In the morning primary aged pupils (years 5-6) with little or no experience of German were introduced to the German speaking world via an introductory presentation by Sara Davidson, learning that German is spoken in a number of European countries but also in an African one, and discovering that some familiar things originated in the German speaking world as well as having a go at decoding some German words. Following on from that, they took part in two workshops, a language led by Frau Marshall who taught them some basic German, and a cultural workshop which I led during which they learned about and made a Schultüte.
Flying the LiPS flag!
In the afternoon, secondary school pupils (years 7-9 pre-options) were introduced to the German speaking world by the wonderful Laura Lewis from Durham University who shared some typically German concepts like Spaghettieis and Flachspüler as well as sharing information about where German is spoken and by how many people. The students then moved on to a pair of workshops – a German rap workshop with Sara and a workshop all about pioneers and influencers lead by ALL PresidentLiz Black which ended with chocolate tasting!
In my Schultüte workshop we talked about our memories of our first day at school, in my case a looong time ago so I recalled my sons’. My lovely assistant Jonas told the children about his first day at school in Germany, throwing in the word Schultüte which led nicely into the rest of the workshop. Using information and images gathered by Marian Devons, Liz Black and me, we explored how a German (also Swiss in my experience!) Schulänger spends their first day at school, homing in on their Schultüte or enormous cone of school supplies and sweets that they receive to soften the blow of starting school. After a bit of language work during which children had a go at working out what goes into one from the German words, the children made and decorated a (small) Schultüte which was filled thanks to the Goethe Institut with all sorts of goodies like pens, badges, bracelets, Gummibärchen and stickers. The wide eyed joy of the children as they received something else to put in their Schultüte was wonderful: “I can keep it?” “I can have that as well?” “Wow! This is brilliant!” And the multiple cries of Danke and Dankeschön as they left was lovely too.
The intention is to hold further events in the next couple of terms, and some of the materials will be uploaded to the British Council website – I’ll post the link when it appears! So keep your eyes open if it’s something that you fancy for your learners.
I’ve noticed quite a few opportunities for upskilling in recent days, shared by the various cultural organisations, and thought I’d share some for those who may not have seen them. Some opportunities are cross phase and others are phase specific with several specifically aimed at primary practitioners.
First from the Consejería de Educación
SPANISH DAY FOR TEACHERS IN LEEDS – Sat, 16th March: The Spanish Embassy Education Office, the University of Leeds, and the Junta de Castilla y León are organizing a Spanish day in Leeds aimed at teachers of Spanish and future teachers from secondary, university, and further education.
There will be presentations and workshops with practical ideas for the Spanish class. A Spanish lunch will be served.
Registration is free, but places are limited (on a first come, first served basis). Information and free registration: https://bit.ly/spanish-day-in-leeds
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Series of online workshops: from February 6 to March 19, 2024. 4 independent and online workshops.
-Next workshop, Saturday, February 27, 2024 (16:30-17:30): «Elemental querido Watson: misterios y enigmas en la clase de ELE», organized jointly with Andalucia TRADE and with the collaboration of CERVANTES ESCUELA INTERNACIONAL.
Face-to-face training days in collaboration with Edinumen:
– Saturday, March 2, 2024 (9:30-13:00) in Newcastle, organized jointly with the University of Newcastle and with the collaboration of the University of Alicante.
– Tuesday, March 5, 2024 (16:00-17:30), in London, in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes.
Grants for an immersion course in Spain (Ávila, Segovia and Santander) – Summer 2024
14 one-week immersion courses in July or August 2024 in Ávila, Segovia or Santander aimed at British/Irish teachers of Spanish.
The grant covers the course, accommodation and meals, as well as the cultural programme. The grant does not cover the journey to Spain or the return to the UK. Travel and/or health insurance is also not included
This call is not for Spanish nationals. Application period will be announced from March.
Immersion course in Santiago de Compostela (Spain), April 2014
Registration is now open for the Spanih teacher training course “Curso de actualización para el profesorado de ELE: lengua, cultura y didáctica” organised by the University of Santiago de Compostela.
