languages performance-talking coursework task returns to its usual format, with a duration of approximately 20 minutes. The requirement to discuss aspects of the portfolio has also been reinstated. 

We have created two new SQA Academy courses to help you with this coursework task. An updated performance-talking audio presentation is also available from our Understanding Standards website.

SQA Academy course – Performance-talking

This course provides an overview of what the Advanced Higher performance-talking assessment involves – including its purpose, structure, preparation for the assessment, the Subject Topic List (STL) form and how performance-talking is assessed.

SQA Academy course – A day in the life of a visiting assessor

This second course outlines the role of the Modern Languages performance-talking visiting assessor and describes what happens before, during and after the assessment of performance-talking. You may find it useful to share this course with your learners.

Access the courses from the SQA Academy website

SQA Understanding Standards – updated audio presentation

An updated audio presentation on the Advanced Higher performance-talking for session 2023-24 is also available from the Modern Languages pages of the Understanding Standards website (select the language, then ‘presentations’ from the page menu).

View the performance-talking audio presentation.

Oh là là - concerns over uptake of languages Highers

10 August 2023 (TES)

New Scottish national data shows a drop in uptake of languages at Higher since 2019, the last year before the Covid pandemic.

The decrease in French entries is particularly steep and, after many years as the most popular language in Scottish schools, uptake is now lower than for Spanish.

However, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages (widely known as SCILT) says there is better news in National 5 figures, which suggest there may be the beginnings of a comeback from the Covid years.

(Note - subscription required to access full article)

Read more...

Clydebank school pupils praised after landing top award

6 July 2023 (Clydebank Post)

A Clydebank school was said to have 'impressed judges' on their way to picking up a top educational award for languages.

Pupils across three age groups at St Peter the Apostle High School were praised for their 'passion' for languages such as Gaelic and Spanish as they landed the Gold Scottish Languages Employability Award from SCILT - Gold Scottish Languages Employability Award from SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages and the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools.

The recognition award - launched in 2019 -  was developed by SCILT as a way of delivering DYW (Developing the Young Workforce) through languages, encouraging school-business partnerships and recognising good practice in this area.

Read more...

GCSEs: Spanish set to become most popular MFL subject

29 June 2023 (TES)

Spanish is set to overtake French as the most popular GCSE language choice at schools in England, a new report has predicted.

The new Language Trends 2023 report, conducted by the British Council, has found that having been the most selected language at A level for the last four years, Spanish now looks set to replicate that popularity at GCSE level.

While Spanish, French and German remain the most popular languages at GCSE, German is falling increasingly behind, and there were more than 35,000 entries for other modern languages, the highest number recorded so far.

Read more...

Chris Hemsworth caught with useful Spanish phrase on palm at Extraction film premiere in Madrid

13 June 2023 (The Independent)

Chris Hemsworth inadvertently revealed his way of remembering a handy Spanish phrase at a recent film premiere.

Read more...

Online team-teaching model - A sustainable approach to support language delivery in the primary

13 June 2023 (South West EIC / Northern Alliance)

This pilot delivered French, Spanish and Gaelic live lessons using Microsoft Teams in Glow and was offered to schools across Scotland between January and May 2023.

You can now find out about the far-reaching impact of this initiative by reading the case study attached below.

Immersion courses and professional learning for teachers of Spanish

8 June 2023 (Consejería de Educación)

The Consejería de Educación in the United Kingdom has several upcoming professional learning opportunities for UK teachers of Spanish. Follow the relevant links below for more information and to book your place:

IMMERSION COURSES IN SPAIN

Spanish language course in Salamanca

• Grants to follow a 1 week Spanish language course in Salamanca aimed at Primary or Secondary teachers during summer. 3 different levels: beginners, intermediate and advanced Spanish. Information and registration on the Consejería de Educación website. 

Course on Didactics in Castilla y León

• Grants for a course on didactics aimed at teachers of Spanish in the UK and Ireland. 1 week course during summer in Salamanca, Valladolid, Burgos or Palencia. A high command of Spanish is required. Information and registration on the Consejería de Educación website.

MORE CPD OPPORTUNITIES

Spanish Day in Edinburgh – Saturday 17 June

• Face-to-face training day for teachers of Spanish in primary, secondary, university and further education. Free registration.

Spanish Workshops in London – Saturday 24 June

• Big Spanish Day at the Vicente Cañada Blanch Spanish Institute in London. Aimed at teachers of Spanish, it includes a wide offer of practical workshops on different aspects complemented by other attractive aspects related to culture in Spanish: the gastronomic proposal for lunch and the cultural workshops that close the day: theatre and «sevillanas» dance. Full programme and registration on the Consejería de Educación website.

Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival - Free Online School programme - October 2023

6 June 2023 (ESFF)

The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival will celebrate ten years of Spanish cinema in schools this October.

During the week 2 - 6 October, classrooms across the UK can have online access to three films:

• Los Futbolísimos (The Footballest)
• Rara (Weird)
• CartasVivas (Living Letters) *For S5-S6 only*

Each film will be accompanied by worksheets so that the students can delve deeper into the themes discussed, once the film has been watched.

Visit the ESFF website to book tickets and receive the access code.

Read more...

Espacios Increíbles 2022-23 - Winner announced!

5 June 2023 (SCILT)

Congratulations to St Luke’s High School, East Renfrewshire, on winning SCILT's Espacios Increíbles competition 2022-23.

The winner was announced at the final, held online on Wednesday 24 May 2023. A superb effort was made by all six finalist schools (Alva Academy, Dunblane High, Perth Academy, Prestwick Academy, St Andrew’s & St Bride’s High School as well as St Luke’s High School); competition was stiff and the judging panel had a very difficult decision to make.

The interdisciplinary competition for S2-S3 combines Spanish with art, design and technology. Pupils design an amazing space and present their work in Spanish.

St Luke’s High School came out top with their innovative design for a space for quiet reflection and relaxation in the courtyard of Santo Domingo Church in Lima, Peru. Their design was inspired by San Martín de Porres, who is the Patron Saint of Racial Equality, and is buried there.

They clearly demonstrated how they had worked collaboratively, drawing on art, design and Spanish skills to create a feasible and sustainable design which connected well to the local environment and linked to their school.

The other five finalist schools also did an amazing job, with a variety of creative designs meeting the brief for a sustainable space for health and wellbeing including a water tower providing clean drinking water, a library and coffee shop, a hot air balloon raising awareness of climate change, a cube promoting biodiversity and a health centre for the poor.  

All the finalists enjoyed the final and the opportunity to present their designs to a live audience, hear from inspiring guest speakers who spoke about their work in architecture and the opportunities that learning Spanish had given them, and take part in some fun games that tested their Spanish. Congratulations to all our teams for Espacios Increíbles 2023!

Languages and creative arts losing favour with GCSE and A-level students

1 June 2023 (The Guardian)

Languages and the creative arts are falling out of favour among GCSE and A-level students, who are increasingly opting for more vocational subjects such as computing and business studies.

Provisional figures for England show exam entries for German have fallen by 17% for A-level students and 6% for GCSE studies, while Spanish and French have fallen 13% at A-level, although there has been a 5% increase for Spanish GCSEs, and French entries stayed at a similar level.

Read more...

Workshops for UK teachers of Spanish

16 May 2023 (Consejería de Educación)

The Consejería de Educación has the following professional learning opportunities for UK teachers of Spanish taking place in June 2023. Click on the relevant link below for more information:

3 June, 10:00 - 11:30 (Online):

• Workshop «A aprender también se aprende: cómo fomentar la autonomía del aprendiente»

10 June, 09:30 - 12:30 (Online):

• Conference «La enseñanza del español a niños/as y adolescentes»

17 June (face-to-face training day):

• Spanish Day in Edinburgh

All the above sessions are free to attend.

Summer course in Spain:

Apply for an immersion course in Spain (Ávila, Segovia and Santander).

Application deadline: 27 May.

8 one-week immersion courses in June, July or August 2023 in Ávila, Segovia or Santander aimed at British/Irish teachers of Spanish (a B2 command of Spanish is required).

The grant covers the course, accommodation and meals, as well as the cultural programme. The grant does not cover the journey to Spain or the return to the UK. Travel and/or health insurance is also not included.

This call is not for Spanish nationals.

Visit the Consejería de Educación website for further information and to apply.

RZSS Programmes for Schools

2 May 2023 (RZSS)

RZSS Beyond the Panda

Although the giant pandas are returning to China at the end of this year, Beyond the Panda is still continuing.

The new Mandarin upper primary course is 3 weeks virtual sessions followed by an expert for the day! (An in-person outreach visit to your school which can include other sessions for additional classes).

RZSS Science in the Language Class

Choose from one of the outreach sessions linked to Mandarin, Spanish or French. Resources also available in other languages. 

All resources, courses and outreach are free of charge. 

Visit the Beyond the Panda website for details.

Read more...

Language courses for pupils at Edinburgh College

27 April 2023 (Edinburgh College)

School pupils who find their chosen language qualification is not offered in their school can study their NQ language course online for free with Edinburgh College.

The college offers National 5 courses in French, German and Spanish as well as Higher and Advanced Higher French, German, Italian and Spanish.

See the attached flyer for details.

Open University TeLT programme - Registration now open!

20 April 2023 (Open University)

TeLT is the Teachers Learning to Teach Languages programme offered by the Open University, and developed in partnership with SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages. Now in its 7^th year, this professional learning opportunity is aimed at educators working in the primary sector and carries GTCS Professional Recognition.

Students learn a language – French, German, Mandarin or Spanish - and in parallel, get to put primary language pedagogies into practice with their own pupils. The programme is offered at two levels – beginners and post-beginners. 

Registration for 2023-24 intake is now open. Enrolment closes 7 September 2023. Modules begin in October. 

Visit the TeLT website for full details about how the course works and how to register. For further information please contact: Scotland-languages@open.ac.uk.

Read more...

Modern Language Assistants

17 April 2023 (British Council)

Applications for Modern Language Assistants in 2023/24 are now open for schools, colleges and universities across the UK through the British Council website.  

Bringing authentic voices into French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, German, Italian and Irish lessons allows students to see the relevance of these languages alongside their cultural context. What's more, in 2021, 92 per cent of host institutions told us their Language Assistants helped improve exam results. These cultural ambassadors enhance lessons and develop intercultural awareness. From speaking practice to fresh cultural insights, their input and encouragement enriches pupil experience, preparing them for future success. 

Please note: The deadline to guarantee a Mandarin Chinese Language Assistant has now passed. We will however accept applications for Mandarin Chinese Language Assistant until 30 April 2023 but there is a chance you may be placed on a waiting list.

Our dedicated team are well-equipped to support with the administrative steps and flexible hosting options are available with different placement lengths and sharing possibilities. Throughout the challenges of the past few years, Language Assistants have proved to be a key tool, and in some cases a ‘lifeline’, for continued pupil engagement with language learning. Back in the classroom, their expertise not only motivates pupils, but provides teachers with in-house professional development and refreshed linguistic materials.

If you have any further questons, please contact us at: LanguageAssistants.UK@BritishCouncil.Org

Visit the British Council website for full details and to apply by 30 April.

Read more...

Professional learning for teachers of Spanish

28 March 2023 (Consejería de Educación)

The Spanish Embassy Education Office has several professional learning opportunities available for UK teachers of Spanish. Follow the relevant link below for further information.

Online workshop – Tuesday 25 April (16:30)

• Aprender a cuestionar: textos y contextos Geniales para desarrollar la competencia crítica en el aula de ELE, by Álvaro Espada Benito (editorial editorial enclave-ELE).. More information and registration via the website link above.

Immersion courses in Salamanca - Dates available June to September 2023

• One-week Spanish language course - The University of Salamanca, its International Courses and the Junta de Castilla y León, offer scholarships for active Spanish teachers outside of Spain to take a week-long course on Spanish language and culture and didactic updating in Salamanca. Several dates are offered between June and September. Register via the above website link.

Spanish workshop in London - 24 June 2023

• Save the date! More information and registration coming soon.

Márquez overtakes Cervantes as most translated Spanish-language writer

27 March 2023 (The Guardian)

The solitary denizens of Macondo appear to have proved too much for a famously insane knight errant, according to research that shows Gabriel García Márquez has overtaken Miguel de Cervantes to become the most translated Spanish-language writer of the century so far.

However, the genius who gave the world Don Quixote – and with him the first modern novel and a byword for impractical idealism – can take comfort in the fact that he remains the most translated writer in Spanish over the past eight decades.

The findings emerged after the Instituto Cervantes, which promotes Spanish language and culture around the world, began crunching data to put together its new World Translation Map.

Read more...

RZSS Programmes for Schools

16 March 2023 (RZSS)

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland runs a variety of opportunities for schools linking language learning and their conservation programmes. Follow the relevant links below to find out more about current initiatives:

• 'Stripy Tails' Family event at Dewars Centre, Perth on 14^th and 15^th April. StampIT has invited RZSS Stripy Tails along to their youth corner at the ASPS (Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies) Congress. Fascinating facts about the red panda from China and the ring tailed lemur from Madagascar and the programme links to French and Mandarin. Full details on Eventbrite - Stripy Tails at ASPS Congress
  Stripy Tails is also one of the 'Science in the Language Class' outreach programmes for schools. 
• Beyond the Panda, the RZSS Mandarin programme is fully booked for this school year but taking bookings for 23-24. Beyond the Panda is continuing even though the giant pandas will return to China later this year. RZSS is still a science specialist Confucius Classroom offering virtual sessions, in-person outreach and many resources linked to Mandarin language learning. Visit the Beyond the Panda website for more information.

Podcast gives East Renfrewshire pupils chance to use Spanish skills

3 March 2023 (Barrhead News)

Senior pupils at an East Renfrewshire school have put their foreign language skills to good use by taking part in an international podcast.

Francesca Bell, Sam Wells, Rachael Martin and head boy James Orr, of Mearns Castle High, were interviewed for the show by Ángela Gutiérrez, from Spain, and Mariana Mejía, from Colombia.

[..] The episode featuring the four S6 pupils is called ‘Entrevistamos a estudiantes de Glasgow’ and was fully recorded in Spanish.

Read more...

CPD opportunities for teachers of Spanish

2 March 2023 (Consejería de Educación)

The Spanish Embassy Education Office has several professional learning opportunities available for UK teachers of Spanish. Follow the relevant link below for further information.

Next online workshop – Tuesday 7 March (16:30)

• Actividades gamificadas para enseñar léxico en la clase de español para niños, CLIC Cádiiz. More information and registration via the website link. Deadline: 5 March. 

Immersion courses in Salamanca - April 2023

• One-week Spanish language course - Grants to follow a one-week Spanish language course in Salamanca aimed at primary or secondary teachers at Easter. Four different levels: absolute beginners, beginners, intermediate and advanced Spanish. Register via the website link.
• Course on Didactics in Salamanca - Grants for a course on didactics aimed at secondary and university teachers of Spanish in the UK and Ireland. One-week course in Salamanca at Easter. Register via the website link.

March 2023: Spanish teacher training UK tour

Edinumen Publishing House and the Consejería de Educación are co- organising a series of face-to-face training sessions for teachers of Spanish to take place throughout March 2023 in five British cities:

• Manchester, Saturday 11/03/23
• Oxford, Tuesday 14/03/23
• London, Wednesday 15/03/23
• Cambridge, Thursday 16/03/23
• Glasgow, Saturday 18/03/23

Registration is free and already open. The workshops will be held in Spanish. Visit the website for the programme and registration links.

Easter study support 2023

2 March 2023 (e-Sgoil)

Registration for e-Sgoil's Easter study support sessions is now open.

Please note, even if you've been attending term-time evening classes you must register separately for the Easter programme.

Sessions are free to learners. Visit the website to view the timetable and sign up for your preferred sessions. Various classes available for French, German, Gaelic/Gàidhlig and Spanish from National 5 to Advanced Higher.

Read more...

Employ a Modern Language Assistant

16 February 2023 (British Council)

Modern Language Assistants are speakers of French, German, Irish, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish who can help students in the UK build their cultural capital by developing their linguistic and cross-cultural skills. 

Applications to host Modern Language Assistants are now open.

Visit the British Council website to discover how the scheme works and the benefits it can bring to your school.

Read more...

Online French and Spanish Courses for Secondary Teachers

16 February 2023 (LFEE)

LFEE Europe is again offering their online GTCS-accredited course for Secondary teachers.

Participants to this course will meet the GTCS requirements for residency.

The course will run from March to May 2023.

Visit the LFEE website for further information about the course and fees. 

Read more...

Join the Digital Empowerment in Language Teaching (DELTEA) project

14 February 2023 (Universities of Southampton & Reading)

Are you a state school primary languages teacher in England or Scotland? Does your school teach French or Spanish to Year 5/Primary 6 students (children aged 9-10 years)? 

Digital Empowerment in Language Teaching (DELTEA) is looking for school partners to work with over our 3-year research project!

If you’re interested in free, research-informed teacher professional development in Digital Literacy skills for the MFL classroom, please get in touch via the form below – we’d love to hear from you!  We can also offer some funding for supply cover.

https://forms.office.com/e/scBXAHZus2

You can also visit the project website for more information.

Read more...

Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators 2022-23

2 February 2023 (Queen's College Oxford)

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators competition aims to promote language learning across UK and inspire creativity in the modern languages classroom. Participation is free and entry criteria is as follows:

• For students of French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish in KS3-5.
• In addition to competition task, teachers receive up to 15 sets of resources for each language on translating poetry, fiction, non-fiction for use in build-up to competition. 
• Deadline for competition entries: 3 April 2023. 
• Winners selected for 10 geographical areas. National winners selected for each level in each language. All winners and commendations announced on our webpage. 

Last year over 14,000 pupils across the UK took part and the feedback from teachers was enormously positive. Teachers can register to receive classroom resources and competition tasks on the Queen's College Oxford website or for more information contact translation.exchange@queens.ox.ac.uk. 

Read more...

RZSS Programmes for Schools

1 February 2023 (RZSS)

RZSS Stripy Tails

Free online resources are now available. Stripy Tails is one of RZSS language comparison projects, comparing the red panda from China with the ring-tailed lemur from Madagascar and links to either Mandarin or French. Resources are for upper primary level but may be useful for lower secondary. The resources all include sound files by senior pupils. See either Beyond the Panda - Stripy Tails or Science in the Language Class - French.  

Bookings taken now for the accompanying FREE Stripy Tails outreach sessions across Scotland in May and June - contact srobb@rzss.org.uk 

Giants

Don't forget there is also Giants a similar programme comparing the giant panda and the giant anteater for Mandarin or Spanish. RZSS Beyond the Panda and Science in the Language Class also have many other free resources and outreach programmes. 

