Cross-Curricular Working
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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11 March 2024 (Doncaster Free Press)
Children from Doncaster School for the Deaf are gearing up to take part in a special event to mark British Science Week (8-17 March 2024).
Pupils from Y7-9 at Doncaster School for the Deaf, part of Doncaster Deaf Trust, will be taking part in the online event along with St Roch’s Secondary School in Glasgow, Heathlands School in St Albans and the Royal School for the Deaf in Derby to explore the wonders of science in British Sign Language (BSL).
During the event there will be online BSL sessions from leading deaf science teachers, practical activities for the young people to take part in and the event will culminate with an opportunity for pupils from all the schools to showcase their own science projects.
Read more...
23 February 2024 (Greenock Telegraph)
A bunch of rookie movie makers have made the cut by reaching the final of a national film competition.
Pupils at Clydeview Academy created their own storyboard to enter a filmmaking contest run by The Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET).
The project is entitled Our World and aims to encourage global citizenship, language learning and uptake among pupils.
Language teacher Vanessa Hall, who runs the club with colleague Lucy McCue, said: "It started in August, we were trying to widen pupils' use of language and making a film makes it more fun.
"The storyboard was based on the UN's sustainable goals and the pupils used two languages, Ukrainian and French.
"The theme is based on World Peace and is entitled Open Your Eyes."
Read more...
20 February 2024 (Institut français)
The French Pop Video Competition is a national competition organised by Francophonie UK supported by TV5Monde for all primary and secondary students of French in the UK.
Students get to engage with French in a creative and fun way, improving writing skills and vocabulary by creating their own lyrics and practising speaking skills by performing and recording their song/rap.
Visit the Institut français website to learn more and register to take part in the competition by 10 March 2024. The deadline for entries is 1 May 2024.
Read more...
NEW! Multilingual Approaches through Art activity pack
25 January 2024 (MtA Project Partners)
We are excited to announce that the new Multilingual Approaches through Art (MtA) activity pack is now published!!
Funded by the Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Fund and created by those involved in the MtA project, this free activity pack contains a series of 10 activities which aim to inspire teachers and language educators to use art-based approaches in their teaching of languages. These activities use art as a content, medium and method for young people to explore who they are, how they can communicate multilingually, and how they build positive attitudes towards languages and language learning. The MtA activity pack aligns with the Curriculum for Excellence and Es and Os for each activity are referenced throughout.
We have a limited number of printed copies available* and there is also a downloadable digital version too. If you would like to receive a printed copy, please complete the form below.
To order a printed copy (*while stocks last), please complete this MS form.
Or access a digital version of the MtA activity pack.
Thank you!
Languages Week Scotland: SCILT/Scotdec special events!
18 January 2024 (SCILT / Scotdec)
To celebrate the LWS 2024 theme of Languages for a Sustainable World, SCILT and Scotdec are pleased to offer two CLPL opportunities on making language learning relevant and motivating with a Global Citizenship approach.
There will be a session for Primary teachers and a separate session for Secondary teachers. Both sessions will offer insights into how languages education can be a catalyst for fostering global awareness, empathy and a sense of responsibility.
More information and booking details via the following links:
Goethe-Institut opportunities for schools
16 January 2024 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut has a range of initiatives to support the teaching and learning of German in UK schools. The following opportunities are currently available. Follow the appropriate link for more information:
- Getvico 24 - Call for papers - the virtual German teacher conference that takes you around the world in 24 hours is seeking contributions from those who would like to share their ideas and findings from teaching practice. Abstracts accepted until 15 March 2024.
- Sustainable Cooking Competition in German - open to UK primary and secondary schools with entries accepted from classes, smaller groups or individuals. The challenge is to find a recipe you like and make it vegan, recording a video of your cooking journey. Submit by 29 February 2024.
- Dossier: nachhaltige Infrastruktur - if you're interested in teaching sustainable development in industry, innovation, and infrastructure in your classroom this dossier can help prepare you by providing background information, teaching materials for your German classroom and a competition for your students. Enterprise German challenges secondary students to develop a sustainable and innovative product or service.
16 January 2024 (Global Seal of Biliteracy)
Global Seal of Biliteracy invites language educators to join its third cohort of the Global Classroom Pair-Share.
Global Classroom Pair-Share is a new, innovative way to connect classrooms around the globe with a shared focus on learning language and discovering new places and cultures. If you’re interested in growing your students’ language skills while growing global connections, you are the perfect candidate to participate. Global Classroom Pair-Share provides teachers with FREE professional development, opportunities to collaborate with other language teachers from around the world and participate in multiple real-time and asynchronous classroom interactions.
Teachers can match with another global classroom for three months with an expectation of one shared collaborative project per month. At the end of the three months, teacher participants can receive three free student tests to qualify for a Global Seal of Biliteracy. Signing up for the programme includes free professional development on second language acquisition and lesson design.
This programme starts in February and is open to language classrooms in mainstream and heritage schools.
Visit the Global Seal of Biliteracy website for more information and to register by 22 January.
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9 January 2024 (UK-German Connection)
Exclusive opportunity for young people aged 14-19 to go on a live-streamed virtual trip and explore the impacts of overconsumption on communities around the world.
Your pupils are invited to discover more first-hand and visit the countries and sites affected by overconsumption and interacting with experts joining directly from second-hand clothes markets and landfills. In collaboration with Globe from Home, Journey to Change aims to raise awareness of sustainable practice beyond the classroom and facilitate intercultural dialogue between young people from the UK and Germany to come up with solutions for a sustainable future together. This is not to be missed!
There are two free upcoming virtual trips for pupils to take part in. Both are open to pupils with or without German language knowledge:
Re-thinking fashion (industry)
Friday, 19 January 2024 1.45-3.15pm (online – Zoom) – with short warm-up session the evening before
Food and food waste
Friday, 26 January 2024 1.45-3.15pm (online – Zoom) – with short warm-up session the evening before
Visit the UK-German Connection website for more information and to register. If you have any questions about the event you can also contact us at youthseminar@ukgermanconnection.org.
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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.
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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.
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Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Chinese,
French,
Gaelic,
German,
Italian,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
News from language & education organisations,
Japanese,
Portuguese
9 October 2023 (Institut français)
The French Pop Video Competition is a national competition organised by Francophonie UK supported by TV5Monde for all KS1 to KS5 students of French in the UK.
Students get to engage with French in a creative and fun way, improving writing skills and vocabulary by creating their own lyrics and practising speaking skills by performing and recording their song/rap.
Visit the Institut français website to learn more about the competition and register by 10 March 2024 to take part.
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15 September 2023 (Maths Week Scotland)
Inspired by the annual Mathématiques sans Frontières contest, this mini-competition includes a language element and is for any class to complete together.
The Maths wi nae borders challenge launches on 18 September 2023. Entries should be submitted by 23 October.
Visit the Maths Week Scotland website for more information.
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22 August 2023 (SEET)
Registration for the SEET’s Our World project 2023-24 is now open and totally free to enter! Just fill in this quick form to sign up your school: https://ourworldproject.wufoo.com/forms/z1fa1wdl0fdqs2a/
Our World is a language learning and global citizenship-based filmmaking project for S1 - S6 pupils. It's designed to complement the Curriculum for Excellence and help tackle the Attainment Challenge by providing a free project which uses an interdisciplinary approach to encourage pupils to become more engaged in their language learning.
Teams of 4 (S1 - S6) design a storyboard which outlines the film they propose to make. This year's films must include the use of a language other than English and should touch on the theme of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Each team must choose at least one of the 17 SDGs to focus their film on.
SEET supports teachers and pupils throughout the whole process, starting with our introductory CLPL session for teachers on Tuesday 12 September 2023.
Visit the SEET website for more information and register to take part.
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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!
2 June 2023 (SCILT)
Félicitations to Mearns Castle High, winners of this year’s edition of Le Foot et la Francophonie!
Following the pilot last year, Le Foot was rolled out nationally in 2022-23, engaging over forty schools, from Shetland to Stranraer, and attracting video entries from twenty-four teams across ten schools. Following a shortlisting process conducted by a panel at SCILT, the finalists invited to take part in the live event at the University of Strathclyde on Thursday 1 June came from Biggar High (two teams), Kinross High, Prestwick Academy, Kilmarnock Academy and Mearns Castle High.
As was the case during the pilot edition, Le Foot, an interdisciplinary project incorporating benchmarks, experiences and outcomes in Modern Languages, Physical Education and Health and Wellbeing, generated huge enthusiasm in the schools which integrated the project into their S2 and S3 programmes. Again, participation fired the creative imagination of the learners, some of whom had previously shown limited interest in French, while their teachers built on the legacy of the pilot project by creating and sharing a wealth of new resources covering the four key skills of reading, listening, talking and writing, focussing on the Francophone world and including strong anti-racism messages. The pupils who took part, numbering well over one thousand, were encouraged to consider the vital importance of additional languages to a broad range of careers associated with professional sports.
The six teams of pupils were joined at the final by their teachers and classmates who came along to support them. On the panel of judges were Cédric Moreau (Subject Leader for French, University of Strathclyde), Lisa Hanna (Depute Director of SCILT), Kandi Higgins (Course Leader for PGDE in Modern Languages, University of Strathclyde), Cara Lamb (Course Leader for PGDE in Physical Education, University of Strathclyde) and Mark Cunningham (graduate in Spanish and Education, and qualified football coach). After presenting their football-themed videos in French, the teams performed football drills, which included commands in French, and all pupils present were put through their paces in a range of drills designed and delivered by newly qualified PE teachers from the University’s School of Education. Those in attendance then heard a video message from former Scotland footballer John Collins, who learned French during his two-year spell at AS Monaco, before some closing remarks from Fhiona Mackay (Director of SCILT). The all important winner’s announcement saw Mearns Castle claim the trophy, together with a visit to Hampden Park, where the winning team will be given a French-focussed tour of the stadium and the Scottish Football Museum.
For more information on Le Foot et la Francophonie, including a range of football-themed resources for second and third level BGE French, see the page dedicated to the project on the SCILT website.
Read more...
A Global Citizenship Approach to French - Free new materials for French learners!!
4 May 2023 (Scotdec / University of Stirling / SCILT)
‘Remembering Empire’ is an interdisciplinary learning programme for pupils of French in S3 and AH, developed by Dr Fiona Barclay (University of Stirling) with the support of the AHRC to build language competence and global citizenship values by exploring France’s empire in Algeria. You can read more about the project and materials on SCILT's website.
Join Scotdec for a series of workshops for BGE and AH French teachers alongside Dr Barclay introducing you to the materials, and providing guidance on discussing themes of colonisation, immigration and refugees within the context of a Global Citizenship approach. More information, dates and sign-up information on the flyer attached below.
In addition, SCILT and Scotdec are joining forces to present a webinar on Active Global Citizenship Through Modern Languages on Thursday 1 June, 4-5pm. As well as general strategies, this webinar will also introduce the Remembering Empire project materials. Register for the free event!
4 May 2023 (SCILT)
Congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s Words for the World competition.
We had a very high standard of entries submitted in a range of formats and different languages. Our young people here in Scotland demonstrated a wealth of linguistic diversity, creativity and immense passion for protecting our planet, our humanity and creating a brighter future for us all. We were truly humbled and inspired by their work and they should all be incredibly proud of their achievements.
Judging proved exceptionally difficult, but we were delighted to announce the winning entries at an online awards event held last week to celebrate Earth Day. Well done again to the following who were successful in their respective categories and thank you to every pupil who participated in the competition.
P1-P4
- Winner – Libby Gow, Goodlyburn Primary
- Highly commended – Jamie Rettie, Goodlyburn Primary
P5-P7
- Winner – Sophia Chan, ESMS Junior School
- Highly commended – Halima Jemal, Toryglen Primary
- Highly commended – Leena Valluri, Goodlyburn Primary
S1-S3
- Winner - Deepak Krisna Kumaar, Craigmount High
- Highly commended – 1W & 1Q class entry, Holy Rood RC High
- Highly commended – Rory Turner, Portree High
S4-S6
- Winner - Dianna-Liza Boychuk, Craigmount High
- Highly commended - Wessam Kawarit, Craigmount High
Winners and highly commended entrants will receive a book token and certificate and have their work showcased on the SCILT website in due course, whilst all participants will receive a certificate in recognition of their hard work.
You can find out more about the competition on our Words for the World webpage.
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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.
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Posted in:
Primary,
Chinese,
French,
Gaelic,
German,
Italian,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
News from language & education organisations,
Japanese,
Portuguese
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 14th and 15th 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.
Remembering Empire: Free materials to build global citizenship values and competence in French (S3 and AH)
7 March 2023 (University of Stirling)
Looking for free new materials for French learners? ‘Remembering Empire’ is an interdisciplinary learning programme for pupils of French in S3 and Advanced Higher. Developed by Dr Fiona Barclay (University of Stirling) with the support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, ‘Remembering Empire’ builds language competence and global citizenship values by exploring France’s empire in Algeria. By focusing on the establishment of the colony, life there, and the departure of the settlers when Algeria became independent, learners are encouraged to make connections with Scotland’s history of emigration and colonisation, and with the experiences of refugees today.
The S3 programme consists of five sessions and focuses on an electronic comic book, ‘Entre ici et là-bas’, which tells the story of Jeanne, a young French girl whose family are forced to leave Algeria when it becomes independent. Waiting to board a ship, she reflects on her family’s history, from her great-grandfather who arrived in 1871 and built a farm for his family, to her own experiences of the war that led to independence. We hear about the indigenous Arab population and think about how they experienced this history.
Activities based on the comic include:
- City/country names and prepositions
- Asking questions and naming objects (if you had to leave home suddenly, what would you pack in your suitcase?)
- Describing emotions and using être in the present (how do the different characters feel?)
- Different daily routines, in Algeria and in France
- Using the near future (aller + infinitive) to imagine what the characters might do in the future.
Free resources include the comic (available on Webtoons), a video-recording of the comic being read aloud by a native speaker, lesson plans for all sessions with detailed information and interactive activities, and suggested drama activities led by actors with video guides.
For learners taking Advanced Higher French, Remembering Empire offers full support for the portfolio element, including the two required texts (a play and an interview with the playwright). Five sessions of archive footage, readings and activities in French introduce learners to the history and culture of French Algeria and the war which led to independence, and give the background required to study the play.
Six sessions focus on a French play, Les Pieds Tanqués (2012). Set on a pétanque pitch, the play presents the conflicting memories of the Algerian War. Full resources include the interactive electronic text of the play and notes, a written interview with the playwright, Philippe Chuyen, lesson plans with detailed information and classroom activities, a blank fiche de lecture and character profiles for pupils to complete (plus completed versions for teachers), and a video recording of a live performance. The package also includes a plan for a potential AH Portfolio essay question.
Interested? The materials will be available from April 2023. To express an interest and be contacted then, leave your name and contact details on this form: https://forms.gle/JNoer7PA2zkAjzvg9
20 February 2023 (Institut français)
With the French Pop Video Competition, students get the chance to practice French in a very different and fun way. Not only do they improve their writing skills and enrich their vocabulary by creating their own lyrics, but they also practice their speaking skills while shooting the video and create lifelong memories related to their French class.
Open to all UK primary and secondary schools. Entries can be from a class, a small group or individuals.
Visit the website for full details and register to take part by 10 March.
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26 January 2023 (Institut français)
All year round, the Institut français d’Écosse offers a variety of language workshops and Immersion days to support pupils and teachers in primary and secondary schools. Give your students the opportunity to be surrounded by the French language and supported by our team of qualified, native-speaking French teachers and friendly staff. Maximum group of 20 pupils.
More information is available on the attached flyer or you can visit the Institut français website.
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19 January 2023 (Aberystwyth University)
Creative Modern Languages is a British Academy funded project looking at artistic research and creative assessment in Modern Languages.
We would like to encourage colleagues and students to re-consider the teaching, assessment and researching of Modern Languages through the medium of artistic practice.
This website acts as an open access online hub where you will find examples of good practice in creative assessment and artistic research in Modern Languages. We would encourage you to contribute your own examples to grow the hub.
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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:
- 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.
- 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.
16 January 2023 (Goethe-Institut)
Are you between 16 and 17 years old and speak German with A1+ level or want to start learning German? Do you love playing football? The football camp in Germany combines both - daily training and German lessons. In addition you will make new friends from other countries and get to know Hamburg. Registration deadline is on 31.01.2023.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information.
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12 January 2023 (Institut français)
Since its launch in 2016 by the Institut français d’Ecosse, le Concours de la francophonie, a national school competition to encourage all young French learners and their teachers around Scotland enjoying French language, has been a great way of celebrating the international day of la francophonie.
Throughout the years, many schools across Scotland have taken part in the competition and we hope to receive great entries this year again!
All Scottish primary and secondary schools offering French may enter this competition by submitting a short video of a classroom activity in French. The theme of the competition this year is : “PLAY” - “JOUER” en français. Deadline extended to 31 January 2023.
Visit the Institut français website or see the attached flyer for more information.
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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.
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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.
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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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Posted in:
Primary,
French,
German,
Italian,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
News from language & education organisations
15 November 2022 (Institut français)
The French Pop Video Competition is a national competition organised by Francophonie UK in association with the Institut français du Royaume-Uni and supported by TV5Monde.
The competition encourages students to engage with French in a creative way. UK primary and secondary school students can work individually or in groups to create a song in French and shoot a video.
The deadline to submit entries is 1 May 2023.
Once videos have been received regional winners will be selected based on the quality of the lyrics and music, and the originality of video. Regional winners’ music videos will then enter the national competition. Winners of the national competition will be announced during the week of 21 June (World Music Day!).
Visit the competition website for more information and to register to take part.
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8 November 2022 (British Council)
International Education Week is back!
From 14 to 18 November, we’re coming together to recognise the value of bringing the world into the classroom and celebrate international work happening in schools.
With this year’s International Education Week taking place during COP27 in Egypt – the UN’s global climate change conference, where world leaders will discuss the future of climate action – we’re focusing on collaborating for a cleaner, greener future.
As well as offering a range of opportunities to help you and your students take positive action for a greener tomorrow, we’re also showcasing our favourite classroom resources, to help you get started on your international journey.
Join the free webinar Education Exchange: embedding climate education across the whole curriculum taking place on 16 November which will explore the practice of teachers who are embedding climate education across their whole school curriculum and into some of the harder-to-reach subjects.
Visit the British Council website for more information and to register for the webinar.
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14 October 2022 (RZSS)
Beyond the Panda is a 5-week progressive programme for P4-P7. Four weeks live virtual sessions and 5th week in person outreach. Now fully booked for the Nov-Dec and Jan-Feb blocks. However, there is availability in the Mar-Apr and May-June blocks. Book early as taken on first come, first served basis. 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.
Visit the website for further information.
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FilmG competitions 2022
6 October 2022 (FilmG)
FilmG is an annual Gaelic short film festival which aims to foster and develop new talent for Gaelic media. Now in its 15th edition, the FilmG festival is this year offering two competitions, both focusing on this year's theme 'Buidhe (Yellow)'. Follow the relevant link below for more information:
30 September 2022 (SCILT)
We are delighted to announce the national roll-out of Le Foot et La Francophonie 2022-23! Following a successful pilot project with four Glasgow schools last session, we have now opened registrations for expressions of interest in Le Foot et La Francophonie 2022-23. This interdisciplinary project brings together French and professional football, opening learners’ eyes to the relevance of language learning in the world of international sports, focussing on the four core language skills and building awareness of cultures in French-speaking countries across the globe. To find out more and to register your interest in this competition, which is open to pupils in S2 and S3, please visit the SCILT website.
An initial information session for teachers will take place on Thursday 3 November (3.45 - 4.45pm) and schools will be asked to confirm their participation by Friday 11 November.
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22 September 2022 (SCILT)
SCILT and CISS presented a poster competition aimed at S2-S3 learners, to design the contents of their own time capsule – past or present – to join in with the celebration of Glasgow Doors Open Day 2022.
Secondary learners from across Scotland took part in the competition which provided a fantastic opportunity to share their cultural heritage, demonstrate their creativity, and showcase their language skills, both learned at school and used at home.
Congratulations to our winners, Abby Slack, S3 learner from Mearns Castle High School who won the ‘past’ category and to Emerald Li, S3 learner from Mearns Castle High School who won the ‘present’ category.
They were awarded with a £30 voucher and their work was featured in The Ramshorn exhibition as part of Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival on 16 and 17 September 2022. Well done to everyone who took part in this competition, the judging panel were impressed by all entries received and hope that you will participate again next year!
Find out more about the competition on our website.
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20 September 2022 (Maths Week Scotland)
Inspired by the annual Mathématiques sans Frontières contest, this mini-competition includes a language element and is for any class to complete together.
The challenge launches at the start of Maths Week Scotland on 26 September. Entries should be submitted by 22 October.
Visit the Maths Week Scotland website for more information.
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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.
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23 August 2022 (SEET)
Our World, the languages and citizenship based filmmaking project for secondary school pupils, is now open for registration!
SEET staff are now offering a CLPL session for teachers to help them feel more confident in taking on Our World with their class. They also offer online school visits for schools who are interested in taking part. These are aimed at pupils participating in the project.
Visit the Our World website for full details.
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23 August 2022 (RZSS)
An exciting opportunity for senior students studying French or Mandarin to take part in this programme and to put their language skills into practice.
Two groups will be chosen, one studying French and one studying Mandarin, to create sound files and new resources for a programme called 'Stripy Tails'. Stripy Tails compares two different animals from two different countries and looks at two different languages. The ring-tailed lemurs from Madagascar and the red panda from China, linking French and Mandarin. Further details at beyondthepanda.org.uk If interested contact srobb@rzss.org.uk by 6 September 2022.
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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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Le Foot et la Francophonie
31 May 2022 (SCILT)
Congratulations to Lourdes Secondary School, winners of SCILT’s inaugural edition of Le Foot et la Francophonie!
Le Foot has generated huge enthusiasm in the four Glasgow schools involved in the pilot project. During the autumn of 2021, teachers of French at Knightswood Secondary School, Lourdes Secondary School, Shawlands Academy and St. Roch’s Secondary School, supported by staff from SCILT, produced some high quality teaching materials based on football and the French-speaking world. To ensure that this project was truly interdisciplinary, all stakeholders collaborated on a guidance document outlining benchmarks, experiences and outcomes from Modern Languages, Physical Education and Health and Wellbeing curricular areas. They were supported in this endeavour by input from Physical Education staff in their respective schools, as well as by Cara Lamb, who leads the PGDE Secondary Physical Education course at the University of Strathclyde.
In January, Le Foot was rolled out in S2 classrooms and on school playing fields. Engagement among pupils who had previously shown limited interest in languages was particularly evident, with one of the teachers involved noting that this was “French disguised as football”! The outstanding resources produced and shared by each school cover the four core skills of reading, listening, talking and writing, encompassing the Francophone world and including strong anti-racism messages. Just as importantly, the 750 pupils who took part learned of the relevance of languages to a range of careers in professional sports – an area in which many have a keen interest.
The competitive final took place at the University of Strathclyde on 12 May. The event involved teams of pupils from each of the schools, together with classmates who came along to support them. On the panel of judges were Cédric Moreau (Subject Leader for French, University of Strathclyde), Lisa Hanna (Depute Director, SCILT), Jordan Allison (Head of Charity, Kilmarnock FC) and Mark Cunningham (final-year student in Spanish and Education, and qualified football coach). After presenting a football-themed video in French, the teams performed football drills, which included commands in French. They then heard video messages from John Collins, Christophe Berra and Ismaila Soro, before the winner’s announcement saw Lourdes Secondary School claim the trophy, together with a visit to Hampden Park, where the winning team will be given a French-focussed tour of the stadium and the Scottish Football Museum.
Watch this space for information on Le Foot et la Francophonie being rolled out nationally in 2022-23, together with further details on how your school can get involved.
19 April 2022 (British Council)
With the Commonwealth Games due to take place in Birmingham this summer, this schools resource is designed to celebrate the Commonwealth Games of 2022 and the ongoing work that the Commonwealth is doing to improve the lives of its citizens.
The pack includes a variety of activities for primary learners and offers opportunities to partner with other schools across the Commonwealth to exchange ideas and work together.
Whilst not specifically aimed at the languages curriculum, there is scope to adapt activities to contain a language focus and explore the cultures of different Commonwealth countries.