Details
Dates: 8th – 12th April 2024
Number of hours: 20 (face-to face)
Contents:
• Nuevas tecnologías en el aula de ELE
• Dinámicas de proyecto, actividades cooperativas y pedagogías innovadoras
• Lengua y cultura española( literatura, cine y música)
• El Camino de Santiago en el aula el ELE
• Actividades culturales incluidas en el curso:
• Visita guiada a la ciudad monumental
• Visita guiada al Patrimonio Histórico artístico de la Universidad
More information about registration, prices and accomodation: gene.gonzalez@usc.es
· Let’s Get Started with German in Primary School (Berlin, 21.04.2024- 27.04.2024): This opportunity is fully funded and aimed at non- specialist primary teachers and their headteachers (England/ state school only), who intend to introduce German or strengthen the status of German at their schools. The programme consists of two strands: A combined language and pedagogical training course (A1/A2level) and a specially curated incentive trip. Participants can apply for this fully funded course by submitting a motivational letter (application deadline: 04.03.2024).
· German Teachers’ Day for secondary school teachers (Saturday, 24 February 2024): Join us for the German Teachers’ Day “Engaging Learners – Keep them keen” in London, organised by the Goethe-Institut in cooperation with ALL Association for Language Learning. Registration Deadline: 12.02.2024.
· DLL – Deutsch Lehren Lernen: New courses starting in March: Would you like to expand or refresh your didactic knowledge, try out new things and expand your teaching skills? Two DLL courses (Deutsch Lehren Lernen) will be starting in March: DLL 2 “How do you learn German as a foreign language?” and DLL4 “Tasks, exercises, interaction”. Registration deadline: 27.02.2024.
And from the UK German Connection:
Applications for Professional Enrichment Programme are now open The Professional Enrichment Programme offers qualified UK teachers a funded opportunity to visit a German school for 1-2 weeks during the 2023-24 school year to develop skills and knowledge through intercultural exchange.
The programme is open to teachers of all disciplines and you don’t need to have an existing link with Germany to take part. Teachers can either visit their partner school or be matched with a German host school.
Application deadline: 1 March 2024
On Tuesday, 27 February at 4.30pm we are hosting a Q&A webinar to answer your questions and provide guidance. You can register to attend via our website.
2024 French Summer School for Primary School Teachers
Location: Alliance Française de Normandie, Rouen, France Date: Sunday 28 July 2024 to Sunday 4 August 2024 Eligibility: Primary School Teachers teaching French Content: General French language group courses will be offered (20h) as well as 2 workshops focused on French phonics. This summer school is intended to help teachers upskill their proficency in the language in order to feel more confident in the classroom. Please note that the course will not cover the pedagogy of teaching French and will not provide any teaching materials or techniques. Fees: Training fees, breakfast, dinner and accommodation in a French host-family are covered by the Institut français du Royaume-Uni. Travel expenses will be incurred by the participant.
And finally the Qatar Foundation are offering the following opportunity for teachers of Arabic:
Arabic Language Teacher Training Bursary Programme
QFI will begin accepting applications for its 2024-2025 Arabic Language Teacher Training Bursary Programme in mid-February 2024. The bursary will provide £2,000 towards the costs of a language teacher training programme that offers placement in the Arabic language. In addition to these funds, QFI will provide accepted candidates additional support that includes mentorship and attendance to CPD events and conferences.
Interested applicants can apply here in mid-Feb or contact ukarabic@qfi.org with any questions.
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Hopefully there’s something there that has caught someone’s eye. Perhaps I’ll highlight some other CPD opportunities in another post in the near future. There are certainly a few ALL opportunities in the next few weeks!
I was overjoyed to be asked to present at the inaugural PHOrum meeting for members of the Association for Language Learning last Wednesday evening (get well soon Susanne x). My presentation was entitled Take One Book and can be viewed below along with links to some of the resources and ideas I shared.
You can find out more about the Take One Book by going to their website. A helpful literacy idea with amazing resources! https://www.takeonebook.org
There are multiple versions of the story being read online in Spanish online – this is one and here’s another one that are read in both Spanish and English, and this one has the bilingual text but just Spanish narration.
Joining in with a story video featuring Nigel Pearson sharing the book in German (Wo ist meine Katze?) https://vimeo.com/123422432 Well worth watching this masterclass in engaging a class in a story! If you want to story as written in the book in German here’s a video of it being read
I love a bargain, and am also a great fan of recycling so I am particularly pleased with a new pile of German children’s books!
Some were purchased via LiPS, one was found in an Oxfam shop in Bath, and the other three were a Christmas gift from my son who is currently studying in Germany and found them in an Oxfam shop there.
So here they are!
