Category: ALL

ALL Spanish Committee in collaboration with the

Consejería de Educación, Embajada de España

PRESENTS

SPANISH ONLINE QUIZ 2009

A language and cultural quiz about Spain and Latin America

Prizes donated by:

Consejería De Educación, Embajada De España, BBC Active Languages, AQA, Taylor & Francis

• The quiz will be open for 24 hours from 17.00 on Thursday 3 December

• To enter go to the ALL or Consejería de Educación website:

www.all-languages.org.uk

www.educacion.es/exterior/uk

• Individuals may enter at one level only, either;

KS4 – GCSE

Or

KS5 – AS/A2

• Deadline for entries is 17.00 on Friday 4 December.

Please see Conditions of Entry on websites for full entry details

PRIZES:

Individual prizes and whole school prizes for best participating schools.

I was lucky enough to be asked to present this year at Language World, the annual conference of the Association for Language Learning (ALL), which took place at University of Leicester on 3rd and 4th April.

My presentation was entitled Absorbing Language Learning and offered ideas to engage enthuse and stimulate language learners, particularly focusing on the Primary Language Learning context although the ideas are all transferable.

I was really glad to be on the programme near the beginning of the conference as I was then able to relax and enjoy the rest of it. And I was also really chuffed that my session was so full – we only just had enough chairs!

As promised, here is the presentation with links to all the resources. The battery on my iRiver sadly gave up midway through the session, but the lovely Joe Dale had given the equally lovely Alex Blagona an iRiver to record me too so I will shortly add the audio to the Slideshare and then you’ll be able to hear me too!

Links to sites and resources can also be found in my delicious bookmarks under lw09

photos – http://www.?ickr.com/photos/emerging/

This time last week I was starting my second afternoon of speaking at Primary Language Show in Liverpool. In three weeks time, I’ll be listening to, well, I can’t decide! It could be Rachel Hawkes, it could be Alex Blagona on wikis and it could be Pippa talking about a cross curricular French / Tudors project.

As usual, Language World, the annual conference of the Association of Language Learning (ALL), is packed full of great sessions. Spread over two days – Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th April – and taking place at Leicester University this year, the conference as always has something for everyone.
From trainees to PhDs, from Primary languages to Further education – all will find something to satisfy their needs. There’s a primary strand this year which is great and special rates for Primary teachers – whoop whoop!

And the opportunities for meeting new people and networking are great too.

I love Language World because there are always sessions that really challenge my brain, something that doesn’t always happen in CPD.

Why not have a look at the ALL site, download the PDF and check it out for yourself.

I’m speaking on ‘Absorbing ideas for Primary languages’ so it would be lovely to see you there. if not, I’ll publish my presentation and resources here, and of course, add the audio to Lisibo talks!

Yesterday saw a repeat of the Primary Languages Conference that was held in Coventry in June, this time in Bromsgrove to cover the South of the region.

Held in the lovely Bromsgrove Hilton, we were treated to a lovely lunch (always important on a training day!) as well as some great sessions on such things as Numeracy and MFL, Parachute games, Music and MFL and The International Dimension.

Eight lucky individuals took part in an Animation workshop with Oscar Stringer and had great fun producing short animations in just over an hour and half. Thanks to the British Council eTwinning, the lucky few took away their animations and Oscar’s animation PDF on a memory stick! :o)

Find more videos like this on Animation For Education

I delivered a session on Exciting ICT in the PLL Classroom, looking at delicious, Voki, Voicethread and Audacity. As promised, the presentation and notes are below for those who attended and also for those who didn’t!

Exciting ICT in the PLL classroom.

And the day ended with the lovely Steven Fawkes of ALL once more stunning and inspiring us all with his ideas on Performance and Motivation, culminating in the performance of La Banane, a new and innovative take on Kylie’s Can’t get you out of my head!!

And I won a lovely soft Spanish calendar in the raffle courtesy of Little Linguist. I eagerly await its arrival! :o)

On Monday, Comenius West Midlands held its Primary Languages Conference at the Novotel in Wolverhampton. Sandwiched between keynotes by Joe Brown from CILT that involved song rhyme and lots of action, and Steven Fawkes from ALL who thrilled us with his ‘Banane‘, delegates had to choose sessions from a range including :

• It’s magic!
• International Perspective
• Let’s play – Language games and activities for the playground.
• Numeracy through Languages
• Animation
• Italian for the Primary classroom – a cross curricular approach.
• Music and songs in the Primary classroom
• Animation in the languages classroom (double session)
• Creative use of ICT

A tricky choice for many, judging from the feedback at the end of the day! I for one will be emailing presenters for notes from their sessions as I was presenting and missed out on all of the sessions!