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25 March 2022 (Glasgow Life)
Would you like to use your Gaelic in a creative way and have a go at script writing, acting, dancing or singing? Would you like to make Gaelic-speaking friends from across Glasgow? Here’s your chance to join a series of fun, informal workshops with drama professionals, for FREE!
From new speakers to fluent speakers, learners to choir singers, our community drama workshops are open to everyone with an interest in the Gaelic language.
Commencing 24 April, the series of workshops will run each Sunday through to 29 May 2022.
Visit the website to find out more and to book.
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17 March 2022 (SCILT)
SCILT monthly drop-ins are free, themed virtual events that are open to teachers and student teachers working in Scotland.
In March, the Bitesize session focuses on the primary school and explores how language learning can be in incorporated into a Learning for Sustainability (LfS) context. We will hear how schools have been exploring the Global Goals in addition to key environmental issues such as plastic pollution and the place of languages within this.
Come and join us for a drop-in session to listen and discuss on Wednesday 30 March 2022, 4:00 - 4:45pm on Zoom.
Visit our Bitesize webpage for more information and to register.
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22 February 2022 (RZSS)
The RZSS offers a variety of activities for schools. Bookings are now open for the following programmes:
Beyond the Panda
A 5-week progressive programme for P4-P7. Four weeks live virtual sessions and 5th week in person outreach. Bookings open now for sessions starting in August 2022. Over the 5 weeks pupils will learn about various Chinese animals, threats, solutions, some Chinese culture while also learning about the Mandarin language and Chinese characters. Key objectives are in the attached pdf.
Giants
This new live virtual session looks at two very different animals from two very different areas of the world and at two very different languages. The giant anteater from South America and the giant panda from China. The session will introduce some basic vocabulary in both Spanish and Mandarin and will be aimed at upper primary level. Suitable for any class already studying Spanish or Mandarin or both. Bookings open now for a limited number of sessions starting April 2022.
Further information for both programmes at beyondthepanda.org.uk
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14 February 2022 (Goethe-Institut)
Want to take part in a PASCH football camp with the St. Pauli Football Club in Hamburg with other young people from all over Europe?
Then register NOW!
Expect a fantastic coaching session with the St Pauli FC in Hamburg, where you will be working with other (PASCH) students to improve your football skills while also having the opportunity to enhance your German language skills. If you are between 16 and 17 years old and speak German an A2 or B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and are interested in growing your football and German skills in a European camp then sign up fast as places are limited to 30 people only - 20 from PASCH schools, 10 places for non-PASCH schools.
The football camp takes place 30 April – 8 May 2022.
In addition to the "working aspect" of the football camp with daily training and German lessons, there will of course also be an additional activities, some of which will be exclusive, such as the opportunity to tour around the Millerntor Stadium, to play black-light mini-golf or to visit Hamburg harbour and climb aboard one of city’s former sailing ships and enjoy a view of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information and to apply.
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8 February 2022 (CISS)
The Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS) will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022. To celebrate this milestone CISS is launching an interdisciplinary competition for secondary students across the nation to showcase their business, design and language skills.
We have set two categories which students can choose from and encourage school departments - be that business, design technology or languages - to support and encourage interested students as they develop their pitch.
See the attached flyer and visit the competition webpage for more information. Submit entries by 27 May 2022.
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Goethe-Institut opportunities for schools
27 January 2022 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut offers a range of activities for teachers and learners of German. Click on the relevant link below to find out more about their latest opportunities:
- The Young Goethe Scheme - offers primary and secondary school German teachers in the UK the opportunity to invite university and A-Level students of German into their classrooms to inspire and motivate younger students to continue with German at GCSE and beyond.
- Instagram Music Competition - this competition is aimed at young musicians who have a piece of music by a German composer or artist that they love to play. No knowledge of German is necessary to apply, and we encourage your music departments at school to get involved! Entry deadline 25 February 2022.
5 January 2022 (ECML)
The European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe and the Tempus Foundation organised an online workshop entitled “Learning environments where modern languages flourish” on 4 November and 9 December 2021.
The goal of the workshop was to help teams create action plans that will be implemented in schools after the workshop to establish a language-friendly environment where foreign languages are taught in a comprehensive way, either as separate subjects or through integration into subjects.
Detailed information about the project along with resources and tools related to the topic are now available on the ECML website.
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17 December 2021 (SCILT)
Congratulations again to everyone who took part in our recent Words for the World competition.
Following our recent awards ceremony, and the announcement of the winners’ names, we are now delighted to be able to publish the winning, highly commended and remaining finalist entries in each category. We are sure that you will agree that the linguistic diversity, creativity and passion that they all show is both impressive and inspiring.
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SCILT news
Mind Games: Cracking Code in Maths and Languages
20 January 2022 (SCILT)
Two mind-bending workshops are scheduled for in-service and student teachers during Languages Week Scotland 2022.
We are aware that Mathematics underpins all STEM subjects, but have you ever thought there are connections between learning mathematics and learning a language?
Join mathematicians and linguists from the University of Edinburgh to explore the topic further.
During the interactive workshops you will have a go at some puzzles and activities at the interface between Mathematics and Linguistics. Together we will explore how language works and where Maths comes into play.
You will have a chance to discuss with Mathematicians and Linguists about similarities between their subjects. You will takeaway practical ideas for your classroom to show how these different disciplines can be interconnected.
The activities we are going to use are mainly aimed at children older than 10 years. However, the approach can be applied to all year groups.
Attendance is free of charge and the event will be hosted online on Zoom.
More information and registration for the appropriate workshop via the links below:
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LWS
9 December 2021 (Institut français)
Give the mic to your students and shoot a music video with them! If you believe your class has got talent, this competition is for you!
The Institut français du Royaume-Uni, in association with Francophonie UK, is inviting all teachers of French to submit a short video or animated clip of their class's own French rap or song.
Get the chance to be streamed on our dedicated UK YouTube channel and to compete for the national Francophonie UK School Music Awards as part of the Fête de la Musique in June 2022!
Visit the website for more information and to register for the competition. Submission deadline: 15 April 2022.
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Mathématiques sans Frontières
3 December 2021 (UWS)
The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is once again organising the world-wide Mathematics and Language competition “Mathématiques sans Frontières” in Scotland (and also branching out to England and Northern Ireland!).
We are hopeful that, after an interrupted competition in 2021, we continue to offer a stimulating and light-hearted competition 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.
Please find attached a training (“Discovery”) test for “Mathématiques Sans Frontières” and one entry form for the competition proper.
S4 classes should attempt questions 1-10 and S5 classes questions 1-13. A whole class should attempt the test with questions divided up between groups to ensure that the questions can be completed in the allotted time of 90 minutes. Question 1 will require an explanation in a foreign language. We hope that this encourages cross-curricular working and teamwork. Answers are also attached, in French, which provides another opportunity for teamwork in the translation.
The competition proper will be held on Thursday 10 March 2022. Social-distancing restrictions permitting, the prize-giving will be held in June at UWS when the achievements of the top ten schools at each level are recognised. All schools competing will receive a certificate.
Schools who would like to register for the competition are kindly requested to complete the proforma attached and return by 28 January 2021.
We will send out the actual test as a PDF file by e-mail on the Friday prior to the test. This has proved to be very popular and we intend continuing to issue the test in this format. We would therefore kindly ask you to ensure that the e-mail address provided is legible or, preferably, typed. It would also be beneficial to provide an alternative e-mail address, possibly a personal address, which may help prevent firewall issues.
We hope you will give serious consideration to entering the competition and look forward to hearing from you.
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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News from language & education organisations
4 November 2021 (AtWiOS)
All the World is Our Stage: Primary pupils never lost in translanguaging is a project exploring creative ways of language learning with the creation of a multilingual performance showcasing both home and school languages.
A new website has been launched featuring outputs and resources from the project produced in collaboration with pupils and teachers and collated by Eneida García Villanueva, the principal investigator in the project. The materials aim to help practitioners embed pedagogical translanguaging in schools.
Visit the website for more information and to access the resources.
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1 November 2021 (TES)
In this podcast coinciding with COP26, experts explain the importance of sharing best practice on climate change teaching.
Today's young people are more engaged and passionate than ever about saving the environment. In March 2019, it was estimated that 1.6 million young people across 125 countries participated in climate protests, and a new global survey led by the University of Bath reveals that environmental fears are "profoundly affecting huge numbers of young people".
Many school students are currently avidly reading announcements from the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. Whether it’s from the news, social media or the latest David Attenborough documentary, young people are constantly being exposed to the impact of climate change. And, as the authors of the global survey suggest, it's vital that we counteract young people's anxieties and harness their enthusiasm by giving them information on how they can connect more strongly with nature, contribute to greener choices at an individual level and join forces with like-minded communities and groups.
Yet climate change and sustainability can be challenging subjects to bring into the classroom. For this latest podcast, Tes spoke with two environmental and sustainability education experts, who explained why collaboration and an outward-looking approach to teaching these subjects are key.
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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.
Posted in:
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29 October 2021 (PowerLanguage)
The PowerLanguage team has created a new French Dossier to help you tackle some topical and essential climate issues with your class, ahead of COP26 in Glasgow. Why not encourage your learners to prepare a podcast or video to present themselves and mention some of the things they care about and want to protect? Adults are welcome to send their testimonies too! You and your learners can use any language you are learning.
Visit the PowerLanguage website for more information. *Please note the French Dossier is only available to PowerLanguage members.*
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29 October 2021 (CCFF)
The Climate Crisis Film Festival taking place 1-14 November showcases stunning, diverse, and eye-opening cinema, providing a systemic perspective behind the raw human stories of climate change. It brings underrepresented voices to the fore. The Festival includes the Scottish première screening of “Above Water” (Marcher Sur L’Eau, 2021), introduced virtually by the director, Senegal-born Aïssa Maïga. This breathtakingly photographed portrait of a young girl’s life in Niger, as water becomes scarcer and scarcer, will be presented in partnership with Goethe Institut, Alliance Française and Institut Français.
Visit the website for more information about the programme and to register.
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18 October 2021 (UK-German Connection)
This pilot programme provides pupils aged 15-18 in the UK and North Rhine-Westphalia with the opportunity to spend one, two or three weeks at an existing partner school in Germany and carry out a project on a theme of their choice.
Application deadline: 15 November 2021.
Visit the UK-German Connection website for more information about the programme. There's also an option to register for a Q&A webinar on Wednesday 3 November 2021.
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7 October 2021 (Learning for Sustainability Scotland)
Understanding the big issues that shape our world has never been more important. Issues like climate change, health, gender equality, poverty and how to live sustainably affect – and connect – us all: wherever we are in the world.
This is a supported online Professional Learning course for educators. Engagement in this fully funded course will:
- Support you to create an enabling environment for Learning for Equity and Sustainability in your teaching and setting, and significantly enhance young people's educational experience
- Inform your own professional development
- Enhance your participation in the Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning programme, supporting whole setting and cluster approaches
- Give access to an international network of like-minded teachers
Aligned with current education priorities across UK and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this fully online professional learning will support you to think about, plan for, and implement, Learning for Equity and Sustainability in your own practice and in your teaching context.
You will be invited to participate in online discussions and activities in five course modules. Modules will be released fortnightly, starting on 29 October 2021.
More information and registration for the course on Eventbrite.
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Courses: Learning for a sustainable future
7 October 2021 (British Council)
British Council is supporting two courses being delivered by the University of Edinburgh and Sustainability Scotland via FutureLearn on learning for sustainability.
Learning for a Sustainable Future: Live at COP26 - a free short online course
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) is being held in Glasgow between 31st October and 12th November 2021. It will bring together heads of state, climate experts and campaigners to agree and accelerate coordinated global action on climate change.
This two-week course, which runs in parallel with the COP26 conference, offers you an opportunity to examine what COP26 is, why it’s important and reflect on how you can add your voice to the call for collective action for a sustainable future.
You’ll explore the broader context of COP26 and consider other key frameworks such as COP15 (The UN Convention on Biological Diversity) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Explore the issues being discussed at the conference and see and hear responses to the conference themes from children and young people, community groups and ministerial bodies, both nationally and internationally.
There has never been a more urgent need for the world to work together and take collaborative action to secure a sustainable future for people and planet. Do your part and enrol now!:
Learning for a Sustainable Future - 5 week course
There is also still time to sign up for the 5 week course on Learning for a Sustainable Future. Join a personal and professional global learning journey towards a sustainable future. What on Earth could be more important?
On this 5-week course, you’ll explore a range of global, community and school-based contexts and develop an informed personal response to major contemporary challenges faced today. The course is open to everyone and would be suitable for senior learners, or anyone with an interest in sustainability and a willingness to learn and share with others around the world! Join the course for free today. Don’t worry if you can’t start on the dates specified – you can enrol once the courses have started.
5 October 2021 (Oxford German Network)
The tenth Oxford German Olympiad is now open! This year's topic is der Rhein.
Open to upper primary and secondary learners, entrants choose one of the tasks within their age category and complete the task in German. Individuals, groups or classes can take part.
There's also a Discover German - Taster Competition for those with no prior experience of studying German.
Visit the competition website for full details. The closing date for all entries is Thursday 10 March 2022 at 12 noon.
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5 October 2021 (SCILT)
‘We must believe in the power and the strength of our words. Our words can change the world.’ (Malala Yousafzai)
Are you looking for a way to engage your language learners to think about global issues ahead of the COP26 summit in November? Inspired by Malala’s words, our Words for the World competition could be just what you need! SCILT is challenging learners to use their words and their languages to show how the world could be a better place.
More information about the competition is available on our Words for the World webpage. The entry deadline is 25 October 2021. If you'd like to upload submissions to the Words for the World MS Team, please contact us and provide your Glow email address. Please note, the competition is only open to schools in Scotland.
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SCILT news
1 October 2021 (SCILT)
SCILT is delighted to announce Espacios Increíbles is back for its 3rd 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.
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30 September 2021 (StampIT)
StampIT is re-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! Take part in as many or as few as you want. StampIT also has it’s ‘Language of Stamps’ series with Spanish, French, Mandarin and Japanese.
There are many challenges and competitions throughout October, please see the website for the activity plans. In addition there are 5 free packs available with some StampIT games, craft materials and stamps to the classes who can send in the best ending to the following sentence:
'We would love to take part in Stamp over October because...'
Entries by end October. Visit the StampIT website for more information.
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28 September 2021 (British Council)
If you weren't able to join the British Council's webinar on Climate Change and Language Learning, which took place on Wednesday 22 September 2021, the recording is now available.
In the webinar, the global teacher panel explored ways to bring environmental issues and the fight against the climate crisis into the language classroom. This was followed by audience questions.
Visit the British Council website for more information and to view the recording.
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21 September 2021 (Into Film)
The Into Film Festival is a free, annual, nationwide celebration of film and education for children and young people aged 5-19.
For so much of the last year and a half, we have all been deprived of the big screen experience, so it's a joy to once again be able to offer free screenings and special events to young people and teachers across the UK from 10-26 November 2021.
The programme includes something for everyone, from the latest blockbusters, beloved old favourites, stimulating documentaries, animated adventures, modern foreign language titles, and much, much more.
All films and events are mapped against curricula from across the four UK nations and are accompanied by Into Film resources.
Booking is now open, so visit the Festival website for full programme details and to reserve places. Use the filter to discover foreign language screenings.
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21 September 2021 (European Parliament)
Euroscola is an educational project that brings together secondary school pupils from all other the EU (including the UK, as a former member) to part in a simulation of the work of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Although forced to cancel all onsite sessions which were due to take place since March 2020, the European Parliament is now holding online sessions, called "Euroscola Online", in order to enable students and teachers alike to take part in the Euroscola programme remotely, while keeping its educational and interactive nature focused on EU issues.
Each Euroscola Online session, led by two facilitators present in the hemicycle of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, lasts two hours.
It alternates between presentations, short videos, a question-and-answer session with a MEP, a discussion with an expert from the European Parliament, opinion polls and interactive discussion sessions.
Sessions are scheduled to take place during November and December 2021. Schools interested in participating in one of the online sessions should contact the UK representative, whose contact details can be found on the Euroscola website.
Alternatively, schools can follow the sessions online via the livestream which will be available on the European Parliament website and social media platforms.
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21 September 2021 (Maths Week Scotland)
Maths Week Scotland takes place 27 September - 3 October 2021!
Every day during Maths Week Scotland a new puzzle is set from the Scottish Mathematical Council. Inspired by the annual Mathématiques sans Frontières contest, the Maths wi nae Borders mini-competition contains a language element and is for any class to complete together.
Visit the Maths Week Scotland website for full details and to download a competition pack (available from 27 September 2021).
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16 September 2021 (FilmG)
FilmG is MG ALBA’s Gaelic short film competition which is delivered by Cànan Graphics Studio, the multi-media company based on the Isle of Skye. FilmG was launched in 2008 in order to develop new talent for the Gaelic channel BBC ALBA which was launched in the same year. Over this time it has received more than 700 short films and seen many young people begin their careers in Gaelic television broadcasting.
This year's FilmG is now open for entries. In the Youth category the competition is open to high school classes, independent filmmakers, and primary schools. High school Gaelic classes across Scotland can also take up the offer of 2 day filmmaking workshops to support entrants.
Visit the FilmG website for more information and get entries in by 13 December 2021.
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31 August 2021 (SEET)
Our World is a languages and citizenship based filmmaking project for S3 - S6 pupils. It's designed to complement the Curriculum for Excellence and help tackle the Attainment Challenge by providing a free project which uses an interdisciplinary approach to encourage pupils to become more engaged in their language learning.
Teams of 4 (S3-S6) design a storyboard which outlines the film they propose to make. This year's films will explore the idea of global citizenship, must include the use of a language other than English, and should touch on the theme of the Sustainable Development Goals. Each team must choose at least one of the 17 SDGs to focus their film on.
Registration for the 2021-22 project is now open - https://ourworldproject.wufoo.com/forms/z1fa1wdl0fdqs2a/
Visit the SEET website for more information and register to take part.
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23 August 2021 (British Council)
To help you support positive action towards climate change in your school, here’s a round-up of British Council's online events, programmes and classroom resources, which includes a section for language educators.
All activities support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Climate Action.
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19 August 2021 (The Kilted Otter)
Are you creative? Can you draw, sing, tell stories, play music, write poems, think out of the box? Do you want to learn more about Scots language and culture?
No experience necessary! We will take you from zero to game hero in two months!
Teams and individuals are welcome to apply.
Visit the website for more information and to sign up when registration opens on 1 September 2021.
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11 August 2021 (British Council)
If you are new to international collaboration a short-term supported partnership with Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning could open the door to a world of opportunities for your school.
Supported partnerships are designed for state-funded schools that are new to international collaboration who wish to start their global learning journey without grant funding.
Clusters of participants – representing a maximum of five UK and five overseas schools – work together on a project linked to a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) that is related to Cop26, the UN Climate Change Conference being held in the UK in November 2021. The project will be delivered during a six week period, starting in November 2021, and will be followed by a final evaluation activity. Please note that only one teacher per eligible UK and overseas school can apply to participate in these collaborations.
We will help you develop your project through three one-hour webinars delivered by a global learning practitioner, who will also provide guidance, CPD and support with any questions that you may have.
Visit the Britsh Council Connecting Classrooms website for more information and sign up to take part by 17 September 2021.
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17 June 2021 (UK-German Connection)
Do you want to join a lively network of young people and support UK-German Connection in the development of new opportunities for young people? Applications are now open for our UK-German Youth Council!
Young people from both countries aged 14-25 can join this consultation forum to develop new ideas and help co-design UK-German programmes and activities. We welcome applications from young people from all backgrounds and with a range of experiences and interests. German language skills are not a requirement.
Deadline: 24 August 2021.
For more information about other current opportunities for schools, such as funding for UK-German partnership activities and the Host a Teacher from Germany programme, follow the relevant links below.
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Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
FE,
German,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Cultural Diversity,
Funding,
Language Learning,
Partnership Working,
Teacher Education,
News from language & education organisations
24 May 2021 (TES)
With global citizenship more important than ever, here are some ideas for international collaboration between schools.
Whether students were locked down in London or Lagos, millions of young people around the world experienced what it was like to have their learning disrupted and now understand, to some degree, what it means not to have free movement or access.
“The pandemic has created a unique window of insight into the global challenges that we all face,” says Carl McCarthy, executive headteacher at GLF Schools multi-academy trust.
And this is something he’s tried to delve into with his students, noticing the disparity in provision that some young people face nationally, as well as globally. But he has also been celebrating the staggering kindness, innovation and teamwork we’ve witnessed, and he has been harnessing the technology that brings together citizens in opposite corners of the world.
“In this new, post-Brexit, global-facing context, we have the opportunity for our students to build knowledge and understanding together with fellow students from around the world – all who have been facing similar challenges at the same time and all who have seen similar strengths in human spirit and the triumph of science and technology to offer solutions to some of the greatest problems that we have collectively faced,” says McCarthy.
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12 May 2021 (RZSS)
This unique course introduces you and your family to the Mandarin language and Chinese characters while also learning about some Chinese animals and their habitats. Designed for 8 years right through to adults but children must be accompanied by an adult. The course is a series of three, one hour live virtual sessions spread across three days. Two opportunities to book. The course will run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10am on 20-22 July and repeated on 27-29 July. The course is for beginners and has had great reviews from previous participants: "Great balance of listening, interaction and engagement. Brilliant resources and a great experience." Booking is through Eventbrite - Zoo Fun with Mandarin
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7 May 2021 (British Science Association)
The study of foreign languages may not seem closely tied to STEM, but in fact they have a strong relationship. As well as improving cognitive skills that help in STEM study, speaking other languages opens up lines of communication with scientists all around the world, essential for international scientific progress.
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5 May 2021 (RZSS)
Beyond the Panda is the RZSS giant panda and Mandarin education programme. RZSS is a science specialist Confucius Classroom and offers a unique programme covering science while learning some of the Mandarin language and Chinese characters. It is designed for cross curricular learning where students investigate and discover more about China, its culture, language, geography, giant pandas and other Chinese wildlife.
This virtual CLPL course will hope to engage and inspire teaching staff to use the Beyond the Panda online resources with their students in order to develop a love of nature, animals and conservation and in particular to realise the biodiversity of China and the relevance of the Chinese language and culture. Delivered through Microsoft Teams within Glow.
In partnership with DYWLive and eSgoil, there are three opportunities to book, starting at 4pm on either Tuesday 25th May, Thursday 10th or Thursday 17th June. Booking is through DYWLive, under Professional Learning - Beyond the Panda CLPL
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22 April 2021 (British Council)
Today is Earth Day and British Council is bringing people together around the world through The Climate Connection to meet the challenges of climate change.
Amongst their resources on climate for schools there is a collection to help you integrate environmental issues into language teaching, learning and assessment, including a 3-module professional learning course for language teachers. The first module starts on 28 April 2021.
Visit the British Council website for more information and to register for the course.
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15 March 2021 (StampIT)
StampIT has launched its first worldwide competition which is open to 5-15 year olds worldwide!
Create a presentation linked to postage stamps for a chance to win e-vouchers. Stamps are a great medium to learn about language and culture. The competition encourages children to include some elements in a second language to their own.
The entry can be a written or video presentation and full details are at the StampIT website. Please read the attached flyer and rules carefully.
Entrants don’t have to own the stamp or stamps they choose to do their project. They can see a range of stamps within the games and activities on the website which link to Spanish, French, Mandarin, Japanese and Gaelic but they can also choose any stamp from any country worldwide.
The closing date is 30 April 2021.
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2 March 2021 (RZSS)
Beyond the Panda is taking bookings now for live virtual sessions for next school year, we are fully booked for this year until end of June. Beyond the Panda has an exciting 7/8 week progressive programme for upper primary level, P4-P7. The key objectives are detailed on the second page of the pdf attached. This programme is an exciting introduction to the Mandarin language while learning lots of science. Sandie Robb, a registered teacher but has been working with RZSS for many years and manages the Science Specialist Confucius Classroom delivers these interactive sessions using skulls, models and language games. The programme also links with a native Chinese teacher. Sessions 1- 7 are delivered as live virtual sessions but it is hoped that the 8th session may be delivered as an outreach when restrictions are lifted. In addition, there are two individual sessions for lower primary, P1-P3. Sessions are delivered on Microsoft Teams within Glow.
Further information on the Beyond the Panda website. To book contact srobb@rzss.org.uk
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14 January 2021 (Stride Magazine)
Sheena Bell, professional development officer at SCILT, explores the many ways in which Learning for Sustainability makes a great context for modern language learning.
