Category: secondary languages

On Saturday I’ll be in London at The Language Show. So excited!

I’ve spent some time over the weekend doing something that I find rather uncomfortable – listening to my own voice! Whilst it is much better than watching myself on video, I find myself cringeing at the sound of my accent and speech habits. In my head I don’t sound like that – my ‘self-image voice’ speaks much more ‘properly’ and sounds less Brummie!

So why do it? Well, I was catching up with editing the audio from my presentations at two recent conferences – in Hull and in Basingstoke, Hampshire – before adding it to my podcast. I kept reminding myself that I wouldn’t have to listen again once I’d finished, and then remembered that I’d have to listen one more time to synch the audio to my Slideshares to make Slidecasts.

So – I’m pleased to announce three new episodes of my podcast Lisibo talks! But does it make sense?

I’m on a blog writing roll this week aren’t I?

And being an inquisitive gal, I went and had a look.

Another highlight of the Hampshire Language Conference was Oscar Stringer‘s session on Animation. So popular it was put on twice, and had to move rooms to accommodate the number of people wishing to attend, from the conversations I heard, Oscar and his ideas were a hit!

Using I Can Animate and a Hue webcam, Oscar guided the assembled throng through how to animate using fuzzy felts before adding voiceover using iMovie – bet he had no shortage of volunteers!

You can see the finished movies – made in 20 minutes!- on Oscar’s blog, along with other examples of animation using languages such as the ones from Wednesday in Gloucestershire, and the lovely animations made with a Reception class last year. You’ll also find plenty of tips and guidance on how animation can be used right across the curriculum and beyond.

As Jo Rhys-Jones kindly pointed out last night, in all my blogging I have failed to post my own presentation!

CLIL is – Content and Language Integrated Learning and basically involves teaching cross-curricularly, delivering other subjects through the language. Do Coyle is the driving force behind this. The ideal is that the subject specialist delivers the lessons in the language, but it’s more likely that the MFL specialist will deliver eg history, or possibly the subject and the MFL teacher team teaching. You might also use the FLA to support the subject specialist. I’m interested in this as Whitehouse Common is involved in a project with three foci, one of which is CLIL.

I was somewhat disappointed to discover that the Hampshire Language Conference this year was not being held at Marwell Zoo, and excited to discover that it was to be held at The Ark. So far no animals have appeared and its a lovely day so you might guess that it’s not a big boat.

Language teacher? Fancy finding meeting up with other language teachers for an hour or so without leaving your own home? Why not join in the Bank Holiday MFL Flashmeeting at 9pm GMT tomorrow (Monday). All you need to join in is a computer with speakers although a microphone and a webcam will allow you to get more involved.

The brainchild of Joe Dale, you can read all about it on his blog here including instructions on how to join in by signing the wiki, and how to make sure you’re prepared.

The suggested agenda is –

• what is your favourite technology at the moment and how is it enhancing language learning?
• the Rose Review and the proposals that technology be at the core of the primary curriculum
• the value of creating your personal learning network and does the microblogging tool have a place in the classroom?
• Web 2.0 CPD opportunities for next academic year – anyone like to organise a conference for language teachers interested in using ICT?

NB – the wiki is looking very full so if you find you can’t get in, please don’t despair. Master of technology Mr Dale will make sure that you can see the replay as soon as the meeting is over and will no doubt blog it too – unless I get there first ;o)

Many of you will know of Joe Dale and follow his marvellous blog, Integrating ICT into the MFL classroom. Joe is an SSAT Lead Practitioner and as part of his role, he delivers an SSAT seminar each year. This year he ran a day in Colchester on Blogging and Podcasting, and I am really pleased that he is going to repeat that day in the Midlands soon – on Thursday 29th January at Shirelands CLC to be precise.

As Joe says –

If you are interested in finding out more about the potential of blogging and podcasting to enhance language learning and offer personalised distance learning opportunities to your students, why not click here and download the flyer to apply to attend the course? It only costs £69 which includes lunch.

I can thoroughly recommend Joe’s seminars as they are always very instructive and full of ideas for enhancing language learning – and the ideas are all easily transferrable to other areas of the curriculum so it would be easy to share the outcomes with your whole school and for everyone to benefit.

If you need further persuasion, check out some of the comments from his session in Colchester– (bottom of post!)

Just read an interesting article in The Telegraph Education section with the above title. It reports on a group in the Harrogate area called French for Fidgets (a great name for the group!) that teaches French to toddlers through song and games. Taking kids as young as 18 months, their philosophy is –

“… to make it fun. When devising these classes, I asked myself what children this age enjoy doing and the answer was singing, eating and rolling around the floor. So that’s what we do. It just happens we speak French while we’re doing it.”

I’ve taught Kindergarten at a previous school and also had pupils as young as 18 months, so I can completely agree with and endorse the benefits of catching them early. In fact there were children with emergent speech who had as many words in Spanish as in English – and all that from 20 minutes first thing on a Monday! The analogy ‘little sponges’ is a very apt one.

And research backs this up – Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith of the Birkbeck Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development in London is quoted in the article saying –

“Right from birth, the brain has the capacity to learn three or four different languages and in many countries that’s what happens,” she says. “In fact, the majority of children in the world are bilingual, either because their country has a number of borders or because their parents speak different languages.

“The typical pattern is for a child to learn one language from their father, one from their mother and another at school or in the street. As for brain capacity, I know children with Down’s syndrome who have three languages simultaneously. The truth is that languages shouldn’t be introduced at primary school, but at nursery school.”

And she concludes with a radical idea-

“Teach a language at nursery school and you won’t need to teach it at secondary,” she maintains. “By that time, the children will already be able to speak it.”