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...

International Exchange Turing applications

19 January 2023 (LFEE)

LFEE Europe & Powerlanguage are preparing two International Exchange Turing applications as consortium managers. This means that we will administer the projects on your behalf and find suitable partner schools, using part of the Organisational Budget.

Schools will receive and manage the travel and subsistence budget, which will cover mobilities for all participating pupils and teachers. 

We have two proposals to offer Scottish schools: 

1. Links with a UNESCO World Heritage school and specialist art school in Valencia and also with partners in Italy. This project would benefit learners looking to enhance skills in Music, Art, Digital Literacy and Languages.
2. Links with schools in France and Spain to support the learning of Geography - for example, coastal regions - History, Languages and Digital Literacy.

We would be delighted to support your school to engage with Turing. Last year, we made a successful application and secured 120 mobilities for learners. We hope to extend and build this capacity in Scotland through two new Turing funding proposals this year.

Please get in touch (info@lfee.net) if you would like to engage in our consortium application and we will be happy to answer any further questions you may have.

Employ a Modern Language Assistant

16 January 2023 (British Council)

Modern Language Assistants are speakers of French, German, Irish, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish who can help students in the UK build their cultural capital by developing their linguistic and cross-cultural skills. 

Visit the British Council website to discover how the scheme works and the benefits it can bring to your school.

Requests to host Modern Language Assistants will open on 15 February 2023.

Read more...

Mathématiques sans Frontières competition

16 December 2022 (UWS)

The University of the West of Scotland (UWS), coupled with the Scottish Mathematical Council, is organising the world-wide Mathematics and Language competition “Mathématiques sans Frontières” in Scotland (and rUK). We are hopeful that we continue to offer a stimulating and light-hearted competition for S4-S6 pupils which combines Mathematics and Modern Languages. For those of you who have not taken part previously, this competition aims to motivate pupils in these subjects, promote teamwork throughout pupils of all abilities, and bridge borders between countries across the world.

Attached is a discovery training test for “Mathématiques Sans Frontières” alongside some more formal competition instructions, and an entry proforma for the competition. Entry deadline: 27 January 2023.

You can also find more information on the UWS Mathématiques sans Frontières 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.

RZSS Beyond the Panda

7 December 2022 (RZSS)

RZSS Beyond the Panda offers a range of FREE courses and outreach visits. Please see beyondthepanda.org.uk for full details. 

These include:

• 5 week course aimed at upper primary but may also be of interest to lower secondary. Four weeks live virtual sessions, followed by an in-person outreach. Linked to Mandarin language learning.

• Single outreach sessions which compare two RZSS projects and aimed at upper primary:
• Giants: the giant panda from China and the giant anteater from South America - available in either Mandarin or Spanish.
• Stripy Tails: (available from April 2023 but bookings open and best to book early) the red panda from China and the ring-tailed lemur from Madagascar - available in either Mandarin or French. 

There may also be availability for lower primary and some opportunities for secondary. For any of the sessions, contact srobb@rzzz.org.uk 

Please book in well in advance. Fully booked to April 2023 but spaces available in May and June. 

Read more...

SEET Euroquiz Project for P6

22 November 2022 (SEET)

The Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) runs language learning and global citizenship projects for children and young people across Scotland. Euroquiz is an annual project open to all P6 pupils across Scotland, which sees teams of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe and the wider world. Subjects covered include languages, history, geography, culture and European affairs. Heats take place in local authorities from February to April, with the winning teams from all areas progressing to the National Euroquiz Final held in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament in June.

To enter your team, please complete the Registration Form for schools and return to your local authority Euroquiz organiser. All schools in Scotland will receive this information directly from their local authority organiser. If you have not received a form, or do not know who your local organiser is, please get in touch with SEET: jane@seet.org.uk 

We recently provided a CLPL session for interested teachers. Please find a full recording of the event here: https://youtu.be/un8iL3wN7-s 

A downloadable flyer for schools is also attached.

More information about Euroquiz available on SEET's website or by emailing jane@seet.org.uk.

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Spanish and French live virtual lessons for pupils: 10-week block

17 November 2022 (Argyll & Bute/N Ayrshire Councils)

Stacey Arneil, 1+2 Development officer for North Ayrshire has teamed up with Gwen McCrossan, PT for 1+2 languages for Argyll & Bute Council to offer a 10-week pilot of live virtual lessons in French and Spanish. These lessons are suitable for learners from P4 onwards as the content bridges First and Second Level Experiences and Outcomes. The lessons would also suit as a standalone L3 topic. This offer is open to all Scottish primary schools using Glow Teams.  

Each lesson will last 45 minutes. The same live lesson will run twice in the same week. You can choose to attend one, or the other. It is not necessary to stick to the same day. 

The deadline for sign-up is 21 December 2022.

Follow the link below for more information and to register your class.

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SQA Advanced Higher Modern Languages course reports 2022

31 October 2022 (SQA)

The SQA has now published this year's course reports for AH Gaelic (Learners), German and Spanish.

These can be found on the Advanced Higher Modern Languages webpage within the Course Reports section.

Read more...

DYW Live Sessions: Languages and your career

11 October 2022 (e-Sgoil)

Following last year's 'Languages and your career' workshop, e-Sgoil in partnership with SCILT will be hosting a series of sessions over six weeks from the end of October through to early December 2022.

Schools can sign up for as many or as few as they wish; after a first general session, the remaining five weeks will explore how a different language each week can contribute to success in a range of jobs and career paths. These will be interactive workshops featuring input from people working with the language of focus each week. These sessions aim to introduce learners (S2-S4) to the importance of languages and their associated skills in the workplace, break down stereotypes of careers that use languages, identify appropriate career pathways, and hear examples of people who use languages in their daily work.

Visit the e-Sgoil website for more information and to register interest in the sessions.

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Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators 2022-23

3 October 2022 (Queen's College Oxford)

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators competition aims to promote language learning across the UK and to inspire creativity in the classroom. By providing teachers with tools to bring translation to life, and to introduce more authentic texts into the classroom, we hope to motivate more pupils to study modern foreign languages throughout their schooling and beyond. 

Schools can register interest in the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators 2022-23. You will receive creative translation resources for five languages (French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish) and competition tasks. The resources will be made available in September 2022, January 2023, February 2023, and the competition window will be open from mid-February until the end of March 2023.

Visit the website for more information.

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Discovery Film Festival 2022

30 September 2022 (DCA)

Discovery Film Festival, Scotland’s international film festival for young audiences, is back for its 19th year, Sat 22 October to Sun 6 November. There's another packed programme of the best new films for young audiences from around the world - and once again the festival will be available both online and at Dundee Contemporary Arts.

Visit the website for full details.

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Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival

27 September 2022 (ESFF)

The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) is returning for its 9th Edition. The festival will be back in the cinema and will offer audiences in-person screenings and events featuring a total of 22 films in Spanish over the months of October and November.

The 2022 festival has a vibrant and varied programme, offering something for all ages and tastes. This year ESFF is providing discounted prices for young audiences for all in-person film events. The ESFF schools programme returns with a special screening of La jaula de orofor schools at 10am on Wednesday 3 November and Zipi y Zape on Thursday 6 November at 10am. The ESFF schools programme will also be held in Manchester this year, at the Instituto Cervantes, as well as in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Visit the ESFF website for full details.

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The Language Ambassadors Programme

23 September 2022 (University of Strathclyde/SCILT)

The Language Ambassadors family has grown!

For 2022-2023, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Stirling will be working together to offer an even greater variety for our visits.

In the coming session, we will be back offering on-site visits, as well as virtual visits.

So, get your learners to discover the joys of learning and being able to use another language by organising a Language Ambassadors visit to your school!

Our Language Ambassadors are students of French, Italian, Mandarin or Spanish, on a range of degree programmes. These include BA Honours in French and Spanish, Professional Education and Languages, International Business and a Modern Language, Law and a Language, Psychology and a European Language, but also Engineering and Science degrees and they are keen to share their experiences of learning and using their languages as well as discovering new cultures.

This programme provides student role models to promote languages to young people and encourage your learners to choose languages as part of their high school curriculum. It is free of charge but we expect the school to cover travelling expenses for ambassadors.

We can deliver a range of activities, such as:

• A presentation about their experiences as university language learners and their experiences abroad;
• Q&A sessions about the benefits of studying a language for future study and/or employability;
• A small group discussion for Senior phase students who have already selected a language;
• Micro-presentations as part of a school-wide event

Visit the Language Ambassadors Programme website to find out more, and how to book a visit for your school starting October 2022.

If you have any questions about The Language Ambassadors programme, please contact Cédric Moreau and Cristina Johnston.

Immersion courses in Spain for teachers

22 September 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

Any plans for the Autumn half-term break? Sign up and get a grant for one of the immersion courses in Spain. Full details regarding dates, course content, the grant and application form can be found by following the relevant course header link below:

• Spanish language course aimed at Primary or Secondary teachers. Blended learning programme: 1 week onsite course in Salamanca or Segovia (Autumn half-term) + self-study online course (1 year access). 4 different levels: absolute beginners, beginners, intermediate and advanced Spanish. Application deadline: 7 October. 
   
• Teaching course aimed at Secondary or University Spanish language teachers. The course content includes a number of areas in relation to teaching Spanish as a foreign language and will be delivered fully in Spanish therefore we recommend that teachers should have at least a B2 level. Application deadline: 7 October. 

New job profile on SCILT's website

20 September 2022 (SCILT)

We have a bank of job profiles on our website from a diverse range of occupations where languages are being used. Teachers use these to promote the benefits of language learning to pupils and to encourage uptake in schools.

Our latest addition comes from architect, Estefanía Macchi, who tells us language skills have opened up opportunities she may not otherwise have had and helped widen the spectrum of sources she can consult for her studies or work.

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...

e-Sgoil study support 2022-23

1 September 2022 (e-Sgoil)

Online study support sessions for learners in Scotland are again being offered by e-Sgoil. Registration for the autumn term evening webinars opens 5 September.

Visit the e-Sgoil website for details and sign-up information.

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Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival: Schools programme

26 August 2022 (ESFF)

The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) is back with its 9th edition, and we want you all to get involved! We are once again providing our Schools Programme for students learning Spanish as a second language. We are really excited about the two films we are offering this year at our in-person screenings.

To take part in these exciting screenings, all the information you need is in the attached document.

Espacios Increíbles 2022-23

26 August 2022 (SCILT)

After the success last session of Espacios Increíbles, our inter-disciplinary learning competition combining Spanish and design, we're delighted to announce Espacios Increíbles 2022-23 is back! After last year’s hotly contested final, we know our previous competitors are keen to take part again this year and try to claim the Espacios Increíbles crown from Kinross High School but we’d like to up the stakes even more and get more schools involved. Any school from across Scotland can take part in this national competition, aimed at S2 and S3 learners of Spanish.

The Espacios Increíbles webpage has been updated with information on previous events and winners along with videos featuring some of our guest speakers at the final. Take a look to see what they had to say about their languages experience, find out more about this year's competition and register your interest in taking part. 

Read more...

GCSE results day 2022: Results at a glance

25 August 2022 (TES)

GCSE German, Spanish and French results 2022.

[..] while provisional entries were up this year, the final number of students to sit the exam fell across all three subjects. 

(Note - subscription required to access full article).

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Giants

23 August 2022 (RZSS)

This is an in-person outreach session (limited availability). Giants 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 can be for Spanish only or for Mandarin only or can compare both languages. The pupils will learn about the threats facing these animals along with some of their unique biology. 

Visit the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland website for full details.

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University of Dundee Graduate Diplomas in French, German and Spanish by Distance Learning

23 August 2022 (University of Dundee)

Registration for the 2022-24 cohort of the Graduate Diplomas in French, German and Spanish by Distance Learning of the University of Dundee is now open until 23 September 2022.

These 2-year online Graduate Diplomas by Distance Learning for part-time study are accredited by the General Teaching Council for Scotland. They are ideally suited for Secondary MFL teachers seeking an additional qualification in French, German, or Spanish.

They aim to provide the challenge of an undergraduate curriculum in the relevant applied language. They carry a rating of 120 SCOTCAT points (SCQF Levels 9-10). The qualification outcome is bench-marked at C1 in the Council of Europe Reference Framework for Languages. Applicants will normally have a pass in Higher the relevant language (or equivalent, such as the French, German, Spanish Intensive/Revision courses by distance-learning).  

At the University of Dundee, we have a long-established tradition of language teaching, both with students at the University and via distance learning. We use a combination of online tools to give students a range of experiences in the language. Experienced staff are responsible for the course design, delivery and student support.

I will certainly recommend the Graduate Diploma to others (Diploma student)

For more information visit the Dundee University website: French GradDip, German GradDip, Spanish GradDip  or to discuss any aspects of the course or your application, please contact Claire Nicoll c.z.nicoll@dundee.ac.uk or humanities@dundee.ac.uk

Online language NQ courses and workshops for school pupils

18 August 2022 (Edinburgh College)

School pupils who find their chosen language qualification is not offered in their school can study their NQ language course online for free with Edinburgh College.

In collaboration with Franco-Scottish Society, the college is again offering free online courses for Higher and Advanced Higher French pupils commencing September 2022.

See the attached flyers for full details. Links are also available on the Beyond School Supporting Schools section of the SCILT website.

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‘One in four’ primaries struggle with weekly language teaching

7 July 2022 (TES)

Weekly language learning does not take place in one in four primary schools, according to survey findings published today.

Primary schools have had a legal responsibility to teach languages since 2014, but there is significant variation in schools’ provision, according to the British Council survey of more than 1,500 state primary, state secondary and private schools.

The survey found that, in practice, weekly language learning does not take place in one in four primary schools because of issues such as split teacher time between year groups (whereby Year 5 might have languages for half the year and Year 6 for the other half), staffing issues and extracurricular activities.

The data revealed significant variation in the amount of time primary pupils spent on languages, with some schools spending less than half an hour on teaching per week, whereas ideally pupils would be taught for at least one hour per week by a teacher with degree-level proficiency in the language.

The survey also showed that four in five primary schools had been teaching languages for more than five years, representing a 2 per cent increase on 2021 and a 5 per cent increase on 2019, with pupils making progress in one foreign language in most of these schools. 

French is the most commonly taught language at primary, and is significantly ahead of Spanish, although this trend is not mirrored at A level.

The survey also found that the government is on track to meet all its targets for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) - apart from languages.

Read more...

Spanish course for teachers: blended learning programme (León, 2022)

31 May 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

The University of León and Mester Academy have organised a Spanish course aimed at British and Irish teachers interested in learning or improving their Spanish language skills.

The blended learning programme consists of 33 hours of self-study online from mid-June plus one week Spanish language course in León (Spain) in August 2022.

• ONLINE + ONSITE COURSE
• 3 DIFFERENT LEVELS: absolute beginners, beginners and intermediate
• A GRANT to cover most of the costs will be offered
• APPLICATION DEADLINE: 13 June

All information regarding dates, course content, the grant and the application form can be found on the Spanish Embassy Education Office website.

Read more...

Espacios Increíbles 2022 – Winners announced!

27 May 2022 (SCILT)

Congratulations to Kinross High, Perth & Kinross, on winning SCILT's Espacios Increíbles competition 2021-22.

The winner was announced at the final, held online on Wednesday 25 May 2022. A superb effort was made by all six finalist schools (Alva Academy, Bathgate Academy, Dunblane High, Grange Academy, Wallace High, as well as Kinross High); competition was stiff and judges had a very difficult decision to make.

The interdisciplinary competition for S2-S3 combines Spanish with art, design and technology. Pupils design an amazing space and present their work in Spanish. 

Kinross High came out top with their innovative design for a veterans’ rehabilitation centre in Bolivia. Their design was based on the work of Bolivian architect Freddie Mamani and took as inspiration the colours of the Bolivia Flag: red, green and yellow. The team showed great creativity and presentation skills, with fantastic delivery in Spanish. They clearly demonstrated how they had worked collaboratively, drawing on art, design and Spanish skills to create an innovative and sustainable design.

The other five schools did an amazing job, with a mental health space on a bus, a children's library on a boat, an eco-tourism hotel, underwater art gallery and a UFO-inspired observatory on Robinson Crusoe Island.

More information on this year's final will be on the SCILT website soon as well as details of how your school can enter next year's competition.

Immersion course in León - August 2022

17 May 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

Any plans for this summer? Sign up for the Teaching and Culture course in León for Spanish Secondary School and University teachers.

We are offering grants for Secondary School and University teachers of Spanish to enrol in our course in León in collaboration with the University of León and Mester Academy during August 2022.

The course content includes a number of areas in relation to teaching Spanish as a foreign language along with cultural activities. There are three starting dates to choose from 31 July-6 August, from 7-13 August, or from 14-20 August 2022. This course will be delivered fully in Spanish therefore we recommend that teachers should have at least a B2 level.

Visit the Spanish Education office website for more information and to apply by 31 May 2022.

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ADRIFT: Essential World Cinema

12 May 2022 (CinemaAttic)

ADRIFT is an exciting new film season organised by CinemaAttic. A six-week celebration of contemporary and classic cinema from around the world, workshops with filmmakers and special events to delight Scottish audiences from 26 May to 30 June 2022.

The programme comprises:

• Film currents (a selection of 8 contemporary features from around the world)
• Cult classics (an unmissable 16mm double-bill of Chris Marker & Luis Buñuel films)
• Short films (two selections of shorts)
• Workshops (three interactive workshops bringing experimental animators from Spain & Latin America to Edinburgh and Glasgow)

Visit CinemaAttic's ADRIFT webpage for full details and booking information.

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Parents more influential over MFL success than teachers

3 May 2022 (TES)

A study of 1,300 Year 8 pupils has revealed that parents' beliefs are a bigger influence on children's views of themselves as language learners than are teacher opinions.

Parents are twice as likely as teachers to influence pupils' success in modern foreign languages (MFL), according to research by the University of Cambridge published today.

The Cambridge researchers say their findings show that measures to reverse the national decline in language learning at GCSE and A level should target families rather than just children.

Professor Linda Fisher, from the university's Faculty of Education, said: "Students' personal commitment to languages is determined by their experiences, their beliefs and their emotional response to speaking or using them. Slightly surprisingly, the people who feed into that most appear to be their parents."

"This can be a positive or negative influence, depending on the parents' own views. Its importance underlines the fact that if we want more young people to learn languages, we need to pay attention to wider social and cultural attitudes to languages beyond the classroom. Waning interest in these subjects is a public communication challenge; it's not just about what happens in schools."

Read more...