“Learning other languages enables children and young people to make connections with different people and their cultures and to play a fuller part as global citizens.”
As this quote from the Scottish Government’s Modern Languages Principles and Practice document clearly shows, Modern Languages classrooms are uniquely positioned to incorporate Learning for Sustainability into their teaching and learning. Learning a language in school is not simply about learning vocabulary and grammatical structures; it offers a window into other cultures, traditions, ways of life and ways of thinking. Every day, pupils in our classes are being made aware in a very real way of their interconnectedness with the wider world, both socially and environmentally. The Modern Languages curriculum, particularly within the Senior Phase, already includes topics such as equality, social justice, environmental issues and gender – as Modern Languages teachers we are very often already teaching around Learning for Sustainability without even realising it!
(Note - The full article includes links to associated professional learning and classroom resources.)
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11 January 2021 (SEET)
Due to the new lockdown measures introduced by the Scottish Government on 4 January, including the closure of schools, SEET have pushed back the storyboard submission deadline to Friday 5 February 2021. They have also adapted the project and expanded the project's reach by increasing participation options for home learning and accommodating for both individual and group participation. Please see below for a summary of the changes:
- S1-6 may take part in 2021, not only S3-6 pupils.
- Storyboard submission deadline extended to Friday 5 February 2021 (extra 3 weeks)
- Accompanying video/audio clip explaining the storyboard is now optional. Storyboard and links to SDG theme and languages must be clear if no additional description is provided.
- We are accepting storyboard entries from teams AND entries from individual pupils if pupil collaboration is no longer possible. More guidance on team participation available.
- We will be able to invite more pupils to take part in the filmmaking stage, as we are no longer limited to in-person venue workshop capacity.
- Creation of password protected online portal to support pupils through the filmmaking stages. This will include video tutorials from filmmakers, written guidance and tutorials, resources, and clear instructions for pupils.
Visit the SEET website for more information about the Our World project.
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7 January 2021 (Institut français)
Do you think you could sing or rap in French? Do you have the skills to make a video clip for your song? If so, this competition is for you!
Open to any student or groups of students in full time primary or secondary education in the UK. Entries will be judged in 3 age-group categories: 7-11, 12-15, and 16-18.
Visit the competition website for more information. Register and submit entries by 31 March 2021.
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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.
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Posted in:
Primary,
French,
German,
Italian,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
News from language & education organisations
8 December 2020 (Linguacuisine)
The free Linguacuisine app helps you learn French, German and Spanish while you’re cooking a festive treat! Have fun baking with a friend, learn some new words and then feed your family and friends with a French Bûche de Noël, German Lebkuchen or Spanish Mantecados. You can do it online or by using the attached recipe card.
Visit the website for lots more recipes in a wide range of languages.
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Mathématiques sans Frontières
7 December 2020 (University of the West of Scotland)
The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is again organising the world-wide Maths and Language competition “Mathématiques sans Frontières” in Scotland.
You are invited to participate in this stimulating and light-hearted competition which combines Mathematics and Modern Languages and aims to motivate pupils in these subjects, promote teamwork, and bridge borders.
Please find attached a training test for “Mathématiques Sans Frontières”, and one entry form for the competition proper.
S4 classes should attempt 10 questions and S5 classes 13 questions. A whole class should attempt the test with questions divided up between groups to ensure that the questions can be completed in the allotted time of 90 minutes. Question one will require an explanation in a foreign language. We hope that this encourages cross-curricular working and teamwork. Answers are also attached, in French, another opportunity for teamwork in the translation.
The competition proper will be held on Thursday 11 March 2021. The prize-giving will be held in June (hopefully!) at UWS when the achievements of the top ten schools at each level are recognised. All schools competing will receive a certificate.
Schools who would like to register for the competition are kindly requested to complete the proforma attached and return by 29 January 2021.
We will send out the actual test as a PDF file by e-mail on the Friday prior to the test. This has proved to be very popular and we intend continuing to issue the test in this format. We would therefore kindly ask you to ensure that the e-mail address provided is legible or, preferably, typed. It would also be beneficial to provide an alternative e-mail address, possibly a personal address, which may help prevent firewall issues.
24 November 2020 (British Council)
There’s no more authentic way for pupils to learn about global issues than by working with their peers in another country.
Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning can help UK-based schools find partner schools in more than 30 countries across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
Once you’ve made a connection we have a range of support to help you get started and build a strong and sustainable school partnership, including the best online platforms to use for your international school collaboration. One to one partnerships or cluster groups can also apply for funding to cover a range of activities to share learning. The next funding deadline is 2 December 2020.
Visit the website for more information.
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24 November 2020 (SEET)
The Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) have launched their annual Our World language learning and filmmaking project. With a specific focus on building a sense of gobal citizenship and cultural understanding amongst participants, the project asks S3-S6 pupils to create multilingual films based on topical issues. Teams of 4 have the chance to create their films at an online workshop with professional filmmakers on hand to provide assistance and practical filmmaking tuition. Films must include at least one language other than English, and should be based on, this year, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
If you are interested in entering a team or multiple teams, please sign up here and ensure your pupils send us a storyboard of their film idea by the revised deadline of January 15th, 2021. Tons more information available on SEET's website, or by emailing alex@seet.org.uk. We look forward to receiving entries!
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18 November 2020 (RZSS)
FREE virtual Beyond the Panda sessions available for all primary levels linking science with Mandarin language learning. Delivered on Microsoft Teams within Glow. Fully booked this term but taking bookings now for the new year. Booking up fast! Email srobb@rzss.org.uk.
Also see the Beyond the Panda website for follow-on resources.
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12 November 2020 (SEET)
The Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) have launched their annual Our World language learning and filmmaking project.
Open to all S3-6 pupils across Scotland, teams of 4 have the chance to create films at a workshop (remotely this year!) with professional filmmakers on hand to help them and provide practical filmmaking tuition. As always, films must include at least one language other than English, and should be based on a set theme, which this year is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
If you are interested in entering a team or multiple teams, please sign up here and ensure your pupils send us a storyboard of their film idea by the deadline of 18 December 2020.
There is lots more information available on SEET's website, or by emailing alex@seet.org.uk. We look forward to receiving entries!
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11 November 2020 (SCILT)
SCILT's monthly Bitesize drop-ins are free, themed virtual events that are open to teachers and student teachers working in Scotland. Drop-ins are an opportunity to share your thoughts on that month’s Bitesize resource and/or share your own experience on the theme.
The November Bitesize event looks at examples of using an IDL approach to support language teaching and learning in the primary classroom.
Visit our Bitesize webpage to find out more about the session taking place on Wednesday 25 November and to register.
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10 November 2020 (LFEE)
LFEE is delighted to announce that their 2-year Erasmus+ funded project ELAPSE (Embedding Language into Primary and Secondary Education) has been completed.
Visit the LFEE website for information about the lesson plans and resources, all freely available to teachers around the world.
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3 November 2020 (UK-German Connection)
This November and December, we’re looking to bring young people together virtually, to discuss the effects of recent events upon your outlook and ability to live sustainably:
- How has Covid-19 impacted you living sustainably? Have you faced challenges, or maybe seen more positive opportunities for change?
- What individual changes can we now make to live more sustainably? (Do these look different than one year ago?)
- How can we encourage wider sustainable change within our communities?
This webinar series will focus on the above questions, with a focus on two key themes of food and fashion. Participants will attend two webinars in November/December 2020, as well as a larger online event in January 2021.
If you're aged 14-19, in full-time education in the UK and have an interest in discussing the themes and topics with peers in the UK and Germany visit the UK-German Connection website to find out more and to register your interest by 13 November 2020.
German language skills are not required for the webinar. Some German language elements will be included in the webinar but you don’t need any prior knowledge and/or translations will be provided.
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26 October 2020 (British Council)
British Council eTwinning is offering free live CPD and resources on climate change throughout November. Help your class to tackle #ClimateChange together with pupils from across the world.
Visit the British Council eTwinning website for more information. As well as the Climate Change November programme, you can also find other ready made step-by-step guides to help you start an international project.
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22 October 2020 (British Council)
Every November we come together to recognise the value of bringing the world into the classroom and celebrate international work in schools. This year we are excited to be going online. For the first time ever, we are offering a week of fantastic events that you can access wherever you are in the world.
The line-up is packed with online webinars, ideas and activities to keep us connected by learning and enable young people to take action on the global issues that matter to them today.
So whether it's a session on increasing language uptake in schools that interests you, or learning about other cultures throughout the world, visit the website for more information about the range of free webinars and activities on offer.
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1 October 2020 (Erasmus+)
In response to COVID-19, the European Commission announced a new decentralised call with the deadline of 29 October 2020, 11am (UK time). Schools are invited to apply for Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness (KA226) and Partnerships for Creativity (KA227).
As virtual cooperation opportunities are key to successful partnerships in the Covid-19 context, schools are strongly encouraged to use the eTwinning and the School Education Gateway to find partners and work together before, during and after the project activities.
Visit the Erasmus+ website to access application forms and guidance documents.
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1 October 2020 (SCILT)
SCILT is delighted to announce the launch of Mother Tongue Other Tongue 2020-21! This exciting competition is now open, and we want to find the next generation of young multilingual poets in Scotland. The competition has been redesigned to suit our new digital era, and we are inviting young people to submit entries focussing on the spoken word. Videos, sound files, voiceovers, narrated presentations – whatever format fits best, we want to hear the voices of young linguists showcasing their language and poetry skills. It’s a great time to get involved with the creative side of language learning, so visit our MTOT webpages to find out more.
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Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
All Languages,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
Mother Tongue,
SCILT news
17 September 2020 (SEET)
Our World is a languages and citizenship based film making project for S3 - S6 pupils. It's designed to complement the Curriculum for Excellence and help tackle the Attainment Challenge by providing a free project, which uses an interdisciplinary approach to encourage pupils to become more engaged in their language learning.
Apply now to take part in the 2020-21 project.
Visit the SEET Our World webpage for more information.
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14 September 2020 (Creative Multilingualism)
This OWRI-funded project celebrates linguistic diversity and reflects on the multilingual, multicultural and superdiverse society represented in Glasgow today. This multilingual performance supports the teaching and learning journey of primary schooling in non-affluent areas of the city. Pupils work together to choose traditional songs and rhymes and script a multilingual play.
Recordings of a webinar series about the project and associated resources are now available on the Creative Multilingualism website. An article about the project can also be found in TECLA Issue 1/2020 (page 11), the magazine resource for Spanish language learning in the classroom.
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24 August 2020 (Goethe-Institut)
#oekoropa is a Europe-wide digital youth competition on sustainable travel.
Pupils between the ages of 16 and 19 and teachers from all EU member states are invited to create innovative proposals for a climate-neutral journey across Europe. With the competition, the Goethe-Institut aims to demonstrate that travel is still possible in these times – at least as a concept, and later in a very real way.
Form teams online and devise an innovative roundtrip from your hometown to the trio capitals of the EU Council Presidency (Berlin, Lisbon, and Ljubljana) and inspire us with your idea of a sustainable Europe. The deadline for submitting proposals is 1 October 2020.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information.
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16 June 2020 (Lyfta)
A high quality CPD course that empowers teachers to weave global citizenship into their curriculum with Lyfta.
Free for teachers, SLT and support staff from state funded schools in England and Scotland.
Includes free access to Lyfta’s online platform, content and resources (inc. over 100 lesson & assembly plans).
Course comprised of a 2-hour webinar + support for lesson/assembly planning + 1-hour online review session.
Visit the webite for more information and to register for one of the upcoming sessions:
- Monday 22 June 2020
- Tuesday 30 June 2020
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3 June 2020 (SEET)
Whilst we are all carry on with our home learning, SEET continues to offer opportunities for pupils to engage in language learning and citizenship projects from home. Due to such a high demand for our new SEET @ Home project, and the quality of entries for the 'Community in Isolation' theme (judgement of films ongoing), SEET is proud to launch SEET @ Home: Take Two! Once again, all pupils need is access to a smart phone or tablet (any device that shoots video), and to download a free app or two!
This project is open to all ages (both primary and secondary pupils). We invite pupils to make a short film (maximum 2- minutes) based on the theme 'Sustainability at Home'. We also ask that pupils include at least one language other than English in their films, making this excellent opportunity for pupils to develop and showcase their language learning. Our favourite films will win cinema vouchers!
If you would like to take part, and we really hope you do, then please get in contact with us by emailing info@seet.org.uk and we will send you more information. Alternatively, you can find more information on our website. We have created an online document that includes a suggested timetable, a list of recommended free apps and a few useful filmmaking tips and tricks which we think will really help.
The deadline for these films is Monday 22 June 2020 at 5pm. Please don’t forget to tweet about your experience using #SEETatHome to @SEET_scotland.
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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.
26 May 2020 (British Council)
eTwinning offers various free online professional development at both a UK and a European level.
Visit the website for a full schedule of online events beginning in June 2020, including a one hour introduction to eTwinning.
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26 May 2020 (Learning for Sustainability Scotland)
Get funding to collaborate locally and internationally on the big issues that shape our world.
Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning is here to help you bring Learning for Sustainability and the Global Goals to life for your learners! There are a host of learning opportunities and support on offer through the Connecting Classrooms programme. Whether you are looking for personal development opportunities, or want to collaborate with other schools.
Visit the website to find out more. Next funding application deadline is 15 June 2020.
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Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
Scotland,
Citizenship,
CPD,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Cultural Diversity,
Funding,
Language Learning,
Language Teaching,
Partnership Working,
Teacher Education,
News from language & education organisations
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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Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
French,
German,
Italian,
Spanish,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
Technology,
News from language & education organisations,
Scots
Fancy a PowerLanguage challenge?
7 May 2020 (PowerLanguage)
Get your learners to take the PowerLanguage Challenge and to create short podcasts in order to teach their language as well as share their culture and passion, and to learn from other young people around the world. Watch the existing videos on www.powerlanguage.school/challenge and find out how to publish your own creation!
SEET @ Home
4 May 2020 (SEET)
Whilst schools remain closed and we all continue to work from home, we will not let COVID-19 interrupt what SEET does and what we can offer you. We love making films and know that many of you do too. So, whilst schools are out, we are asking you to make short films at home, with a little guidance from us. All you need is a smart phone or tablet (any device that shoots video), and to download a free app or two!
Normally we open our filmmaking project up to young people in S3-S6, but this project is open to all ages (both primary and secondary pupils). We invite pupils to make a short film (maximum 2-minutes), based on the theme 'Community in Isolation'. As always, we want to see pupils using languages; even if it is just a few words, we want to hear it! Let’s share our films far and wide and connect with communities across the globe. Our favourite films will win cinema vouchers!
If you would like to take part, and we really hope you do, then please get in contact with us by emailing info@seet.org.uk and we will send you more information. This includes a recommended timetable that should allow pupils to make these films within one school week, and some useful tips about filmmaking, amongst other things!
To be in with a chance of winning cinema vouchers, the deadline for film submissions is Monday 1 June 2020 at 3pm.
Don't forget to tweet about your experiences using the hashtag #SEETatHome to @SEET_scotland. Lights, camera, action!
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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Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
Chinese,
Spanish,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Cultural Diversity,
Language Learning,
Resources,
News from language & education organisations,
Arabic,
Polish
13 March 2020 (TES/British Council)
We believe every young person should have intercultural and international experience. As the UK’s cultural relations organisation, the British Council creates opportunities for schools and teachers in the UK and worldwide to connect and work together to share ideas and practices.
Our range of international education programmes can help develop teaching skills with funded professional development, connect schools across the globe and bring language learning to life.
TES and the British Council have joined forces to explore different ways to bring the world into the classroom and open the door to a host of international learning opportunities.
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Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
All Languages,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Cultural Diversity,
Language Learning,
Language Teaching,
Partnership Working,
Promoting Languages,
Study Abroad,
Teacher Education,
News from language & education organisations
10 March 2020 (Never Such Innocence)
For the 2019/20 academic year, the Never Such Innocence competition will be bigger than ever! We have expanded our focus to include all conflicts throughout history and today, and have broadened the age range to 9-18. We are also delighted to open a new speechwriting category!
This year’s theme is ‘The Impact of Conflict on Communities’ – We invite young people all across the world to write a poem, speech, or song, or create a piece of art reflecting on how a conflict has or is affecting a community. This conflict could be past or present; international, national or local.
Entries can be in any language.
Visit the competition website for more information and submit entries by 20 March 2020.
Read more...
2 March 2020 (eTwinning)
We are launching the eTwinning Spring Campaign around the annual theme of Climate Change and Environmental Challenges on 2 March.
Our Spring Campaign in 2020 celebrates eTwinning and eTwinners on a local level while raising awareness on climate change and environmental challenges.
During this campaign, eTwinners are encouraged to get inspired by the annual theme and to create on-site events in their schools and the classrooms! Activities and resources are aimed at both experienced eTwinners and newcomers.
Visit the website for more information about how to get involved.
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24 February 2020 (Institut français)
Do you think you could sing or rap in French? Do you have the skills to make a video clip for your song? If so, this competition is for you!
The competition is open to any student or groups of students in full time education in the national-curriculum primary and secondary schools of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and the Channel Islands, in 3 age-group categories: 7-11, 12-15, and 16-18.
Entries should be original compositions around 3 minutes long and must be performed in French.
Visit the competition website for more information and submit entries by 3 April 2020.
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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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14 February 2020 (Learning for Sustainability Scotland)
Connecting Classrooms is now able to support schools and early learning and childcare settings with funding, free expertise and CLPL to build virtual as well as face-to-face partnerships with schools locally and globally to take action on the big issues that shape our world!
Understanding the big issues that shape our world has never been more important. Issues like climate change, gender equality and how to live sustainably affect – and connect – us all: wherever we are in the world.
Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning is an exciting new programme that supports schools across the globe to collaborate on and learn about these big issues.
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3 February 2020 (Newcastle University)
The LinguaChef Prize will be awarded to the person who uploads the best language learning recipe using the Linguacuisine recipe author software during the period 1 February to 15 June 2020. The prize consists of a payment of £200 plus a LinguaChef Gold Certificate. There are 2 runner-up prizes with £50 each plus a LinguaChef Silver Certificate. All will feature on the front page of all Linguacuisine media and the recipes will be promoted around the world on the website.
The language learning recipe can involve learning any language and any recipe. Entry to the competition is open to all and is free.
Visit the website for full details and submit entries by 15 June 2020. For any queries regarding the competition, contact Professor Paul Seedhouse - paul.seedhouse@ncl.ac.uk.
(PLEASE NOTE, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE LINGUACHEF COMPETITION PREVIOUSLY RUN BY SCILT.)
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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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6 January 2020 (Institut français)
Do you think you could sing or rap in French? Do you have the skills to make a video clip for your song? If so, this competition is for you!
The competition is open to any student or groups of students in full time education in the national-curriculum primary and secondary schools of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and the Channel Islands, in 3 age-group categories: 7-11, 12-15, and 16-18.
Entries should be original compositions around 3 minutes long and must be performed in French.
Visit the competition website for more information and submit entries by 3 April 2020.
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16 December 2019 (UWS)
Mathématiques sans Frontières is an annual international mathematics competition for S4-S6 schoolchildren, centrally run by the Académie de Strasbourg since 1989. This interclass competition involves a number of mathematical puzzles where one of the puzzles is posed, and must be answered, in a foreign language. The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is organising the competition in Scotland and invites schools to register for the competition by 31 January 2020.
More information can be found in the attached invitation letter. Also attached is the registration form and a competition training test and answer sheet.
Further information about previous competitions can also be found on the UWS Mathématiques sans Frontières website.
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4 December 2019 (Scotdec)
Scotdec offers this online course for secondary school teachers across Scotland with an interest in Global Citizenship Education.
Open to all Scottish Secondary school teachers of Maths, English, Modern Languages, Science and Social Subjects, Issue to action will connect you with a network of teachers across Scotland and equip you with the skills to teach your subject through a global citizen lens.
From the comfort of your own home, at a time and location that suits you, you can take part in the Issue to action in a way that fits around your other commitments.
Visit the website to find out more and register your interest for the Spring cohort.
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20 November 2019 (SEET)
Have you registered your school yet for either of the competitions run by the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET)?
The Euroquiz project is open to all P6 pupils across Scotland and 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 commence January 2020.
Our World is a film making project for S3-S6 pupils asking them to use modern languages to express thoughts on topics such as migration and sustainable tourism through the media of film. Deadline for storyboard submissions is 3 December 2019.
More information about each project and how to register can be found on the attached document or visit the SEET website.
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19 November 2019 (Turn It On)
The ‘Hour of Code™’ is an initiative by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org to introduce millions of students to one hour of computer science and computer programming and this year will be celebrated in Computer Science Education Week, 9th – 15th December 2019. Try a one-hour tutorial designed for all ages in over 45 languages. Join millions of students and teachers in over 180 countries starting with an Hour of Code.
Now in its fourth year there are even more resources out there for schools to use free of charge. The Hour of Code initiative is a really good opportunity for schools that are not that confident in following the computing curriculum to try it out with students for just one hour as well as some good activities for those that are already teaching it.
On the Hour of Code website there are activities created by many partners for a variety of subjects so that you can bring an hour of code into any lesson, for students, and teachers, of any ability.
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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.
22 October 2019 (British Council)
There’s a new opportunity for Connecting Classrooms partnership schools – the do your :bit competition!
do your :bit is a coding competition, which encourages children and teenagers to combine creativity and technology in solutions for the Global Goals, using BBC micro:bit handheld computers.
The partnership resource has been produced to help schools collaborate on the do your :bit design challenge and enter the competition. Completing this unit together will give pupils opportunities to develop core skills in digital literacy, critical thinking and problem solving, creativity, communication and collaboration, and citizenship.
Visit the British Council Connecting Classrooms website to find out more about the competition and how to get involved.
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9 October 2019 (Stornoway Gazette)
A new Gaelic language play about climate change is nearing the end of a successful six week national tour of Gaelic medium primary schools.
An Rabhadh (The Warning), performed by Artair Donald and Katie Hammond, highlights the concerns regarding climate change and points to the positive changes that can be made to reduce waste and our carbon footprint.
The tour, which started at the end of August, will visit 47 schools across Scotland, taking in the central belt, Perthshire, Aberdeen, Argyllshire, Skye and Lochalsh and the Western Isles.
The final leg will include visits to schools in the Highland Council area, East Kilbride and the Isle of Tiree.
Aimed at upper primary pupils, the play has been produced through Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s Gaelic language theatre-in-education project Meanbh-chuileag and was written and directed by Angus Macleod, Drama Officer with Fèisean nan Gàidheal. He explained: “The play features two environmentally-friendly aliens who are on a mission to rescue Earth in the year 2119.
“Unfortunately they find that reversing the effects of environmental damage is not possible but a time-travelling gizmo enables a journey back to 2019 to warn the planet’s occupants before it’s too late.”
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19 September 2019 (Maths Week Scotland)
As part of Maths Week Scotland, pupils of all ages can participate in the 'Maths wi nae borders' competition, which requires students to respond to one of the questions in either Gaelic or Scots.
The competition is inspired by 'Mathématiques sans frontières'. North Lanarkshire Council, the University of the West of Scotland and Heriot Watt University work together to encourage young language learners to apply their knowledge in a Maths setting.
This stimulating and light-hearted competition for secondary schools combines Maths and Modern Languages and aims to motivate pupils in both their Maths and Language Learning. The first question requires an explanation in a foreign language.
Teachers look out for the e-mail inviting you to take part in 'Mathématiques sans frontières' in January 2020.
Meanwhile get your classes involved this Maths Week in the 'Maths wi nae borders' competition. Entry deadline 18 October 2019.
Visit the website for more information.
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18 September 2019 (SEET)
Want to get pupils more engaged in language learning, global citizenship and encourage uptake? Are you keen to improve their confidence and win an award or two? Then get involved!
SEET’s popular Our World film making project has now launched for the 2019-20 year! Our World uses film making and global citizenship as a means to help pupils explore and improve their use of foreign languages. It’s totally free, and all you have to do is sign up. Last year over 70% of participant pupils said they were more likely to continue with their study of languages after taking part.
Teams of four, from S3-S6, need to come up with a creative idea for a film based on one of this year's themes and submit their storyboard by 3 December 2019.
See the attached flyer or visit the website for more information.
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11 September 2019 (Creative Multilingualism)
All the World is Our Stage: primary pupils never lost in translanguaging, a multilingual performance showcasing heritage and school languages, has brought pupils and teachers from Whinhill Primary School together with actress-singer, Rebecca Cameron, and creative language learning social enterprise, The Language Hub.