Verstecken spielen Lustige Vierbeiner ISBN 978-1-78557-464-1
This lovely book is all about four legged friends playing Hide and Seek (Verstecken spielen) It has a touchy feely cover and features cute dogs a cat and a rabbit. I like the simplicity and repetition of the text as well as the animal noises. A fun book that would be great to read to FKS/KS1.
Ohren wackeln Beine zappeln ISBN 978-3-473-31566-6
Ohren wackeln, Beine zappeln is another cute board book featuring animals. This time it has holes in each page in which you insert your fingers to make the ears (Ohren) or legs (Beine) of the animals. Each page has two lines of text and is written in rhyme – great to read aloud and practice your pronunciation as well as spotting the verbs. And of course, good for finger wiggling!
Baby Goofy geht zu Bett ISBN 3-614-21890-2
This a short board book is from the Disney Babies series and is all about baby Goofy going to bed. It’s written in prose and features Pluto as well as Goofy. Very cute!
Kennst du das? Die Tiere ISBN 3-411-70441-1 Das ABC ISBN 3-411-70631-7
Two books from the same series here! Kennst du das? – Do you know that? Each is a word book with bright photographs to illustrate the meanings. They include ‘usual’ words such as Pferd, Hase, Katze, Tiger and Elephant, but also more unusual animals – Streifenhörnchen, Rotfeuerfisch and Wandelnde Blätter and vocabulary – Zange (pliers) Reißverschluss (zip) and Qualle (jellyfish) It also indulges my love of looking at German words, ‘literally translating’ and seeing language links: Dreirad = three wheels = tricycle Nacktschnecke = naked snail = slug Stinktier = smelly animal = skunk Fledermaus = flying mouse = bat Nashorn = nose horn = rhino Flusspferd = river horse = hippo
Schieben & Lernen 1 2 3 ISBN 978-3-940984-01-2
Finally a board book with sliding windows (Schiebefenster) to learn numbers 1-10. The windows slide to show either the numeral or a number of objects so could be used for numbers and then extended to use the vocabulary pictured, in singular and plural forms. Perhaps older learners could have a look in a dictionary for the words whilst others will begin to recognise the correct item from three after several readings.
PawPatrol Auf die Plätze, Fertig, Rettung! ISBN 978-1-5037-3215-5
I was really surprised to find this book in an Oxfam shop in Bath, and even more surprised when I realised that the buttons still worked! I like reading books based on series that we watch in English as it’s possible to compare names and ket features in the other language. For example, Ryder and Chase have the same names in both languages and the PupPad in German is called the Pfot-o-fon (Paws ‘phone) I’m looking forward to sharing this book with the little ones at school. And I don’t think the enchantment of this book is limited to little ones..
So these are my new German books. What do you think? It’s a bit of a shame that I don’t teach German on a day to day basis but reading them aloud is great fun! A reminder that there is a catalogue of my (ever growing!) collection of German children’s books here, and there is also a French list and several for Spanish – fiction, nonfiction, rhymes poems and songs, plus an ‘other languages‘ list too!
It seems a long time since Language World 2019 (it is three weeks I guess) so I apologise for the delay in uploading my presentation here; I’ve had a few website issues.
However, here it is, and below are some notes that you may find helpful in recalling what I said, or trying to decipher the slides! You’ll also find below Clare Seccombe’s lovely sketchnote of the session which summarises what I said as well!
Pictocuentos Pictotraductor Pictoaplicaciones Unfortunately I haven’t managed to find an equivalent for French or German. WidgetOnline is a subscription website that allows you to make visual stories similar to the Pictoaplicaciones suite but in English, or other languages with an add on pack.
I wanted to share more about using Makaton and to highlight that there are a number of free as well as reasonably priced resource packs that can be downloaded from Makaton.org I got the materials to accompany my retelling of Dear Zoo/ Querido Zoo from there and then translated them/applied them to the Spanish story. And there’s an article on Using Makaton in Storytelling that you might find interesting.
Ten in the Bed songs : In Spanish – Diez en la cama In French – Dix au lit In German – Zehn im Bett Download the Makaton signs here to accompany the story/song And watch the story told in English and Makaton by Rob Delaney below:
Finally, I had a pile of books to share but completely forgot with the pressure of time so here are screenshots from a couple. Firstly, Don Quijote de la Mancha which has the 2 USPs of being an authentic Spanish text, and also being written in Spanish ‘handwriting’, and El Pájaro, el Monoy la Serpiente en la Selva which is a charming story about living and working together.
If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below, or you can contact me via social media!