Best UK student of Spanish 2022

3 May 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

Do you have any exceptional S6 students of Spanish in your school? Why not nominate them for this year's Best Spanish Student in the UK award? There's still time to submit nominations as the deadline is 15 May 2022. 

The award consists of a three-day trip (two nights) to Castilla y León for two people, including transport, accommodation and meals.

Visit the website to check the nomination criteria and submit nominees.

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How language assistants can transform MFL teaching

27 April 2022 (TES/British Council)

Language assistants can be a critical tool for unlocking the joy of language learning in the classroom.

The benefits of learning a language at school are vast.  

Of 2,000 UK adults surveyed for a study commissioned by the British Council in November 2020, 73 per cent cited how much easier it made international travel, 70 per cent said it boosted the ability to appreciate and understand different cultures, and 72 per cent said it could broaden career opportunities, too. In fact, people with a second language have a salary up to 7 per cent higher than their colleagues that don't. 

And the benefits of learning a language go beyond the practical. Research also shows that learning a language can improve concentration and alertness, it can make us more empathetic, and far more creative and eloquent in our native tongue.

All of which is perhaps why nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of those adults surveyed by YouGov wished they had continued with the foreign language skills they first developed in school.

For teachers, though, the reality is that trying to inspire and motivate students to study modern languages in the classroom can sometimes feel like an uphill battle.

Read more...

Apply for an immersion course in Spain (Ávila and Segovia)

25 April 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

There are 4 one-week immersion courses taking place in July 2022 in Ávila or Segovia, aimed at British teachers of Spanish (a B2 command of Spanish is required).

The grant covers the course, accommodation (6 nights) and meals, as well as the optional cultural programme. The grant does not cover the journey to Spain or the return to the UK.

This call is not for Spanish nationals.

Application deadline: 7 May 2022.

Visit the website for more information and to apply.

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IBERODOCS Film Festival

5 April 2022 (IberoDocs)

The latest edition of the IBERODOCS Film Festival takes place from 6 to 17 April 2022 featuring Spanish, Portuguese and Latin-American documentaries. Screenings taking place in Edinburgh, Glasgow and online.

Visit the website for full programme details.

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One week immersion course for Spanish teachers

29 March 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

Any plans for this summer? Sign up for the Teaching and Culture course in Burgos for Spanish Secondary School and University teachers.

We are offering 100 grants for Secondary School and University teachers of Spanish to enrol in our course in Burgos in collaboration with the University of Burgos and Mester Academy during July 2022.

The course content includes a number of areas in relation to teaching Spanish as a foreign language along with cultural activities. There are three starting dates to choose from 3-9 July, from 10-16 July, or from 24-30 July 2022. This course will be delivered fully in Spanish therefore we recommend that teachers should have at least a B2 level.

For all information regarding the course and how to sign up can be found on the Consejería de Educación website.

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Online language NQ courses for school pupils with Edinburgh College

25 March 2022 (Edinburgh College)

Edinburgh College offers a range of online NQ language courses. These can be accessed across Scotland and all Scottish school pupils qualify for a full fee waiver. The courses provide a great option for pupils whose schools may not currently offer the language course on their curriculum. 

The following options are available, with German and Italian new additions this year at Advanced Higher level:

• Advanced Higher and Higher: French, German, Italian and Spanish
• National 5: French, German and Spanish

Exam arrangements: Though enrolled with Edinburgh College, pupils still sit their exams at their own school (including the Adv Higher speaking exam).

See the attached flyer for more information and how to enrol.

Employ a Modern Language Assistant in 2022-23

24 March 2022 (British Council)

Bring language and culture to life by hosting a Modern Language Assistant in 2022-23! 

Modern Language Assistants are speakers of French, German, Irish, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish who can help students in the UK develop their linguistic and cross-cultural skills. 

Requests for hosting a Modern Language Assistant in 2022-23 close on 3 May 2022. Should you wish to host a Mandarin Language Assistant, requests should be submitted by the earlier deadline of 31 March 2022. 

Read more...

Spanish film screenings

24 March 2022 (CinemaAttic)

CinemaAttic is an organisation dedicated to showcasing independent Ibero-American cinema in Scotland with regular events throughout the year in Edinburgh, Glasgow and beyond.

We are increasing our efforts to make our programming accessible and relevant to as wide an audience as possible. Follow the relevant link below to find out more about the screenings taking place in the next week:

• Mighty Flash (Edinburgh Film House, 26 March 2022) - Destello Bravío is a mysterious, dark and suggestive story; far removed from traditional narrative approaches. It is a fictional work that draws from the documentary and codes of suspense, with notes of magical realism and surrealism. It deconstructs film genres, breaks away from the traditional tale and peeks into different everyday lives to describe a state of mind: the sentiment of inhabitants in a place in process of depopulation, focusing on its women. The film also broaches the search for beauty and the longing for childhood. In the background, and as the main cause of evil, the patriarchal system and the arrival of globalisation.
• Jordi's Letters (Glasgow Film Theatre, 31 March 2022) - the documentary about cerebral palsy is a poignant human story about illness, faith and the power of friendship.

Registration now open for OU/SCILT TeLT programme

18 March 2022 (SCILT/OU)

TeLT is the Teachers Learning to Teach Languages programme offered by the Open University in partnership with SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages. This professional learning opportunity is aimed at educators working in the primary sector and carries GTCS Professional Recognition.

Students learn a language – French, German, Mandarin or Spanish - and in parallel, get to put primary language pedagogies into practice with their own pupils. The programme is offered at two levels – beginners and post-beginners. More information here about how the course works.

Registration for 2022-23 intake is now open. Enrolment closes 8 September. Modules begin in October. More details here on how to register.

Information sessions for local authority officers and prospective applicants will take place in May and June. Dates are to be confirmed.

Read more...

SQA update to Advanced Higher Modern Languages revision support

14 March 2022 (SQA)

The SQA has published updated revision support notes for learners of Advanced Higher modern languages.

Visit the SQA Advanced Higher Modern Languages webpage. Updated documents can be found in the 2022 revision support for learners dropdown section.

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Host a Modern Language Assistant in 2022-23

3 March 2022 (British Council)

Applications for Modern Language Assistants in 2022/23 are now open for schools, colleges and universities across the UK through the British Council website until 2 May 2022.

Building cultural capital with MFL

Join us on 16 March for our free webinar exploring how to maximise the potential of MFL to build cultural capital, develop learner confidence and improve exam results. Keep up to date with the conversation on Twitter with #CulturalCapitalMFL. Register here for the webinar.

How Language Assistants can make a difference

Bringing authentic voices into French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, German, Italian and Irish lessons allows students to see the relevance of these languages alongside their cultural context. What's more, in 2021, 92 per cent of host institutions told us their Language Assistants helped improve exam results. These cultural ambassadors enhance lessons and develop intercultural awareness. From speaking practice to fresh cultural insights, their input and encouragement enriches pupil experience, preparing them for future success.

Our dedicated team are well-equipped to support with the administrative steps and flexible hosting options are available with different placement lengths and sharing possibilities. Throughout the challenges of the past few years, Language Assistants have proved to be a key tool, and in some cases a ‘lifeline’, for continued pupil engagement with language learning. Back in the classroom, their expertise not only motivates pupils, but provides teachers with in-house professional development and refreshed linguistic materials.

Contact us

Please contact us at LanguageAssistants.UK@BritishCouncil.Org if you have any further questions.

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Best Spanish student award

2 March 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

The Spanish Embassy Education Office is delighted to announce the call for nominations towards the Best Spanish student award 9th edition (for S6 students, in the case of Scotland).

If you have any students in your school who meet the criteria and that you would like to nominate for the award, check the information on the website. 

The award consists of a three-day trip (two nights) to Castilla y León for two people, including transport, accommodation and meals.

Deadline for submitting nominations: 15th of May 2022.

Read more...

Investment in Languages Education Could Return Double for UK Economy

22 February 2022 (RAND Corporation)

A new study from the University of Cambridge and the not-for-profit research institute RAND Europe, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, shows that investing in languages education in the UK will return more than the investment cost, even under conservative assumptions.

By quantifying the wider economic benefits to the UK economy of extending languages education in schools, researchers found that the benefit-to-cost ratios for increasing Arabic, Mandarin, French or Spanish education are estimated to be at least 2:1, meaning that spending £1 could return about £2.

Researchers used a macroeconomic model to examine UK economic performance between now and 2050 if more pupils aged between 11 and 16 — Key Stage 3 (KS3) and Key Stage 4 (KS4) — learned to speak one of four different languages so they could later use it effectively in business. The modelling was based on the Government's successful Mandarin Excellence Programme, in which extra hours are devoted to language learning without affecting other EBacc subjects and lessons are fast-paced and engaging.

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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 5^th 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...

Teaching and culture course in Palencia - April 2022

22 February 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

Any plans for the Easter holidays? Sign up for the Teaching and Culture course in Palencia for Spanish Secondary School and University teachers.

We are offering 30 grants for Secondary School and University teachers of Spanish to enrol in our course in Palencia in collaboration with the University of Valladolid, INTI and Mester Academy during the Easter holidays.

The course content includes a number of areas in relation to teaching Spanish as a foreign language along with cultural activities. There are two starting dates to choose from 3-8 or 10-15 April. This course will be delivered fully in Spanish therefore we recommend that teachers should have at least a B2 level.

For all information regarding the course and how to sign up, visit the Consejería de Educación website and apply by 4 March 2022.

Please note that this course is separate to the Spanish Language Course we will be running in Palencia with all places now filled.

Read more...

Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators 2021-22

22 February 2022 (University of Oxford)

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators 2022 is now open! Teachers from all over the UK can submit their students' translations of poetry, fiction and non-fiction in French, German, Italian [new!], Mandarin and Spanish, covering all year groups at secondary school from age 11 to 18. Submission deadline is 8 April 2022.

Visit the competition website for more information and to register interest. 

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! 

Read more...

Host a Modern Language Assistant in 2022-23

8 February 2022 (British Council)

The British Council Language Assistants team is delighted to announce that applications are open for host institutions to request a Modern Language Assistant for the 2022-23 academic year. The programme has a proud history of supporting the teaching and learning of languages in Scotland and has had a positive impact on the young people who have worked with language assistants in the classroom. Language assistants can support host institutions’ language departments in many ways:

• Targeted speaking practice
• Intercultural project work
• Resource material development
• Refreshing teachers’ contemporary vocabulary and language use
• Bringing language alive for our young people

If you want to see our assistants in action, please follow the link to our website where there are videos of assistants in various locations around Scotland.

You will also find detailed guidance on how the programme works and how to request an assistant.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Languageassistants.UK@britishcouncil.org

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Calling all P6 teachers!

27 January 2022 (SEET)

Have you signed up to take part in SEET's Euroquiz this year? There may still be time to register your team. Please visit our website or email jane@seet.org.uk for more information.

About Euroquiz

Euroquiz is an annual project open to all P6 pupils across Scotland, which sees teams of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe and the wider world. Subjects covered include languages, history, geography, sport, culture and European affairs. Heats take place in local authorities from February to April, with the winning teams from all areas progressing to the National Euroquiz Final held in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament in June.

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Plan for pupils to learn 1,700 words for language GCSEs gets go-ahead

14 January 2022 (The Guardian)

The government is to push ahead with changes to languages teaching in schools that will result in pupils in England memorising lists of 1,700 words to pass GCSEs in Spanish, French or German.

The decision by the Department for Education (DfE) comes despite opposition from language associations, teaching unions and headteachers at state and independent schools, as well as concerns it could cause an exodus of languages teachers from the profession.

Simon Hyde, the general secretary of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference of independent schools, said his members feared the narrow focus on grammar and vocabulary would put pupils off studying modern foreign languages (MFL).

“This model will not give students the confidence in their language, both at examination level and as a life skill, to take forward into further studies, careers and personal endeavours,” Hyde said.

Read more...

LFEE Europe online course for secondary teachers

13 January 2022 (LFEE)

In consultation with GTCS, LFEE Europe will be offering the 3-week Immersion Course Programme for Secondary Teachers of French and Spanish as an online course. This online course meets GTC Scotland’s policy requirements for language residency.  

Visit the LFEE Europe website for full details of the programme and register by 11 February 2022.

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Spanish course for teachers: Blended learning programme

13 January 2022 (Consejería de Educación)

The Spanish Embassy Education office is launching a blended learning programme aimed at teachers working in British or Irish schools: 33 hours of self-study online from February to March + 1 week Spanish language course in Palencia (Spain) in April 2022.

• ONLINE + ONSITE COURSE.
• 3 DIFFERENT LEVELS: absolute beginners, beginners and intermediate.
• A GRANT to cover most of the costs will be offered.
• APPLICATION DEADLINE: 3 February 2022.

All information regarding dates, course contents, the grant and the application form can be found on the Spanish Embassy Education Office website. 

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Pick the habit: the best podcasts to get you into a new hobby

11 January 2022 (The Guardian)

Want to learn a language, start gardening, read more, or get into meditation for the new year? There’s a podcast for that …

Coffee Break Languages

Radio Lingua was among the first to recognise the potential of podcasts for language learning, launching Coffee Break Spanish in 2006. Now the network has a huge range of free materials for learners at every level – and not just Spanish but also French, German, Italian, Chinese, Swedish and English.

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The Language Ambassadors

14 December 2021 (University of Strathclyde/SCILT)

The Language Ambassadors are back……and they have gone VIRTUAL!

Get your learners involved to discover the joys of learning and being able to use another language by organising a Virtual Language Ambassadors visit to your school!

Our Language Ambassadors are students of French, Italian or Spanish, on various degrees, including BA Honours in French and Spanish, International Business and a Modern Language, Law and a Language but also Engineering and Science degrees.

This programme is free of charge and provides student role models to promote languages to young people and encourage your learners to choose languages as part of their high school curriculum.

We can deliver a range of activities online, such as:

• A virtual presentation about their experiences as university language learners and their experiences abroad;
• Q&A sessions about the benefits of studying a language;
• A small group discussion for Senior phase students who have already selected a language;
• Micro-presentations as part of a school-wide event

Visit our website to find out more, and how to book a virtual visit for your school!

If you have any questions about The Language Ambassadors programme, please contact Cédric Moreau.

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Teach abroad as an English Language Assistant

9 December 2021 (British Council)

Apply to be an English Language Assistant in 2022-23! Placements are open to candidates with language skills in French, German, Italian and Spanish – as well as selected destinations open to those from other disciplines.

Visit the British Council website to find out more and check eligibility. Apply by 1 February 2022.

Read more...

Online workshops for Spanish teachers (January-March 2022)

9 December 2021 (Consejería de Educación)

La Consejería de Educación en el Reino Unido e Irlanda and Extenda will be organising a new series of online training workshops for teachers of Spanish in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the months of January to March 2022.

Each online session will include a workshop on different methodological aspects related to the teaching of Spanish. Teachers can sign up to attend one or more of the workshops as the themes, the registration and the certification of each session will be independent. In this way teachers can choose to follow the workshops that interest them the most.

The two first of the workshops will take place on Saturday 15 January 2022 (from 10:00 to 12:00). Registration is free and can be done through this link: https://forma.administracionelectronica.gob.es/form/open/corp/7695/qlvi

For more information about the workshop series, visit the La Consejería de Educación website.

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Write Away! - Call for submissions

26 November 2021 (Light Bulb Languages)

Write Away! is an exciting project from Light Bulb Languages. It's a magazine celebrating the writing that primary children do in their language lessons.

Submissions for issue 8 are now being accepted. Visit the website for submission guidelines and submit work by Friday 10 December 2021.

Previous issues of Write Away! can also be viewed on the website along with lots of language resources for the primary classroom.

Read more...

Learning Languages by Distance Learning at the University of Dundee

23 November 2021 (University of Dundee)

At the University of Dundee, we have a long-established tradition of language teaching, both with students at the University and via distance learning. We offer the opportunity of learning languages at various levels via Distance learning. We use a combination of online tools to give students a range of experiences in the language. Experienced staff are responsible for the course design, delivery and student support.

Short Courses:

• If you are interested in starting to learn a new language, you could enrol in our 25-Week Intensive distance learning courses (Languages modules offered in Chinese, French, Gaelic, German and Spanish). These courses start in the week commencing 10 January 2022. Registration is now open.
• If you already have some knowledge of Chinese, French, Gaelic, German or Spanish, such as a rusty Higher, GCSE, or O-level, then you may consider enrolling in the 10-week revision languages courses. These courses start in the week commencing 25 April 2022.  10-Week Revision Courses. Registration is now open.

2-Year online French, German and Spanish Graduate Diplomas

These 2-Year Graduate Diplomas by Distance Learning for part-time study are accredited by the General Teaching Council for Scotland. They are ideally suited for Secondary MFL teachers seeking an additional qualification in French, German or Spanish, and also attract a wide range of professionals from across Britain, Europe and beyond.

The Graduate Diplomas aim to provide the challenges of an undergraduate curriculum in the relevant language. At the end of their studies, students achieve an advanced understanding and knowledge of the language being studied.

 Through an interdisciplinary process (Teaching Spanish in addition to French for example) and by interacting and exchanging ideas with other students from other parts of the UK, Europe and Overseas, students will be able to develop a critical understanding of their practice and education as a whole.

The Graduate Diplomas carry a rating of 120 SCOTCAT points (SCQF Levels 9-10).  The qualification outcome is bench-marked at C1 in the Council of Europe Reference Framework for Languages. Applicants will normally have a pass at Higher level (or equivalent) in the language. This level can be achieved through completion of one of the University of Dundee‘s Distance Learning Intensive or Revision courses Languages | University of Dundee.

The diplomas place emphasis on reflection, inquiry, critical analysis, personal consideration of research findings and actively promotes the values, principles and practices of equality, social justice, integrity, trust and respect, and professional commitment in all areas of work.

Registration of the 2022-2024 Graduate Diplomas (2-Year part-time French , German and Spanish graduate-level diploma courses) is now open. The diplomas start in the week commencing 26 September 2022.

For more information visit the University of Dundee website, or to discuss any aspects of the courses or your application , please contact humanities@dundee.ac.uk.

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SQA vacancies - Visiting Assessors (VAs) of Advanced Higher Modern Languages performance-talking

9 November 2021 (SQA)

SQA is currently recruiting additional Visiting Assessors (VAs) of Advanced Higher Modern Languages performance-talking. VAs who have previously carried out this role do not need to reapply.

We would welcome applications for the following languages:

• French
• Gaelic (Learners)                       
• German
• Mandarin (Simplified)
• Spanish

VAs will receive training/support and will complete a training exercise prior to attending a briefing event on Saturday 29 January 2022 in Glasgow.