Warm and welcome feelings and emotions engulfed me the first time I set foot in Whinhill. Bilingual signs in English and Gaelic adorn the school, leaving no wall silent, and as you venture inside, the building also speaks through imagery and words in French. What a pleasure to the eye, and a delicacy for the soul!
The school currently offers Gaelic and French under the 1+2 language approach to language learning, and hosts a Gaelic Medium Education (GME) unit allowing pupils to learn through the medium of Scottish Gaelic.
The multilingual realities of our pupils is not always acknowledged, or even recognised, in the school context. English as the societal and school language can stifle pupils’ heritage languages. This project sought to combat that by raising awareness about multilingualism and celebrating linguistic diversity through the performing arts.
Visit the website to read the full article, which contains links to the resources used in the project.
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27 August 2019 (British Council)
Would you like to set up a student exchange visit but don't yet have a partner school?
For schools looking for a partner school, we still have a few spaces available on our seminar in Germany in the Autumn term 2019, designed to allow schools to set up a partnership and plan your exchange.
All arrangements will be made by the British Council and travel, accommodation and meal costs will be covered.
Visit the British Council website for more information and to apply by 13 September 2019. Be quick, spaces are extremely limited!
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23 August 2019 (SEET)
Our World is a languages and citizenship based film making project for S3 - S6 pupils run by the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET). It's designed to complement the curriculum for excellence and attainment challenge by providing a free project, which uses an interdisciplinary approach to encourage pupils to become more engaged in their language learning.
Participants submit a storyboard outlining the film they propose to make. This year's films should explore the idea of global citizenship and touch on one or more of the following themes:
- Migration and welcome
- Sustainable Tourism
- Trade
The film must also include the use of a language other than English. Entry deadline is 3 December 2019.
Schools wishing to take part should visit the SEET website for more information and to register.
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Technology,
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21 August 2019 (UK-German Connection)
Are your pupils interested in sustainability and in discussing the wider impact of our daily choices? UK-German Connection, in collaboration with the British Embassy in Berlin, is hosting a seminar for young people from the UK and Germany, taking place in Berlin from 1-4 November 2019.
The seminar will bring young people from the UK and Germany together to compare everyday consumer habits, explore the wider theme of sustainability and consider the challenges of living sustainably.
Key highlights include:
- Expert-led workshops on sustainability and consumer choices
- Excursions in Berlin on the seminar theme
- Presenting collective ideas about sustainable consumption during an event at the British Embassy in Berlin
German language skills are not required, so the opportunity is open to pupils across the curriculum. Participants are required to pay £25 to confirm their place. Travel and accommodation costs will be met by UK-German Connection.
The deadline for applications is 16 September 2019.
Visit the UK-German Connection website for more information and to apply.
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14 August 2019 (European Schoolnet Academy)
Are you keen on bringing innovation to your classroom but don't know where to start? Why not get involved with Code Week this October? Teachers from all subject areas with no prior experience of coding are invited to join the EU Code Week - Deep Dive MOOC run by the European Schoolnet Academy. The five-week course begins on 16 September 2019. Enrol and discover how you can incorporate coding into your subject lessons.
Visit the website for more information.
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13 August 2019 (Into Film)
The Into Film Awards is the best place to showcase young filmmaking talent, with categories designed to highlight the large pool of young creatives in the UK. Setting out to discover and honour the most talented filmmakers, reviewers, Into Film Clubs and educators, we encourage children and young people aged 5-19 from all backgrounds and with all abilities to get involved.
The 6th annual Into Film Awards will take place in March 2020, and this year sees some exciting new changes. Entering the Awards now not only gives you the chance to be nominated and join us at our star-studded ceremony in London, but this year, every single verified submission will also be entered into a prize draw to win £1,000 worth of filmmaking equipment for the filmmakers, film clubs or schools!
Visit the Into Film website for more information about the award categories and submit your entry by 6 December 2019.
The site also contains a wide range of films and teaching materials, including a selection for the languages classroom.
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9 August 2019 (TES)
One head explains how a partnership with a school in Palestine has helped pupils to gain a new perspective on the world.
In the 21 years that I have worked at Lockerbie Primary School, we have developed our international curriculum to help change the perception of what most people think of when they hear Lockerbie – the air tragedy in 1988 – and instead showcase our town to the world in a more positive light and help broaden pupils’ horizons, too.
We’ve done this in numerous ways, from the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, which provides funding to schools for international activities, to working on a number of British Council eTwinning projects, most notably Hands of the World, which brings children of the world together through music and Makaton.
But the international connection that has sparked the most joy over the years has been our link with the Al Shurooq School for Blind Children in Palestine.
The partnership began in 2005 after a series of emails between me and Al Shurooq’s founder, Helen Shehadeh. Our local minister, who met her on a visit to Bethlehem, introduced me to her.
By the end of the year, as pupils, parents and members of the wider school community looked on, I was using my mobile phone and a microphone to talk to Helen during our Christmas assembly. Two of our P7 pupils, aged 11, then spoke with two pupils from Al Shurooq about their respective schools and how they celebrate the festive season, before wishing each other a “happy and peaceful Christmas”. It was one of the most moving moments in my whole career.
Around five years ago we moved on to focused, whole-school joint curricular projects after Ruba Aburdeinah was appointed as the new director at Al Shurooq.
These mini-projects have primarily centred on the United Nations’ International Day of Peace in September. Every year each of my 12 primary classes, plus our nursery classes and Learning Centre for children aged 2-18 with complex and continuing needs, exchanges work on the theme of peace with a different partner school from around the world. Last year, we exchanged items with schools in 15 different countries, with our Learning Centre pupils making “peace postcards” to send to Al Shurooq.
Music has proved to be a unifying force, too, with students using the World Voice Songbook to learn about each other’s cultures through traditional songs in each other’s language.
We have also enhanced pupils’ understanding of life in Palestine through the Culture in a Box project. This eTwinning initiative asks pupils to choose 10 items they think best represent their culture and explain why. These items then go into a shoebox, which is exchanged with boxes from schools in other countries.
Refugee Week is also an important focus for us, once again prompted by our connection with Al Shurooq. This year we took part in Refugee Week’s Ration Challenge, which asked people to eat and drink the same as a Syrian refugee living in a camp in Jordan for a week. Our class teachers also led themed activities throughout the week and we invited parents and the wider community to attend a Time for Reflection assembly.
(Note - subscription required to access full article).
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8 August 2019 (TES/British Council)
We believe every young person should have intercultural and international experience. As the UK’s cultural relations organisation, the British Council creates opportunities for schools and teachers in the UK and worldwide to connect and work together to share ideas and practices.
Our range of international education programmes can help develop teaching skills with funded professional development, connect schools across the globe and bring language learning to life.
TES and the British Council have joined forces to explore different ways to bring the world into the classroom and open the door to a host of international learning opportunities.
Visit the TES and British Council websites to access a wide range of resources and information.
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28 October 2018 (School Education Gateway)
Join this course to learn about eTwinning and how it can help you design a project-based learning experience for your students in cooperation with colleagues across Europe and beyond. During the course, you will learn about the principles of project-based learning and how to start a project in the eTwinning community.
Throughout the activities, we will look at the entire life cycle of a project, starting with the initial idea, including finding a partner and negotiations to design a common project, and ending with the implementation and evaluation of the project. We will include principles of project work and collaboration, as well as the educational use of various ICT tools that facilitate project work. We will also look at the social aspect of collaborative projects, showing eTwinning not only as a platform in which to implement educational projects, but also as a meeting place between colleagues, an environment where we can share ideas and participate in various professional development activities.
Visit the website for more information and to enrol on the free course, commencing 5 November 2018.
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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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25 October 2018 (UK-German Connection)
UK-German Connection offers a number of grants for joint activities between schools and youth groups in the UK and Germany.
The next deadline is approaching, so if you have any projects taking place in 2018-19 for which you'd like funding, visit the UK-German Connection website for more information and apply by 31 October 2018.
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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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23 October 2018 (eTwinning)
We are pleased to announce the schools awarded the European Quality Label 2018! A total of 1204 projects received the Quality Label for their outstanding work. See the list of the distinguished schools, teachers' name and the project that got them their Quality Label.
Congratulations to all the Scottish schools on the list who have been recognised with an award!
If you'd like to get involved with eTwinning and collaborative projects with schools overseas, visit the website to find out how you can get involved and be rewarded with a Quality Label for your school.
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16 October 2018 (British Council)
This year, pupils from Kinlochbervie in the Scottish Highlands took part in our Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning programme by partnering with Sachangwan Secondary School and Nguzu River Primary in Kenya.
The distance between the schools, which we are reliably told by Kinlochbervie students is exactly 4623 miles as the crow flies, didn’t stop students speaking, giving tours of their schools and teaching each other about their culture.
Via letters, and a video directed by S1 pupils, Kinlochbervie students told their Kenyan peers about otters, lochs, shinty, fishing and snow. In a video response, the Sachangwan students showed off their impressive school grounds, sang, and planted trees in honour of the partnership. There were dance performances on both sides and in footage yet unseen by British Council Scotland, the Kenyan students learned to ceilidh dance.
However the partnership didn’t stop at school tours and dancing. The Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning programme , delivered by the British Council in partnership with the Department of International Development, provides teachers with the resources and training to teach internationally. As part of this, partnered schools work together on a project focusing on one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Kinlochbervie and Sachangwan students chose to focus on gender equality, exploring the issue as part of their Modern Studies (High School) and Citizenship (Primary School) courses. In the summer, P5-S2 pupils hosted an event in Kinlochbervie to celebrate their work on the project. The event featured live performances from the Scottish pupils and video performances by Kenyan pupils around the gender equality theme.
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11 October 2018 (SEET)
SEET’s popular Our World film making project has now launched for the 2018-19 year! Our World uses film making and language learning as a means to help pupils explore the themes of LfS and the Sustainable Development Goals. It’s totally free, and all you have to do is sign up.
The project has been running for the past 6 years, has a proven track record of encouraging languages uptake at higher secondary levels, and is open to any team of four from S3 - S6 (no previous film making knowledge is required). All teams have to do to enter is come up with a creative idea for a film, based on one of this year's themes. Then, with SEET’s help teams put that idea into storyboard form and send it to us with an audio or video clip explaining it. The deadline for storyboard submissions is 5th December 2018.
Themes:
As part of a team of four, come up with a creative idea for a short film about being a citizen of the world. Your team should consider one of the following themes to get you started:
- Sustainable Tourism (going on holiday, exploring other countries and cultures and making a positive impact on the environment)
- Migration and welcome (refugees, moving abroad, how people are treated)
- Trade (how businesses work in different countries, importing and exporting)
All films must include the use of at least one language other than English - but the more the merrier!
After all the entries are submitted, 18 teams from across Scotland will be invited to one of three regional film making workshop days (roughly 6 teams per workshop) where they will get the opportunity to make their film a reality. Pupils are given technology and professional film-making training on the day to help them, so don't worry if they don't have experience - all they need are their ideas.
Throughout the project SEET staff are happy to make trips to schools to work with classes and answer any questions you might have.
If you'd like to register or sign up a team visit the website, where you can also hear previous participants talk about their experience of the project, OR contact Madeleine McGirk at SEET (madeleine@seet.org.uk).
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8 October 2018 (British Council)
The International School Award (ISA) can help with your vision for school improvement. If you are writing your School Improvement Plan, and you’re looking for something new that has a proven track record of making a difference, then the International School Award could be what you are looking for.
It works in all profiles of schools: primary and secondary, inner-city and rural, thriving and struggling. Everyone has something to gain.
Experienced head teachers like Kevin McCabe, now Director of Improvement at Drb Ignite Multi-Academy Trust, testify to the ISA’s effectiveness as a tool to change the culture of your school. It does this by opening up the classroom to the world, giving the students the motivation they need to change the way they work and enriching the curriculum with cross-curriculum work.
Visit the website for more information and to register interest. Action plans should be submitted by 18 November 2018.
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2 October 2018 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut invites secondary school students to take part in a competition to engage with questions about the future of Europe.
The debating competition offers a great chance to actively use the German language in an authentic setting and at the same time to get to know other secondary school students from across the United Kingdom. Debating in a foreign language will bring immeasurable benefits to significantly improve the student’s communication skills.
Applications are invited from teams of four year 12 students (4th year of learning German).
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information and to register by 26 October 2018.
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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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19 September 2018 (British Council)
Connecting Classrooms is back, and we have some exciting updates for the new school year.
If you are thinking about taking your school on an international journey this year, it’s time to take a look at how you can join the new Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning programme.
You can apply for Connecting Classrooms opportunities either as an individual school, or part of a cluster, which will be overseen by a lead school.
Becoming a lead school provides a host of benefits, including access to grants to develop your cluster, the opportunity to deliver CPD to other schools in your area and cover support for your co-ordinator’s time.
Visit the website for more information and apply by 28 October to be included in the first round of grant awards.
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News from language & education organisations
18 September 2018 (Into Film)
Submissions to the 2019 Into Film Awards are now open!
The Into Film Awards is the best place to showcase young filmmaking talent, with categories designed to highlight the large pool of young creatives in the UK. Set out to find the most talented filmmakers, reviewers, Into Film Clubs and educators, we encourage children and young people aged 5-19 from all backgrounds and with all abilities to get involved.
A great place to start is by entering the 'Film of the Month' competition. These entries are also eligible for submission to the Into Film Awards. Why not get your students to create a short film in the language they are learning?
You have until 14 December 2018 to get your entries in and there are resources and guides on the website to help you.
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14 September 2018 (SCILT)
Today we're launching the 2018-19 Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) multilingual poetry competition in Scotland.
All students who are learning a language at school, college or university, or who speak a native language at home, can get involved in celebrating their linguistic and cultural diversity through creative poetry writing as there are options to enter in either the Mother Tongue or Other Tongue category. All entries must be the students' own, original work.
For more information about this year's competition and previous events, visit our MTOT website and register to take part! The closing date for registrations is 26 October 2018.
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13 September 2018 (Eurodesk)
The Time to Move T-shirt contest returns in 2018!
If you are at least 13 years old and not more than 30, design a Time to Move themed T-shirt that best represents the spirit of the campaign, share it with us and have a chance to travel around Europe by train!
Time to Move is a collection of events for young people organised all over Europe during the month of October. The activities focus on introducing hundreds of possibilities through which you can go abroad and take part in an international project, explore Europe or gain experience you need for your future.
Visit the website for more information and submit entries by 31 October 2018.
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10 September 2018 (DAAD)
In addition to accompanying written texts, competitors are asked this year to make a short video on ‘Auf deutschen Spuren - In the footsteps of German-language culture’.
Find out about historical or current traces of German-language culture in your area and create a short film not exceeding 3 minutes featuring German-language dialogue or voice-over. Judges will be looking for creativity and language use - rather than technical ability.
The competition is open to all German speakers upwards from secondary school level.
Find out more about the competition on the DAAD website and submit entries by 5 October 2018.
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Maths Week Scotland - Mathématiques sans frontières / Maths wi nae borders
7 September 2018 (North Lanarkshire Council)
As part of Maths Week Scotland, pupils of all ages can participate in the 'Maths wi nae borders' competition, which requires students to respond to one of the questions in either Gaelic or Scots.
The new competition is inspired by 'Mathématiques sans frontières'. North Lanarkshire Council, the University of the West of Scotland and Heriot Watt University work together to encourage young language learners to apply their knowledge in a Maths setting.
This stimulating and light-hearted competition for secondary schools combines Maths and Modern Languages and aims to motivate pupils in both their Maths and Language Learning. S4 classes attempt 10 questions and S5 classes 13 questions. Ideally a whole class should tackle groups of questions in order to complete the test within the 60 minutes allowed.
The first question require an explanation in a foreign language. It is hoped that this competition will encourage cross-curricular working and teamwork.
This year 42 teams from 27 schools took part in 'Mathématiques sans Frontières', the winning team in S4 was Girvan Academy and the S5 winners and overall winning school was Grange Academy.
Look out for the e-mail invitation inviting you to take part in January 2019.
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CLPL for Beyond the Panda
5 September 2018 (RZSS)
Would you like to find out more about 'Beyond the Panda' and what it offers to assist Mandarin language learning? As the first science specialist Confucius Classroom in the world, we would like to invite you to a FREE session for teachers at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo on Tuesday 6 November 2018.
Find out answers to these questions and more:
- What is a 'panda box'?
- How can our programme mix science with language?
- What else does the programme offer?
- What does a science specialist Confucius Classroom mean?
Two CLPL sessions available 10.30-12.30 and 3.00-5.00 on Tuesday 6 November. Booking essential as limited to 20 teachers per session. Open to Primary and Secondary teachers.
Meet Sandie Robb, the RZSS language specialist along with Hù Wáng, our Confucius Classroom teacher.
Contact srobb@rzss.org.uk or 07963 070654 to book a place.
21 August 2018 (UK-German Connection)
Would you like to take part in a Magical Christmas Trip this year and build on or set up a partnership with a school in Germany?
These visits offer primary pupils the chance to get a taste of Germany at Christmas time, meet their German peers and get involved in some seasonal intercultural activity. Secondary pupils have the opportunity to brush up on their German and practice their skills as young leaders.
There are two options for getting involved:
- apply to take part in a visit to Berlin run by UK-German Connection to set up a link to a school in Berlin
- apply for funding and organisational support to run your own Christmas visit to an existing partner school anywhere in Germany.
Application deadline: 18 September 2018.
Visit the UK-German Connection website for more information.
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20 August 2018 (Glasgow Science Centre)
Due to popular demand, Glasgow Science Centre is running a second Deaf Science Club starting on Saturday 8 September 2018.
The fortnightly science club has been created for Deaf, BSL users and those hard of hearing.
Budding scientists aged 6–14 years old can explore the Universe in the Planetarium, see a live science show full of spectacular demonstrations and get hands-on in workshops.
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16 August 2018 (Institut français)
The Institut français d’Ecosse launched in 2016 le concours de la francophonie, a national school competition to encourage all young French learners and their teachers around Scotland to celebrate the international day of la francophonie.
All Scottish primary and secondary schools offering French may enter this competition by submitting a short video of a classroom activity in French. Entry deadline: January 2019.
Visit the Institut français d’Ecosse website for more information.
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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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13 August 2018 (4barsrest)
Carnoustie High School Band will head east this September to become the first youth brass band to tour China.
The remarkable opportunity came following a performance at the Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow in 2016 for the renowned Confucius Institute for Scotland.
Such was the success that it led to the school's head teacher Donald Currie being contacted to set the ball rolling on the ambitious initiative — and now, after almost two years of research and fundraising the band will fly out on 7th September for 15 unforgettable days of music and cultural learning.
Confucius Hubs are based in schools and seek to make links with local communities throughout Scotland — with Carnoustie serving the Angus area. It promotes the joint planning of cultural activities, sharing ideas and resources to stimulate the learning and teaching of Chinese language and culture.
The band will fly out from Glasgow, and after a short stop in Dubai will carry on to China where they will enjoy seven days in Tianjin and seven more in Beijing before their return.
While in Tianjin, the band members will be learning Mandarin, as well as performing three concerts. They will also visit Chinese families and schools, enabling the young musicians to experience Chinese culture first hand with a chance to learn Gongfu (Chinese martial arts), Tai Chi, and the ancient arts of calligraphy and mask painting.
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9 August 2018 (YouthLink Scotland)
YouthLink Scotland, its members and UK/German Connection have teamed up to offer an opportunity to share experiences and make new links between our two countries.
This is an exciting opportunity for workers and the young people (aged 14-21) they work with to get together with German counterparts here and in Germany.
The commitment is two residential weekends taking place in October and December - one in Scotland and one in Berlin.
Places are limited so get in touch soon. The deadline for expressions of interest is 30 August 2018.
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1 August 2018 (Linguacuisine)
For anyone interested in languages and food!
The free Linguacuisine web app helps you learn a language while you’re cooking a meal! Choose a foreign language and a delicious recipe from that country. Then your own smartphone or tablet will speak to you in the foreign language and talk you through all of the stages of cooking the recipe in your own kitchen. If you can’t understand, just press a button to get a photo or video explaining what to do. When you’ve finished, eat the food you’ve cooked and learn something about the culture of the country. Linguacuisine has a range of recipes now available for language learning from around the world. We now have recipes available in: English, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Quechua, Chinese and Korean.
You can also use the free recipe builder app so that you can upload your own favourite recipe in your own language. That means that anyone anywhere in the world will be able to watch videos and listen to audios of you guiding them through cooking your recipe and learning your language! Use your own smartphone or tablet to make recordings of yourself and upload them using our user-friendly software to create your own recipe.
You can also join our worldwide online community so you can rate and discuss other people’s recipes and post information, stories and photos. They can do the same for your recipe, so it’s a good way to make friends in other countries.
So Linguacuisine is a really fun way to learn about foreign languages, cultures and cuisines and you get to eat what you produce. You can also tell other people around the world about your own cooking, language and way of life. You learn foreign words better when you are physically touching food and cooking utensils and using them to prepare food. When you are cooking, you involve all of your senses in the learning experience – touch, smell and taste as well as hearing and seeing. So this is multi-modal and multi-sensory language learning. This is task-based language learning with a real product at the end of it and is intended to improve international understanding and communication.
Linguacuisine is available now for all devices, smartphones, tablets and computers from our website, where the online community will also be located https://linguacuisine.com/
The Linguacuisine app is the end result of a 10-year collaboration between computing scientists and linguists at Newcastle University. The Linguacuisine project is a collaboration between Newcastle University, Action Foundation (UK), Hellenic Open University (Greece), Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy) and the Workers’ Educational Association (UK). It is funded by an Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership grant of €324K.
For Teachers
The Linguacuisine app can be used for foreign language lessons, but also for cookery lessons and cross-curriculum projects. Students can use the app to cook and learn in the kitchen at home as well as at school.
The app is a good way of preparing students for a foreign trip as it helps engage them with the cuisine, culture and language in advance. Students can also write their own recipes in their own language, informing people abroad about their culture and cuisine.
It is also an excellent way of getting learners to communicate with learners in other countries. Video links have been available for some time, but Linguacuisine means that learners in different countries can do enjoyable shared activities together, cooking recipes from the other countries whilst learning about the other language and culture.
Digital skills can also be developed by using the ‘recipe builder’ authoring software. This was co-authored with learners and designed to develop a wide range of digital skills using the DIGCOMP 2.1 framework; it has been shown to be successful in improving learner competence.
For Professionals working with Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers
The Linguacuisine app was co-designed with a group of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from Action Foundation, Newcastle, UK and seeks to help them in two ways. Firstly, immigrants to a country can cook the recipes to learn about the language, cuisine and culture of their host country and help their integration. Secondly, immigrants can produce their own recipes in their own language using the recipe builder software, so they are able to have a voice and so people in their host country are able to learn something about their life prior to arrival here. A number of recipes currently on Linguacuisine have been produced by migrants in the UK.
For Catering Professionals
Chefs and other catering staff who are travelling to work abroad can introduce themselves to the language, culture and cuisine of their destination country by using the Linguacuisine app. They can also increase their repertoire and employability by trying recipes from around the world and improving relevant language skills.
Chefs can also produce their own recipes in their own language or English using the recipe builder software. Their recipes can then be tried out by users anywhere in the world. Users can post feedback about the recipes and rate the recipes, so chefs can gain an international reputation and increase their own job opportunities.
Invitation to London Event
Please come to our free London dissemination event in Europe House on 11 September. Book a place.
Try out the app, cook a recipe and learn a new language!
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20 June 2018 (FilmG)
The successful Film G project which encourages the use of Gaelic through film-making has entered it’s 11th year. Film G is run by MG Alba in partnership with CGS and has been a very popular event for Gaelic Learners and Fluent speakers alike over the last decade. Film G organise school visits and more information can be found on their website.
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7 June 2018 (UK-German Connection)
Are you interested in Europe, history and peace? Do you want to learn more about World War I and its consequences? Do you want to know how other societies experienced the war and how you can personally contribute to a peaceful future in and around Europe?
To commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War, the Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO), along with partners, is organising an International Youth Meeting in Berlin. The event will bring together 500 young people from across Europe and beyond to discuss topics such as war, peace and history in an international setting. It will take place from Wednesday 14 November – Sunday 18 November, 2018.
As a partner organisation, UK-German Connection are recruiting a group of 18-22 year olds from the UK to attend this youth event.