When we moved to Switzerland seven years ago, I had no job and no idea if I’d need my large collection of books. We decided not to take them all with us in the first instance so I started to make a list of them all whilst selecting some favourites that I couldn’t leave behind. The list stayed on my iPad and I forgot it was there.
Last summer I decided that I needed to work out how many books I had and list them somehow in some semblance of order. So I started a few Google Docs so that each time I purchase new books I can add them easily. And Google Docs have the added bonus that I can share the links so others can see too.
I’ve added the title of each book, the format and an idea of what the book is about and/or links that could be made to topics or to other curricular areas. Sadly it’s not searchable but you’re quite welcome to have a look!
Ideas: If you’re looking for books on a topic, have a browse. If you want ideas of books to purchase. If you’re not sure about a book’s suitability, check and see if I’ve got it, and ask my opinion, or for a look. (I’m happy to do either!) If you’re starting teaching a language and are looking for ideas. If you just want to be nosey, go ahead!
Thanks to Russel Tarr for capturing me telling a story!
My session at #PracPed18 was entitled Tell me a story! You can find the Slideshare below.
In it, I shared some ideas about the use of stories and books in the languages classroom. Beginning by discussing why you would use stories, we moved on to choosing books, and then some ideas of how you could use stories in the classroom to enhance language learning. Finally we talked about how to write your own stories; this part was a little shortened so I have added some notes below. You’ll also find links to some helpful posts and bookmarks below. I hope those that attended found the session helpful, and those that didn’t feel able to ask questions! Please feel free to leave a comment on the post if you have questions or comments!
Thanks for your participation and questions. Photo credit – Russel Tarr
Notes:
Slide 18 – I skipped this one in my presentation as time was flying. This week, Merriam Webster shared a “time machine’ dictionary that tells you the words that were put into the dictionary during the year of your birth. I wrote a story using just nouns from my birth year, shared via tweet. This gave me the idea of giving children a list of words and challenging them to write a story with those words. A good way for more advanced pupils to practice verbs. I will share further when I have developed that thought!
Rewriting a familiar story. Photo credit – Russel Tarr
Acronyms:
GPS – grammar punctuation and spelling
PSHE – Personal, Social and Health Education
ICU – Intercultural Understanding
Key Stage 1 – children aged 5-7
Key Stage 2 – children aged 7-11 (languages are a compulsory part of the curriculum in English state schools)
Yesterday I was in London for the annual ALL Council meeting, this year held at the Institute of Education. I deliberately set out early so that I could visit Foyles on Charing Cross Road as it now houses Grant and Cutler on the 4th floor. To be honest I could easily have spent far longer than the 40 minutes I had on 4th floor alone, and there are several other floors that were calling to me as well, including the cafe!
However, 40 minutes was all I had and I spent it browsing books with several purposes.
Seeing if I could find anything to inspire my boys with their language learning
Looking for things for my own language development.
Looking for new and interesting materials to use in my teaching.
Given that Sohn#1 had just bought all his books for uni, and didn’t really know what he wanted as a gift, coupled with the extortionate price of Swedish and Norwegian books, I failed to find him anything. Hijo#2 has just purchased all the books on list for A level French and I couldn’t find any Spanish text books that a) we didn’t already have or b)I thought were worth buying for him to self study so I didn’t buy anything for him specifically either. However, that’s OK as it reminded me of my copy of Harry potter á l’école des sorciers as well as reminding me to look out some Spanish texts from my past to lend to #2, and #1 has just had some books for the history part of his course.
So on to purpose 2 – my language development.
I can speak 6 languages with varying success from fluency to basic conversation, but I only really use two on a regular basis at the moment, teaching Spanish and speaking English. I don’t like to neglect the others so I made some purchases, partly to motivate me and also to keep my brain in tune!
I studied Catalan at university (a loooong time ago) and, having not used it for many years, ten years ago I rediscovered my ability to speak it during a partnership between my school and a school in Barcelona. Since then I’ve not lost my love of speaking it once more, and over the summer I did a FutureLearn course on Getting to know Catalonia which reignited my need to read in Catalan.I’m eagerly awaiting for a promised FutureLearn course on Ramon Llull but in the meantime I purchased a dual language anthology of poems. I don’t read enough poetry and I find it particularly exciting to ‘hear’ the rhythm of the language as I read.