Centre visits (dependent on Scottish Government health guidance) will be completed throughout mid-February to late March 2022. Up to 5 release days may be required to fulfil this role (number of release days is flexible).

Release fees and/or own time fees would be paid, as well as travel expenses.

Further detail, including selection criteria, is available via the link below, where you can submit your application. Deadline: 12 December.

If you need any further information, please contact elaine.clusker@sqa.org.uk.

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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.

Poésíæ 2022

4 November 2021 (Poesiae)

Poésíæ and Poésíært, the global poems recitation and art competitions, start on 4 January 2022.

The competitions are free to enter and open to all pupils aged 7-15. Teachers can select from the suggested poems offered in French, German, Italian, Spanish, English or Welsh. Pupils can enter the recital strand of the competition or, for those less confident in doing so, the art competition offers pupils a different medium to express their understanding of the poem.

Visit the Poésíæ website for more information.

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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.

• Scottish schools special November sustainability calendar
• COP26 padlet
• Climate change - Primary languages resources linked to 'Migrants'

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!

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Teach children Polish and Arabic to reflect ‘modern Britain’, schools minister says

18 October 2021 (iNews)

The teaching of foreign languages in schools should be more reflective of “modern Britain”, with greater numbers of pupils learning languages such as Arabic and Polish, the schools minister has said.

Robin Walker said he wanted to expand the “breadth” of languages being offered in England’s schools.

Mr Walker, who was appointed schools minister in last month’s reshuffle, made the comments after a visit to Cardinal Hume Catholic School in Gateshead – one of the “hubs” which the Government is using to roll out new methods for teaching languages.

He told i England had an opportunity to “drive up the capability of people to engage with language teaching”, and that there was scope for teaching more languages beyond the traditional big three of French, Spanish and German.

“One of the things we should be looking at is that actually the UK has a lot of people who speak multiple languages,” Mr Walker said.

“It was interesting looking at the figures from the language school we visited… not only were they entering lots of students in French and Spanish, but they were also entering smaller numbers in Polish, in Arabic, in GCSEs in home second languages.

“One of the things I’m interested in exploring is how we can make modern foreign languages reflect modern Britain a little bit more, and reflect the breadth of languages that we have in our communities, but also our aspirations around the world.”

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'Urgent' action needed to reverse decline in pupils studying languages

7 October 2021 (BBC)

More than 70 Irish teachers and speakers have warned of a "critical decline" in pupils studying Irish and other languages in schools.

They are calling for the Department of Education (DE) to recommend that all pupils should study a language at GCSE.

It is currently not compulsory.

Signatories to the open letter from the Irish language body, Gael Linn, said "urgent and decisive action" was needed to reverse a decline in pupils studying languages.

A survey carried out by the BBC in 2019 found that more than a third of schools in Northern Ireland had stopped offering French, German or Spanish at GCSE in the previous five years.

Separate exam figures also showed the number of pupils taking modern languages at GCSE had fallen by more than 40% in the past 15 years.

A more recent study from the British Council said that teaching children modern languages at primary school "all but collapsed" during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A scheme to teach primary pupils additional languages was scrapped by DE due to financial cuts in 2015.

Read more...

Espacios Increíbles 2021-22 - Register your interest now!

1 October 2021 (SCILT)

SCILT is delighted to announce Espacios Increíbles is back for its 3^rd year and it is bigger and better than before! We are looking for lots of budding architects and designers from S2 and S3 to take part in our Spanish competition to create an ‘Amazing Space.’

This competition combines aspects of design with Spanish language skills as they present their Espacio Increíble to a panel of judges and a live audience. Espacios Increíbles is a great way of introducing your pupils to different career pathways open to them when they study a language and encouraging uptake of Spanish in the Senior Phase.

To find out more visit our Espacios Increíbles webpage and register your school’s interest, by Monday 8 November.

Read more...

Faktendetektive / Fact scouts - competition

30 September 2021 (Goethe-Institut)

What is fake news? Are our favorite YouTubers always telling the truth? Can we always tell if a post on Instagram or Tik Tok is true or false? Why do fake news exist? How can we identify them?

To answer these questions, we are looking for “fake news hunters” in Germany, England, Scotland, France, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Are you a German, English, French or Spanish teacher? Then you are welcome to participate with your students, aged 15-19.

Submit your short video or text entry by 15 October 2021.

Visit the competition website for more information.

Read more...

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators

24 September 2021 (Queen's College Oxford)

Registration is now open for the second year of the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators, open to all teachers of French, German, Italian [new this year!], Mandarin and Spanish.

The prize launches this month with ready-made teaching resources designed to be used around European Day of Languages (26 September) and International Translation Day (30 September). The prize is for students of French, German, Italian, Mandarin, or Spanish aged 11-18.

Bringing more international culture into the classroom is a central aim of the prize, and so all texts will be rich in cultural content, and creativity in the translation will be rewarded.

All interested teachers will receive a teaching pack for the first lessons, to be run any time from late September onwards. Following the first lesson, which focuses on translating poetry, teachers will be asked to confirm their registration for two further teaching packs (on translating fiction and non-fiction) and for the competition phase. The competition phase will be open from 21 February to 1 April 2022.

For more information and to register, please see the prize webpage.  

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Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival: 1st-10th October in person and 14th-17th October online

24 September 2021 (Consejería de Educación)

The 8th edition of ESFF is taking place 1st-10th October in person and 14th-17th October online.

We want to shine a light on the best Spanish language cinema and TV and we are thrilled to be able to bring everyone back together, in the cinema. Our aim is to show a broad range of all different genres of films and so the festival will feature a selection of regional productions including: Ane (David Pérez Sañudo), representing Basque cinema, and Chavalas (Carol Rodriguez Colás) will be providing a glimpse in Catalan cinema. Interspersed with these will be the new TV series Maricón Perdido (Bob Pop) and the highly acclaimed Mientras dure la guerra (Alejandro Amenábar). 

To immerse yourself even more in the programme, make sure to check out the Q&As and panel discussions taking place throughout the festival. We are privileged to be joined by a number of leading academics including: Professor Nuria Capdevila-Argüelles (University of Exeter) who will present the audio-visual project, Cartas Vivas, in which women's voices from the 20th century are brought to life, embodied by leading actresses from the Spanish-speaking world.

We are also proud to commemorate the centenary of Luis García Berlanga with a screening of El Verdugo and A conversation with Spain. This will be followed by a round table discussion to highlight the importance of Berlanga, both in cinema and the cultural legacy he has left us.

School programme of the ESFF includes the film “Klaus” (Primary) and “Los Lobos” (Secondary).

For more information and to book tickets visit the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival website.

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SQA update to Advanced Higher Modern Languages coursework

21 September 2021 (SQA)

The SQA has published Advanced Higher Modern Languages Portfolio Answer Booklets. These can be found under the Coursework section of the SQA's AH Modern Languages webpage.

Read more...

Return to Spain 2021, Segovia edition - Grants for Spanish language teachers - Autumn 2021

17 September 2021 (Consejería de Educación)

Teacher training courses for Spanish teachers based in UK and Ireland (Segovia, October/November 2021).

The deadline for signing up for 1 of the 25 grants of a week’s teacher training programme in Segovia is 26th September. There will be three starting date options to choose from.

Who are the scholarships for?

Teachers (all nationalities can apply) who are at present teaching Spanish in Secondary schools or in Universities in the UK or Ireland.

What is the course about?

The course combines a teacher training programme based on different aspects of teaching Spanish as a foreign language (history, cinema, theatre, games, development of different linguistic skills, gamification, social media…) along with a number of fun and interesting tourist activities. The course is organised by the University of Valladolid, Mester Academy and the Governing Council of Castilla y León.

What is included in the grant?

The course (classes and cultural activities), accommodation and most meals. Those who are selected will only pay 120 euros for administrative fees and their return flight to Madrid. Transfers from Madrid to Segovia are included in the grant.

All information with regards to dates, the course programme, the grant and the application form can be found on the Spanish Embassy Education Office website. 

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Evening language courses at Dundee

17 September 2021 (University of Dundee)

Registration for the following year-long courses at the University of Dundee is now open until 27 September 2021:

• French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, and British Sign Language (BSL).

For more information, please visit: https://www.dundee.ac.uk/languages/courses/forall/

To register please go to: https://www.buyat.dundee.ac.uk/short-courses/languages-for-all

If you have any queries, please contact: Veronique Malcolm : v.malcolm@dundee.ac.uk

Filmhouse cinema programme for secondary pupils

16 September 2021 (Glasgow Filmhouse)

Glasgow Filmhouse is delighted to be re-opening its doors to schools with an engaging programme of films for all ages and stages. As well as welcoming regular partners such as the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, French Film Festival UK and Into Film, the Filmhouse will be showcasing films picked by the education team to mark Black History Month, COP 26 and to celebrate Christmas!  

Visit the website for more information about the programme for schools and to book screenings.

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e-Sgoil study support webinars 2021

14 September 2021 (e-Sgoil)

During Autumn 2021 e-Sgoil is offering a programme of real time interactive Study Support Webinars.

A variety of subjects are on offer at different levels from National 4 to Advanced Higher. 

The webinars include sessions for students of French, Spanish and Gaelic. Classes have just started so there's still time for pupils to register.

Visit the e-Sgoil website for more information.

Read more...

Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival: programme for schools

6 September 2021 (Consejería de Educación)

The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival is back for its eight edition and would like to invite you once again to participate in the School Programme aimed at Spanish Learning students.

Due to COVID-19, we are changing the regular format to a Hybrid Event. This means we will be offering two films tailored to Primary and Secondary schools.

Please see attached the information about the films and a pre-recorded virtual workshop by Intersect Madrid for secondary schools.

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. 

Read more...

World Wide Napier magazine - Call for submissions

2 September 2021 (Napier University)

World Wide Napier, the magazine in foreign languages designed by language students to encourage language studies, is currently looking for contributions in French, German and Spanish for issue eight of the publication. The next issue's overarching theme is 'Revolution'. Pick a subject associated with revolution and turn it into an engaging article. 

Students at secondary school, college or university are invited to submit contributions by email by 10 November 2021.

Visit the World Wide Napier website for more information and submission guidelines.

Read more...

New job profile on SCILT's website

20 August 2021 (SCILT)

The job profiles on our website demonstrate a range of careers where languages are being used. The latest addition comes from Niall Rachman who tells us how languages help in his work daily and have boosted his confidence and communication skills. Delivering training in a customer-focused role, these skills are incredibly useful.

Teachers, use Niall's profile along with others on our website to highlight the benefits of language learning to your pupils.

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Edinburgh Art Festival: Anti-Brexit project sees Auld Lang Syne sung in Gaelic and EU languages

26 July 2021 (The Telegraph)

Concerns have been raised about the politicisation of Edinburgh's arts festivals after an anti-Brexit exhibit was set up with financial backing from the SNP Government.

Auld Lang Syne is to be sung in Gaelic and languages from all 27 EU member states as part of an installation at this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival, which opens on Thursday, in what organisers say is an attempt to “underscore the political concerns” about the UK’s departure.

A choir of recorded voices from across the continent will sing the traditional New Year’s anthem, written by Robert Burns, in an exhibition called ‘Sound of the Union’.

Read more...

GCS-Si: Spanish to become most popular language in British classrooms within five years

8 July 2021 (The Telegraph)

Spanish will become the most popular language in British classrooms by 2026, figures suggest.

It took over from French as the most popular A-level language in 2019 and is now set to become the modern language of choice for GCSEs in the next five years.

Spanish has soared in popularity in recent years, while uptake of both French and German has seen a sharp decline.

“For the first time since records began, Spanish attracted over 100,000 entries, almost double the 2005 statistic,” the British Council’s annual language trends report said.

“If current trends continue, it is likely that Spanish will be the most popular GCSE language by 2026.”

Read more...

Online language NQ courses with Edinburgh College

18 June 2021 (Edinburgh College)

Higher and Advanced Higher French workshops

With funding from the Franco-Scottish Society, Edinburgh College is pleased to offer free online courses for Higher and Advanced Higher French pupils, which will be delivered from September 2021. Their aim is to provide additional support to pupils who get limited time for speaking practice so that they feel more confident for their speaking exam. Open to any Higher or Advanced Higher French pupil who would benefit from additional input, wherever they are in Scotland.

Follow the appropriate link below for further information and an application form:

• Higher French
• Advanced Higher French 

Free online language NQ courses for school pupils with Edinburgh College

School pupils who find their chosen language qualification is not offered in their school can study their NQ language course online for free with Edinburgh College. The following options are available:

• National 5 and Higher: French, German, Italian and Spanish.
• Advanced Higher: French and Spanish.
• Exam arrangements: Though enrolled with Edinburgh College, pupils still sit their exams at their own school (including the Adv Higher speaking exam).

These online courses can be accessed across Scotland and all Scottish school pupils qualify for a full fee waiver.

See the online modern languages course flyer for more information. 

Online training courses for Spanish teachers (October-November 2021)

15 June 2021 (Consejería de Educación)

The Spanish Ministry of Education through the Consejería de Educación offers places to Spanish teachers in British and Irish schools for 30-hour online courses that will take place between October and November 2021 and will be given by the Spanish National Distance Education University (UNED).

Application deadline is on 27 June 2021. These are free of charge training sessions on grammar, language skills, methodology and resources for teaching Spanish in Primary, etc.

Visit the Spanish Ministry of Education website for full details.

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Thirty-five jobs at Loganair saved from the axe after upskilling initiative

14 June 2021 (Glasgow Times)

Jobs at a Scottish airline have been saved from the axe thanks to a new training course.

Thirty-five cabin crew members at Loganair, who are based at Glasgow Airport, were at risk of redundancy. Through Unite the union and Scottish Union Learning, the stewards negotiated with the company to use the Covid Response Fund to mitigate compulsory redundancies and provide them with opportunities to upskill. This included courses on British Sign Language, Autism Awareness and Spanish delivered by City of Glasgow College.

Loganair have now signed no compulsory redundancy agreements which has given workers job security.

Read more...

Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival Spring Weekend

27 May 2021 (Asesoria Edimburgo)

The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival spring weekend is finally here and will be taking place next week, from June 4th - June 6th! This is our first in-person event of 2021 and we are thrilled to be welcoming everyone back with a varied program of films. The screening is happening at the ODEON cinema on Lothian Road and we will be following all protocols to ensure the safety and peace of mind of everyone joining us.

When can you watch these films? The screening is happening at the ODEON cinema on Lothian Road (Edinburgh):

• Rosa's Wedding (+ Q&A with Director Iciar Bollain) - Friday 4th June, 6pm
• Memories of My Father - Saturday 5th June, 6pm
• The Europeans - Sunday 6th June, 4pm

Tickets can be booked by visiting the ESFF website.

For everyone's safety and enjoyment we have reduced the size of the event and are only releasing a limited quantity of tickets, so make sure to book quickly!

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Espacios Increíbles - winners announced

27 May 2021 (SCILT)

Congratulations to Holy Cross High School, Hamilton on winning SCILT's Espacios Increíbles competition 2020-21.

The winner was announced at the final, held online on Wednesday 19 May 2021.

A superb effort from all four finalist schools (Dunblane High School, Kinross High School, Prestwick Academy, as well as Holy Cross High) with stiff competition and a very difficult decision for the judges.

The competition for S3 pupils takes an IDL approach, and combines Spanish with art, design and technology, with pupils designing an amazing space and presenting their work in Spanish. 

Holy Cross came out on top with their innovative design for a children's hospital, which took into consideration the needs of the children and elements for their enjoyment, as well as thinking about the environment. Teamwork and working to their strengths were evident throughout and their presentation was slick during the live final. The Spanish was excellent and the language used was embedded in their learning.

The other 3 schools did an amazing job with innovative and sustainable designs for a cultural and arts centre, a sustainable restaurant and a scientific research observatory in the rainforest. Amazing ideas using amazing creativity!

More information on this year's final will be on the SCILT website soon as well as details of how your school can enter next year's competition.   

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. 

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 vert, verre 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.

Vuelve a España - 2021 summer scholarships for Spanish language teachers

4 May 2021 (Consejería de Educación)

Course for Spanish language teachers on language, culture, and gastronomy (University of Valladolid, July 2021)

Open until May 10th the deadline to apply for one of the 50 scholarships to take a week-long course in Valladolid in the month of July 2021.

For whom? For teachers of Spanish in British secondary schools or universities (regardless of nationality (British, Spanish or other).

What? The course combines a varied didactic program (history, cinema, culture, games, language skill development, gamification…) with recreational and tourist activities. It is organized by the University of Valladolid, the Academia Mester, and the Junta de Castilla y León.

What does the scholarship include? The course (classes and cultural program), accommodation, and most of the meals. The selected participants only pay 100€ for management and the plane ticket to Madrid (round trip). Transfers from Madrid airport to Valladolid are also covered by the scholarship.

All the information about the dates, details of the course and the scholarship, and the online application form is available on the Consejería de Educación website.

Read more...

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. 

e-Sgoil Study Support

21 April 2021 (e-Sgoil)

e-Sgoil's Term 4 study support sessions for senior phase students in Scotland will commence 26 April 2021. They offer a wide range of real-time, interactive Study Support webinar lessons to help consolidate pupils' school-based learning. The timetable includes sessions for N5, Higher and Advanced Higher French and Spanish.

Visit the e-Sgoil website for full details and to book. Pupils will need their Glow login details and Scottish Candidate Number.

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Employ a language assistant at your school, college or university

20 April 2021 (British Council)

Bring language and culture to life by hosting a Modern Language Assistant in 2021-22! 

Modern Language Assistants are speakers of French, German, Irish, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish who can help students in the UK develop their linguistic and cross-cultural skills. 

Requests for hosting a Modern Language Assistant in 2021-22 close on 30 April 2021 at 23:59 BST.

Visit the British Council website for more information and to apply.

Read more...

Teachers Learning to Teach Languages: OU-SCILT Programme

1 April 2021 (Open University/SCILT)

Registration for the Open University (OU) and SCILT online CPD programme in primary languages, known as TELT, is now open for the 2021 intake. The modules begin on 2 October with induction activities starting on 20 September, and finish in July 2022. The fee in Scotland is £264.00 per module place. Please request registration packs by 30 June 2021.

You can find important information about the programme at our dedicated TELT programme website. There you can see which languages and levels we offer, FAQs and what our past students say.

To register, please contact the OU corporate registrations team by writing to corporate-enquiries@open.ac.uk. NB please also copy scotland-languages@open.ac.uk into your email.

Please note it is important for prospective TELT students to plan ahead and ensure that they will be able to dedicate sufficient time to their study, because, once the module start date has passed, deferral is not possible. The fee will still be payable and cannot be refunded if students decide to defer or withdraw from studying the module.