Visit the UK-German Connection website for more information and apply by 17 June 2018.
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6 June 2018 (eTwinning)
This term, why not apply to go on a short, fully-funded workshop in another European country?
Applications are now open for teachers of pupils aged 3-19 across a range of subject areas to attend a fully-funded 2-3 day professional development workshop in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, France and Greece.
These events are designed to facilitate new eTwinning projects through partner-finding and project planning activities. Workshop themes and subject areas are varied, spanning ICT, Maths, and sustainable development.
Find out about, request a free workshop in the UK or register for one or more of the available opportunities on the eTwinning website. Application deadline: 18 June 2018.
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5 June 2018 (British Council)
The International School Award (ISA) can help you to develop your pupils' literacy.
Classroom teachers like Natalie Richardson testify to the ISA’s effectiveness as a tool to improve the motivation of students to improve their spelling, grammar and handwriting. That’s because the international work that schools undertake to complete their journey to the ISA gives students an audience for their work. They want to improve their skills because they want to look good in front of an audience of their own peers.
The ISA changes the culture of a school by opening up the classroom to the world and enriching the curriculum with cross-curriculum work.
The International School Award works for all schools, primary and secondary, urban and rural, multicultural and monocultural, everyone has something to gain.
Register your interest and find out more on the British Council Schools Online website.
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Related Links
How to make an international outlook one of your core skills (TES, 5 March 2018). After achieving the British Council’s International School Award, one teacher explains how their school has taken international learning to the next level with a "fifth floor" approach to different languages and culture. Take inspiration from their experience.
10 May 2018 (National Library of Scotland)
A competition opens today (10 May) which invites young people to show in film what Scotland means to them. The competition has been organised by the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish Youth Film Festival as part of the Year of Young People.
Anyone under 19 years of age can submit a one-minute film on any theme, in any language and in any genre.
Visit the National Library of Scotland website for more information.
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24 April 2018 (Education Scotland)
National Digital Learning Week is an annual Education Scotland event where teachers and learners from all schools in Scotland are encouraged to take part in digital learning and teaching activities.
There are loads of ways to get involved in #NDLW18; the sky is the limit!
To help get things started Education Scotland are launching 2 main activities:
- An exclusive National Digital Story telling activity for 30 schools across Scotland with famous children’s author Lari Don.
- A digital story telling activity schools can enjoy in their local setting.
Why not use the local opportunity to create a digital story with your pupils in the language they are learning?
Find out more on the Education Scotland Glow blog.
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18 April 2018 (RZSS)
Spanish Days are being replaced with Spanish sessions at Edinburgh Zoo.
Suitable for P4-P7 and S1-S2, schools can now book their own date and time to suit.
Costs as per education rates at Edinburgh Zoo - £7 per pupil, with 1 adult per 7 children free of charge (Primary) and 1 adult per 10 children free of charge (Secondary). See how to book on the website.
Please use the booking form and choose 'Science in the Language Class - Spanish'.
Free resources are available to download to help your visit.
Spanish Packs are available at £50+VAT and £6 post and packing - details also on the website.
For further information or to purchase a pack contact Sandie Robb.
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10 April 2018 (UK-German Connection)
Together is a creative arts project, which invites young people to produce poetry, art, or songs on the themes of hope and unity, inspired by the shared history between the UK and Germany to mark the WW1 Centenary.
Open to all young people aged 9-16 working in groups or individually, projects should be on the theme of hope and unity, inspired by the First World War.
Poetry and songs can be in English, German, Gaelic or Welsh. Art work can be in any medium.
Visit the UK-German Connection website for more information. Entry deadline is Friday 15 June 2018.
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5 April 2018 (Dumbarton Reporter)
Budding linguists at St Mary’s Primary School in Alexandria celebrated their language skills with a French learning day.
Pupils were put into mixed groups of P1-3 and P4-7 and spent the day taking part in various activities including games, STEM tasks and letting their creative sides loose with some art.
The children also welcomed their parents into school for an afternoon to involve them in the fun and to show off their newly-acquired language skills.
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22 March 2018 (British Council eTwinning)
This term, why not apply to go on a short, fully-funded workshop in another European country?
Applications are now open for teachers of pupils aged 3-19 across a range of subject areas to attend a fully-funded 2-3 day professional development workshop in Turkey, Latvia, Norway and Armenia. These events are designed to facilitate new eTwinning projects through partner-finding and project planning activities. Workshop themes and subject areas are varied, spanning cultural diversity to SEN and the environment.
Visit the website for more information about each event and submit your application by 31 March 2018.
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20 March 2018 (Arsenal Double Club)
Calling all modern language teachers! As we look forward to this summer’s 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Arsenal Double Club are back with yet another FREE languages competition – open to all UK secondary schools – for boys and girls in Year 7 or 8 (S1 or S2 in Scotland).
In small groups, pupils must organise and run a language-themed football match or activity.
Visit the Double Club website for more information and to enter your school by 29 March 2018.
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23 October 2017 (UK-German Connection)
Calling all pupils interested in European issues! Take part in the Young Europeans Award and win a trip to Warsaw!
This initiative aims to encourage dialogue and exchange between young people in the 'Weimar Triangle' countries - Germany, France and Poland. For the 2017-18 round, the UK has been invited to take part as a guest country.
Teams of young people from within schools in Germany, France, Poland and the UK are invited to enter the competition (with support from their school) in groups of 6+ by sending in a collaborative creative project of their choice addressing the statement: 'To be or not to be...a European'.
Winning teams will have the opportunity to visit the Polish capital, Warsaw.
Applications should be submitted by 1 March 2018.
To find out more about the initiative and how to take part, visit the UK-German Connection website.
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11 October 2017 (European Parliament)
There's still time to apply for the third European Youth Event (EYE) which will be taking place 1-2 June 2018 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
EYE provides a unique opportunity for young Europeans, aged between 16 and 30, to make their voices heard and to come up with innovative ideas for the future of Europe.
EYE2018 includes a wide range of activities in English, French and German run under the motto "The plan is to fan this spark into a flame." (Hamilton, My Shot). The activities centre around five main themes:
- Young and old: Keeping up with the digital revolution
- Rich and poor: Calling for a fair share
- Apart and together: Working out for a stronger Europe
- Safe and dangerous: Staying alive in turbulent times
- Local and global: Protecting our planet
Visit the EYE2018 website for more information. Groups of at least 10 young people who want to take part need to register on the website between October and December 2017.
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9 October 2017 (SEET)
Euroquiz, the annual project for P6 pupils in Scotland, is once again open for those wishing to participate in 2018.
The project, which sees team of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe and the wider world, includes coverage of foreign languages, history, geography, sport, culture and European affairs.
Heats take place in every local authority from January to March 2018, 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 2018.
Visit the Scottish European Education Trust (SEET) website for more information about Euroquiz and how to register your school to take part.
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6 October 2017 (Scottish Book Trust)
- Are you 14-17 years old, living in Scotland, and care about creative writing and illustration?
- Do you want to meet other teens interested in creative writing and illustration?
- Do you want to improve your own creative skills?
- Do you want to help create events and resources for other teens?
- Do you want to show Scotland that teenagers make brilliant creative work?
If this sounds like you, read on to find out more about our What’s Your Story? Development Programme and how to apply to join us this year! It’s free to apply and to take part.
The programme invites and encourages Gaelic speakers to get involved.
Application deadline: 12 noon on Monday 16 October 2017.
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27 September 2017 (Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig)
An interdisciplinary resource which aims to provide Gaelic Medium Education teachers with a ‘one stop shop’ of topic-specific material for the classroom was launched at the national An t-Alltan conference for GME practitioners held in Aviemore last week.
An Dàrna Cogadh was developed by Gaelic educational resources organisation Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig in response to Gaelic Medium Education practitioners’ requests for a comprehensive teaching package, based online, on the subject of World War Two.
The online resource brings together many informative Gaelic texts and books— some created especially for this project — with a rich variety of other material from the wider world, including web, print and video. It is designed to support teachers delivering this subject in the primary sector.
Visit the website to access the resource and for more information see the attached press release.
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26 September 2017 (Times)
The STEM revolution sweeping schools has boosted the popularity of science subjects at university. However, what if scientifically gifted teens are not ready to give up history, English and the arts?
Universities are increasingly offering broader-based degrees based on US-style liberal arts courses. These hybrid STEAM (STEM plus arts) degrees enable students to combine a wide range of humanities, social sciences and natural sciences courses, according to what they are interested in. They also provide the opportunity to learn a language and study abroad for a year.
Subscription required to access full article
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22 September 2017 (SCILT/CISS)
Today sees the launch of this year's Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) multilingual poetry competition and we're delighted to announce the addition of a category for students in further and higher education, enabling all Scottish educational establishments to participate.
Whether pupils are learning a language at school, college or university, or whether they speak a native language at home, everyone can get involved in celebrating their linguistic and cultural diversity through creative poetry writing as there are options to enter in either the Mother Tongue or Other Tongue category. Even if you've taken part in the competition before, please note and read the new rules and criteria as only original work will be considered.
For more information about this year's competition and previous events, visit our MTOT website and register to take part! Closing date for registrations is 27 October 2017.
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20 September 2017 (Education Scotland)
2017 is the year of History, Heritage & Archaeology . To celebrate, Education Scotland are launching a Creative Writing competition at the Scottish Learning Festival on 20 September. Learners of any and all ages are invited to enter to win Scots Language books for their school. Learners should write a poem or short story of not more than 750 words in length. The story or poem must be written in Scots language – though can be in any dialect of Scots, as broad or unique as the writer would like.
Log onto Glow and join the Scots blether to be kept up to date on all information on the competition. Go to the
Visit Scotland website for more info on the 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.
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15 September 2017 (eTwinning)
eTwinning offers a platform for teachers to communicate, collaborate, share and develop projects with like-minded colleagues across Europe.
Visit the website to find out more about eTwinning and how being part of the community can benefit you and your pupils.
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14 September 2017 (SEET)
Want to get pupils more engaged in language learning and encourage uptake? Are you keen to improve their confidence and win an award or two? Then get involved!
SEET's Our World is a free film making project, run by the Scottish European Educational Trust, which is designed to encourage language learning and uptake among pupils. The project is open to any team of four from S3 - S6 (no previous film making knowledge is required) and last year resulted in over 88% of participant pupils saying they were more likely to take languages into their next year as a result of taking part.
All teams have to do to enter is come up with a creative idea for a film, based on this year's theme. Then, with our help teams put that idea into storyboard form and send it to us with an audio or video clip explaining it. The deadline for storyboard submissions is 4 December 2017.
Visit the website to find out more about the project and how to enter.
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6 September 2017 (UK-German Connection)
UK-German Connection offers a number of funded opportunities for schools in the UK to link with schools in Germany as well as providing resources and activities for the classroom and professional learning for teachers.
In their latest newsletter you can find out more about current opportunities, including:
- Deadline reminder: seas and oceans youth seminar
- Host a Teacher in 2018
- Voyage kids: back to school special
- Magical Christmas Trips
- Partnerships Bursaries
- Young Europeans Award
- Looking ahead
Find out more on their website.
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24 August 2017 (European Parliament)
The third European Youth Event (EYE) will be taking place 1-2 June 2018 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. It provides a unique opportunity for young Europeans, aged between 16 and 30, to make their voices heard and to come up with innovative ideas for the future of Europe.
EYE2018 includes a wide range of activities in English, French and German run under the motto "The plan is to fan this spark into a flame." (Hamilton, My Shot). The activities centre around five main themes:
- Young and old: Keeping up with the digital revolution
- Rich and poor: Calling for a fair share
- Apart and together: Working out for a stronger Europe
- Safe and dangerous: Staying alive in turbulent times
- Local and global: Protecting our planet
Visit the EYE2018 website for more information. Groups of at least 10 young people who want to take part need to register on the website between October and December 2017.
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24 August 2017 (British Council)
We offer many ways to help enhance learning and teaching in schools in Scotland. Raising attainment, building literacy and numeracy, and helping bridge the attainment gap are high on the schools agenda. An international dimension can be motivational for staff and learners, and has been shown to make a real difference in these priority areas.
Our professional development opportunities, curriculum resources and international linking programmes offer a range of exciting and innovative approaches to learning and raising attainment.
Our Bring the World into your School booklet details each of our programmes and shows how they have been developed to strengthen the delivery of Curriculum for Excellence. We also outline how international education can be used across Scotland to improve whole school performance.
Visit the website for more information about the Bring the World into your School initiative, the Learning for Sustainability programme, eTwinning, Erasmus+ funded projects and Language Assistants programme and how these can support and benefit Scottish schools.
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22 August 2017 (British Council / University of Edinburgh)
- Are you interested in Learning for Sustainability and implementing it in your school?
- Do you need practical help and support?
- Would you benefit from sharing your ideas with other professionals?
- Are you interested in developing or extending a British Council Professional Partnership with a school overseas?
If you have answered ‘yes' to these questions, then this course is for you!
This professional learning initiative by the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with the British Council, is a timely opportunity for teachers to grapple with what Learning for Sustainability means, what existing and new skills and knowledge are required, and how this might all look in the your school context. This 10-week active learning course takes a Learning for Sustainability approach, which involves critical thinking and problem solving, participation, and practitioner enquiry.
Visit the website to find out more and to register for the free online course commencing 22 September 2017.
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15 August 2017 (RZSS)
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) Beyond the Panda programme has been further revised and contains some new materials, in particular the new P1-P3 panda boxes.
The programme now has two main parts:
- China Mobile Library - loan of the panda boxes followed by an expert visit
- Outreach workshops - Education Officer led workshops
See the attached brochure for full details of the Beyond the Panda programme.
There's also an opportunity for schools to book a Beyond the Panda special event at Edinburgh Zoo during 'The Giant Lanterns of China' installation between December 2017 and February 2018. The session will include whole class interactive activities and Mandarin language games. See more information and how to book on The Giant Lanterns of China brochure attached.
You can also visit the website for more information about the RZSS and its activities.
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15 August 2017 (SCILT/CISS/Braehead PS)
The children of Braehead Primary have been making languages come alive through a collaborative project with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) at Stirling Castle. This project saw P5 pupils working in groups on a number of different tasks. The end result was a virtual tour of Stirling Castle in Chinese, signage in Chinese, language training for castle tour guides and maps of the castle in Chinese. Learners' literacy skills benefited from the project, and their understanding about the world of work increased.
You can see the film in Chinese, set within the castle walls, on the school’s YouTube channel. The film will be entered for the British Film Festival awards in London in October.
The project had a positive impact on the wider school community. The school has recently launched a Chinese character challenge. This is a whole-school competition where one character a week is introduced on their interactive wall in the dining hall – highly visible to all. At the end of term, pupils and teachers will take part in a quiz based on these characters with Chinese-themed prizes up for the taking! Pupils continue to produce language podcasts in Chinese and other languages. The podcasts can be accessed via the
Braehead Primary Languages Café on the school’s website.
There are six classes at Braehead learning Chinese as L3 from P4 to P6. The P5s are the trailblazers and have been learning the language for nearly two years.
Read the full case study of the project for replicable ideas for your own school context to support partnership working and help your school deliver on Developing the Young Workforce.
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Concours de la francophonie 2017 - final report
15 August 2017 (Institut français)
The Concours de la francophonie was launched in 2016 by the Institut français d'Ecosse to showcase the vitality of the French language in Scottish schools and to encourage all learners from P1 to S6.
To enter the competition schools sent in a short film of a class activity in French.
See the attached document for full details of the 2017 competition, winners and photographs.
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15 August 2017 (Theatre sans Accents)
Whether you want to perfect your French or your English, Theatre Sans Accents has the right workshop to suit your needs and your level!
No need to be fluent or an experienced actor, everyone is welcomed in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere!
Bookings are now being taken for Autumn term classes, with early bird discounts available.
Follow the appropriate link below to find out more about classes for adults and children:
For children:
For adults:
You can find out more about Theatre sans Accents and their other activities on the website.
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4 August 2017 (ABC News)
Video report from ABC News on South Australia's Department for Education and Child Development's (DECD) language immersion programmes in schools.
The news story highlights that in just six months students at two schools have immersed themselves in the French and Chinese language.
See the video online on the DECD Facebook page, or read an earlier published news item
'Adelaide schools finding success with bilingual classes in French and Chinese' on the policy (ABC, 23 June 2017).
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27 July 2017 (Language Show London)
This blogpost from Judith McKerrecher outlines the session she will be facilitating on behalf of Scotland’s National Centre for Languages (SCILT) and The Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS) at the Languages Show in London in October 2017.
As well as looking at and discussing the connections to the sustainable development goals, our planet and language learning, the session will explore a variety of contexts for language learning.
Having recently created a new project based professional learning menu, we have carefully considered the SDGs and this is reflected in the choices on offer. For example, the opportunity to combine science experiments with languages, geography, storytelling and outdoor learning or history with language, heritage, culture and nature is a breath of fresh air to language learning. In this way, languages can be used creatively and purposefully in new contexts.
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22 June 2017 (British Council)
If you're thinking about collaborating with an overseas partner school next term, Connecting Classrooms could be the programme for you.
The global education programme is brought to you by the British Council in partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID).
It offers a free learning journey which helps you to improve your classroom practice and develop your ideas with like-minded teachers internationally.
By developing and networking with thousands of teachers across the world, the British Council aims to help young people develop the knowledge, skills and values to live and work in a globalised economy.
Listen to participating teachers share their experiences, and learn more about how you can get involved, on the Connecting Classrooms website.
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21 June 2017 (UK-German Connection)
Provide your school with authentic German cultural input by hosting a teacher from Germany for two or three weeks, at no cost to you.
Schools do not need to be teaching German to apply and visits can take place at any time between September 2017 and July 2018. Deadlines 10 July(*) and 21 September 2017 (**).
(*) If you’d like to host in the autumn term 2017
(**) if you’d like to host in spring / summer 2018
Visit the UK-German Connection website for more information and to apply.
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11 June 2017 (Preston Street Primary)
Thursday the 8th June was an important date for P6 and not because Theresa May decided to have her snap election that day. P6 at Preston Street Primary managed to secure themselves an opportunity to attend a South American Spanish Day event at Edinburgh Zoo.
To start the day off P6 had a short introduction via a video from Dr. Arnaud Desbiez who manages the RZSS South American projects. This was followed by Sandie Robb explaining a new initiative ‘Science in the Language Class’ which links to RZSS conservation projects to language learning. This led into a fun quiz which covered facts about some South American animals and included Spanish questions on numbers, colours and parts of the body. Afterwards, a gentleman by the name of Xabier San Isidro told us his story of how his love for languages shaped his life.
Read more...
9 June 2017 (UK-German Connection)
UK-German Connection offers a number of opportunities for UK schools to partner with a school in Germany. The following options are currently available. Follow the appropriate link for more information:
Visit the UK-German Connection website to find out more about all their activities.
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16 May 2017 (European Parliament)
Euroscola brings together about 600 students from all over the European Union for a day in Strasbourg discussing aspects of European integration, in multilingual working groups of 100 students. It is open to students aged 16-18 and the European Parliament offers a subsidy towards the costs of the journey to Strasbourg.
As working groups consist of students from several member states it is essential that participants have a sound knowledge of at least one other European Union language. For practical purposes knowledge of French is necessary as during the "committee" meetings in the afternoon, students are expected to think and speak in a language other than their mother tongue. The debates are held mainly in French and English.
Dates for the autumn term 2017 are now available.
To find out more and to apply, visit the Euroscola website.
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16 May 2017 (SEET)
Congratulations to the P6 team from Comely Park Primary School, who won the Scottish European Educational Trust’s National Euroquiz Final 2017, which took place in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament on 15th May 2017.
Team members Tamsin Gold, Edwin Walker, Robyn Dewar-Young and Jaymie Jones were crowned SEET’s Euroquiz Champions 2017 at the national final. The winners were closely followed by St Leonard’s Primary School team from South Lanarkshire, in a nail-biting final round. Sciennes Primary School from Edinburgh also did incredibly well, winning the prize for third place.
Euroquiz is run by the Scottish European Educational Trust, a non-political charity, which promotes education about language learning, Europe and the wider world amongst Scotland’s young people.
See the attached press release for full details about this year's competition and participating schools.
If your school might like to take part in future competitions, visit the SEET website for more information.
Read more...
Related Links
Third Place in Euroquiz 2017! (Sciennes Primary School, 15 May 2017) - post includes photos and links to the event on Parliament TV.
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9 May 2017 (Digilearn)
National Digital Learning Week takes place from 15-19 May 2017.
This year the theme of the week is ‘Digital Difference’ and throughout the week you’re invited to share and celebrate the digital approaches which make a positive impact on your classroom practice.
Why not use this opportunity to share any digital approaches you have to language teaching and learning in your classroom?
Visit the website to find out more about how you can participate and be inspired.
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9 May 2017 (ECML)
The EOL ECML project “Learning environments where modern languages flourish” has already succeeded in recruiting 99 partner schools and teachers in ten different countries; we will continue to accept new partner schools until the end of July 2017.
This European network of project partner schools will not only support one another in developing innovative approaches to establishing language friendly learning environments through an exchange of relevant resources, research and practice, but will have dedicated support from the project team throughout the lifespan of their school projects.
Visit the ECML website for more information and to register to join the EOL network.
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5 May 2017 (SCILT)
We're pleased to announce the SCILT website has been updated and details of this year's Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) multilingual poetry competition award celebration held at the SEC, Glasgow in March are now available.
Here you can see photos of our winning performers, read the anthology of winning entries, access press articles and see feedback from pupils, teachers and parents.
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25 April 2017 (SCILT)
A series of five successful Business Brunch events organised by SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages in partnership with the University Council for Modern Languages Scotland took place this year where 535 learners from S3-S6 were given the opportunity to hear from a wide range of exciting business leaders who view language skills as key to the growth and success of their company.
The events demonstrated the relevance of language skills in a work context and aimed to encourage pupils to continue with their language studies into the senior phase of their secondary education, and beyond school.
Find out more about the events on our new Business Brunch 2017 webpage.
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24 April 2017 (UK-German Connection)
Broaden your pupils' horizons and enhance your school's international dimension by linking with a German school. Find out how to set up and develop a partnership with a German school, including practical tips and advice on joint activities, projects and visits to Germany.
Visit the UK-German Connection website for more information.
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Photo exhibition workshops for primary schools: “Objectif sport”
20 April 2017 (Alliance Française)
The Alliance Française in Glasgow is organising educational workshops around sport and the French language in May and June. Through games and activities in French, pupils will learn about sport, sporting events and the values attached to them.
The workshops are designed for primary school pupils and their teachers (P3/P6) who visit the photo exhibition and are free of charge.
See the attached flyer for more information and booking instructions.
27 March 2017 (European Commission)
The European Commission presented today an initiative under the Erasmus+ programme which further supports learning and mobility of young Europeans. Called "Move2Learn, Learn2Move", it will enable at least 5,000 young citizens to travel to another EU country in a sustainable manner – individually or together with their school class. The one-off initiative, which is linked to the 30th anniversary of the Erasmus programme, is consistent with two central priorities of the Commission: to put a renewed focus on Europe's youth, and to facilitate EU citizens' mobility, particularly low emission mobility.
Move2Learn, Learn2Move builds on an idea put forward by the European Parliament in 2016. It will be implemented through eTwinning, the world's biggest teachers' network. Part of Erasmus+, it enables teachers and pupils across Europe to develop projects together through an online platform.
[..] The initiative will be open to school classes of students aged 16 and above taking part in eTwinning.
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27 March 2017 (ECML)
This online questionnaire is part of an ECML project called "Developing language awareness in subject classes". It targets subject teachers (mathematics, history, science, physical education etc.) and teacher trainers who:
- are experienced in teaching students at the age of 12/13 with a different language background, and/or
- take an interest in developing their students’ academic, subject specific language.
It takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Visit the ECML website to access the questionnaire.
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28 February 2017 (SCILT / Traidcraft)
#mfltwitterati it’s Fairtrade Fortnight! Please tweet @scottishcilt and @FairtradeUKEd the lesson ideas and resources that you’re using with your learners as a meaningful context for language learning #Fairtrade.
We’ve already found these from @traidcraft, tell us what you think.
- Explore the world of cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire with a range of teaching resources for learners of French at 2nd level, 3rd level and in the Senior Phase.
- Explore a range of resources relating to Apicoop - honey and blueberry producers in Chile. Aimed at 2nd level learners of Spanish materials include a poster, an advert and a game.
Read more...