Since living in Switzerland I’ve been learning German; I’ve (nearly) stopped beating myself up about not having learned more while I was there and can certainly understand and often say far more than I think I can. Duolingo keeps me ticking over, although phrases such as Mein Kopf ist nicht aus Beton and Dies ist eine heilige Eule aren’t that useful on a day to day basis, and I’ve fortunately not had to declare that Eine Wespe ist in meiner Hose. However, I think it’s time I did some reading too. I have a collection of children’s books (see herehere and here) including Mr Men books thanks to my MFL Besties Secret Santa, and Sohn#1 has left some of his books at home but I thought I’d try something a little less challenging before I embark on Kafka and Brecht! So I chose this dual text compilation of short stories to build my confidence as I can cross reference and check my understanding. I find that sort of exercise really helpful as I pick apart how sentences are constructed; I haven’t really been taught about sentence structure and word order so it’s quite interesting finding patterns for myself!
Then I decided that I’d like a couple more PixiBuch as I love them – they’re small and also only £1.50. These overlap with my purpose 3 – to find new and interesting materials for teaching as I will use them when I start the long awaited and long postponed German club. Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot is a traditional German fairy tale and Du bist bei mir: Gute-Nacht-Gebete contains some lovely goodnight rhymes that sound marvellous in my head (where my accent is beautiful and perfectly German!)
One of the SDP objectives for both schools at which I teach is reading. At both schools, staff are being asked to ensure that there are times in each day when children can read, and also a time for the teacher to read to the pupils. Children need to be exposed to a variety of texts and their vocabulary grows the more they read and/or are read to. Therefore, I had a look for some suitable texts that I could share. I have a number of Mr Men books in Spanish and bought a couple more. The stories are familiar to the children so, in conjunction with the illustrations, they can follow. However, I’m a little concerned that they are quite wordy so was looking for something else too.
First I found this lovely book of fairytales. Each is just two pages long and starts with a page of ‘pictogramas’ that are used to tell the story in rebus form i.e. words are replaced with a picture. I’m looking forward to sharing them with Y3 – and the younger children when I get the opportunity as I’m pretty sure that they’ll soon be joining in with the story, ‘reading’ the images.
Then I found a couple of boxes of ‘100 Cuentos Cortos‘ that contain 50 cards, each with a short story on either side. The stories are very short – some only a paragraph long – so there’s little time for children to get discombobulated by not understanding every word, and there’ll be time to repeat them more slowly a second time to allow a greater chance of comprehension. The vocabulary is simple, and the illustrations are clear and give a good idea of the story. There are a variety of themes including weather, animals, different seasons and festivals, and some are based around traditional tales. I’ll probably use these with Y4 and possibly Y5.
Finally I bought another dual language book for Y6 – El Principito. After the first few chapters that set the scene which will take longer than one session, the chapters are very short meaning that one can be read each lesson. The beauty of the dual text is that I can read the Spanish version then leave the chapter in both Spanish and English for children to read before the next lesson to clarify doubts, ensure understanding and, for some, dissect the texts.
Perhaps I’m being overly hopeful about how well this will go, but they do say to Aim for the moon; even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.
I’ve bought a few books over the summer that I wanted to share in short posts as I prepare to go back to school next week.
The first is called I LOVE YOU.
It’s a simple story in English about Little Badger and his teacher, Ms Giraffe who teaches him her favourite words. “They sound different all around the world but they mean the same thing” she says and proceeds to teach them how to say I love you in several languages.
Little Badger is so inspired by this that he spends all his free time that day telling inanimate objects, nature and his family that he loves them in Italian, French, Spanish, Chinese, German and English.
The thing I love most about this story is that Little Badger is excited about language learning and wants to use it. He might go over the top but he takes his learning away from school, practises it and shares it with others. Whilst I might be a little shocked if a child jumped out of their seat in my lesson, hugged me and declared that they loved me, I really want to inspire that sort of passion in the children I teach. So this year I’m going to try and be just like Ms Giraffe – very kind and very clever (as she is described) and very inspiring!
This year at Language World I was invited to present some ideas for using technology for collaboration in language learning. I teach primary so the focus was on that age group but there are many ideas and tools that are equally applicable for young and old! In spite of some technical hitches and running out of time as there was so much to share, the ideas were well received and I hope that this will serve as a reminder/update for those who attended, and a snapshot for those who didn’t.
Below is my presentation. Whilst all the links work, the videos don’t I’m afraid but you’ll find some below to give you a taster.
Link to BetsyBelle’s webinar Out of this World on using apps in the Primary Language Classroom. Highly recommended viewing especially if you’re interested in the how as much as the why.