Actually, I didn’t completely miss out as I was able to attend the plenaries and also began the day by acting as ‘roadie’ for Oscar Stringer as he presented a whistle stop double session on animation from idea through planning, modelling, filming, adding finishing touches and publishing. Phew! In a very short time (less that two hours), the participants made short films in French and Spanish which can be viewed below and on his NING network. Just shows what you can do in a short time with good instruction, imagination and a bit of plasticine. ;o)

Find more videos like this on Animation For Education

Definitely inspired me! So much so that, after a quick chat with Oscar, I decided to have a go with my Year 4 class this week. More of that in a later post!

My session was entitled Creative use of ICT and centred on the use of some tools that i thnk are useful to enhance and enable PLL.

The idea had been to introduce delegates to Voki, Voicethread, Audacity and Photostory, explain how I’ve used them in my classroom, and then let delegates have a go at using one of the tools. I’d prepared notes for people that went into everyone’s pack so those who couldn’t attend were able to benefit too, and these pointed to online tutorials for the tools as well as examples from my experience and research. I’d also requested a laptop between two to be provided with a microphone and Internet access, and Audacity and Photostory3 uploaded ready. I’d prepared a Voicethread and Voki account for the day so all outcomes could be saved together for future reference, and I’d also added some examples to get people started.

Best laid plans and all! There were three laptops provided, the speakers didn’t work, and Internet access was at best infuriatingly slow and at worst non-existent (at 20€ per laptop, I hope the orgnisers got a refund!) Anyhow, it left me rather embarrassed as my examples took an age to load (Voki) or didn’t play sound (Voicethread AND Voki at times) – next tie I’ll save them for offline access using Camtasia or similar – and I’ve found that there is a facility on Voicethread now to save for offline access.

However, I did manage to highlight the use of del.icio.us which i hadn’t intended to mention but proved to be one of the most popular ideas with delegates. My account of how I use Audacity led to lots of smiles and there was a general hum of interest as I made a Photostory in three minutes.

I must say was a little disheartened by the first session, especially as I had to repeat it after lunch, but several people came up to me and seemed to be buzzing about something I’d shared, so I went into the repeat feeling a little more confident, especially as I was prepared for the problems this time! The make up of the group was different this time and they asked lots of questions – I think they were the G&T group ;o)

At the end of the afternoon when the evaluations were returned, I was rather surprised, and very pleased as well!- to read several who said things like

If you want to have the notes, see below. and all the sites / references can be found on my del.icio.us account – http:del.icio.us/lisibo/june22

Creative uses of ICT in the PLL classroom – Get more College Essays

I had the privilege to speak at Tile Hill Wood School and Language College on Thursday evening. I was really pleased to be asked by Ana Neofitou, Head of Languages, who I’ve met a couple of times at Language World and other more local conferences, and Jo Redford who is Assistant Head and who I met in Oxford this year when she introduced The ALL London Show and Tell session in which I participated.

My session was the last of three sessions for Primary teachers in teaching and learning Primary Languages. Previously the group of about 40 teachers had been working in language specific groups and focusing on vocabulary for topics such as sport and animals. My session, entitled Top tips for Primary Languages, aimed to give them an insight into how to deliver PL in an engaging way, making use of free resources and easily acquired skills. I enjoyed expanding on my presentation from Oxford (you can see and listen to it in this slidecast) which I delivered there in 10 minutes – just over an hour was still too short, but I was happier! I just get so excited that I could talk for hours!

Below is the presentation, and also the notes I made for delegates so that there wasn’t too much mad scribbling as I gabbled away! Even as a standalone document, I think you can see what I’m trying to say!

| View | Upload your own

Top tips for Primary Languages

I’ve been posting powerpoints to Slideshare for a while, first pointed in that direction by Chris Fuller (I think) in the days when he was just a name to me, not the fun person I now know! I knew that it was possible to make a Slidecast, combining audio and presentation but hadn’t made one ….
until yesterday!

I recorded the London ALL Show and Tell at Language World on my iRiver – and so did Joe Dale. I just fancied hearing what other people said – as well as checking out how I sound recorded (very odd is the answer, and not at all as I hear myself!) After the event, Joe mentioned in a Skype chat that he had edited his version of the audio and thought that I should make a Slidecast of it with the presentation I had prepared. As I had lost the lead for my iRiver, I said I’d do it when I found the offending item. (Still haven’t found it but the lead from our camcorder works – in case anyone else has the same problem)

This week, I received a message from Joe saying that he’d send me the audio so I could do my Slidecast. As it’s necessary to have the audio file saved online somewhere, and Blogger doesn’t have that facility, Joe kindly hosted it on his blog and I set about my challenge!

Basically, you upload your presentation to Slideshare – already done!
You click on ‘make Slidecast’ and enter the URL of the audio.
The audio track then appears under the Slideshow and you can decide how you want to synch the slides with the audio – equally spaced or, as in my case, to coincide with when I turned the page to the next slide.
Then you save it and there you have it – a Slidecast.