Should you have any questions about this programme please contact scotland-languages@open.ac.uk.

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The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators

1 April 2021 (University of Oxford)

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators is a brand new competition for MFL learners aged 11-18. The scheme is inspired by the life and work of the great translator Anthea Bell. It aims to promote language-learning across the UK and to inspire creativity in the classroom. By providing teachers with the tools they need to bring translation to life, we hope to motivate more pupils to study modern foreign languages to National 5, Highers and beyond.

In its first year, the prize is for learners of French, German, Mandarin and Spanish.

All interested teachers receive teaching packs for the prize, with ready-made resources designed to be used in class, for home learning or for extra-curricular activities.

See the attached document for more information and visit the website to register.

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 fait. Listen 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.

IberoDocs

25 March 2021 (IberoDocs)

IberoDocs, Scotland's Ibero-American Documentary Film Festival, will be running for the first time online in the entire UK and Ireland from the 19 April to 2 May. The 2 week-long event boasts a programme of 20 films: all are Scottish premieres, 13 are UK premieres, three international premieres and one world premiere.

The Festival, which has consistently celebrated equality, diversity and accessibility as its core values, will apply them even further when bringing this years’ festival to life since all the feature-length films in the main programme will include subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and the opening film will also have audio description available.

The pandemic has brought on several challenges for the festival, but this year IberoDocs is reaching a wider geographical area by hosting the festival online, and some of the films will be available to watch in 22 Ibero-American countries including Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, Peru and Brazil.

In addition to the film programme, the festival will offer a series of complementary activities such as a virtual exhibition, Q&As with filmmakers and artists - BSL interpreted - and a masterclass in collaboration with Scottish Documentary by Lupe Perez Diaz, winner of new waves best director at the Seville Film Festival 2020 with her film Never Look Back.

Visit the website for more information.

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 'giboulées' de 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 Kulturtheoretiker. Click 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 qqch, se 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 accogliente, fiabesco 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.

e-Sgoil Easter study support

11 March 2021 (e-Sgoil)

e-Sgoil is offering an Easter programme (6-16 April) of real-time, interactive webinars covering Nat 4 to Advanced Higher, for Scottish learners in the Senior Phase. The programme is not designed to deliver whole course content but will focus on key aspects of the subject(s) and hints and tips on how to be successful in assessments.

Visit the e-Sgoil website for full programme details and to book.

Read more...

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 

Multilingual Debate 2021

25 February 2021 (Heriot-Watt University)

Heriot-Watt University's Multilingual Debate is an annual event that showcases the interpreting skills of undergraduate students on our Languages (Interpreting and Translating) degree programme, as well as the developing professional skills of postgraduate students on our MSc Interpreting and Translating programmes.

The event takes the form of a formal debate with two multilingual teams arguing for and against a motion of topical interest in a range of languages. The teams deliver their views in their various native languages (French, German, Spanish, English, Arabic, Chinese, British Sign Language (BSL)).

The Multilingual Debates 2021 will take place online via Zoom on Wednesday 24 March and Friday 26 March. 

Visit the Heriot-Watt Multilingual Debate webpage for more information and to register for the free event.

Read more...

eSgoil Easter study support

25 February 2021 (eSgoil)

Calling all teachers of Advanced Higher French, Spanish or German!

e-Sgoil is currently planning it's Easter Study Support programme. We are looking for experienced teachers who could deliver AH Webinars. There are three one hour sessions over the two weeks (6-16th April). 

Please get in touch for further information - email damacleod1a@gnes.net

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 Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google 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 pinturas. Click 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 Spotify, Apple 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

• Last Friday we took a virtual trip up Italy’s tallest mountain, Monte Bianco, from the comfort of the Coffee Break Italian Facebook page. We shared a link to a website which has a gallery of stunning photos of the famous Alpine mountain, and we asked the Coffee Break Italian community to share any of their experiences in the mountains in the comments section. Click here to see the full post. Perhaps you can share this with your learners or use this idea for another aspect of Italian you’re teaching?
• Everyone knows that Italians are renowned for placing a lot of importance on la famiglia so, check out our Facebook post discussing some basic family-related vocabulary in Italian last week.. Click here to see the full post and ask your learners to have a go at writing a sentence about their family in 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.

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...

Online course for secondary teachers of French & Spanish

28 January 2021 (LFEE)

In light of the continuing COVID crisis, LFEE in consultation with the GTS has decided to offer their three week immersion course as an online alternative from 26 April to 18 June 2021.

More information can be found on the attached document. Applicants should register by 19 February 2021.

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 ö, ü 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

SCILT Live Lessons for Senior Phase Learners

14 January 2021 (SCILT/eSgoil)

During the current lockdown, SCILT is delighted to support our partners at eSgoil by offering live language lessons. These will be available to all Senior Phase learners in Scotland – learners can register through the eSgoil website.

Daytime Study Support

• Higher French – Thursdays at 11.15
• National 5 French – Tuesdays at 11.15
• Higher Spanish – Tuesdays at 14.15
• National 5 Spanish – Wednesdays at 09.30

You can register for Daytime Study Support Sessions here- http://www.e-sgoil.com/daytimestudysupport2020/

SCILT is continuing to offer evening support sessions for Advanced Higher:

• Advanced Higher Spanish – Wednesdays at 17.00
• Advanced Higher French – Thursdays at 17.00

You can register for Evening Study Support Sessions here - http://www.e-sgoil.com/studysupport2020/

eSgoil is offering a wide range of support for learners of all ages throughout lockdown, and SCILT is proud to support them and Scotland’s educational community through these challenging times.

Worldwide Napier magazine - call for submissions

14 January 2021 (Edinburgh Napier University)

Worldwide Napier, the magazine in foreign languages designed by language students to encourage language studies, is currently looking for contributions in French, German and Spanish for its seventh issue. The next issue's overarching theme is Oblivion. Pick a subject associated with oblivion and turn it into an engaging article. 

Students at secondary school, college or university are invited to submit contributions by email by 1 March 2021.

Visit the website for more information.

Read more...

Engage with the wider school community and develop blended learning

12 January 2021 (PowerLanguage)

In order to support Schools and their wider communities, we have created a new package to help with home learning. 

Our PowerLanguage Online Course for Families - available in French or Spanish - has been successfully running in many parts of Scotland since 2016. It was 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 course is accessible online or through an App. It contains 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/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, 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 Centre for Languages (SCILT). 

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. The annual cost is £100 per course (French or Spanish). Schools can also buy the course for a one-off fee of £500 per course for indefinite use. (Schools who have previously purchased this Course used some of their PEF 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.

Scottish Schools may wish to launch this Course in advance of Languages Week Scotland (1-5 February 2021). 

Please contact us info@powerlanguage.net to find out more or visit our website. 

Read more...

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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University of Dundee distance learning courses

11 January 2021 (University of Dundee)

Registration for the University of Dundee 25-Week Intensive courses by distance learning in French, Gaelic, German, Mandarin and Spanish is now open and extended until 15 January 2021. 

These courses are accredited at 20 SCQF credits. They will take students from the basics up to a standard equivalent to a Scottish Higher and beyond. They are taught by online distance learning via the University of Dundee virtual learning environment. From week 1, students on the courses will have a weekly online session with a native language tutor to give them the chance to practice what they have learnt and to clarify any queries they may have.  

More information is available on the University of Dundee website. 

Read more...

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.

Euroquiz 2021

8 December 2020 (SEET)

Have you registered your teams for the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) Euroquiz competition? The annual project is open to all P6 pupils across Scotland, which sees teams of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe and the wider world. Subjects covered include languages, history, geography, culture and European affairs. Heats take place in local authorities from January to March, with the winning teams from all areas progressing to the National Euroquiz Final held in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament in June.

Visit the SEET website for more information and to register.

Read more...

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 toujours, our 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 que, faire 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), etwas, manche, 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), etwas, manche, 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.

The Language Ambassadors

19 November 2020 (University of Strathclyde)

The Language Ambassadors are back……and they have gone VIRTUAL!

Get your pupils involved to discover the joys of learning and being able to use another language by organising a Virtual Language Ambassadors visit to your school!

Our Language Ambassadors are students of French, Italian or Spanish, on various degrees, including BA Honours in French and Spanish, International Business and a Modern Language, Law and a Language but also Engineering and Science degrees.

This programme is free of charge and provides student role models to promote languages to young people and encourage your pupils to choose languages as part of their high school curriculum.

We can deliver a range of activities online, such as:

• A virtual presentation about their experiences as university language learners and their experiences abroad;
• Q&A sessions about the benefits of studying a language;
• A small group discussion for Senior phase students who have already selected a language;
• Micro-presentations as part of a school-wide event

From Harris to Hamilton, from Orkney to Paisley, book a virtual visit today by completing our request form!

If you have any questions about The Language Ambassadors programme, please contact Cédric Moreau.

Read more...

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

SQA Modern Languages course reports

9 November 2020 (SQA)

Advanced Higher course reports for the 2019 diet have been added to the SQA website for Gaelic (Learners), German and Spanish.

Read more...

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 que? in 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.

Tutoring sessions - Higher French & Advanced Higher Spanish

19 October 2020 (Language Learning Scotland)

Language Learning Scotland has added free drop-in tutoring sessions for Higher French and Advanced Higher Spanish to their offering. Open to S5/S6 students these sessions begin week commencing 19 October 2020.

Visit the website to find out more and to sign up. 

Read more...

Discovery Film Festival 2020

18 October 2020 (Discovery Film Festival)

Welcome to the 17th edition of Discovery Film Festival – the first to be online – and another collection of the finest films handpicked for young audiences from around the world.

All films in the online festival programme will be accessible from Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November 2020. There's an exciting collection of shorts and brand-new features with accompanying curriculum-linked resource packs. The added benefit this year is that current restrictions and the move online means access to our programme will now be possible for schools across Scotland and the rest of the UK.

The school's programme includes some new shorts for language practice! Visit the festival website for full programme details.

Read more...

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 podcast| Access 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.

Autumn immersion week

1 October 2020 (Language Learning Scotland)

Calling all S5 and S6 Modern Languages students studying French, German Spanish and Mandarin. From 12-16 October 2020, Language Learning Scotland is running a virtual language immersion week. Come along to learn more about the culture, the course and so much more!

Meet like-minded language lovers and hear talks from native young people and industry professionals. Get help and advice on navigating your way through Higher and Advanced Higher with tips for memorising grammar and vocabulary.

Visit the LLS website for more information and to apply. 

Read more...

eSgoil study support webinars

1 October 2020 (eSgoil/SCILT)

SCILT is proud to partner with colleagues at e-Sgoil in order to offer additional support to sixth year language learners.

Free live webinar lessons for young people studying Advanced Higher French and Spanish are available on line for eight weeks from the beginning of November.

Advanced Higher Spanish

Wednesdays 5 pm from 4 November 2020

Advanced Higher French

Thursdays 5 pm from 5 November 2020

Going by the response to previous live-streamed lessons, interest is likely to be high.  Please encourage young people to sign up as quickly as possible to guarantee their place. They will need their pupil Glow login details and Scottish Candidate Number to register.

More information and the registration link can be found on the eSgoil website.

Read more...

Radio Lingua resources

24 September 2020 (Radio Lingua)

The team at Radio Lingua has collated this week's selection of their language learning resources which are freely available.

French

• The Coffee Break French team is busy preparing materials for Season 2 of our Coffee Break French To Go series in which Pierre-Benoît is talking to locals in Nantes, the town where he studied. Ahead of the launch, why not take a look back at Season 1? Join Pierre-Benoît in the town of Pornic, in the west of France and take a look at this episode where we're talking sport. Quel est ton sport préféré ?
• In our cultural Facebook post, we were talking about la bise. Despite the need to practise social distancing at the moment, it’s important to know how to do la bise when life goes back to normal. How many kisses should one give? This depends on where you are in the French-speaking world. Here’s a useful video which explains everything you need to know to prepare yourself for la bise in the future.

Spanish

• Have you seen our Coffee Break Spanish to Go videos?  They are ideal for authentic content in your classes or for sharing for online learning. We took to the streets of Málaga in the south of Spain to ask native Spanish speakers their thoughts on a number of topics. In Episode 9 we ask passers-by: ¿qué haces en tu tiempo libre? - what do you do in your free time?
• Every Tuesday on our Coffee Break Languages Instagram account, we share an idiom of the week. Our latest idiom was a piece of cake to remember… in Spanish to say something is really easy, we can say that it is ‘eaten bread’ or pan comido. Why don’t you follow our account or share with your learners?  Click here to view the post and see the responses we received.
• In Episode 4 of the Coffee Break Spanish Travel Diaries, we’re leaving Bilbao behind and heading to the capital city of the Cantabria region of Spain – Santander! Listen out for the interesting vocabulary featured in this episode, as well as some useful phrases such as costarle a alguien (to find something difficult). This is a great way to improve your own Spanish or to challenge your advanced learners. Access the podcast | Access the course

Italian

• One of last week's Facebook posts was centred around the following question: cosa fai nella vita? which literally means: 'what do you do in life?' This question can be used to ask ‘what do you do?' or 'what is your job?'. We loved hearing about our learners’ jobs in the comments. Check out the post here and try answering the question.
• It's almost time to release Coffee Break Italian To Go Season 2! In the meantime, we're catching up on episodes featured in Season 1 and this week, we're asking passers-by: di dove sei? (where are you from?). Do you know how to explain where you come from in Italian? Watch Episode 2 to find out how to structure a response to this question in Italian.

German

• In Episode 4 of the Coffee Break German Travel Diaries, Karin and her family approach the Austrian border. They explore the new area and take in the nature around them before having some family fun on the Sommerrodelbahn (summer toboggan on metal tracks). Listen out for an example of the pluperfect tense as well as the preposition bei. Los geht's! Listen to the podcast | Access the course
• Join Mark and Coffee Break German To Go host, Julia as they take a trip to the beautiful town of Potsdam, where Julia grew up. Mark puts his German into practice with Julia’s help and together they visit various parts of Potsdam including the Russische Kolonie Alexandrowka, the Holländisches Viertel, and Park Sanssouci. We’ve provided English captions for the whole video, and all German used in the video has both German and English subtitles. Click here to watch the video, explore Potsdam and brush up your German along the way.

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.

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators

17 September 2020 (University of Oxford)

The Queen’s College Translation Exchange is inviting expressions of interest in our new competition for schools, The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators. The prize launches this month with ready-made resources designed to be used around European Day of Languages (26 September) and International Translation Day (30 September). The competition is for students of French, German, Mandarin, or Spanish across four levels in Key Stages 3-5. 

The competition is inspired by the 'Juvenes Translatores' competition run by the European Commission, for which UK students are no longer eligible. 

More information can be found on the attached document or on the competition website.

Read more...

Worldwide Napier magazine - call for submissions

16 September 2020 (Edinburgh Napier University)

Worldwide Napier, the magazine in foreign languages designed by language students to encourage language studies, is currently looking for contributions in French, German and Spanish for its sixth issue, desirably on cultural icons of the XXI Century, our next issue's overarching theme. 

Students at secondary school, college or university are invited to submit contributions by 1 November 2020.

More information is available on the attached document.

e-Sgoil Study Support Webinars

11 September 2020 (e-Sgoil)

Young people from across Scotland are participating in a series of live study support webinar lessons being delivered by e-Sgoil. 

Building on the success of the e-Sgoil ‘lockdown’ offer - where over 3,000 young people from across the country participated in real-time e-Sgoil lessons from their homes - the package of study support seeks to complement the work being done by schools by providing free, live, interactive webinar lessons in an extensive range of courses at Level 5 (National 5) and Level 6 (Higher). 

Twenty courses are currently on offer in the evenings, in a range of subjects including French, Gaelic, Gaidhlig, Mandarin, Spanish, Business Management, Chemistry, Computing Science, Eachdraidh, English, History, Maths, Music, Physics and RMPS. 

e-Sgoil Study Support live webinar lessons are scheduled to run for a period of eight weeks in the first instance and employ a ‘flipped’ learning approach, where participants undertake prior learning using supplied resources before attending the real-time 45-minute webinar lesson, hosted in Glow. All e-Sgoil live webinar lessons are delivered by subject specialists and are scheduled after school in the evening.  

Angus Mclennan, Head Teacher of e-Sgoil commented:
“e-Sgoil is delighted to offer Senior Phase pupils from across Scotland the opportunity to participate in a wide-range of live webinar lessons that will reinforce school-based learning. Each webinar lesson is a stand-alone learning experience, so new participants are welcome to sign-up to join future sessions”. 

Young people can sign-up directly by simply accessing the e-Sgoil Study Support registration form at www.e-sgoil.com

(Pupil Glow login details and Scottish Candidate Number (SCN) are required as part of the registration process). 

Spanish teacher toolbox: online workshops to spice up the classes (September-November 2020)

10 September 2020 (Consejería de Educación)

The Consejería de Educación in collaboration with Junta de Castilla y León is offering online training sessions for teachers of Spanish during the months of September, October and November 2020.

The first of the workshops will be on Tuesday 22 September (4:30 pm): “The creative process of the student in the Spanish classroom”. Registration for this first workshop ―which is free of charge― is open until 20 September.

Visit the Consejería de Educación website for programme dates and content of the workshops. 

Read more...

Story-a-thon

8 September 2020 (British Council)

Story-a-thon is a platform for young authors to explore their creative writing skills. To celebrate International Literacy Day children aged 5-11 are being invited to submit a story of no more than 350 words on the subject 'How Will You Make the World A Better Place.'

Stories can be written in English, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Spanish, Portuguese, or Arabic, whichever language they are comfortable with. 

Visit the Story-a-thon website for more information. Submission deadline: 30 September 2020.

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.  

TECLA magazine - Issue 2/2020

1 September 2020 (Consejería de Educación)

The latest edition of TECLA has been published with lots of ideas for the teaching of Spanish. It includes, among other contents:

• the project HolaCandela.com, with online resources for teachers and students of Spanish;
• the use of PADLET in the Spanish classroom;
• a presentation of the 7th edition of Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, that includes a special program for schools;
• a sequence for the classroom using posters, labels, signs and other public messages.

Read more...

Online courses for Spanish language teachers in UK and Ireland (October-November 2020)

26 August 2020 (Consejería de Educación)

The Spanish Ministry of Education offers places for online courses to Spanish language teachers in the UK and Ireland. Online courses will take place between October and November 2020 and will be delivered by the Menéndez Pelayo International University.

