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The new Routes into Languages website is currently in development and will be launching in the new year!

 

Promoting the take-up of languages and student mobility

East of England

Language & Fashion Course

Date: 
Saturday, 26 September, 2015 - 01:00 to Saturday, 23 July, 2016 - 01:00
Region: 
East of England
Location: 
Eastern Region

Written by Luke Roskilly (of Double Club fame!), the Fashion & Languages resources are designed to provide an adaptable, activity-based framework for teaching languages at Key Stage 3. By combining language learning with fashion, the resources aim to inspire pupils, helping them to acquire and creatively develop language skills.

The resources are divided into seven main Units (Section 3) dealing with topics taught at Key Stage 3, including colours, items of clothing, personal descriptions etc., whilst also introducing ‘real world’ fashion vocabulary and phrases, such as fabrics and patterns, giving compliments and basic ‘movement’ commands. The resources culminate in a final celebratory Unit, in which pupils are intended to put on a fashion show (the scope is up to you) to celebrate and demonstrate what they have learnt, and what has interested them.

The resources and methodology

The Fashion & Languages resources are comprised of this Teachers’ Handbook, supported by a series of colourful, animated PowerPoint presentations (one per Unit), as well as vocabulary cards and adaptable templates for vocabulary learning activities.

The resources are activity-based, placing the focus on visual, kinaesthetic and creative activities to allow pupils to develop a logical understanding of new vocabulary and phrases, which they can then try out and adapt. Each Unit includes a mixture of activities to introduce and help pupils practise new language, as well as a creative extension activity in which pupils develop a fashion ‘look book’ to implement in writing what they have learnt.

In addition to the eight detailed Unit plans, the Teachers’ Handbook contains a series of vocabulary games and activities (Section 2), which can be used to augment the activities suggested in the Unit plans. For planning purposes, all activities are tagged with the language skills which they are intended to develop (Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing), as well as the group type to which they are most suited (whole class, groups, pairs, individual).

Throughout, the Fashion & Languages resources are intended as a source of ideas and suggestions rather than as set of instructions to be followed to the letter. Feel free to pick and choose activities (one Unit could span multiple lessons), to adapt the activities to match your educational goals and the language level / interests of your pupils, and also to supplement the resources with your own activities and worksheets.

Languages

The core methodology used in the Fashion & Languages resources has been designed to be as universal as possible, allowing it to be easily adapted for different languages. For this reason, the Teacher’s Handbook provides examples in English, with specific grammar notes for the target language, where needed. The target language in this pilot version of the resources is German.

Cross-curricular and international project work

The Fashion & Languages resources can be used solely as a support for language teaching, but can also provide an excellent basis for creative, cross-curricular project work, both in your own school and in cooperation with other schools as part of an international project. The Teachers’ Handbook includes a detailed selection of project ideas (Section 4) with suggestions for both cross-curricular and international activities.

To provide you with further inspiration, the Teacher’s Handbook also includes a series of case studies
(Section 5), providing examples of projects combining fashion and language learning, from a Spanish fashion show to

an international project in which pupils designed and made clothes from recycled materials. 

 

To register click here

Strictly Speaking

Date: 
Saturday, 26 September, 2015 - 01:00 to Friday, 22 July, 2016 - 01:00
Region: 
East of England
Location: 
East

A joint pilot project with ALL

For Y9 pupils and linked to the requirements of the new National Curriculum Programme od Study (2014), this project aims to give young language learners a flavour of authentic language and the challenge to create a successful short performance.

It exploits aspects of the format of the popular BBC TV series, Strictly Come Dancing in order to encourage language learners in Y9 to:

  • refine their oral language skills
  • develop their skills of speaking in public
  • work with native speakers or high level speakers of their language
  • enhance their memorisation strategies
  • access literary texts (including prose, poetry, song lyrics, plays etc)

NOTE: no dancing is involved!

FINAL AT ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE (date tbc)

To register click here

Welsh translation unavailable for East of England.
Welsh translation unavailable for Routes East Spelling Bee Regional Final.

Mother Tongue Other Tongue

Date: 
Saturday, 28 February, 2015 - 00:00 to Monday, 30 November, 2015 - 00:00
Region: 
East of England
Location: 
Eastern Region

Mother Tongue Other Tongue  

We’re extending this tried and tested multilingual poetry competition that celebrates cultural diversity and the many languages currently spoken in secondary schools from Routes into Languages North West to Routes into Languages East.