10 February 2017 (Education Scotland)
This translation competition is open to all children and young people in both Gaelic Learner and Gaelic Medium Education.
There are nine English and eight Gaelic posters of Scotland’s scientists available on the National Improvement Hub. One of the Gaelic posters is missing- Alexander Graham Bell.
Children and young people are invited to translate a short biography on Alexander Graham Bell into Gaelic. This is an exciting opportunity to have your work shared nationally and to feature alongside the other eight scientist biographies available on the National Improvement Hub. Your work could support learners of Gaelic across Scotland.
For more information visit the Education Scotland Learning Blog. Entries should be submitted by 3 March 2017.
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MTOT 2016-17 winners announced!
10 February 2017 (SCILT)
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate everyone who took part in this year's Mother Tongue Other Tongue multilingual poetry competition for schools in Scotland. We had a wonderful variety of entries and appreciated the creative effort that went into the submissions.
Selecting the finalists for this year's anthology was incredibly difficult for the judges. However, after considerable deliberation, we're pleased to now be able to announce the winners in each category along with highly commended entries which will also feature in the MTOT anthology of poems.
Mother Tongue
| Category | Award | Name | School |
| P1 – P3 | Winner | Jan Piwowarczyk (Polish) | St Benedict’s Primary |
| | Highly commended | Kacper Jodelka (Polish) | St John Ogilvie Primary |
| P4 – P6 | Winner | Laith Kabour (Arabic) | St John Ogilvie Primary |
| | Highly commended | Ashley Li (Mandarin) | St James’ Primary |
| | Highly commended | Amira Shaaban and Aidah Abubaker (Swahili) | St Rose of Lima Primary |
| | Highly commended | Caroline Rotimi and Joolade Adekoya (Yoruba) | St Maria Goretti Primary |
| P7 – S1 | Winner | Miriam Espinosa (Catalan) | St James’ Renfrew |
| | Highly commended | Lemuel Pascual (Filipino) | St James’ Renfrew |
| | Highly commended | Noemi Dzurjanikova (Slovak) | St Rose of Lima |
| S2 – S3 | Winner | Stefan Benyak (Hungarian) | Castlehead High |
| | Highly commended | Éva Tallaron (French) | Royal High |
| Senior Phase | Winner | Boglarka Balla (Hungarian) | Graeme High |
| | Highly commended | Ayesha Mujeb (Urdu) | George Heriot’s |
| | Highly commended | Nadya Clarkson (Russian) | George Heriot’s |
Other Tongue
| Category | Award | Name | School |
| P1 – P3 | Winner | Julia Gawel (Scots) | Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary |
| P4 – P6 | Winner(s) | Nathan Watson and Aiden Wardrop (French) | Johnshaven Primary |
| | Highly commended | Jack Shaw (German) | Gartcosh Primary |
| | | Eva Campbell (German) | Gartcosh Primary |
| P7 – S1 | Winner | Rosalind Turnbull (French) | Doune Primary |
| | Highly commended | Samuel Kassm, Theo Wilson, Emma Cullen and Darren Campbell (French, Spanish, Italian, Urdu, Scots) | Battlefield Primary |
| S2 – S3 | Winner | Simi Singh (French) | Graeme High |
| | Highly commended | Ciara Wilkie (French) | St Margaret’s Academy |
| Senior Phase | Winner | Jordanna Bashir (French) | Shawlands Academy |
| | Highly commended | Holly Mincher (Spanish) | St Andrew’s |
| | Highly commended | Rachel Cairns (French) | Graeme High |
Well done to everyone who took part in the competition. It's been a marvellous celebration of the various languages spoken in our communities. You should all be very proud of your work.
To mark participation in the competition, registered schools will shortly be sent a certificate which can be printed out and presented to pupils who took part. The finalists above will be invited in due course to receive theirs at the MTOT celebration event on 11 March.
Thank you all once again and keep writing!
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3 February 2017 (British Council eTwinning)
Interested in eTwinning and partnering with schools across Europe on collaborative projects? Check out the professional development opportunities in the UK and overseas for both primary and secondary sectors.
Visit the British Council eTwinning website for more information.
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26 January 2017 (UK-German Connection)
A reminder that the next deadline for grants for UK-German activities is 31 January 2017.
For an 'at a glance' overview of our grants and details about each programme, please visit the UK-German Connection website.
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19 January 2017 (RZSS)
Conservation charity the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) is excited to announce the official launch of its brand new ‘Panda Pass It On’ game for schools. The game, which is part of the conservation organisation’s Beyond the Panda education programme, launched at four schools in all four corners of Scotland on Tuesday 17 January: St. Patrick’s, South Ayrshire; Lasswade High, Midlothian, Portree Primary, Isle of Skye and Forehill Primary, Aberdeen.
With only four copies of the game available, the intention is for schools to keep the fun, learning resource for a week before passing it on to other schools. The panda games will hopefully make their way across Scotland, with each school logging their location through a QR code on the back of the game, which will allow RZSS to follow the games as they travel.
Sandie Robb, Senior Education Officer at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said: “I’m incredibly excited about the launch of the Panda Pass It On game. It is the first of its kind and is a fun way for children to learn more about China, its history, culture and language as well as their famous animals, the giant pandas. It will be really interesting to track the games as they travel to different schools.”
The game forms an introduction to the Beyond the Panda education programme, which is designed to promote cross-curricular learning, with pupils investigating and discovering more about China. The materials cover Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes in science, topical science, social studies, language and literacy. This is delivered through an outreach programme with fun, interactive games led by an education officer from RZSS, or in the case of the Panda Pass It On game, by itself.
The programme is sponsored by the Confucius Institute for Scotland at the University of Edinburgh with support from the Scotland China Education Network and the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools at the University of Strathclyde.
For more information, please visit the RZSS Beyond the Panda website.
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18 January 2017 (Glasgow Film)
The programme for Glasgow Film Festival 2017 has just been announced!
More than 310 separate events and screenings of films from 38 countries will show across the city from 15 – 26 February in one of the UK’s biggest film festivals. The event offers several special screenings for schools, which this year includes the following foreign language options:
- Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (PG) - 6-8 February (French, English subtitles)
- Ma Revolution (N/C 15+) - 3-8 February (French, English subtitles)
- The Olive Tree (N/C 15+) - 7 February (Spanish/German with English subtitles)
- Shorts for Wee Ones (N/C 3+) - 9 February (English, French or dialogue free)
- The Golden Dream (N/C 12+) - 9 February (Spanish & Tzotzil with English subtitles)
- Zip Zap & The Captain's Island (N/C 8+) - 9 February (Spanish)
There are also CPD opportunities for teachers and workshops for pupils. Visit the 'What's on for Schools' page of the GFT website for full details and to book.
Tickets go on sale to Glasgow Film Festival Members at noon on Thursday 19 January and on general sale at 10am on Monday 23 January.
Visit the GFT website for more information.
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Japan days for schools
16 January 2017 (RZSS)
Come along to our Japan days at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park, held in partnership with the Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies youth StampIT programme.
Experience a day at the park to visit the Japanese macaques along with an educational session using games and activities to learn about Japanese language and culture. Suitable for P6/7 and S1 levels. Entrance to the park is free for these special pilot events but places are limited and booking is essential.
Places available on Wednesday 8 March or Wednesday 15 March 2017. First come, first served. Contact Sandie Robb srobb@rzss.org.uk for further details and booking information.
6 January 2017 (ALL / SOAS)
Run by SOAS, University of London, the Languages Challenge is now in its third year.
The Languages Challenge is a collaborative project aimed at students in year 8, 9 & 10 (S2-S4). Students have a choice of task and a choice of which languages they use in each of them. The aim of the challenge is to:
- provide students with opportunities to actively engage with languages
- encourage independent study and a range of soft skills like team-work, planning, leadership and negotiation skills
- raise awareness of the cross-curricular opportunities in language studies
Students are encouraged to use oral as well as written skills, to plan each task, conduct research and produce multiple drafts. They must take different roles and complete a short reflective report for each task.
Attached is a Teacher Information Pack, which is also available to download on the ALL website along with further information about how to take part.
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6 January 2017 (British Council)
Spark enthusiasm for international learning by getting your school community on board with the International School Award.
Managed by the British Council, the International School Award is a supportive and motivational framework that guides schools through their international work. With three certified levels, and free in the UK, the award will take you from introducing international work to the curriculum, to embedding it within your school’s culture.
Following an accessible methodology you will forge links with partner schools around the world, enhance your curriculum and prepare your students for life as global citizens.
Visit the British Council Schools Online website to find out more about how your school can grow and develop with the International School Award and read the article below from the British Council Voices blog which offers advice on 'Six ways to make your school more international.'
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Related Links
Six ways to make your school more international (British Council Voices blog, 14 November 2016)
Mathématiques sans frontières
6 January 2017 (North Lanarkshire Council)
North Lanarkshire Council and Heriot Watt University are once again jointly organising the world-wide Maths and Language competition “Mathématiques sans Frontières” in Scotland.
Schools are invited to participate in this stimulating and light-hearted competition for S4 and S5 which combines Maths and Modern Languages and aims to motivate pupils.
The competition itself will be held on Tuesday 7 March 2017 and schools wishing to participate should complete the proforma attached and return by 27 January 2017. There is also a training test available for download.
See the attachments for more information and to register your school.
12 December 2016 (Heriot-Watt University)
Heriot-Watt University's Multilingual Debate is an annual event showcasing the interpreting skills of undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The 2017 Debates will take place on Wednesday 22 March with two multilingual teams arguing for and against a motion of topical interest in a range of languages. There are two Debates; one in the morning, one in the afternoon.
The Multilingual Debates are open to schools, colleges and universities and aim to stimulate interest and dialogue among young people in the international politics and social issues of the modern world whilst also setting language acquisition in a realistic context.
The topics for the 2017 Debates have just been announced and can be viewed on the YouTube video.
Visit the Heriot-Watt website for further information.
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BSL
3 November 2016 (British Council)
Shakespeare Lives in Schools Day will be marked in schools all over the world by children of all ages on Friday 2 December 2016. We are inviting you and your school to join in a global celebration of Shakespeare in this special 400th anniversary year.
Visit the British Council Schools Online website to discover how you can get involved. Many of the suggested activities could be adapted to the languages classroom or worked on with an overseas partner school.
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28 October 2016 (European Parliament)
Since 2008, the European Parliament together with the ‘Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen’ have each year been inviting young people from all EU Member States to submit projects run by and for youth showing an active participation in the development of Europe.
Young people aged between 16 and 30 from any EU Member States can submit projects for the European Charlemagne Youth Prize. Projects can be submitted individually or, preferably, in groups.
This year's competition is now open and invites projects on EU development, integration and European identity issues which must be submitted by 30 January 2017.
Visit the website for more information.
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24 October 2016 (SEET)
SEET is very pleased to announce that Euroquiz 2016-17 has now officially launched! We run an annual Euroquiz for P6 pupils, promoting education about Europe and encouraging the development of foreign language skills and intercultural competencies amongst young people in Scotland.
If you are interested in finding out more about Euroquiz, visit the SEET website where you can watch our promo video, or contact jane@seet.org.uk. Primary schools will receive information via their local authority including a registration form.
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Italian,
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21 October 2016 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut London invites German teachers and their pupils to take part in this competition series requiring language and computer skills alike! The topic this year is Digital D.
Several categories for different levels of language skills are provided. Primary teachers and secondary teachers can choose which competition they think suits their students’ best.
To take part in the competition, visit the website and submit the registration form by 10 November 2016.
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21 October 2016 (Institut français)
The Institut français d'Écosse is pleased to announce the launch of the second edition of our new Concours de la francophonie to encourage all young French learners and their teachers across Scotland.
The competition is open to primary and secondary pupils and involves producing a short video in French which should be submitted by 14 December 2016.
See the attached flyer for more information about the competition and how to take part. You can also see pictures from the first edition competition on the Institut français website.
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Technology,
News from language & education organisations
13 October 2016 (TES)
I have the privilege to work with one of the best PE teachers I know. Her name is Charlotte and we’ve been sharing not only the same office this year, but the same ideas, sometimes, and the same passion for teaching.
[..] But the event I have enjoyed the most was sports week, at the end of the summer term. It was a great chance for me to familiarise myself with one of the new methods in teaching a foreign language: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Shortly- CLIL.
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12 October 2016 (SEET)
Our Europe 2016-17 is now open for registration!
The film-making competition for S3-S6 pupils is an annual competition run by the Scottish European Educational Trust. Teams of 4 design a storyboard outlining the film they propose to make based on the competition theme. This year the topic is global citizenship, specifically addressing one of the following themes:
- Travel and Leisure
- Migration and welcome
- Trade
As always, films must include the use of at least one language other than English. This year any and all languages will be accepted in entries. All teams have to do is put their ideas into a storyboard and send them to SEET by 8 December 2016.
For more information, visit SEET's Our Europe competition website.
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9 October 2016 (British Council)
The British Council are holding a series of free webinars during October and November that aim to support schools with submission of the Action plan for Accreditation/Reaccreditation level of the International School Award prior to the deadline on 13 November 2016.
Visit the Schools Online website for further details and to register.
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6 October 2016 (SCILT)
Today is National Poetry Day and the theme this year is 'Messages'. To mark the occasion we've created our own triolet poem in French on this theme.
You can see the poem on the National Poetry Day webpage of our MTOT website. We hope it will provide some inspiration for those taking part in the Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition in Scotland! There are lots of other poetry resources on our website too. So take a look and get creative!
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Resources,
SCILT news
30 September 2016 (European Parliament)
Euroscola brings together about 600 students from all over the European Union for a day in Strasbourg discussing aspects of European integration, in multilingual working groups of 100 students. It is open to students aged 16-18 and the European Parliament offers a subsidy towards the costs of the journey to Strasbourg.
As working groups consist of students from several member states it is essential that participants have a sound knowledge of at least one other European Union language. For practical purposes knowledge of French is necessary as during the "committee" meetings in the afternoon, students are expected to think and speak in a language other than their mother tongue. The debates are held mainly in French and English.
Applications are now open for dates between January and May 2017.
To find out more and to apply, visit the Euroscola website.
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27 September 2016 (UK-German Connection)
This special flexible funding scheme is designed to bring young people of the UK and Germany together to facilitate an exchange of ideas, joint learning and open discussions on special topics and current issues.
Funding is available for schools and youth groups in the UK and Germany for grants of between £500 and £5000. Activities must be joint and bilateral (UK-German) with a high level of interaction between the young people.
Current themes available under the flexible funding scheme:
- World War 1
- Our future in Europe - maintaining the UK-German connection
Visit the UK-German connection website for further information about the scheme and guidelines for applying.
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19 September 2016 (Erasmus+)
Erasmus+ will be holding a series of free half-day information sessions in 6 venues across the UK.
The sessions are for any organisation in the UK working in the sectors of education, training, youth or sport. These events will provide an overview of the funding opportunities available under Erasmus+ in 2017, and are primarily intended for newcomers to the programme.
There will be a session in Glasgow on Wednesday 2 November 2016.
For information on all the locations and to register your place, visit the Erasmus+ website.
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Mathematiques sans Frontieres 2016
20 June 2016 (North Lanarkshire Council)
North Lanarkshire Council in association with Heriot Watt University once again organised 
the “Mathematiques sans Frontieres” competition across Scotland this year.
63 teams took part from 39 schools and 18 schools entered an S5 team.
The competition requires one question to be answered using a foreign language.
The winners in S4 were Renfrew High and the S5 winners and overall winners were St Aloysius College.
The prize giving was held on Friday 17 June at Heriot Watt University. Gavin Reid gave an informative talk on probability which resulted in one lucky pupil winning an Amazon gift voucher!
8 June 2016 (Education Scotland)
The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education has forwarded on this invite from the Italian Ministry for a Scottish secondary school to participate in a learning experience focused on global interdependence, rights, migration, asylum seekers and refugees.
The successful school would engage pupils in preparatory learning experiences in their own school during September to prepare for a conference in Lampedusa, Italy, in October.
Visit Education Scotland's Learning Blog for more information about the opportunity. Schools should apply by 16 June 2016.
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31 May 2016 (British Council)
Connecting Classrooms is a global education programme brought to you by the British Council in partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID).
It offers a free learning journey which helps you to improve your classroom practice and develop your ideas with like-minded teachers internationally.
By developing and networking with thousands of teachers across the world, the British Council aims to help young people develop the knowledge, skills and values to live and work in a globalised economy.
To find out more about the programme and how to take part, visit the British Council Schools Online website, where you can also hear a participating teacher reflect on her time visiting Nigeria with Connecting Classrooms.
Read more...
16 May 2016 (British Council eTwinning)
Do your students want to learn to negotiate in an international environment?
Don't forget you can now apply to be one of 30 schools from across England and Scotland to take part in the annual Mock Council of the European Union, to be held at the Foreign Office in London on Thursday 17 November.
In the Mock Council, 30 schools are each assigned the role of an EU member state or an EU institution and simulate a meeting of the EU's Council of Ministers on two topical EU policy proposals. Two students from each school must research these policy areas and represent their adopted country or institution at the Council meeting.
Students are encouraged to use foreign languages where possible in the discussions to reflect the multilingual nature of the EU; interpretation into English is provided.
This year there will be an additional role for one school to represent 'the media'. The aim of this role will be to generate interest before, during and after the event, through interviewing participating schools.
Applications are welcome from secondary and further education colleges across England and Scotland. The application deadline is 29 May 2016.
Further information and application forms can be found on the Mock Council 2016 website, along with highlights from the 2015 event.
Read more...
6 May 2016 (TESS)
Some 1,000 children gathered in Perth for a musical event celebrating an imaginative approach to the national 1+2 primary school languages policy.
"The Art of Music Ooh La La La" brought P5-7s to the city's concert hall to sing French songs inspired by famous paintings.
Read the full item in TESS online 6 May 2016 edition, page 8, 'A week in primary' section (subscription required).
Read more...
Related Links
Singing days get a French twist in 2016 (Perth & Kinross Council, April 2016)
4 May 2016 (eTwinning)
A recent survey carried out as part of the eTwinning project, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2015, shows incredibly positive results about its impact on the teachers' community. An overwhelming majority of the project's participants say that it has helped them improve their skills in various different areas.
eTwinning is, evidently, affecting teachers’ professional practice and development substantially. More than 90 per cent of the 6,000 teachers who participated in the survey said eTwinning had improved their competence in teaching transversal skills. In other words, team work, creativity, problem-solving and decision-making.
What’s more, 89 per cent of the teachers reported that their foreign language skills for teaching and project-based teaching skills were improved due to the eTwinning community. 80 per cent said that they were better prepared for multicultural and multilingual scenarios after joining eTwinning projects.
Read more...
Related Links
eTwinning online training, workshops and courses - information about webinars and short online sessions taking place between May and June 2016.
Burscough Village Primary celebrate eTwinning Day (eTwinning UK, 11 May 2016) - Year 5 pupils from the school tell in this video what eTwinning means to them.
3 May 2016 (eTwinning)
Want to get started on your eTwinning journey? The following two webinar sessions will help you find out all you need to know.
- Step 1 - Finding your eTwinning partner (17 May, 4.30-5.30pm)
- Step 2 - Starting your eTwinning project (19 May, 4.30-5.30pm)
Visit the webinar website to find out more and sign up for one or both of the sessions.
For more information about eTwinning generally and see example projects, visit the British Council's eTwinning website.
Read more...
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News from language & education organisations
29 April 2016 (SCILT)
The celebration event for MTOT 2015-16 saw 20 award winners receive their prizes on the main Piazza stage at the SECC on Saturday 12 March 2016 as part of the wider Language Show Live Scotland event.
Pupils took the opportunity to perform their poems and rhymes to the audience, showcasing the many languages used by children and young people both in school and at home. The event drew in a huge crowd, with passers-by stopping to also see and hear their work.
Find out more about the day on our MTOT Celebration Event webpage, where you can also find links to the list of winners, pupil videos and recitals, the anthology, press articles and photos from the event.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone again for their support and participation, which helped make the competition and celebration such a success. We hope to run MTOT again next year, so make sure you sign up to our e-bulletin for updates, or follow us on our social media sites Twitter or Facebook.
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SCILT news
29 March 2016 (eTwinning)
Thinking about linking your class with another through an eTwinning project? Read the latest publication from the British Council eTwinning team which contains an inspiring collection of testimonials from former participants in eTwinning projects.
Many of the interviewed young people consider eTwinning to be the most motivating
and enjoyable way to learn. Their experiences with eTwinning have helped them to
develop their language and ICT skills, as well as an understanding of different cultures,
in line with the goals set out at the launch of the platform back in 2005. But there is
much more to it.
See the book 'eTwinning Generation - Celebrating Ten Years of eTwinning' and visit the website to find out how to start your own eTwinning journey.
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Citizenship,
CPD,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Cross-Sector Working,
Cultural Diversity,
Funding,
Language Learning,
Partnership Working,
Study Abroad,
Teacher Education,
Twinning,
News from language & education organisations
29 March 2016 (Southern Reporter)
The Abbotsford Trust and Burgh Primary School,
Galashiels have been working on a project exploring Sir Walter Scott’s famous home.
Primary 6 pupils have recently visited Abbotsford to try out three different sessions from the Abbotsford Schools Programme.
Pupils explored the historic house and wrote poems based on the treasures that Sir Walter Scott collected, and met Mrs Oakley, a visitor from Scott’s day with lots of weird and wonderful traditional tales to share.
They also discovered Sir Walter’s life and work in the visitor centre exhibition and created drawings of the house and its grotesque clay gargoyles.
Pupils then used what they discovered and learned back in the classroom to create a timeline of Scott’s life, where they also investigated differences between life then and now using a range of primary sources.
Pupils also created interactive games, thought about planning and budgeting for a visit too Abbotsford, identified French vocabulary to describe some of the artefacts in the house and wrote their own evaluation reports reflecting on their visits.
Read more...
8 March 2016 (ECML)
2016 sees the start of two new projects run by the ECML. Follow the relevant links for more information.
- 'Digital literacy for the teaching/ learning of languages' - started in January 2016 and will run until December 2018. In response to the shortage of teacher training opportunities in digital literacy across Europe, the project provides a basis for a teaching methodology which integrates digital technologies. This will be done through a range of online interactions for teachers, plus a critical use of digital tools and resources to develop language and intercultural skills.
- 'Languages at the heart of learning' (2016-19) - along with a new 'Language for Work' project with the focus being on the professional development of practitioners involved in work‐related language learning for adult migrants including refugees and ethnic minorities, who are often facing language difficulties by the integration into the labour market. The project creates tools and resources to support teachers, teacher educators, providers and other actors in the field.
Find out more about the ECML and their range of activities on their website or via their most recent newsletter, the European Language Gazette 30 - February/March 2016..
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25 February 2016 (THE)
In the very near future, the Arts and Humanities Research Council will announce the large projects that it will finance over the next four years as part of its Open World Research Initiative.
The scheme seeks to provide “a new and exciting vision for languages research in response to the challenges and opportunities presented by a globalized research environment”. While the individual projects will no doubt be excellent, they will also address a range of broader issues at the heart of the study of modern languages today.
In common with any other subject, modern languages needs to articulate a strong sense of what it stands for (especially considering the national decline in its provision) and why it is important. Equally, in an age that is increasingly defined as post-national and mobile, all research and teaching must confront the reality of globalisation. If one works on a European culture – and I write as an Italianist – then one has, more and more, to explain its relevance in global terms.
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18 February 2016 (Goethe-Institut)
Our new touring exhibition "Inventions from Germany" takes place from 21 March to 1 April 2016 and focuses on ground-breaking, German inventions which affect the daily lives of each of us and does so in an interactive way.
The exhibition promotes the concept of STEM teaching combined with German and is suitable for both, German-oriented and science-oriented school classes. We offer a guided programme (one-hour slots) with worksheet activities for school classes (group size up to 30, S4 to S6). Beginners are welcome too as English translations are provided.
Visit the Goethe-Institut Glasgow website for further information and to book a slot.
The exhibition is also accompanied by a dedicated website with more detailed information and resources:
Read more...
11 February 2016 (British Council)
There are three entry points to the International School Award: Foundation, Intermediate and Accreditation. The level your school is at will depend on how much international work you have already done.
Hosting a language assistant automatically qualifies you for the Foundation Level of the International School Award.
Visit the British Council Schools Online website for more information.
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25 January 2016 (ECML:)
On 15 January Maria Jesús Frígols moderated the webinar “Techno-CLIL for EVO 2016” which was devoted to the implementation of CLIL through the use of ICT.