Application deadline: from 25 August to 9 September 2020. These are free training courses on different aspects related to methodology and didactics of Spanish: good practices in virtual environments, creation and use of materials, gamification, creativity, cultural aspects.

For more information visit the Ministry of Education website.

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Virtual after school programme

26 August 2020 (LFEE)

LFEE Europe has created a virtual after school programme (VASCO programme) to offer live language sessions in French and Spanish for primary pupils.

For more information, see the attached flyer.

Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) - School Programme October 2020

24 August 2020 (Consejería de Educación)

The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival is back for its seventh edition and it includes a School Programme aimed at Spanish learning students (6, 7 and 8 October). 

Due to COVID-19, the regular format has changed to an Online Event: the film will be available for  48 hours. The way this would work would be through a link sent to teachers, allowing them access to watch the films in class within a set time. In this edition, the School Programme films are ‘Los Futbolísimos’ (P7-S2) and ‘Una vez más’ for (S3-S6). 

This programme for Spanish students gives them the opportunity to better their language skills as well as cultural awareness. ESFF has also prepared a set of post-film activities available for students to delve more deeply into films and practice vocabulary. 

Tickets £25 per class. For tickets reservations and further information, please contact info.esff@ed.ac.uk 

GCSEs 2020: French and Spanish revival continues

20 August 2020 (TES)

New figures show more pupils were entered for GCSE French and Spanish this year than in 2019.

Combined GCSE entries for the main modern languages have risen again this year, with Spanish seeing the biggest increase.

Tables published this morning by Ofqual show that there were 3 per cent more pupils entering either French, Spanish or German in 2020 in England than in the exams of 2019.

(Note - subscription required to access full article)

Read more...

Teachers Learning to Teach Languages: OU-SCILT Programme

20 August 2020 (Open University/SCILT)

Teachers Learning to Teach Languages (TELT) is an innovative, distance learning professional learning programme offered by the Open University in partnership with SCILT. The course begins in October and lasts nine months. TELT is open to all primary teachers, and secondary teachers with a secondment in primary, across Scotland. The course materials and tutorials are all delivered online, and we hope to be able to have an optional face to face day school in May 2021 dependent on pandemic safety advice at that time.

Typically Scottish local authorities sponsor their teachers, however a small number of previous participants have financed themselves. If you are interested in finding out if sponsorship is available for you please contact the Languages Development Officer in your local authority.

For more information about self-funding please contact Scotland-languages@open.ac.uk

The aim of the programme is to increase and improve language provision in primary schools. Teachers simultaneously learn a new language and the skills to teach that language in the classroom. The languages strand is offered in four languages – French, German, Mandarin and Spanish – and at two levels – beginners and post-beginners. The pedagogy strand covers a diverse range of pedagogical approaches i.e. embedding an additional language, exploring target language cultures, play and games, interdisciplinary contexts.

What’s the course really like though?  Hear what Mel and Gwen, two previous participants have to say. 

The modules all begin on 3 October, with some induction activities ahead of that, and the fee per module place in Scotland is £258.00

Details of the commitment in terms of time and effort on these modules at the TELT website’s FAQs.

Potential sponsors can use an online Expression of Interest form to let us know about any teachers who are interested in the programme and would have their fees paid by sponsorship from their local authority or individual school. The deadline to submit Expressions of Interest for sponsored places is 31 August. Submitting the Expression of Interest form doesn't commit organisations to going ahead with sponsorship at this stage, or to a particular number of places. Formal registration paperwork would be issued after submission this online form, and the number of places can be increased or decreased following that.

Teachers who are interested but would be paying their own fees (self-funding), should contact  scotland-languages@open.ac.uk The registration deadline for self-funding students is 10 September.

Visit the Open University TELT webpage for more information on the programme.

Similarly, for any other questions you have please don’t hesitate to contact scotland-languages@open.ac.uk

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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.

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Heriot-Watt’s search for £9m cuts puts university’s languages department at risk

6 August 2020 (The Times)

A Scottish university is reviewing the future of its entire foreign languages department as it looks at how to cut its wage bill by £9 million over two years.

Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh, widely seen as Scotland’s centre of excellence for translation studies, has commissioned an external review into French, German, Spanish and Chinese classes.

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‘I just need a connection’: the refugees teaching languages across borders

17 June 2020 (The Guardian)

A unique platform lets teachers from Venezuela to Syria to Burundi earn a living teaching their language online.

Louisa Waugh and Ghaith Alhallak have met for language lessons in seven countries. “We counted it up the other day,” says Waugh, recalling the list of places from which she has video-called Alhallak: Britain, Mali, Senegal and Greece. Alhallak has answered from Lebanon, France and Italy, where he is now studying for a master’s degree in political science at the University of Padua.

“You just need a connection,” he says.

The 770 students and 64 teachers at NaTakallam - “we speak” in Arabic – conduct their lessons entirely online, allowing refugees to speak to students who might not otherwise have contact with displaced people. The service also circumvents restrictions on work for refugees and asylum seekers in their new countries of residence, which means they can earn money.

“I really see it as solving two problems,” says one of NaTakallam’s founders, Aline Sara. “Refugees need access to an income, but with no work permit they’re often stuck in limbo. Yet they have innate talents within them in the form of their language, their story and culture, while so many people want flexible language practice,” she says. “There’s an idea that people always want to train and help refugees, but really they can help us.”

Read more...

University of Dundee Graduate Diplomas in French, German and Spanish by Distance Learning

17 June 2020 (University of Dundee)

Registration for the 2020-22 cohort of the Graduate Diplomas in French, German and Spanish by Distance Learning of the University of Dundee is now open until 11 September 2020.

These 2 years online Graduate Diplomas by Distance Learning for part-time study are accredited by the General Teaching Council for Scotland. They are ideally suited for Secondary MFL teachers seeking an additional qualification in French, German or Spanish.

'A must for any modern languages teacher.' (Diploma student)

They aim to provide the challenge of an undergraduate curriculum in the relevant practical language. They carry a rating of 120 SCOTCAT points (SCQF Levels 9-10). The qualification outcome is bench-marked at C1 in the Council of Europe Reference Framework for Languages. Applicants will normally have a pass in Higher the relevant language (or equivalent, such as the Dundee Intensive/Revision languages courses by distance-learning).

At the University of Dundee, we have a long-established tradition of language teaching, both with students at the University and via distance learning. We use a combination of online tools to give students a range of experiences in the language. Experienced staff are responsible for the course design, delivery and student support.

'I myself am a language teacher. I have been teaching English in Japan for the last 9 years, so it is with a teacher’s perspective in mind that I tell you that the preparation, delivery and assessment of this diploma was excellent.' (French Diploma student)

'The materials were totally relevant as I need the course for teaching and the topics match that very well. I really enjoyed doing the course and would think about doing it for French (down the road)!' (German Diploma student)

'The course is very interesting with its amazing variety of tasks from different domains in different forms and it has opened my eyes to a brand new world so rich with talented people, their literature and arts. Thank you so much for working so hard in making the whole experience so fulfilling and enriching.' (Spanish Diploma student)

For more information visit the Dundee University website or to discuss any aspects of the course or your application, please contact Claire Nicoll c.z.nicoll@dundee.ac.uk 

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There is a monument in Georgia with instructions in 8 languages on how to re-build a post-apocalyptic society

3 June 2020 (Time Out)

Seems like the world might need this right now.

They're called the Georgia Guidestones and they actually look like the Ten Commandments. The five 16-feet-tall granite walls overlook a barren knoll in northeastern Georgia, supporting a 25,000-pound capstone. But what's even more astonishing than their massiveness (four of the five slabs weigh more than 20 tons each!) is what is inscribed on the rock: carved on the polished granite are directions in eight different languages instructing the survivors of a supposed apocalypse on how to properly rebuild society.

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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.

Gary Lineker: Learning a language is one of the most important things you can do – in Spain once I really ballsed it up

27 May 2020 (The Sun)

Want to get a real sense of Spanish? Then learn from a footie legend who picked up the lingo while playing for one of the country’s top teams.

Sports pundit Gary Lineker is among a host of famous faces who have signed up to teach kids on CBBC show Celebrity Supply Teacher.

[..] Gary will be livening up the classroom by helping little ones learn Spanish through football.

The ex-England striker learned the language when he transferred from Everton to Barcelona in 1986. He also attempted to master Japanese during two seasons at League club Nagoya Grampus Eight.

Read more...

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.

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Watch new PowerLanguage Challenge videos

25 May 2020 (PowerLanguage)

Pupils in Scotland have been using their language skills to produce some quality videos. Take a look at these podcasts made by learners, for learners. Why not take up the challenge in your school? 

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On-line workshops for teachers of Spanish in the United Kingdom and Ireland

6 May 2020 (Consejería de Educación)

The Education Office of the Spanish Embassies to the United Kingdom and Ireland together with Extenda, the Andalusian Agency for Foreign Promotion, are organising eight on-line training workshops aimed at teachers of Spanish, which will take place during the months of May and June 2020.

The training sessions include a number of independent workshops based on different methodological aspects related to the teaching of Spanish which can be followed as chosen: each teacher can register for only one of the workshops, for several or for all of them, depending on their interest.

Dates and time: every Tuesday from 16:00 to 17:00 during the months of May and June (from May 12th to June 30th).

A certificate of participation will be delivered by the Spanish Education Office.

Visit the website for more information and to register.

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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.

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Volunteering Opportunity Alert: British Red Cross International Youth Volunteering Programme (IYVP) - Spain placement 2020-21

30 March 2020 (British Red Cross)

The British Red Cross seeks to support those in crisis, either in the UK or abroad. The International Youth Volunteering Programme (IYVP) offers young people aged 18-30 residing in the UK the chance to volunteer overseas in another European country for eight to twelve months. As part of the European Solidarity Corps (EuSC) scheme, all IYVP placements have a community focus, spanning a wide range of different services. All of our placements are fully funded, with travel, accommodation, health insurance costs all covered and volunteers receive a small monthly allowance to cover additional expenses.

This is the perfect opportunity for those interested in gaining valuable skills, having new experiences and giving back to the community. Experience and fluency in the language are not requirements, although the placements can be challenging and require adaptability and resilience. We're particularly keen to hear from young people who are passionate about the work but may not otherwise have the opportunity to volunteer overseas. Please apply using the link IYVP Spain Placement 2020-21. Closing date is 1 May 2020.

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The Great Languages Challenge

26 March 2020 (British Council)

The Great Languages Challenge can be completed during a planned lesson or also set as a language-themed homework task. We even have a blank version available that students can use to design their own challenges for their classmates or peers in their partner school overseas.

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Modern Languages webinars

19 March 2020 (SCILT/CISS)

Along with our partners at e-Sgoil, the SCILT and CISS teams are currently working on live webinars to support youngsters working on National Qualifications in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin and Gaelic. This will compliment the work already being done by teachers across the country so that youngsters due to sit National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications do not have their learning interrupted. We will give further information via our usual networks and social media. 

Wee Write 2020

14 February 2020 (Aye Write, Wee Write)

As part of Glasgow's wider Aye Write annual book festival, Wee Write is specifically aimed at children and young people.

Award winning authors, Wee Write favourites and brand new faces will bring books alive at The Mitchell Library and inspire a lifelong love of reading in children. All schools are able to book sessions at the event with Glasgow schools receiving a discounted admission. This year's Wee Write event for schools runs from 2 - 6 March, with a family day also being held on Saturday 7 March.

There are several Scots and Gaelic sessions to be enjoyed and schools can book story sessions at local libraries in a range of foreign languages.

Visit the Wee Write website for more information and booking details.

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Corpus Christi Primary pupils celebrate tapas night at Tennent’s Cook School

14 February 2020 (Clydebank Post)

Pupils from Corpus Christi Primary School marked the end of a weekly cooking club by celebrating a Spanish tapas night.

Youngsters who attend Spanish Club “El Club Español Familiar” along with family members, travelled to Tennent’s Cook School last Thursday - coinciding with Language Week Scotland.

The event marked their final week with a family celebration theme to apply all of their new language skills.

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Modern Language Assistants 2020-21 applications open

14 February 2020 (British Council)

The British Council Language Assistants team is now welcoming requests from host schools, colleges, universities and local authorities for the 2020-21 academic year.

Language Assistants are an invaluable resource for the development of language skills and the raising of inter-cultural awareness. Language Assistants can help learners build their confidence while gaining new cultural insights. Assistants are native speakers of French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Mandarin from our 14 partner countries around the globe.

Visit the website to apply or contact the Language Assistants team for more information at Languageassistants.UK@britishcouncil.org

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New job profile on SCILT's website

7 February 2020 (SCILT)

We have a variety of job profiles on our website showcasing careers where languages are in use. The latest addition to our collection comes from Cassandra Scott, an independent translator based in Edinburgh.

Cassandra tells us in a competitive job market it's pays to stand out from the crowd with a skill that not everyone has. So if offered the chance to learn a language, her advice is take it!

Teachers share her profile with your pupils to support the Developing the Young Workforce initiative and highlight the benefits of language learning as a life skill.

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Espacios Increíbles 2020 – Get your school involved!

24 January 2020 (SCILT)

Following the successful pilot last year, this exciting competition, using Spanish, design team work and creativity is now officially open to secondary schools across all local authorities in Scotland to take part in this year.

Aimed at S3, learners will work in teams to research and design a building in a Spanish speaking area. They will present their design in Spanish, and then go forward to represent their school at national level. The finalists will take part in a live event at the University of Strathclyde where their designs will be judged by industry professionals and academics. The winners (as part of their prize) will have their model made in 3D by the School of Architecture.

This highly motivating project for learners has had a positive effect on uptake in the senior phase for those schools who participated in the pilot in 2019. The skills focus delivers on key aspects of Developing the Young Workforce. The learner materials that are designed to fulfil evidence requirements for achieving Level 4 Benchmarks are available on the SCILT website, and can be easily adapted to suit your chosen group. 

Visit the Eventbrite page to find out more and register your interest by Friday 27 March 2020. 

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Language competitions

22 January 2020 (RZSS)

RZSS and our partner StampIT have launched language competitions. All are based on a fantastic activity which covers many curriculum objectives starting with just one postage stamp. Tell the story of a Spanish, French, Chinese or in fact any country/language stamp. Full details are on the attached pdf leaflets. There are specific leaflets for Spanish, French and Mandarin. There is also another leaflet 'Stamps from around the World' and for this competition any topic (including any language) can be entered. This activity links to the RZSS & StampIT language series.

The competition will continue to run each year, therefore there is no time limit for entries. However for entries to be shown in the 2020 Scottish Annual Congress, please send by 1 March 2020. Entries are encouraged from all age groups. Example pages are shown but younger pupils can still enter and possibly draw around the stamp and write a word or two in the language as appropriate. Pupils can enter more than one of the competitions.

Check out the attached leaflets for more information on each of the competitions. If anyone has difficulty in finding stamps, please contact Sandie Robb - SRobb@rzss.org.uk.

Multilingual Debate 2020

21 January 2020 (Heriot-Watt University)

Heriot-Watt University's Multilingual Debate is an annual event that showcases the interpreting skills of undergraduate and postgraduate students. The event takes the form of a formal debate with two multilingual teams arguing for and against a motion of topical interest in a range of languages. The teams deliver their views in their various native languages (French, German, Spanish, English, Arabic, Chinese, British Sign Language (BSL)).

The audience is mainly made up of pupils coming from Scottish and English secondary schools, along with university undergraduate students considering entering the interpreting profession, as well as government and local authority representatives, The audience participates by listening to the arguments, putting questions to the speakers in the languages represented and voting on the motion.

The Multilingual Debate 2020 will take place on Wednesday 25 March at Heriot-Watt University's Edinburgh campus. Two sessions are available and bookings are now being taken. Schools can book up to 15 tickets free of charge.

Visit the website for more information.

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Immersion courses in France and Spain

17 January 2020 (LFEE)

LFEE Europe has been an international course provider since 2002. Our team of experienced and fully qualified native teachers are committed to promoting French and Spanish language and culture throughout Europe.

Teachers wishing to apply for courses in France and Spain for 2020-2021 can also benefit from Erasmus+ funding to cover the tuition fee, accommodation, subsistence and travel costs. The next funding application deadline is 5 February 2020.

Please contact LFEE Europe as soon as possible to pre-register and receive guidelines to help your application.

For more information, see the course brochure.

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Worldwide Napier magazine - Call for submissions

10 January 2020 (Edinburgh Napier University)

Worldwide Napier, the magazine in foreign languages designed by language students to encourage language studies, is currently looking for contributions in French, German and Spanish for its fifth issue, desirably on [changing] places, our next issue main focus.

Students from secondary schools, colleges and other universities are invited to submit articles, written individually or collaboratively in the language(s) they are studying. The magazine will be published by the end of April and will be available in digital and hard copy format, distributed for free in Scottish schools, Edinburgh cafés and cultural institutions.

See the attached flyer and poster for more information. Submission deadline is 1 March 2020.

Mandarin eclipses French, say private school heads

8 January 2020 (TES)

Mandarin is the best language for pupils to learn in today’s world, while French lags far behind in importance, according to girls’ school headteachers cited in a poll published today.

The survey, conducted by the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA), which represents independent all-girls schools across the UK, found that 38 per cent of heads feel Mandarin is the most important modern language for pupils to learn.

This is despite pupils' quicker progress in European languages, according to a language expert, who also argues that more job opportunities area available for French and German speakers.

Spanish was the second most popular option among the headteachers polled, with 31 per cent choosing it as the most important language, while 7.1 per cent chose Russian.

Just 2 per cent of those surveyed said French is the most important language for pupils to know.

A further 21 per cent selected “other”, with many commenting that any modern foreign language is useful for pupils.

[..] But Teresa Tinsley, who wrote the British Council’s 2019 Language Trends report, said schools needed to consider the practicalities of opting for Mandarin over languages spoken by geographical neighbours, such as French and German.

[..] Ms Tinsley said she supported the introduction of Mandarin to give pupils more variety in the languages they learnt, but said European languages tended to support pupils’ literacy in English, which could not be said of Asian languages.

(Note - subscription required to read full article).

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Why we offer Mandarin and Spanish, not German and French

20 December 2019 (TES)

Secondary head Chris Woolf explains why he ditched the modern language stalwarts in favour of giving all students the chance to learn Mandarin and Spanish.

It was very quiet. There was no one to talk to. There were no phones to ring. There was no one knocking on the door. Getting in early to make some progress before students and staff arrived for the day was pointless: they wouldn’t be here for another nine months. It was June 2015 and I had been appointed founding headteacher of Pinner High School.

Much of the next year was spent making and enacting plans. But foremost in my mind, on those quiet days when the school had not yet come into being, was the curriculum. What should it look like?