I found out that I had stretched my 7 minutes to over 10, ( sorry Nick!) that I spent a long time on the first few slides and not very long at all on the later ones as I ran out of time, that i talk very fast, and that my ears don’t hear what everyone else hears.

I also discovered that making a Slidecast is easy peasy lemon squeezy – and I’ll be doing it again in the near future.

Here it is – it features the lovely aforementioned Mr Fuller singing!!

| View | Upload your own

PS just noticed that it’s already been viewed 51 times – that’s pretty impressive. Let’s hope all those who watched it have gained something and will put even one of the ideas into practice.

Subtitle-

Better late than never!

It’s a week since Language World and I have sat down each day intending to blog about it, but everytime I’ve had to do something else first and the post hasn’t materialised. It’s not that I haven’t got anything to say, it’s more that there was so much to assimilate that it’s not something I could do in five minutes! Anyway – here are my impressions.

Kathy Wickstead shared thoughts on the new KS3 curriculum – things that stood out for me were Sir Christopher Maynard’s comment that ‘it’s inviting teachers to be bold’ and also Kathy’s parting comment – ‘we’re being offered an opportunity with this new curriculum – can we afford NOT to take it?’ Check out www.all.nsc.org.uk for all you need to know about the new secondary curriculum for languages – worth it for primary language teachers too so as to understand ‘what happens next’. On the same (ish) subject, Mick Waters spoke really clearly and sensibly about the new curriculum and the ‘big picture’. He seems so passionate and completely committed to the vision of a modern world class curriculum that it’s not hard to catch his vision.

Ewan McIntosh once more challenged and inspired me with his ideas on using technology in language teaching. This time, Thinking out of the XBox suggested ways in which gaming might be used to inspire and encourage creativity in the language classroom. My son was particularly looking forward to me attending this seminar as I bought a Nintendo DS last year following Ewan’s seminar at Language world and he was hoping for a similar result this year, possibly a Wii? Alas for 9 year old, no such recommendation, but he is awaiting the arrival of Myst and Nintendogs from Amazon, and has had a good nose at Samorost (he’s become my chief researcher ;o) Using clips from Youtube and Tim Rylands’ website, Ewan made a great case for being innovative and creative, tapping into what pupils are familiar with and enjoy with the purpose of achieving a greater variety and richness of learning experience and outcome. Check out his blog for his notes – and much more to make you think!

Wendy Adeniji as always shared some brilliant ideas and resources for making the language classroom interactive and fun, specifically based on Rhymes songs and sounds to teach phonics.
Wendy showed how simple rhymes can be learned off by heart and recited, and links made with other vocabulary that contains specific phonemes. I always look forward to wnedy’s seminars as her ideas are easy to implement and very practical.
She recommended a number of artists’ music; for French, Ilona Mitrecy and Henri Des as well as the adorable Pigloo! For Spanish she suggested José Luis Orozco and for German, Detlef Jöcker and Rolf Zuckowski.

Bev Whiteside, Development coordinator for Languages and Sport from the Youth Sports Trust presented on making links between sports and language. A language teacher before joining the YST, Bev talked about the obvious attractions and benefits of sport and the potential links that could be made in terms of skills, values, pedagogy and context. She presented some brief case studies to demonstrate each point, ranging from teaching handball through Spanish, the Young Language Leaders award, creating a fitness DVD in French prior to a skiing trip and a subtitled video giving information about healthy eating and sporting facilities. You can read about some of Bev’s work in a book published by YST.

Day 2 brought Steven Fawkes’ Language Learners being creative with language, including sign language, Russian numbers with actions ( I tried it out on a Russian pupil I teach and she was impressed!) and things to do with a pear! Learned lots and had a good giggle too -the mysterious disappearance of Steven’s trousers last year featured large too – perhaps they’re the same place as my hairbrush that disappeared in Oxford?? There’s a chorister somewhere with very well groomed hair ;o)

I was also pleased to hear an update on the videoconferencing project at Tile Hill Wood in Coventry where Ana Neofitou delivers language lessons to local primaries via a videolink. I attended a session last year introducing the project which seems a very effective way of building capacity in primary languages as the class teacher facilitates within the classroom and works closely with Ana and her colleagues on what is delivered, and how it can be followed up during the time between lessons.