Visit the ECML website for further information on this and their other Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) related projects and resources.
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11 January 2016 (Erasmus+)
Schools planning to apply for Erasmus+ funding in 2016 can benefit from tailored information and support to increase your chances of making a successful application. This includes live Q&A webinars taking place between January and March and pre-recorded webinars giving overviews and advice on completing applications.
Further links and details can be found in the Erasmus+ January bulletin which can be accessed online.
Read more...
15 December 2015 (The Guardian)
More than 341,000 teachers from across Europe have registered on www.eTwinning.net, a programme which enables schools to collaborate internationally using a safe, virtual environment.
Managed in the UK by the British Council, the initiative has grown in size and impact since it launched 10 years ago, with benefits including improved academic achievement for students – especially around communication, language and ICT skills – and increased motivation for staff and students alike.
But timetables are under pressure and accountability is intense, so proving the benefits of the approach in the classroom is of the utmost importance.
As international education co-ordinator, Andrée Jordan, says: “We know that international collaboration leads to improvement of motivation, learning and inspiration, but it’s so hard to prove – and people need proof.”
Here’s how some of the UK’s most successful “eTwinners” have evaluated and communicated the impact of their projects.
Read more...
British Council news
30 November 2015 (British Council Schools Online)
The British Council has a number of resources and partnership working opportunities they offer to schools in the UK. Below are some of their forthcoming developments with a language or international element which may be of interest to teachers:
- Shakespeare lives - Designed as a cross-curricular activity pack which could also be part of project with a partner school overseas, this resource will be available mid-December and will be available in Welsh, Chinese and Arabic.
- Teaching the core skills - In today’s globalised world children not only need to be able to communicate and collaborate; they also need to be prepared to do so interculturally, in diverse and often multilingual settings. More information about teaching the communication and collaboration module can be accessed on page 14 of the brochure: Unlocking a world of potential. Sign up to Schools Online to access the training package.
- Employ a language assistant in Scottish schools - Employing a British Council Language Assistant is a unique way to broaden your pupils' understanding of the world, improve their language skills and increase their cultural awareness. See the online video. Applications open 4 January 2016.
- International School Award (ISA) - Read about Portlethen Academy's cross-curricular project which took them to France and earned them an ISA in recognition of the global dimension of their work.
Posted in:
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News from language & education organisations
26 November 2015 (British Council)
1 July 2016 will mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme. Representatives of governments from around the world, veterans, military and community representatives will gather as a memorial to one of the bloodiest battles in history as a sign of hope and commitment to not suffer such loss again.
As a symbol for the future, 600 young people from schools in France and in the UK will participate in the ceremony. As living memory of the battle dies, engagement with young people is essential to sustain awareness of the significance of World War I, and the importance of UK-France relations in continuing peace and stability in Europe.
This is an opportunity for your school to take part in this historic moment. Your school must teach French as part of the curriculum and be committed to building a sustainable partnership with a French school.
Full details can be found on the British Council website. The closing date for expressions of interest: 11 December 2015.
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23 November 2015 (Global Education Conference)
The 6th annual Global Education Conference, a free week-long online event, brought together educators and innovators from around the world from 16-19 November 2015.
The conference seeks to present ideas, examples, and projects related to connecting educators and classrooms with a strong emphasis on promoting global awareness, fostering global competency, and inspiring action towards solving real–world problems.
Recordings of the presentations at this year's event are now available online. In addition to a host of sessions on the theme of connecting classrooms worldwide for cultural understanding and collaborative projects, language teachers may also be particularly interested in the sessions 'Technology as a possibility to value language teaching profession' and 'Global collaborations: world language and STEM '
Visit the website to access the full list of recorded sessions.
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2 November 2015 (Mr P's ICT blog)
As a follow-up to the successful project last year, we will once again be looking to connect classrooms across the world. In the lead up to Christmas, you can deepen your understanding of different Christmas traditions by asking other children from around the world about how they celebrate Christmas in their community.
This is a great IDL opportunity combining global connections with ICT.
Visit the website to register your class for this free project!
Read more...
26 October 2015 (TES)
School is an alternative reality. This thought is prompted by José Picardo's recent comment (in the TES magazine) that banning mobile devices from the classroom would be tantamount to 'forcing students to enter an alternative reality every morning'. Turns out it's already happening.
Step across the threshold of the school gates and you enter an artificial world with its own set of rules. This artifice takes as many different forms as there are institutions and head teachers, but can be encapsulated by the common phenomenon of 8-year-olds decked out in collar and tie and chanting 'good morning' in unison. Where else does that happen?
But perhaps the most artificial aspect of school is the most invisible: the exclusion of other languages and the construction of a fictional monoculture. This is not to say that schools only admit English-speaking children. Nor is it to say that they show no interest in other cultures: on the contrary, other cultures are a gift, the making of many an enrichment day and school trip, and integral to the Humanities and Arts in particular. In school, children learn about other cultures, as objects of curiosity and interest, dropping in and out in touristic fashion, falling foul of the myth of exoticism dismantled by Edward Said in Orientalism. They learn about other languages, in carefully circumscribed chunks of time, hygienically quarantined in tucked-away corners of the timetable.
Irrespective of the diversity within school communities, we act on a day-to-day basis as though we lived in a one-language world. Which is, when you think about it, an extraordinary act of self-deception, on a national scale. Teachers teach in English, children learn in English, and English is what they teach and learn about.
Yet when I step out of my door in London in the morning on the commute into work, English is relatively unlikely to be the first language I hear. Or even if it is, it is more often than not being used by someone whose first language is not English. Every day I am impressed by the ability of almost everyone to converse with me in my own language, however diversely accented. I am blessed to live in a multicultural society in a multicultural world.
Read more...
17 September 2015 (SEET)
This innovative, educational project, run by the Scottish European Educational Trust, asks pupils in S3-S6 to work in teams of four to come up with an idea for a short film based on how being a European citizen affects them as young people living in Scotland. The concept must creatively address European issues as well as include at least one language other than English.
Our Europe is a great way to get pupils engaged in language learning, boost their confidence
and develop their core skills. If you would like to know more about the project, or arrange a
school visit, see the attached flyer and head to the Our Europe website to register for the competition.
Read more...
4 August 2015 (British Council)
Do you teach 16-18 year old students? Applications are now open for 30 schools or further education colleges from across England and Scotland to take part in the 2015 #MockCouncil of the EU in London on Thursday 26 November.
In the Mock Council 30 schools are each assigned the role of an EU member state or an EU institution and simulate a meeting of the EU's Council of Ministers on two topical EU policy proposals. Two students from each school must research these policy areas and represent their adopted country or institution at the council meeting. Students are encouraged to use foreign languages where possible in the discussions, to reflect the multilingual nature of the EU; interpretation into English is provided.
Visit the British Council website to find out more and how to apply by 23 August 2015.
Read more...
30 June 2015 (SEET)
Finalist teams from Balfron High School (Stirling) and Lenzie Academy (East Dunbartonshire) spent three days in Brussels last week, from Sunday 21st June to Wednesday 24th June, competing in the final of the Our Europe Film Competition run by the Scottish European Educational Trust.
After a close-run final at Scotland House, Balfron High were determined to be the overall winners of the competition.
For more information about the final see the attached flyer or visit the SEET website.
Read more...
Mathématiques sans Frontières 2015
23 June 2015 (North Lanarkshire Council)
Mathématiques Sans Frontières is an annual competition organised jointly by North Lanarkshire Council and Heriot Watt University. This year's winning team were from the High School of Glasgow!
See the attached documents for more information about the competition and this year's entries and winners.
19 June 2015 (Nethermains Primary)
Mrs Cane’s P4 class at Nethermains Primary School in Falkirk performed an assembly earlier this month to celebrate the Spanish language and culture they had learned across the year. During the year, the language has become increasingly embedded and they have improved their understanding of their own culture and language values. Recently, they confidently presented their learning by way of a fully Spanish speaking assembly, using various songs and drama with the aid of two translators to assist with language barriers.
Read the post and watch a video of the assembly on the Primary Language Learning – Falkirk blog.
Read more...
28 May 2015 (British Council/Education Scotland)
British Council in partnership with Education Scotland has today launched a new online resource to help schools and pre-school centres improve outcomes for pupils and staff through international engagement.
The resource is designed to support schools in their journey of continuous improvement in learning through partnerships with educational establishments in other countries. Working in partnership the aim is to develop learners' skills and attitudes that are necessary to participate effectively in a globalised world.
International engagement involves learning about other countries:
- their cultures
- education systems
- languages
- the global themes of interest to us all
- and by forming a partnership with educational establishments abroad and/or being involved in global learning programmes
The aim of the partnerships are:
- to improve knowledge and skills across curriculum areas
- to challenge stereotypes and prejudices
- and to make learners aware of the possibilities that exist for learning and work outside Scotland
This, by extension, allows learners to understand Scotland and its place in the world. Partnerships allow those involved the opportunity to share ideas in pedagogy and the space to reflect on their own practice; and in so doing, improve the quality of learning and teaching. Partnerships can be developed digitally or can also involve face to face meetings between staff and/or learners.
Find out more about Learners International on the Education Scotland website.
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26 May 2015 (Alliance Française)
The Alliance Française de Glasgow is delighted to take part once again in the Glasgow Science Festival in June and to present a special bilingual exhibition in French/English entitled Energy for a sustainable world / Energies pour un monde durable.
We will also be running educational workshops for secondary school pupils and their teachers who visit the exhibition (dates are 4, 5, and 8-12 June).
Among the themes covered by this interactive exhibition are the relationship between energy and development, the scarcity of some resources, and the impact on climate change that our ever increasing energy needs have.
Thanks to some playful elements, visitors to the exhibition will be made aware of issues relating to energy access, its link to economic and social development, and environmental issues. The exhibition contains description of such varied topics as:
- What is energy?
- Sources and resources
- Geopolitics and energy access
- Research and innovation
- Energy storage
- Solar power
This exhibition fits in with the Curriculum for excellence (Science & French) and is suitable mostly for S1-S4 pupils, although S5 & S6 can also attend.
The exhibition will be accompanied by fun and engaging experiments as well as a French/English questionnaire so that pupils can learn more about the exhibition and the topics covered.
Visit the Alliance Française website for more information and to book your school visit. Places are limited so don't delay!
Read more...
12 May 2015 (British Academy)
The British Academy has launched its call for evidence for a new project on interdisciplinarity in research and higher education.
The call for evidence will ask individual academics, university management, funders and publishers about their experiences of engaging with interdisciplinarity, the success stories and the challenges.
The project will investigate:
- how interdisciplinary research is carried out
- the demand for interdisciplinary research and research skills
- how academics can forge interdisciplinary careers
- whether the right structures are in place to support interdisciplinarity across the research and higher education system
While the focus is on research, it will also investigate the relation between interdisciplinarity in teaching and research, from the undergraduate level up. And while the focus is on universities, the project will be concerned with the relation between interdisciplinarity in universities and in the wider economy.
The deadline for submitting evidence is 26 June 2015. See the British Academy website for more information.
Read more...
9 March 2015 (TES)
Looking for an interdisciplinary project for your pupils? Martin Crabbe, geography teacher at Glebe School, Bromley and Chair of London Sustainable Schools Network is a champion of encouraging students to show citizenship and collaborate with one another to improve the local environment. Here he tells us why he’s signed up to Global Action Plan’s water education project for 8-14 year olds, to teach his pupils about their use of water and why it matters.
There are many benefits for schools and pupils taking part in the Global Action Water Explorer project, including:
- collaboratng with and learning from other students across the world
- improving wider skills, including ICT, presentation, communication, team working and language skills
- a way to reduce your school's water impact and work towards Eco-School certification
These are just a few of the advantages to be gained. Read on to find out about Glebe School's experiences and follow the link below to access all the information you need to get your school involved in the Water Explorer project.
Read more...
9 January 2015 (TESS)
My five-year-old daughter and I speak a fair bit of Spanish in the house. On one occasion she couldn’t find exactly the right words to let me know that she was hot, so she just said, “Mama, hace calor [it’s hot],” and wiped her hand over her brow in drama-queen style.
The amateur dramatics were exactly the gesture I use for temperature and weather when I am teaching. I was so pleased that instead of not saying anything, my daughter had worked out that she could convey the same message in a different way.
Read more...
24 November 2014 (British Council)
Do you want some inspiration for activities or trips to run in your school? Read our case studies written by teachers about their international activities, including advice and experience from their own school exchanges. Included is the feedback from Saint Roch’s school in Glasgow about their trip to Sarajevo.
Read more...
12 November 2014 (eTwinning)
Angela Chapman, International and Global Education Co-ordinator at Woodfield School in Hertfordshire, walks us through her international school linking journey.
Read more...
12 November 2014 (SEET)
Following on from the launch of this years’ Our Europe Film Competition, the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) has launched ‘Script Centre’. This brand new online language resource is designed to help pupils at various levels of learning construct sentences in foreign languages as well as provide the vocabulary they may need to talk about European issues. SEET aims for this new interactive study aid to assist Our Europe entrants in constructing sentences which they can use within their foreign language scenes. In addition, Script Centre should allow pupils to rely less on input from their teacher in terms of content and be able to express their views more independently, with only grammar needing checked.
The resource is available to any class who wish to use it, all teachers need to do is create an account. Script Centre is accessible via the ‘resources’ page of the Our Europe website or directly at the Script Centre webpage.
Please note that the Our Europe Film Competition is still open for registration, with the deadline for submissions being 10th December 2014. More details about the competition as well as links to register can be found at the website provided above.
If you have any questions or experience difficulties in using the resource, please contact: madeleine@seet.org.uk.
Read more...
11 November 2014 (British Council)
For this year's International Education Week (17 - 21 November) the British Council is running a series of webinars aimed at UK teachers on 'Make the most of your partner school'.
There are a variety of sessions during November and December for both primary and secondary levels partnering with French, German and Spanish schools.
For dates and times of all the sessions on offer and to register for your chosen webinar, visit the registration webpage.
Read more...
Related Links
For other suggestions as to how schools can get involved in this year's IEW, visit the British Council's
International Eduction Week 2014 website or see the
IEW toolkit for schools.
10 November 2014 (eTwinning)
Congratulations to the Scottish schools awarded a European Quality Label this October!
- Annanhill Primary, Kilmarnock
- Balfron High School, Balfron
- Mid Yell Junior High School, Shetland
For a list of all the UK winners and their projects, see the eTwinning website.
Read more...
10 November 2014 (Guardian Teacher Network)
Teacher Heather Martin on why integrating Spanish in every aspect of her school – such as assemblies, tutor time, history and geography – is the key to language learning success.
Read more...
6 November 2014 (Goethe-Institut)
Let your pupils shoot a video about “Sport in meinem Leben“ and win a trip to Berlin or other cool prizes. Register and upload your video by 16 November 2014.
See the Goethe-Institut website for more information.
Read more...
3 November 2014 (The Guardian)
Recent event for language teachers and pupils explored how music and sport could help increase student engagement.
Read more...
24 September 2014 (British Council blog)
What happens when you combine language, culture and politics in the classroom? Melissa Kennedy and Jon Green, teachers on a two-year project aimed at raising the awareness of language, culture and politics of the European Union for 300 young Belarusians, explain.
Read more...
19 September 2014 (British Council)
Secondary schools, sixth form or further education colleges that already have a partnership with a school in France, can apply to receive funding for reciprocal student visits. The two grants available can be used for individual and/or group visits.
The Charles de Gaulle Trust joint project offer, gives students aged 17-19 the opportunity to develop vocational skills in a multilingual environment. The £5,000 grant per school is for reciprocal student visits to facilitate the project work.
The Lefèvre Trust offers a grant of £5,000 per school for students aged between 11-19
If pupils in your school and your partner school fit the age ranges specified then you can apply for both grants simultaneously. So, you and your partner school could access £10,000 each in total.
Visit the British Council website for more information about the trusts and how to apply. Application deadline is Tuesday 11 November 2014.
Read more...
2 September 2014 (Education Scotland)
Please visit the Education Scotland website for resources to support learning in Gaelic Medium Education about World War I. These resources include looking at the causes of the war, stories from veterans and reflections on the impact of the conflict.
Read more...
31 July 2014 (Education Scotland's Learning Blog)
SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, is working with businesses and schools in Scotland to promote languages as a key skill for employment.
Operating effectively in a global economy relies on many skills and includes the right language skills. People who can communicate, at least conversationally, can make all the difference in the conduct of business, consolidating relationships with existing suppliers and customers and opening the way to new overseas contacts. When combined with STEM skills, the career opportunities in a vast array of sectors widens.
Read more...
24 June 2014 (East Ayrshire Council)
Budding young entrepreneurs from East Ayrshire academies entered Sir Tom Hunter’s Dragons’ Den once more, in a bid to scoop the top prize of £3,000 – and Monsieur Soleil swept the board!
An educational board game in French/English, Monsieur Soleil (Mr Sunny) was the brainchild of the team from Doon Academy, Dalmellington, which took them to victory on the night.
Sir Tom praised the quality and innovation of the game, which could also expand into other languages – and he urged them to consider Mandarin.
Read more...
19 June 2014 (ASE)
Science across the World brings an international dimension to science education in schools and colleges.
Students gain a global perspectives on scientific issues related to their personal lives, their impacts on the environment and the varying cultural impacts of science on people in different countries. The project is open to all schools and the key to success is to build up your network of contacts between schools across the world.
Resources are free and most topics are available in several languages.
Read more...
12 June 2014 (SCILT)
On Wednesday 28th of May, poets and young people from Glasgow schools celebrated the launch of the Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) multilingual poetry competition at the University of Strathclyde. SCILT is running the pilot competition for Glasgow schools from the start of the 2014-15 session. Take a look at the highlights of the launch event on our website and find out more about the competition and how your school can take part. Invitations to register in MTOT will be issued to schools throughout Glasgow in August so make sure you get involved!
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
All Languages,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Mother Tongue,
Promoting Languages,
SCILT news
10 June 2014 (ALL)
FLAME is an initiative led by the Association for Language Learning to support the integration of language learning with other curriculum subjects. They hope that the initiative will increase the number of primary and secondary schools that combine subject and language teaching, and that in this way help to transform the quality of language learning in schools. It’s called FLAME Plus and includes information about FLAME and links to cross-curricular primary resources.
Read more...
6 June 2014 (European Parliament)
Euroscola brings together about 600 students from all over the European Union for a day in Strasbourg discussing aspects of European integration, in multilingual working groups of 100 students. It is open to students aged 16-18. Dates are now available to book between January and May 2015. Visit the website for more information and to apply.
Read more...
29 April 2014 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut London invites German teachers and their pupils to take part in this unique competition series requiring language and computer skills alike! Fun and steep learning curves are guaranteed when you take on one of these tasks:
- Watching a video animation clip to solve a German city puzzle
- Doing a digital treasure hunt about Germany’s UNESCO sites
- Taking part in a sports commentary reading competition by recording or filming your class/group (texts will be provided)
- Completing your own German comic inventing a funny storyboard
- Using your own creativity to write an e-postcard
- Doing the sound recording for the Felix & Franzi-Reise animation clip and come up with creative German dialogues
- Special: Finding German traces in your neighbourhood and present them
… and all you need is a computer.
Seven categories for different levels of language skills are provided. Primary teachers and secondary teachers can choose which competition they think suits their students’ best.
Please register by sending a registration form to roma.schultz@london.goethe.org by 20th May 2014 and you will be sent a USB-stick. All the categories are explained and the relevant materials are provided. The materials are also suitable for work offline.
Visit the Goethe-Institut London website for full details and the registration form.
Read more...
8 April 2014 (British Council blog)
How can ICT help children learn about people from other cultures? Teacher Wilma Gordon has this week won an eTwinning European prize for an online school project which joined together primary school pupils from around Europe. Here, she explains the benefits of using ICT in the classroom and tells us about some useful tools.
Read more...
Related Links
Do you believe in European Identity? They did (eTwinning, 9 April 2014) This Thursday (8th April 2014) students and teachers involved in eTwinning projects were in Palais des Academies where the award ceremony of 6 winning projects (out of 300) took place. See the full blog of the eTwinning Prize event, 2014, including the Special Project winners of the Mevlana Prize for Intercultural Understanding – Winner project: e-cultural Kaleidoscope, a collaboration involving Mid Calder Primary.
13 March 2014 (Into Film)
Into Film seeks to put film at the heart of children and young people's learning, contributing to their cultural, creative and personal development. Our UK-wide programme of learning through and about film provides 5-19 year olds with unparalleled opportunities to see, think, make and imagine. Visit our website for details of the free resources and opportunities available in your area to support all curriculum areas.
Read more...
07 March 2013 (Ricefield)
Literally meaning “Shoot it!” in Chinese, PaiBa is one of Ricefield’s new, free monthly meet-ups for keen photographers to enjoy shooting and sharing photos inspired by Chinese photography and culture:
* Chinese inspired photo assignment each month
* Bring your photos along to share views and techniques
* Chat in a relaxed setting at Feast restaurant (upper floor)
* Amateurs and beginners welcome!
Featuring presentations from Chinese photographers Yao Hui, Cui Ying and Guo Xueci.
To join PaiBa please contact info@ricefield.org.uk
Read more...
25 February 2014 (British Council)
Our courses offer support and advice on how to introduce global themes in the classroom.
Enjoy the flexibility of studying when you want with our Connecting Classrooms online courses or network with other teachers in your local area at our face to face workshops.
Read what teachers have to say about the benefits of taking part on our Professional Development Stories webpage.
Read more...
20 February 2014 (Radio Lingua/SEET)
The winning films from this year’s Our Europe film competition for schools can now be viewed online.
Read more...
18 February 2014 (Lisibo)
See the presentation shared at the #ililc4 conference last week on using iPads in the primary language classroom. The blog also includes links to further ideas and information including lists of useful apps.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
French,
German,
Spanish,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
Language Teaching,
Methodologies,
Teacher Education,
Technology,
Resources
18 February 2014 (Get Reading)
It sounds a little like a French lesson but this is one of a number of classes at The Willink School in Burghfield where the language is only half of what the students are being taught. The CLIL (content & language integrated learning) lessons are standard lessons, ie food technology, geography and music, but taught in either French or Spanish.
Read more...
18 February 2014 (Inside Higher Ed)
Washington – The theme of this year’s Association of International Education Administrators conference is “Universalizing Global Learning in the 21st Century Academy,” and a session on Monday focused on broadening, if not universalizing, global learning experiences for students who have historically been underrepresented in study abroad: those in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
The barriers to study abroad for these students -- among them strict and demanding sequential course requirements and a lack of time or interest in foreign language study -- are by now legion. However, presenters described two ambitious programs, both modeled on the University of Rhode Island’s longstanding International Engineering program, in which students double-major in a STEM field and a foreign language and spend an entire year abroad.
Read more...
18 February 2014 (eTwinning)
Milton School, which caters for children with complex learning needs, has become a model of how to use international education to improve standards within the classroom and support the professional development of teaching staff.
The situation at Milton in April 2012, when the school first joined eTwinning, was extremely challenging. Staff morale was low following an HMI inspection in early 2012. However, with follow-up support through HMI Education Scotland’s Transformative Change programme, staff at Milton were able to work together to develop a whole-school strategy for improvement. In particular, they were interested in exploring how international education and ICT could help transform teaching and learning.
Read more...
6 February 2014 (SEET)
Congratulations to Lenzie Academy who triumphed at the final of the Our Europe Film Competition hosted by the Scottish European Educational Trust on Monday 3rd February.
Six teams of high school pupils (S3-S6) participated in the film-making workshop at SocietyM in Glasgow. With the assistance of technology expert, Mark Pentleton from Radio Lingua, the pupils worked hard throughout the day to turn their storyboard ideas into short films.
Download the attached flyer for details of all the finalists who took part or for more information about the competition visit the SEET website.
Read more...
Posted in:
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
French,
German,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
Technology,
News from language & education organisations
30 January 2014 (SEET)
On Monday 3rd February the Scottish European Educational Trust is hosting the final of the Our Europe Film Competition 2013-14. Six teams of high school pupils (S3-S6) have won a place in the final film-making workshop. These pupils will spend the day working with Mark Pentleton, from Radio Lingua, to turn their storyboard ideas into short films. The films highlight what being an EU citizen means to them, and finalists are also required to demonstrate their knowledge of other European languages. This year’s finalists are teams from: Doon Academy, Linwood Academy, Lenzie Academy, Mary Erskine, Smithycroft Secondary, Stewarton Academy.