A lot of it would be traditional, of course: English, maths, science. However, there was an opportunity to make it a bit more exciting, too. This is how we came to ditch French and German, teaching Mandarin and Spanish to every child in the school instead.

Mandarin teaching has increased over the past 20 years but it is still offered by only a minority of state schools. Even then, it is usually in addition to the more traditional languages. We didn’t want it to be an add-on – we wanted it to be the main event.

Meanwhile, the number of students taking Spanish at GCSE has soared, while French has fallen markedly. But trying to counter the former and respond to the latter were not our only drivers.

Governors asked appropriately challenging questions. Why? What’s wrong with French and German? Through telling audiences about our language options as I toured local primaries to promote the school, I honed my response. When schools first started teaching modern foreign languages, we looked to our nearest neighbours in Europe for the most useful ones to learn: French and German.

But the world has changed. If we look to the future, we want jobseekers of the 2020s to be equipped for success, and that means a more dynamic approach. Teaching students in an English-speaking school Mandarin and Spanish means that they get to study the top three most widely spoken languages in the world. That must be a good thing.

Having settled on Mandarin and Spanish, I had to consider who would be eligible for these languages. This was an easy decision: everyone. We are a truly inclusive school and we believe that everyone can access the same curriculum, given the proper support.

Then I had to actually make it happen. I had expected recruiting Mandarin teachers to be difficult. However, when I advertised, there was a strong field to pick from and we now have brilliant colleagues.

(Note - subscription required to access full article).

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New job profile on the SCILT website

6 December 2019 (SCILT)

The job profiles on our website cover a range of careers where languages are in use. Our most recent addition comes from Marion Geoffray, a theatre maker and drama teacher, who is the artistic director of Theatre Sans Accents, an innovative bilingual theatre company in Edinburgh.

Marion performs in several languages and believes immersing yourself in the language and culture is the most effective way to learn and to have fun!

Teachers use this resource with your pupils to support the Developing the Young Workforce initiative and highlight the benefits of language learning as a life skill.

Read more...

UNIQ Spring and Summer Schools 2020

29 November 2019 (University of Oxford)

UNIQ Spring and Summer gives students in UK state schools and colleges an opportunity to sample the Oxford undergraduate student experience. Applicants will live in an Oxford college for a week, attend lectures and seminars in their chosen subject area, and receive expert advice on the Oxford application and interview process. The timetable also allows plenty of time for social activities.

For those unable to attend the Oxford campus, the UNIQ Digital programme provides comprehensive information and guidance on the university admissions process, and aims to provide a realistic view of Oxford student life through videos, activities and quizzes. 

A wide range of courses are on offer, including several language study options.

Visit the UNIQ website for more information about the programmes on offer and to apply. Applications are open from 2 December 2019 to 27 January 2020.

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Vibras! How J Balvin took on English-language pop - and won

27 November 2019 (The Guardian)

Balvin was a minor Colombian artist who became the fifth most streamed on the planet without using English, showing how embracing national pride can be a force for cultural good.

Read more...

Spanish stamp competition

7 November 2019 (RZSS)

RZSS and partner StampIT have launched a great new Spanish competition. It's a fantastic activity which covers many curriculum objectives all starting with just one postage stamp. Tell the story of a Spanish stamp. Full details about the competition and how to enter are on the attached pdf leaflet. This activity links to the RZSS & StampIT Spanish language pack (but you don't need the pack to enter).

The competition will continue to run each year, therefore there is no time limit for entries. Entries will be entered as appropriate to the current year competition, so schools can just send in when complete. All age levels can enter in primary and secondary.

The best languages to study for future job opportunities

6 November 2019 (The Telegraph)

Your Year 9 French teacher was right: learning a language can open a lot of doors. Not only will your fluency allow you to travel to distant corners of the globe, but having a degree in a language can make you highly employable.

Mastering a language has always been impressive to employers: it shows tenacity and commitment, but can also come in handy if they work with overseas clients. 

Now, language skills are more sought after than ever, given the potential impact of Brexit on British industry, according to the CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Report 2018. “The need for languages has been heightened by the UK’s departure from the European Union,” the report states.

The British Council has also stressed the need for young people to learn a foreign language in order for Britain to become a “truly global nation”. In their most recent Languages for the Future report in 2017, the British Council listed the following as the most important languages for the UK’s prosperity: Spanish, Mandarin, French, Arabic, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese and Russian. 

Even though multilingualism is needed for the UK’s prosperity, just 1 in 3 Britons can hold a conversation in a foreign language, according to the report from the British Council. 

So, those who can speak another language are more needed than ever - as is clear from the 2018 CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Report, which surveyed almost 500 British employers and calculated which languages are most desirable to them. The following are the results from that report and, thus, the best languages to study for graduate employment. 

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French and German GCSEs to be marked less harshly, Ofqual rules

5 November 2019 (The Guardian)

French and German GCSEs are to be marked less severely from next year amid concerns that students are being put off studying modern foreign languages (MFL) because it is more difficult to get top grades in these than in other subjects.

The qualifications regulator Ofqual has ruled there should be an adjustment to grading standards in French and German GCSEs – entries for which have declined dramatically – but not in Spanish where numbers have been more buoyant.

The government also announced a review of the content of its recently reformed GCSEs in MFL after complaints from teachers that some of the questions are too difficult – particularly in listening and reading assessments – and may be discouraging students.

Ofqual said there were no plans to adjust GCSE grades retrospectively, but the regulator will now work with the examination boards in the run-up to next year’s exam season to bring the grading of French and German GCSEs in line with other subjects.

School leaders welcomed the move and called for a comparable adjustment in languages at A-level, where there has been a similar decline. The GCSE grading adjustments may need to be phased in over a longer period, and will affect grades 4 and above.

“We have conducted a thorough review of the evidence that GCSE French, German and Spanish are severely graded in comparison to other subjects,” an Ofqual statement said. “On the balance of the evidence we have gathered, we have judged that there is a sufficiently strong case to make an adjustment to grading standards in French and German, but not Spanish.”

The Ofqual announcement comes amid mounting concern about the dramatic decline in the study of modern foreign languages in schools in England over the past 15 years, with entries for language GCSEs down 48%. German has declined by 65%, while French is down by 62%.

Read more...

Get ready for Hallowe'en!

25 October 2019 (Various)

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

• Halloween poetry - SCILT's French, German and Spanish Halloween poetry resources
• Eight evil lessons for Hallowe’en – resources from the Scots Language Centre
• Four French Hallowe’en activities – FluentU provides a great source of seasonal vocabulary and activities
• Spanish Hallowe’en activities – Spanish Playground offers a range of materials for the primary classroom
• French, Spanish and German teaching ideas for Halloween and Day of the Dead – a selection of activities from TES contributors (note some incur a small charge)
• Día de los Muertos – Spanish Mama’s website contains crafts, videos and lesson ideas to celebrate Day of the Dead
• Hallowee’en around the World – learn about Hallowe’en traditions in Mexico, China, Italy and Romania

The Ramshorn and Graveyard Digital Trail - now available!

23 October 2019 (SCILT)

If you find yourself in the Merchant City area of Glasgow why not complete our new 'The Ramshorn and Graveyard' digital trail? Pupils from Glasgow Gaelic School, Holyrood Secondary, Shawlands Academy and St Roch's Secondary worked with SCILT and Global Treasure Apps to create a multilingual trail around the new SCILT and CISS premises. The trail encourages visitors to learn about the history of the area by following clues set by the pupils, and gives people the chance to test their language skills.

The Ramshorn and Graveyard Digital Trail is available to download from Global Treasure Apps in Arabic, English, French, Gaelic, German, Italian, Mandarin, Polish, Spanish and Urdu.

Find Global Treasure Apps on the App store or Google Play. 

Read more...

If Britain’s young love Europe so much why aren’t they learning the lingo?

18 October 2019 (Life Spectator)

Most of my friends are moderate Remainers. There’s the odd fanatic, the sort who go on marches demanding a People’s Vote. What I can’t understand is why none of them can speak French, German, or indeed any European language.

They go on holiday to Europe, but only to those parts where they won’t have to speak the lingo because fortunately Johnny Foreigner has had the good sense to learn English.

Something else that confuses me is the belief, most pungently articulated by David Aaronovitch, that Brexit will be reversed in a few years because those stuck-in-the-past Gammons will shuffle off this mortal coil to be replaced in the electorate by a shiny new Briton: young, cosmopolitan and forward-looking, who believe the sun shines out of the Brussels’ class. In which case, why are fewer school children than ever bothering to learn a foreign language?

According to a report in the BBC this year, the learning of foreign languages is at its lowest level in UK secondary schools since the turn of the millennium. Since 2013 there has been a decline of between 30 to 50 per cent in the numbers taking GCSE language courses with German and French suffering most. That’s in England; in Northern Ireland the drop in pupils learning modern languages at GSCE is 40% while in Scotland there has been a 19% decline since 2014. And there was me thinking those two countries couldn’t get enough of all things European.

Furthermore, in March this year the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Modern Languages released a report stating that since 2000 more than fifty UK universities have cut language courses, or done away with departments entirely.

I blame the parents. In 2013 a report revealed that only a quarter of British adults were capable of holding even a basic conversation in a language other than English; of those, French was the most common, followed by German.

Read more...

Spanish-speaking children learn English faster when parents read to them in their native language

17 October 2019 (Consumer Affairs)

Researchers from the University of Delaware have found that reading to Spanish-speaking children in their native language can help them better understand the English language. Their study shows that these children are more likely to excel in reading and writing in English when exposed to their native tongue at an early age.

“This suggests that well-developed Spanish reading proficiency early on likely plays a greater role in English reading development than a student’s proficiency in speaking English,” said researcher Steven Amendum.

Amendum and his team evaluated students from the time they were in kindergarten until they were in the fourth grade. All participants were read to by their parents in Spanish and were reading on their own to try to master English. 

Ultimately, the study revealed that early exposure to Spanish was crucial to children developing sharper English reading and speaking skills. This came as a surprise to the researchers because of how young the children were at the beginning of the study. 

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Scotland’s £28m man Oliver Burke enjoying his Spanish adventure at Alaves

9 October 2019 (The Courier)

Twice the Kirkcaldy-born winger has become the most expensive Scottish player in history with big money transfers, costing Red Bull Leipzig and West Brom a combined total of £28 million.

And, after his recent loan move to Alaves, Burke can also tell the grandchildren he has played in the top leagues in England, Scotland, Germany and Spain.

Still only 22, he certainly couldn’t be accused of being reluctant to take himself out of a comfort zone.

“I was keen for another adventure,” admitted Burke, who moved to Alaves on a season-long loan.

“I’m really enjoying it. We’ve started off well and I feel really comfortable there.

“The team is good and have made me feel welcome and I’m playing football which is the main thing. It doesn’t really faze me moving to another country. Because I’ve already done it it’s a lot easier.

“I want to enjoy it because you only live one life so why not live it to the extreme and do everything you can?

“The main focus was to go there get and get game time.  That has happened and everything is going well which is good.”

He added: “We train at 11 in the morning and then of course there is a siesta and shops close at certain times, which is weird.

“It’s pretty normal other than the siesta part of thing where they all go to sleep for two hours and it’s a ghost town.

“I’ll go back and sleep after training and do what they’re doing so I can keep up.

“I’ve got to start having Spanish lessons three times a week. I’ve got a teacher already organised.

“Just now it’s only a short loan until the end of the season, but who knows what will happen after that, but it will be nice to learn the language.

“My team-mates are good. I go out for meals with them and stuff.

“I think a few of the players did some research into me before I went but the rest of them don’t really know anything about me. It is difficult to speak to some of them, because they don’t speak English. Sometimes you need somebody to translate. It’s like ‘tell him that’. So it is quite funny. I see their reaction about a minute later!

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Discovery Film Festival 2019

8 October 2019 (Discovery Film Festival)

This year's Discovery Film Festival takes place from 19 October to 3 November. Now in its sixteenth year, the festival brings another selection of the best films for young audiences from around the world. With several native language films on offer, and a programme for schools, language learners have a great opportunity to test their listening and comprehension skills.

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Into Film Festival 2019

3 October 2019 (Into Film)

The Into Film Festival is a free, annual, nationwide celebration of film and education for 5-19 year olds.

Taking place from 6-22 November 2019 in various locations across the country, film titles will include premieres and the latest blockbusters alongside old favourites, documentaries, animations, short films, modern foreign language titles and much more, all mapped against curricula from across the four UK nations, and supported by the Festival's various educational resources.

Visit the website to discover screenings near you.

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School links in Spain 2019-20

30 September 2019 (Consejería de Educación)

Looking for a partner school in Spain in the 2019-20 academic year? The Spanish Embassy Education Office in the UK and Ireland can help. They will only promote the links between schools. Any actions decided upon by the schools will be their exclusive responsibility. 

Visit the website to find out more and to make an enquiry.

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Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival 2019

12 September 2019 (Consejería de Educación)

The 2019 Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival presents a total of 17 feature films and 8 short films in Spanish over the months of October and November.

Alongside the Filmhouse and the University of Edinburgh, the festival will take place at the University of Stirling, the University of Strathclyde, the Instituto Cervantes in Manchester, the Belmont Picturehouse in Aberdeen and the Glasgow Film Theatre.                                

The sixth edition of the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival will be held across Scotland from 3 October to 14 November. The opening film, The Candidate, directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, has been awarded with seven Goya Awards. The Festival launches an exciting programme that includes the Scottish premiere of Almost 40 (directed by David Trueba) and Sanctuary (directed by Álvaro Longoria), as well as the TV Series Madrid on Fire (directed by Paco León). The audience will be joined by a variety of film industry professionals for Q&As and panel discussions throughout the festival.

Visit the website for more information. 

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World Wide Napier magazine - call for submissions

10 September 2019 (Edinburgh Napier University)

Building on the success of the first three issues, Worldwide Napier, a magazine in foreign languages designed by our language students to encourage language studies, is currently looking for contributions in French, German and Spanish for its fourth issue.

Students from secondary schools, colleges and other universities are invited to submit articles, written individually or collaboratively in the language they are studying. The magazine will be published by the end of December and will be available in digital and hard copy format, distributed for free in Scottish schools, Edinburgh cafés and cultural institutions.

See the attached flyer for more information. Submission deadline is 1 November 2019.

SQA Advanced Higher Spanish and French Course Reports

9 September 2019 (SQA)

SQA has published Advanced Higher Spanish and French course reports for the 2019 exam diet.

The reports provide information on candidates’ performance.

Visit the SQA Advanced Higher Modern Languages webpage to access the reports.  

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Yakety Yak Language Cafés

26 August 2019 (Yakety Yak)

Improve your foreign language conversation in a local café, in a small group with an experienced tutor. 

We meet

• in the relaxed atmosphere of local cafes and bistros in Edinburgh and Glasgow
• in small groups of similar level of fluency
• with a tutor who is a native speaker for each group 
• each session normally has a minimum of 2 tutors to cater for most abilities
• No need to book - just drop in. However, if it is your first time with us, we recommend you phone or email us to discuss your level and the best session for you first

Conversation classes commence from 2 September 2019. Visit the website for details of sessions running in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. 

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What are the most popular subjects in Scotland?

23 August 2019 (TESS)

Earlier this month the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) published annual data on qualifications at all levels.

Tes Scotland has examined the figures to find the most popular subjects at Higher level in 2019, a list that includes all 27 subjects with at least 1,000 entries. Also included are four subjects which had more than 1,000 entries in 2016 – the first year that only the new version of the Higher was run – but which have now dipped below 1,000 entries.

In brackets are the number of Higher entries for each of the 31 subjects in 2016. This offers a better comparison that the figures for 2015, the first year in which the new version of Higher was offered, as for that year only the old Higher was also available.

Finally, below that, we also take a look at which subjects are losing popularity at Higher level, and which are on the rise, by calculating the percentage difference between entries in 2016 and 2019 for each of the 31 subjects.

The figures suggest that social subjects are being squeezed, with geography, in particular, seeing a fall in entries of almost 16 per cent between 2016 and 2019.

But there are even bigger falls in some subjects, including computing science (27.5 per cent) and French (25.4 per cent) and – the biggest fall proportionally – philosophy (34.8 per cent).

Few subjects have seen rises in entries, with Spanish among those to increase (17.5 per cent), although by far the biggest rise proportionally is in politics (55.3%).

For context, overall entries fell from 197,750 in 2016 to 185,914 in 2019, a drop of almost 6 per cent. In italics are all the subjects where the percentage drop in entries is Higher than the overall percentage drop in entries across all subjects.

(Note - subscription required to access full article).

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New job profile on the SCILT website

23 August 2019 (SCILT)

We have job profiles on our website covering a wide range of careers where languages are in use. Our latest addition comes from Stephanie Mitchell, a Civil Servant in the Scottish Government who has previously worked in Europe and Asia, thanks to her language skills. Stephanie shares her experiences and how vital languages have been throughout her life and career. 

Teachers use this resource with your pupils to support the Developing the Young Workforce initiative and highlight the benefits of language learning as a life skill.

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UK must regain strength in language skills after GCSE results, says British Academy

21 August 2019 (British Academy)

As nationwide GCSE results are published, the British Academy today responds to the modest rise in students choosing to study a language in England.

A rise of 4% in entries for language GCSEs has been driven by growth in French and Spanish, although in entries in German continue to decline.

The British Academy highlights these positive signs in language take-up, but cautions that there is still a long way to go to turn around the long-term decline in language-learning in the UK, noting that 10% fewer pupils took a language GCSE in England this year than in 2014.

The fall in language GCSEs has knock-on effects for take-up at A level, which declined 5% in 2019 compared to last year, and subsequently affects the provision of modern languages in higher education, where at least 10 language departments have closed in the last decade.

While French and Spanish GCSE saw increases in entry numbers, rates of entry for other language GCSEs continued to show a small decline, suggesting that more pupils could be encouraged to take exams in languages that are a vital part of the vibrant multilingual heritage of Britain such as Polish, Arabic and Urdu.

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A-level results: Spanish overtakes French

15 August 2019 (TES)

Spanish has overtaken French as the most popular modern foreign language at A level for the first time, figures show.

A total of 8,625 candidates were entered for Spanish A level this year, compared with 8,355 entries in French. In Spanish, the number of entries increased by 4.5 per cent compared with last year, while in French, the number of entries fell by 4.1 per cent.

The change could partly be due to higher numbers of specialist Spanish teachers. Data from the Teaching Regulation Agency’s annual report and accounts published in August showed that 1,365 Spanish-born teachers received QTS in 2018-19 compared with 46 French teachers.