 

THE ROUTES EAST COMPETITION

Free and open to: 11-18 year olds (Years 7-13)

Age categories are as follows:

*    KS3 (Secondary years 7,8,9)

*    KS4 (Secondary years 10,11)

*    KS5 (Secondary years 12,13)

Each school should select the 3 best entries per year group.

The competition launches this year as part of the Cambridge University Bilingualism Event on 28th February (click here for more info)

Note: This year there are 2 deadlines:

1) We're joining the national project with a first deadline of 29th May. The winners selected then will be invited along to the National Celebration in Manchester on Monday, June 29th.

2) The second deadline is Friday 24th July.

All winners of both deadlines will be invited along to a Celebration Event at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas 

Winners will be selected by a panel of judges and winning entries will feature in an anthology.    

Routes into Languages East invites young writers to send in their poetry and verse for this multi-lingual poetry competition.  There are two categories:

  • Mother Tongue – pupils whose first language is not English are encouraged to submit a poem or song in their first language.  It can be an original piece, or a ‘remembered’ piece.  It can be written in any language.  The entry will be judged on a short paragraph (written in English) that explains the piece and its significance to the pupil. 
  • Other Tongue – pupils learning another language are encouraged to get creative with this language and submit an original poem for the competition. 

THE RULES

Mother Tongue / Other Tongue is open to all mainstream and supplementary secondary schools in the Eastt and pupils can enter as individuals or groups of any size.

Mother tongue:

This can be an original, creative piece, or a poem or song that is ‘remembered’ – i.e. something in your first language that you recall, or that has been told to you by a relative. This can be in any language but English and pieces must also include a short explanation of the inspiration behind the piece, where it comes from, or why it is important to the person submitting it. (No more than half a page)

Other tongue entries must be original poem and written in a language that is not the first language spoken by the person writing it.  This can be any language, including English (if it is not the writer’s first language)

All entries must be accompanied by a Mother Tongue Other Tongue 2015 Entry Cover Sheet (see below).

TEACHERS!

FOR A TEACHER'S PACK TO HELP GET YOU STARTED, SEE BELOW

To submit by email, send your entry to routes@anglia.ac.uk, including all the details requested above and with the subject heading MTOT.

To submit by post: send a copy of your work remembering to include all the information and contact details listed above to:

Mother Tongue Other Tongue

Sarah Schechter
Routes into Languages East
Hel 262
Anglia Ruskin University
Cambridge
CB1 1PT

A national celebration event will be held on Monday 29th June 2015 in Manchester

Adopt a Class

Date: 
Tuesday, 3 March, 2015 - 00:00 to Friday, 30 September, 2016 - 01:00
Region: 
East of England
Location: 
East

Created by Routes Cymru,the aims of the Adopt a Class project include:

  • to raise awareness amongst young people of student mobility opportunities;
  • to bring a bit of a country into the classroom;
  • to enthuse young people about studying languages and to 
  • support teachers in promoting MFL as an option for KS4.

The project involves partnering a university undergraduate, about to embark on a year abroad, with a Year 9 class in the Eastern region. The student will visit the class (Year 8) in the Summer Term and give an introductory presentation. Then whilst abroad next academic year the student will correspond with the class, using a blog and sending resources, helping to make the language and the country come alive. The student will then return to talk to the pupils in more depth in the Autumn Term (Year 10).

For examples of current blogs from our Cambridge University Year Abroad students see below:

Rachel in Spain

Sarah in Spain

 

 

To register click here

(please note: matching of schools and Student Language Ambassadors happens in May/early June each year)

'A' Level Presentation Competition

Date: 
Wednesday, 8 January, 2014 - 00:00 to Friday, 27 June, 2014 - 01:00
Region: 
East of England
Location: 
East and all..

An exciting presentation competition from OCR and Routes into Languages East, with an AMAZING prize: a week's internship in a major translation company (and the glory of winning, of course!)

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 27th JUNE!

See below for details.

Welsh translation unavailable for Amazing Talking Wall at County Upper School!.

Language on Film

Date: 
Thursday, 26 September, 2013 - 01:00 to Tuesday, 1 July, 2014 - 01:00
Region: 
East of England

A film-making competition for KS3, with pupils using industry-standard film-making techniques to produce 5-minute films in any language, with English subtitles.

A Teacher's Pack and a DVD are available with film-making training and instructions.

 

To see last year's winning film click here: (coming soon)

 

For more information and links to past winners click here

 

To register, click here

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