And then the ALL London Show and Tell session – I shared the ‘stage’ with Stephane Derone (authentic resources), Nick Mair (learning styles and gender differences), Monna Brown (motivation) and Helen Myers (using song) – all members of ALL London so I was a bit of an interloper! I delivered my Top ten tips for Primary Languages in a little over my alloted 7

minutes I think (sorry -I talked as fast as I could!) You can download the presentation below (if the songs links don’t work, let me know!) And when I find the lead for my iRiver, I’ll make a Slidecast!

| View | Upload your own

But of course, there is more to Language World than the seminars! I love conferences for the ‘formal’ learning but, as anyone who has met me will testify, I love to talk. And talk I did – incessantly! I met old friends like Joe Dale, Lesley Welsh, Ewan McIntosh, Chris Fuller and Rachel Hawkes, made new ones like Nick Brown and José Picardo and generally talked to anyone who’d listen! Much fun was had at the wine tasting – I think I hold the record for the most Heinneman coffee mugs acquired in half an hour (not all for me!) followed by a quick visit to the pub before the wine reception and dinner. This was followed by bellydancing – no photos have yet appeared (thank goodness!) but I hear we were a sight to behold! Bed was finally reached in the early hours – I just didn’t want to miss a moment of the fun!

Last year I went to Language World wanting to find new ideas – and I was inspired as I told Joe Dale when he VoxPop-ed me! This year I went with the same purpose, but I reflected as I arrived just how far I’d come in a year. Last year I had just learned how to write articles on our school website. I’ve now got a blog, spoken at a number of conferences, attended eTwinning conferences as an ambassador, am becoming ever more techno-savvy and am employing all kinds of new ideas in my teaching! The pupils at school associate language learning with using technology, with doing new and exciting things, and with having fun. And several people came up to me and said how much they’d enjoyed reading my blog or hearing me speak, and how helpful the ideas I’d shared had been – that made me want to sing and dance!

Here are my pictures – started off well but got distracted by talking (surprise surprise!) so you can find more here, listen to VoxPops and read what Joe and José and others had to say about LW2008.

Roll on 2009!

I’ve mentioned before how I think that language learning should not be a stand alone but creatively integrated into the curriculum. Today I’ve been alerted to a couple of videos that I can see being used to do just that, using works of art as the stimulus for speaking activities.

Helen Myers (of ALL President and MFLResources fame) passed on a tip from Glynis Rumley about Women in Art, a lovely video compilation of many female faces from works of art morphing into one another.

And whilst I was there, I came across the following video – similar to Women in Art, but solely about Picasso. It could be used in a similar way to the above videos – descriptions, family members etc, and also for cultural awareness of the life and times of a Spanish artist, linked to the art curriculum.

Any more ideas of activities, or suggestions of other video clips you’ve discovered of a similar vein?

PS more ideas on integrating art and languages in Mira Miró.

No, I’ve not decided to go back to university, nor been bitten by the urge to row (although if it meant getting near to Matthew Pinsent, I’d grab those oars like a shot!)

Tomorrow I’m off to Oxford for Language World, the Association of Language Learning‘s annual conference. Officially spread over two days, the fun and games actually start this evening with an event at the OUP bookshop, from 7pm, followed by a meal for those who have already arrived in Oxford. The official site says
‘Join us for a glass of wine : the perfect start to your conference and a great way to meet your fellow delegates while browsing in a relaxed atmosphere. There will also be some great special offers available. Anyone attending the conference is welcome, as are ALL members and all languages teachers and lecturers who live in Oxford or nearby.’

So if you meet the criteria, off you go!

I’m looking forward to two days of interesting exciting and inspiring PD – if it’s anything like last year, I’ll be exhausted but buzzing by the time I get home on Saturday night. It was really hard to choose my sessions, although 9 year old insisted I went to Ewan McIntosh‘s seminar- last year, he inspired me to buy a NintendoDS – my son wants to know if I could be persuaded to buy a Wii this year?? Actually, didn’t need much persuading! I’m also looking forward to the followup to a session I attended last year on using videoconferencing at Tile Hill Wood School and Language College to deliver PLL to feeder schools, and also to Stephen Fawkes’ session on learners being creative with language.

I’m also excited about being invited to take part in the London ALL Branch Show and Tell on Saturday by the President of ALL , no less, Helen Myers – I feel like I’ve been invited to a Royal garden party but without the need for a hat :o) I’ll be talking about my blog, and sharing tips and ideas for creative PLL.

And of course, the chance to meet friends, old and new is a big draw. Last year I missed the dinner as I decided to appease Mr Lisibo and spend a night away with him – but only succeeded in getting two enormous blisters on my feet as I insisted that my shoes were comfortable enough to walk in (underestimating the 4 miles I needed to walk back to the hotel) then keeping him awake telling him about all the things I’d learned. So this year, off to the dinner for me.

So see you in Oxford Joe, Chris, Marie-France, Lesley, Rachel, José, Helen, Ewan and Quentin et al. No doubt missed someone but that’s who I know is going!

If you’re an NQT or student teacher, you could get in for free – have a look here for details!

PS Find out what I thought about last year‘s Language World – pre-blog and pre-NintendoDS!