The news backs up provisional A-level entry data from Ofqual released in May, which showed that while Spanish rose from 7,705 to 7,995, French fell slightly, from 7,945 to 7,680. 

It also echoes predictions in a report by the British Council in December 2018 that Spanish would overtake French as the UK’s most popular language at A level.

(Note - subscription required to access the full article).

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Language travel still popular for UK students, with Spain gaining foothold

8 August 2019 (The Pie News)

Despite headlines reporting drops in language studies in schools across the UK, youngsters from secondary schools around the UK are continuing to travel overseas in busloads, educational tour operators have said. And Spain – and its language – is becoming increasingly popular.

However, concerns surrounding Brexit and safety have caused issues of their own, and the lower uptake of languages at GCSE level is reflected in language travel industry trends.

The British Council’s Language Trends 2019 report found that entries for GCSE languages had declined by 19% over the past five years. French and German GCSE candidate levels saw reductions of 30%, the report explained.

“Spanish language trips are getting very close to the demand for French language”

At A-level, between 2017 and 2018, German was down by 16%, French by 7%,  and Spanish by 3%. However, provisional entry figures for 2019 show Spanish candidate numbers increasing by 10% and French increasing by 4%.

German instead is set to continue to fall by 2.5%.

Of the 776 primary schools and 845 secondary schools surveyed for this report, 8% said they had offered school trips abroad in the previous year.

In last year’s survey, that number was 12%, but more respondents were included in the 2019 report.

Michelle Evans, head of product & marketing at educational tour operator NST noted that a large proportion of its language trips were for students under GCSE age.

“Teachers are trying to engage the students in lower secondary years in languages, so that they can encourage them to take that subject at GCSE,” she told The PIE News.

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SQA results day 2019

6 August 2019 (TESS)

Higher computing entries fall by 21%. Setting aside computing, the sciences fared better in terms of changes in uptake than the social subjects.

French experienced a 10% dip in entries, whilst Spanish saw a 9% increase from last year.

Read more...

OU/SCILT primary languages course

31 May 2019 (SCILT/OU)

We are happy to announce that registration is now open for the OU/SCILT primary languages course, which will be running again from October 2019. In light of positive feedback and popularity of the first year of the course, we are now also delighted to offer a second year, post-beginners’ course. The latter would be suitable for those who have successfully completed year 1 and wish to continue their studies, or for those who are looking to begin studying at a more advanced level.

• The courses will run from October 2019 to July 2020, and will develop language and pedagogy skills; language learning is provided by the Open University and pedagogy is provided by SCILT.  The courses are aligned to the Scottish curriculum and support the 1+2 languages approach.
• Both courses are delivered online with two opportunities to attend face-to-face day schools. 
• Learning is very flexible and participants can study at a time and place of their choosing.
• Each course carries a fee of £252, reflecting the input and student support for the language and pedagogy strands from both organisations.

Funding may be sponsored through your school or Local Authority who can register on your behalf.   Initial registration information must be submitted to the OU by Monday 17 June 2019 and LAs should contact Scotland-Languages@open.ac.uk.  
Students also have the option to fund the fee themselves. In this case, an interested teacher should contact the OU directly at Scotland-Languages@open.ac.uk.

Here is some further information:

Beginners level

• will be offered in a choice of four languages - French, German, Spanish and Mandarin plus study of primary pedagogy with direct application in the classroom.
• takes students to the end of the equivalent to level A1 of the Common European Reference Framework for Languages.
• allows students to gain 15 university credits for the language study.
• also gives students the option to gain GTCS recognition for the pedagogy study; all students will receive a certificate on successful completion from SCILT.
• study hours will be approximately five hours per week, including time spent on the direct application of the new skills in the classroom.

Post-beginners level

• teachers who have started studying one language in the beginners level of the course would need to continue studying the same language at post-beginners level.
• teachers who already have some basic knowledge in one of the four languages can directly enrol on the post-beginners level course to further develop their skills in that language and learn about primary languages pedagogy (without having to have studied beginners level).
• will follow the same format as the beginners level course and will be offered in the same four languages (French, German, Mandarin and Spanish).
• will teach primary languages pedagogy in more depth and cover:
  • the skills of writing and reading,
  • IDL with a special focus on outdoor learning as well as links with other key subject areas through CLIL,
  • learning and teaching of languages in multilingual contexts/communities.
• will have the same:
  • number of study hours,
  • assessment structure,
  • accreditation with 15 university credits,
  • optional GTCS recognition for the pedagogy strand, as above ;
• in their language study, students will reach the equivalent of the end of level A2 of the Common European Reference Framework for Languages (end of post-beginner level).
• after completing both courses, students would then be in a good position to go on to study one of the standard language courses at the OU should they want to improve their knowledge of the language even further.

Course codes are as follows:

Beginners level	LXT192 French	LXT193 German	LXT197 Mandarin	LXT194 Spanish
Post-beginners level	LXT191 (language choice will come as a second step once students have registered)

SCHOLAR online tutor sessions for Modern Languages

7 November 2018 (SCHOLAR)

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Queen Elizabeth II Can Speak This Foreign Language After Learning It Privately

5 November 2018 (International Business Times)

Queen Elizabeth II can speak at least one foreign language fluently after getting a private education by governess Marion Crawford.

Harriet Mallinson, a journalist for Express, revealed that Her Majesty can speak French fluently. French is regarded as the official language in 29 countries. But the Queen has used her knowledge in the language during her visits to France and Canada.

In 2014, the Queen went to Paris for a state visit and met with former President Francois Hollande. The two discussed the weather in French. During her fifth French State Visit at the Elysee Palace in Paris, the monarch also gave an address in both English and French. A year later, the Queen spoke with a schoolgirl from Dagenham in French.

But Mallinson noted that the most impressive instance was when the Queen went to Quebec in Canada and gave a speech in French for a straight 10 minutes. French language expert Camille Chevalier-Karfis commented on the Queen’s French-speaking videos.

“Her reading skills were excellent – both pronunciation and rhythm were very good, but you could feel she was quite tense,” she said.

In related news, the Queen isn’t the only royal that can speak French fluently. Prince Charles and the Queen’s three other children can all speak the language.

Read more...

SCAT - Scotland Catalan Film Festival 2018

5 November 2018 (SCAT)

Cinemaattic’s Catalan Film Festival returns to Scotland bigger than ever with ten days celebrating Catalan culture.

The festival runs from 2-5 November in Glasgow and 13-18 November in Edinburgh. Scotland Catalan Film Festival is back with a new name – SCAT –  and an extended programme of films where music, poetry and performance will also be part of this year’s edition. 

Visit the website for full details.

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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.

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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

Euroquiz

25 October 2018 (SEET)

SEET is delighted to announce that registration is now open for Euroquiz 2018-19!

Euroquiz is an annual project open to all P6 pupils across Scotland, which sees teams of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe and the wider world. Subjects covered include languages, history, geography, culture and European affairs. Heats take place in every local authority from January to March, with the winning teams from all areas going forward to the National Euroquiz Final held in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament in May.

See the attached flyer to find out more about how your school can get involved and visit the website to watch the Euroquiz Highlights Film for a taste of the Euroquiz journey, including interviews with previous participants and teachers.

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ELAPSE – Embedding Languages across Primary and Secondary Education

23 October 2018 (ALL)

In September, we received some fantastic news from the British Council – ALL is part of a successful KA2 ERASMUS +application and along with our partners has been awarded funding for the ELAPSE project.

ELAPSE (Embedding Languages Across Primary and Secondary Education) aims to develop primary and secondary language teachers’ awareness of CLIL and soft CLIL methodology transnationally and build teachers’ confidence and expertise to adopt a cross-curricular approach to the planning and delivery of language lessons. It will involve the creation of a good practice guide as well as resources for teachers of English, French, German and Spanish as additional languages while focusing on Literacy, Numeracy, STEM subjects and Health and Wellbeing. There will also be an online course and training opportunities for teachers in participating countries.

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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:

• Spooky goings on! (Primary Languages Network) - the network regularly produces seasonal resources for their members. For Hallowe’en this year non-network members can download the activity sheet as a “freebie” from the Active Lingo shop (just select your target language) and search for the sheet “Spooky Statements”.
• Five songs for Days of the Dead for elementary Spanish classes (Mundo de Pepita)
• MFL Halloween treats (TES) – resources in French, German and Spanish, some free, some paid.
• Euroclub Schools Halloween Zone (Euroclub Schools) - Halloween quiz with French, Spanish and Italian vocab).
• German ghost stories (FluentU) – some link to written narrative, some to audio versions. Contains list of spooky vocab.
• Le Chat Noir (Talk in French) - spooky French-English short story with audio narration.
• Hallowe'en activities with Camembear (Headstart Languages) - find out about Hallowe'en in France.
• Rachel Hawkes language learning website (Rachel Hawkes) - scroll down for Spanish Hallowe’en activities.
• German and Spanish Halloween vocabulary ppts (Teaching Ideas)
• Eight Evil Lessons for Halloween (Scots Language Centre)
• Chinese Halloween vocabulary (Transparent Language)

Inspiring schools: John Paul II Primary, Castlemilk

11 October 2018 (British Council)

Every day at British Council Scotland we hear about how international learning benefits Scottish schools, teachers and pupils. Making this happen is a core part of our work, and we are keen to spread the message far and wide.

Last month, we visited John Paul II Primary School in Castlemilk, where a partnership with a school in Spain has had a powerful effect on pupils. We also heard from our partners at Glasgow City Council, which is a leading example of good practice when it comes to local authorities creating international and intercultural opportunities for their schools.  

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New language hub which helps dementia sufferers to open on Glasgow’s south side

3 October 2018 (Glasgow Live)

A new language hub which will help empower older adults living with dementia in Glasgow has opened on the south side of the city.

Lingo Flamingo, based on Deanston Drive in the Shawlands area, will be offering a selection of immersive foreign language courses for all ages.

And all profits from the classes will be used to fund dementia-friendly classes in care homes across Glasgow and beyond.

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International inspiration at Carluke High School

1 October 2018 (British Council)

It’s not often that I get to visit a school, so I was really pleased when Alan Sinclair, Teacher of Music at Carluke High School, invited me along to a special day of sharing and celebration with not one but two of their international partners, writes our Communications Manager, Jordan Ogg.

Last week, pupils and staff from Institut Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia in Barcelona, Spain, and Mercy College Coolock in Dublin, Ireland, were welcomed as part of their Erasmus+ funded 'What’s Ours is Yours' project. A busy schedule saw the pupils collaborating through a variety of activities, taking in Spanish language tasks, multimedia production, a Ceilidh in the PE department and Scottish cookery classes in the afternoon.

It was an insightful opportunity to see first-hand how the schools have embraced international and inter-cultural learning and, in particular from a Scottish perspective, how Carluke High School's approach has complimented the wider curriculum. For example, I was impressed to see film and home economic students engaging with classes on music technology and modern languages – and all through this one partnership. 

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SQA course reports for Advanced Higher Modern Languages 2018

1 October 2018 (SQA)

The course reports for Advanced Higher Chinese, French, Gaelic (Learners), German, Italian and Spanish are now available on the SQA website.

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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.

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Into Film Festival 2018

18 September 2018 (Into Film)

The Into Film Festival is a free, annual, nationwide celebration of film and education for 5-19 year olds.

This year's festival takes place from 7-23 November with UK-wide events and screenings. There are some foreign language options included in the 'Visions of Europe' selection of the programme.

Visit the website for more information and to find events near you.

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What’s on in October – Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival 2018

18 September 2018 (Edinburgh Reporter)

The 5th Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival takes place from 4-20 October 2018.

Festival Opens With First Ever Basque Film Screened At Edinburgh Filmhouse.

The 2018 Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival presents a total of 15 feature films and 7 short films in Spanish from 4-20 October in Edinburgh (Filmhouse), Stirling (MacRobert Arts Centre) and Glasgow (Film Theatre).

[..] Many of the films are suitable for all ages and in addition there will be a special screening of Nur And The Dragon Temple for schools at 10am on Wednesday 3rd October. There will also be workshops which will explore Spanish language, cinema and youth taking place in schools throughout Scotland.

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Worldwide Napier magazine - Call for contributions

12 September 2018 (Edinburgh Napier University)

Do you have young linguists with a passion for writing? Then here's a great opportunity for budding authors!

Worldwide Napier is a free magazine showcasing the work of language students at Edinburgh Napier University.

Senior pupils at secondary school are invited to submit contributions for the second edition of the magazine in French, German and Spanish by 31 October 2018.

You can read the first issue online and see the attached introductory letter and poster for more information.

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SCHOLAR

3 September 2018 (SCHOLAR)

SCHOLAR has updated the Higher French, German and Spanish pages to reflect the changes to Higher which are now in place. SCHOLAR on-line tutor, Douglas Angus, will be hosting a webinar on Monday 17 September at 6pm for an hour to look at the changes, and to talk about the implications for teaching and learning of the new format for Higher Modern Languages. To take part in this event please log in as guest. The webinar will be broadcast live and recorded so it can be downloaded if you miss it.

There will be sessions for pupils at Higher and Advanced Higher level this year again, starting in November. For Higher, amongst the sessions will be on on the Assignment-Writing and for Advanced Higher on on the Portfolio and Specialist Study. Meanwhile, last year’s sessions are still available on the SCHOLAR website, but are open to all and do not require a password.

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Study of Portuguese and Spanish explodes as China expands role in Latin America

2 September 2018 (The Guardian)

Thousands more Chinese students are taking up Latin American languages with an eye to improved employability.

When Zhang Fangming started learning Portuguese, it was with an eye to becoming a top Chinese diplomat in Brazil.

For Sun Jianglin, a Portuguese degree was about landing a job, but also a deeper knowledge of Brazilian music. “Bossa nova!” the 19-year-old undergraduate cooed. “I really like this kind-of-close-to-jazz music!”

The pair – who also go by the names Rodrigo and Antonia – are part of a new generation of Chinese students hoping a mastery of Latin America’s languages coupled with their country’s expanding role in the region will prove a recipe for success.

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Juvenes Translatores 2018

1 September 2018 (European Commission)

The European Commission has just launched Juvenes Translatores 2018, a translation contest for schools in the European Union. 

Schools wishing to participate must respond by registering electronically on the website between 1 September and 20 October 2018.

Selected schools will be able to enter between two and five students, who must have been born in 2001. Each student can choose to translate from any official EU language into any other official EU language.

Further information, rules and criteria can be found on the Juvenes Translatores website.

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The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF)

27 August 2018 (Consejería de Educación)

The fifth Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) will run from 4 -13 October 2018. Primary and secondary schools are invited to take part in its School Programme.

Also, to link with the Year of Young People, special workshops and screenings have been prepared that will explore Spanish language, cinema and youth.

More information and how to book places can be found on the attached invitation letters.

Graduate distance learning Diplomas in French or German or Spanish

20 August 2018 (University of Dundee)

New intake: The online Graduate Diplomas in French, German or Spanish are accredited by the General Teaching Council Scotland GTCS for teachers wishing to teach another language. The course runs 2 years part-time and starts in October 2018, University of Dundee.

The courses are taught online and via Skype and suitable for learners with an entry level comparable to a Higher or equivalent.  On completion graduates are expected to be at C1 level (CEFR) .

For further information please see the distance learning page of the University of Dundee website. 

Please contact us at humanities@dundee.ac.uk if you wish to discuss any aspect of the courses, or your application. 

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New job profiles on the SCILT website

17 August 2018 (SCILT)

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

We have two new profiles for the start of the new school session:

• Lorne Gillies is an award winning journalist whose language skills have enabled her to connect with people around the world, whilst helping her understanding of English.
• Ian Ross is a specialist in international trade and investment. Dealing with several Chinese companies, he tells us cultural awareness is as important as learning the language.

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

A-levels: proportion of students in England getting C or above falls

16 August 2018 (The Guardian)

The proportion of students in England gaining C grades or above in A-levels fell back this year, driven by a relatively weaker performance among girls, as schools and students continue to grapple with the introduction of new, more intensive exams.

[..] Modern languages continued their baleful downward trend, with nearly 8% fewer entries in French, German and Spanish. More A-level students took Chinese this year than German.

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The lessons Gaelic schools can teach us about learning

15 August 2018 (The National)

[..] Gaelic medium education succeeds in producing new generations of fluent Gaelic speakers because, as its name suggests, it makes use of the Gaelic language to teach other subjects. Kids don’t sit in classes where they are taught Gaelic in the same way that French or other foreign languages are taught in schools.

The difference in the fluency level that is achieved is stark. I was taught Gaelic the old-fashioned way, and am the proud possessor of a Gaelic Learner’s O Grade and a Gaelic Learner’s Higher. I was taught Gaelic in much the same way kids in modern Scottish schools are taught French or German, in a dedicated class, a couple of hours a week. The result is that although I can puzzle out a written text in the language and have a reasonably sized Gaelic vocabulary, I struggle to follow a Gaelic conversation and can’t express myself orally.

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Never mind the Brexiteurs: why it’s time to learn French

28 June 2018 (The Guardian)

English children are increasingly unwilling to learn the language of Molière and MC Solaar, according to the British Council, which reports that within a few years Spanish will overtake it as the most-studied foreign language. At A-level, takeup has already fallen to 8,300, from 21,300 in 1997, while Spanish has climbed to 7,600.

Laziness seems to have a lot to do with it. As Vicky Gough, a schools adviser at the British Council, put it, “There is a perception of Spanish being easier to pick up than other languages, which may account in part for its popularity.” Which, one might say, confirms another perception: that the kids of today want everything handed to them on a plate, from chauffeur service to and from school, to first-class university degrees.

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Spanish exam entries on track to surpass French in English schools

27 June 2018 (The Guardian)

Spanish is expected to overtake French as the main foreign language studied in classrooms in England in the next few years, and experts say German could face extinction from school timetables.

A report by the British Council says that although the study of languages continues to decline, Spanish is bucking the trend, with entries up in both GCSEs and A-levels.

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150 hours to learn Mandarin – and teach it

7 June 2018 (TES)

Hundreds of primary school teachers will have the chance to learn and teach new languages within seven months, under a scheme being expanded after a successful trial.

The distance-learning programme - the first of its kind in the UK – sees primary teachers study either French, Spanish, German or Mandarin and develop the skills to teach the language in the primary classroom at the same time.

After a pilot involving 54 teachers from 49 Scottish schools across nine local authorities in 2017-18, next year the scheme will be available throughout Scotland. Welsh and Northern Irish schools are also expected to sign up.

Teachers taking part will spend about five hours a week from October to June - around 150 hours in total - but they will start teaching the languages to pupils before completing the course.

The scheme, run by The Open University and SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, will be launched in Edinburgh tod