See the attached Press Release or visit the competition website for more information.
Read more...
24 January 2014 (Institut français)
Each year the Institut français d’Ecosse organises the Rencontres théâtrales, a drama competition in French for primary and secondary schools. This year the competition will take place on the following dates:
- Edinburgh (24 March 2014)
- Aberdeen (31 March 2014)
- Glasgow (12 June 2014)
Visit the Insitut français website for further information and to register your school. Registrations for the March events should be submitted by 31 January 2014.
Read more...
23 January 2014 (British Council)
Bring the world into your classroom. Our new guide to international learning gives you easy access to our projects, resources and professional development courses. Whatever your current level of experience, we have a wealth of opportunities to suit you. From setting up a partnership, to running a project and achieving the International School Award, there is plenty to explore as you embark on your journey with us.
British Council Connecting Classrooms also offer grants of up to £1,500 for partnerships between schools in the UK and other countries. Applications are currently open until 31 January 2014.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
Citizenship,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Cultural Diversity,
International Education,
Language Learning,
Partnership Working,
Twinning,
News from language & education organisations
17 January 2014 (RGS)
For schools looking for IDL ideas, there are some interesting materials and photos from an exhibition provided by the Royal Geographical Society on the link below. The images might be used as a context for any language to discuss countries, weather, clothes, houses, etc. Worth a look!
Read more...
Edinburgh Zoo and SCILT's short story competition
17 January 2014 (Edinburgh Zoo/SCILT)
Open to any P5-P7 pupils who have studied Chinese culture and/or some Chinese.
A little reminder that the short story competition deadline is 31st January 2014.
Please do support this competition. The winning entry will be presented to the Chinese Consulate. Also the story will be translated (or subtitles added to a video etc) into Chinese and Gaelic. In addition there will be a small token prize for the group or class from Edinburgh Zoo.
Please remember that the story is a class entry but can take any format - it could even be of a mixed format - allowing the whole class to be involved. If it easier to work in smaller groups then we will accept up to 5 entries from the one class. Criteria - a short story, video, presentation on anything about China, Chinese culture and/or the giant panda.
It also doesn't have to be very long - we are looking for quality and not quantity!
For example:
- a short story
- 3-5 minute video
- short Powerpoint presentation
- set of drawings/pictures/photographs with descriptions/anecdotes
Entries can be sent as jpegs; Powerpoint presentations; videos; etc and can be emailed to this address or sent by post on CD Roms/DVD to the address below.
Similarly, written material can be emailed as pdf or word documents or sent by post to the address below.
Sandie Robb 罗桑迪
Senior Education Officer, Discovery & Learning,
Royal Zoological Society of Scotland 苏格兰皇家动物协会
134 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh, EH12 6TS
tel: 0131 314 0335, mobile: 07963 070654
CISS Newsletter Autumn 2013
12 December 2013 (CISS)
The latest edition of the CISS newsletter has been published. This edition highlights the promotion of Chinese language and culture around the country. Please download the newsletter if you'd like to find out more.
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
Chinese,
Scotland,
1+2,
Celebrating Languages,
Community Languages,
CPD,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Foreign Language Assistants,
Language Learning,
Language Learning - Primary,
Language Learning - Secondary,
Minority Languages,
Partnership Working,
Promoting Languages,
Study Abroad
21 November 2013 (British Council)
The British Council International School Award supports your school in embedding international learning into the curriculum. Taking part in the award links your school with others around the world, teaches your pupils about other countries and cultures, provides an internationally recognised accreditation for your school’s international work and enhances teaching standards through sharing best practice from other countries. With three entry points, you can access the Award at the level which best suits your school’s existing international work. The good news is that if you have an existing partnership with a school overseas, you can apply directly for the Intermediate Certificate or Accreditation. We are currently accepting Action Plans for the 2013/14 academic year (final deadline 13 December 2013). Visit the website for further information.
Read more...
19 November 2013 (The Guardian)
Film can be a powerful educational tool, especially for children with disabilities and from deprived backgrounds. So how can we place it at the heart of young people's learning experiences?
Film clubs are being run in more than 7,000 schools, with 220,000 young people watching, discussing and reviewing film. This service provides, for free, a curated catalogue of DVDs, curriculum-linked guides, film-making tutorials and a members magazine. It also offers masterclasses in film-making, reviewing and programming, and gives film club members the opportunity to post reviews on its website.
The Film Club website has films to suit a wide age-range including foreign language options.
Read more...
Related Links
To participate in Film Nation UK's Filmclub programme, which offers free access to thousands of films and education resources, visit:
Film Club or email
support@filmclub.org
18 November 2013 (European Parliament)
Euroscola is a unique event for schools to learn about European integration by experiencing it first hand. Students from the 28 EU Member States are selected to become a Member of the European Parliament for one day at the Parliament's premises in Strasbourg.
They take the floor in plenary and committee sessions to debate and vote on resolutions on current affairs, all the while practising their language skills and making friends with fellow students from across Europe.
Teachers also have the opportunity to meet their colleagues and exchange and feedback about their own classroom practices & experiences.
The latest event has just taken place over 17 and 18 November 2013. To learn more about it, and to find out how to participate in a future event, visit the Euroscola website.
Other European Parliament teacher resources are also available via the link below.
Read more...
18 November 2013 (British Council)
As part of our wider work in the international education sector, we champion and support foreign language learning in the UK.
To celebrate International Education Week 2013, lots of new resources are available to help you with your language skills. Visit our website for the many ways you can get involved now.
There is also the opportunity to join a live debate on Thursday 21 November 11:00-13:00 GMT asking the questions:
- What languages do you speak and where do you speak them?
- Why do you think it is important to speak other languages?
Join pupils around the world to share your views. Find out how to join the debate by visiting the Commonwealth Class debate website.
There are a couple of 5 minute films on the debate website - one from a very diverse school in Glasgow on the languages the pupils speak and what they think about languages and one from Australia about a primary school where half the curriculum is delivered in Mandarin. You could show the films early in the week, have a discussion, then some of the pupils can send in their responses on Thursday or in advance of the debate - #LearnALanguage.
Read more...
15 November 2013 (British Council)
Connecting Classrooms is a global education programme, which offers:
- School partnerships - get the support you need to build a sustainable relationship with a link school
- Professional development for teachers - get equipped to tackle global themes in the classroom with our free, regional face-to-face workshops and online courses
- British Council International School Award - gain recognition for your school.
Connecting Classrooms also provides specially developed resources to help you and your partner school explore a number of social, environmental, and cultural themes. Visit the website for more information.
Connecting Classrooms Professional Development face to face courses are offered across the UK for free. The next date in Scotland is on 28 November 2013 at Oldmeldrum (Aberdeenshire). If you are unable to attend face to face events, there are also free online courses. See our Connecting Classrooms Professional Development page for all the details.
Read more...
15 November 2013 (TES)
Multilingual education is not just good for job prospects - it can also make young people better learners across the curriculum. But those who miss out may be left at a great disadvantage, even if they are native English speakers. William Stewart reports.
Read more...
8 November 2013 (UK-German Connection)
Do you want to organise a bilateral STEM project but don't know where to start? Have a look at the examples on the UK-German Connection website for some inspiration!
- Hornsea School & Language College, The Hessle Federation of Schools and Bremerhaven’s Humboldtschule placed technology into the context of the socioeconomic potential of the wind industry.
- Skipton Girls’ High School and Gymnasium Grootmoor in Hamburg came together in Germany and the UK to apply engineering skills to the design of environmentally friendly buildings.
- Range High School in Formby and Berufliche Oberschule Schwandorf combined science and ecological awareness when assessing the pros and cons of using different energy sources.
Find out more on the UK-German Connection website.
If you are planning a project, or want to read more about previous projects, why not have a look at the funding pages via the link below. The next application deadline is 31 January 2014.
Read more...
15 October 2013 (CISS)
In conjunction with the Confucius Institute at Glasgow University, CISS was given the opportunity to take 350 pupils from all over Scotland to see the premiere of the play
Dragon at the Citizens Theatre. This wonderful co-production between the National Theatre of Scotland, Tianjin Children’s Art Theatre and Vox Motus is highly unusual given that there are no words spoken throughout the play. The audience is invited to take a visual and emotional journey using their imagination. The use of puppetry, illusion and music allows this to happen.
Read more...
11 October 2013 (eTwinning, via Twitter)
In the run-up to European Development Days 2013 - Europe's premier forum on development, poverty eradication and sustainable development - we want you to have your say!
All you have to do is make a short video (no more than 120 seconds) answering the following question: If you could have your say, how would you fight poverty?
You could be one of 4 lucky winners to win an all-expenses paid trip to Brussels to attend European Development Days, 26 - 27 November 2013, where your video will be screened.
The competition is open to young people aged 13-24 and video submissions can be made in one of the 5 official contest languages: English, French, German, Portuguese or Spanish.
More information on eligibility, competition rules and how to apply is available on the competition Facebook page.
Read more...
2 October 2013 (SCILT)
More from Game On! SCILT and Education Scotland have developed a learning journey designed to support the learning and teaching of modern languages at 3rd level.
Using the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games as a context this learning journey suggests opportunities for learners to explore ideas about how to promote Scotland as a destination to foreign visitors and encourages them to consider the importance of being able to communicate in different languages. Learners are also encouraged to consider the sustainability of the tourist industry by considering the impact of tourism on the environment, examining Eco-tourism projects overseas and designing similar projects in Scotland.
A Game On GLOW Meet to introduce all the literacy and languages learning journeys will take place later in the year. On your marks for GLOW tv!
The resource is available to download now at the Game On! website.
Read more...
27 September 2013 (Arsenal Football Club)
Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta has spoken about the importance of learning language skills ahead of the European Day of Languages, which encourages more people to learn a foreign tongue both in and out of school.
Arsenal in the Community has long championed language learning through its successful Double Club model – an innovative education and football programme which aims to fuse football and education to form a fun and enjoyable way for young people to engage with their academic studies and football at the same time.
In addition to Arsenal-themed language learning materials for German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, a DVD of one of Arsenal’s players speaking in their native language is provided as an exciting classroom resource.
Read more...
Related Links
Double Club German – new resources for 2013-14 season! (UK-German Connection, 24 September 2013) Double Club: German is a joint project by Arsenal FC, the Goethe-Institut London and UK-German Connection. It is an innovative education and football programme which aims to show pupils that German can be fun, improving their knowledge of the German language and culture in a joint football / German club. Pupils attend one session per week, which can take place after school, in lesson time or during holidays, and is split up into two 45-minute sessions. Available as a module for primary or secondary level pupils, new materials for the 2013-14 season are now available. Follow the link above to find out more about the programme and how to sign up.
Posted in:
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
French,
German,
Italian,
Spanish,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
Promoting Languages,
Resources,
News from language & education organisations,
Sport,
Portuguese
26 September 2013 (SEET)
Back for its second year, Our Europe is an innovative competition run by SEET and supported by Radio Lingua. Teams from all secondary schools in Scotland are invited to take part in this competition with the opportunity of winning an iPad for their school.
Teams are asked to create a short film to raise awareness of the positive impact of European Institutions on the lives of young people in the EU.
Further details are available on the SEET website, which also contains a link to the dedicated Our Europe competition webpages, or you can download the attached flyer and information sheet.
Submission deadline for first round entries is Tuesday 10 December 2013.
Read more...
24 September 2013 (British Council)
Find out how you can tap into British Council’s Schools Online worldwide network. At Step one you are new to international learning and the British Council’s offer to schools. ‘Make a start’ is designed to inspire you to start your international journey with us. Whatever you are looking for, we have a wealth of opportunities to suit you.
Access our new brochure and wallchart to discover how an international dimension can be developed in your school. From curriculum resources to professional development courses and partnership funding, we have everything you need to bring the world into your classroom.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Celebrating Languages,
Citizenship,
CPD,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Cultural Diversity,
Language Skills,
Partnership Working,
Teacher Education,
News from language & education organisations
23 September 2013 (Spanishbootcamp)
Try some active Spanish lesson resources with your primary learners. ‘Tres Saltos’ is another really simple game which gets the children actively involved in learning a language as well as physically fit. The game moves along at a nice pace and it’s only the next day when the children realise how much of a workout it is! It really works the legs and the core muscles when done properly.
Read more...
Related Links
La Lucha - ‘La Lucha’ is a favourite game for many of the children. So easy to play, extremely visual and kinaesthetic, perfect for a bit of competition.
Materials to support IDL learning in French
22 August 2013 (SCILT)
The following websites contain materials which could be used to support interdisciplinary learning in French:
For secondary learners:
Universcience.tv - short clips explaining aspects of science.
Culturetheque - online comics with a historical focus.
For primary learners:
Milan schools - register for authentic downloadables to support IDL in French.
19 August 2013 (British Council)
Connecting Classrooms are offering a range of free Professional Development face to face courses across the UK this term. Course topics include ‘an introduction to international learning’ to ‘intercultural practice’ to ‘partnership journeys’.
A full list of locations and dates of courses is available on our website.
If you can’t attend a course in person, take our online courses in your own time and at your own pace.
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19 August 2013 (British Council)
The British Council administers the distribution of grant funding from the Lefèvre Trust and grants are now available to secondary schools embarking on projects in 2013. These programmes support collaboration between the UK and France on educational opportunities that prepare young people to become global citizens.
Please note the deadline for applications has changed: final closing deadline is 30 September 2013.
Visit the British Council website for a guide to the programme and to download a grant application form.
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12 August 2013 (British Council eTwinning)
eTwinning promotes school collaboration in Europe through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This YouTube film illustrates how eTwinning can transform classroom practice to motivate teachers and pupils and help raise standards. Children and young adults of all ages from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland all feature in the video celebrataing their success through eTwinning partnerships.
The video contains a strong focus on eTwinning partnerships providing a collaborative tool for language learning.
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Related Links
More information on eTwinning can be found on the
British Council eTwinning website. There is also free support available to help schools set up their eTwinning partnership.
19 June 2013 (East Ayrshire Council)
Young maths stars at Grange Academy performed well for the second year running in a national maths contest with a twist.
The Mathematiques Sans Frontières competition featured ten tricky problems which pupils had to solve together – but some questions were in French, German, Spanish and Italian, just to make it harder. And pupils had to explain the solutions for these in the appropriate foreign language!
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Our Europe Film Competition winners, Bearsden Academy!
19 June 2013 (SEET)
Throughout the past year, the Scottish European Educational Trust has run a film competition called Our Europe: Our People, Our Places, Our Parliament. Teams from all secondary schools in Scotland were invited to take part in this competition. They were asked to create a short film to raise awareness of the positive impact of the European Parliament on the lives of young people in the EU. The competition was organised over three stages and has been designed to offer young people the opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding of Europe, develop their technology skills, increase their use of European languages and gain a range of transferrable skills through the creative process.
The final was held at Scotland House in Brussels on Wednesday 19 June, where Bearsden Academy claimed the winning title of this year’s Our Europe competition. Runner's up were Douglas Academy.
Download the attached press release for full details.
13 June 2013 (SecEd)
In the midst of a decline in foreign language learning in Scotland, some schools are inspiring young people to buck the trend. Sam Phipps finds out how.
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Posted in:
S1-S3,
Chinese,
French,
German,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Curriculum for Excellence,
Language Learning - Secondary,
Language Teaching,
Promoting Languages,
Languages in the press,
Russian
10 June 2013 (British Council)
Whether you are new to international working or having existing experience, Connecting Classrooms has a range of face to face and online professional development opportunities to suit you. Online courses can be taken at your own pace and in your own time. Face to face workshops cover topics from ‘our partnership journey’ to ‘intercultural practice – taking it further.’ All workshops are free and are offered throughout the UK.
Visit the Connecting Classrooms website for information on our online courses or select the additional link below for details of our workshops.
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6 June 2013 (Engage for Education)
St Elizabeth’s held a Spanish Day to celebrate their involvement in the Scottish Government’s 1+2 Approach to Languages Pilot. Every class was timetabled to participate in a variety of activities which were either led by their teacher or by visitors supporting the day.
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30 May 2013 (Alliance Française)
For the 3rd consecutive year, the Alliance Française de Glasgow is taking part in the Glasgow Science Festival. We are delighted to host a special bilingual French/English exhibition in June entitled “L’eau au coeur de la science", along with the screening of Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s acclaimed documentary “La Soif du monde”.
As with previous years, we are also running specialised workshops for secondary school pupils. These will take place on Wednesday 12th June & Thursday 13th June. Please note that places are strictly limited and must be booked in advance.
For more information and how to book, please download the attached flyer or visit the website.
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Beyond the Panda
17 May 2013 (Edinburgh Zoo)
This three part outreach programme from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is aimed at pupils in P5-P7 and will give them the opportunity to find out more about China and the Society's conservation work as they look at the following topics:
- The Panda—Learning about the giant panda
- China—Discovering China - past and present
- Our World—Taking action in our world
The programme costs £100 which includes a 2 hour workshop, resource pack and additional support. Discounts are available if schools book two workshops. For full details of the programme, please download the Beyond the Panda pdf file or contact Sandie Robb, srobb@rzss.org.uk
This programme is run in partnership with CISS, SCEN, other Confucius Institutes and Confucius Hubs.
16 May 2013 (British Council)
Is your school involved in a partnership between the UK and another country? If so, you could be eligible for funding from the Connecting Classrooms programme. Getting involved will help you develop your young people as global citizens and as a teacher, you will also benefit through sharing best practice with colleagues in other countries.
If you are applying for a Connecting Classrooms grant this year, we are running a series of webinars in May and June to help you with the application process. The webinars will take a detailed look at the application form and provide guidance and advice for completing it.
Visit the website for details of the webinar dates and to register.
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10 May 2013 (Chronicle Live)
Two North East universities will be stirring up school children’s passion for baking – and languages – in the Great Languages Bake Off.
Today’s event organised by Newcastle and Sunderland Universities will see more than 130 pupils, aged 11 to 13, from across the North East present videos about cooking in French, German, Spanish, Italian and Greek.
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26 April 2013 (SCILT)
Looking for ways to inspire and motivate your language students? Using film in the classroom is a great way to combine interdisciplinary learning and generate enthusiasm amongst your pupils for language learning. These projects were filmed in three different Scottish schools involving pupils from P7 to S6 who worked together to create their own animated movies using skills they developed in Modern Languages, Art and ICT. Have a look at these video clips to see what can be achieved and hear feedback from some of the pupils who took part.
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Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
Chinese,
French,
Gaelic,
German,
Scotland,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Motivation,
Technology,
SCILT news
23 April 2013 (eTwinning)
Taking part in the Spring campaign is simple.
- Click on the banner from the homepage of the Desktop to enter
- Organise an eTwinning event around the week of 13-17 May 2013 - and / or
- Design an eTwinning poster for your chance to win a HD pocket camcorder!
- You can also vote for your favorite eTwinning posters up until 16 May
Read more...
4 April 2013 (British Council)
As part of their Connecting Classrooms initiative, British Council continue to develop a number of global learning resources to help bring a global dimension to your lessons and partner projects. These can be found on their Schools Online webpages where teachers can also complete a survey providing feedback on the resources on offer. Modern language teachers will be particularly interested in the ‘100 Words’ project, which aims to challenge young people to learn at least 100 words of the language of their partner school by writing, filming and sharing 100 word plays.
Read more...
26 March 2013 (eTwinning)
Are you interested in finding a partner school from Europe to start an eTwinning project?
The British Council eTwinning team is giving up to 4 teachers from the UK the chance to travel to Sofia to meet and network with other European teachers at a joint eTwinning event
Taking place from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th April, this event is open to teachers working with students aged 3-11 teaching any subject. It will include sessions on how to use eTwinning, how to use ICT tools and how to fit eTwinning into your school life.
All workshop sessions will be delivered concurrently in German, French and English, so this event would in particular suit someone who can speak either French or German. However, this is not a prerequisite.
The British Council will cover travel, accommodation and meal expenses as well as your participation fee. Supply cover is not included.
Visit the eTwinning website for further information and to apply by 7 April 2013.
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21 March 2013 (SecEd)
A new initiative is encouraging schools to combine language teaching with the teaching of other key subjects. Suzi Bewell takes a look at the immersion approach to MFL. The Association for Language Learning (ALL) has set up FLAME, a new initiative to support CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and bilingual learning.
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'Our Europe' film competition semi-final
20 March 2013 (SEET)
On Monday 18 March secondary pupils from all over Scotland joined Scottish European Educational Trust and its partners at SocietyM in Glasgow to take part in the 'Our Europe' film-making competition semi-final.
The event saw six teams create the most wonderful, dynamic films about Europe and how the European Parliament impacts on their daily lives. These innovative films offered students the chance to work on an engaging interdisciplinary project, combining Modern Languages with Modern Studies and Media/ICT.
Congratulations to Bearsden Academy and Douglas Academy, who secured the top two places and will go forward to the final of the competition, which will be held at Scotland House in Brussels in June.
More information about the competition and those who participated in the semi-final can be found on the attached flyer.
18 March 2013 (British Council)
The British Council administers the distribution of grant funding from the Lefèvre Trust and Charles de Gaulle Trust and grants are now available to secondary schools embarking on projects in 2013. These programmes support collaboration between the UK and France on educational opportunities that prepare young people to become global citizens.
A case study of Portlethen Academy in Aberdeen demonstrates what can be achieved through partnership working. Here their international work has evolved from a simple pen pal project in one class 25 years ago, into an exciting programme of projects, visits and international connections which permeate the whole curriculum and involve the majority of pupils across all year groups.
See the guide to the programme on the British Council website for more details and to download a grant application form.
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18 March 2013 (The Guardian)
Role play and interactive technology helped primary teacher Jeremy Dean increase his foreign students' English vocabulary at a language immersion school in Spain. I work in Spain and teach English to Spanish six and seven-year-olds. No, I don't just teach them English, I also teach them science, numeracy, history, the whole primary curriculum, in English.
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14 March 2013 (YELL2)
Supported by the Lifelong Learning Programme, the main aim of the project is to disseminate the results of the European Language Label Award winning "Yell Network" to raise awareness of its main product, the Virtual Documentation Centre, which hosts an array of resources designed to:
- improve language learning
- encourage creative teaching to inspire more young learners to learn languages
We are pleased to feature as the Excellence of the month example, an exciting project submitted by Joel Josephson. The project, calledPopuLLar, takes a very interesting approach to harnessing a youthful enthusiasm for popular music within language learning contexts.
To find out more visit the PopuLLar site via the link below or visit the YELL2 website for more information on all their activities.
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6 February 2013 (eTwinning)
Are you interested in finding a partner school from France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands or Luxembourg to start an eTwinning project?
The British Council eTwinning team is giving up to 15 teachers from the UK the chance to travel to Cardiff to meet and network with other European teachers at a joint eTwinning event. Taking place from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th March, this event gives you the opportunity to explore how to enhance your students’ 21st Century skills through eTwinning, find a compatible partner and discuss project ideas face to face.
Apply for your place by 17 February 2013.
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17 January 2013 (British Council)
Do you want international recognition for your school? Do you want to learn more about schools in other countries and be at the forefront of cultural exchanges among young people? If so, then you could bid for an International School Award (ISA) under the Connecting Classrooms programme.
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19 November 2012 (Consejería de Educación)
The Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain, is pleased to announce details of the Videominute International Contest 2012-13 with 1000 Euros on offer for the winner. The competition is open to all ages and requires individuals or groups to submit a video lasting no longer than one minute. Any submissions in a language other than Spanish must be subtitled in Spanish or English. A maximum of 5 entries are permitted. For further information and how to apply visit the Videominute website, where you can also view previous competition entries.
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9 November 2012 (TES)
Religion can be hard for small children to grasp as it involves abstract ideas. So it helps to have an activity that allows you to discuss world religions in a way that children of all faiths and none can relate to.
Start by asking pupils what problems people all over the world have. Put these words on the board and teach them in the target language.
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10 October 2012 (BBC)
Join the BBC's World Class to celebrate International Education Week during the week of 12-16 November.
International Education Week (IEW) is a British Council initiative giving schools a chance to learn more about education around the world, and to celebrate their own international links and partnerships. For IEW week in 2012, the main theme is entitled 'Use your Voice'. During the week, World Class will be hosting a series of live, interactive debates, in which pupils from across the world can offer their opinions on a range of topics. Email
worldclass@bbc.co.uk to book into a live debate.
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