Mother Tongue Other Tongue 2016 (North East Regional Competition)

With the national competition due to launch shortly, Routes into Languages North East are delighted to announce the return of the regional Mother Tongue Other Tongue poetry competition for 2016, officially launching as part of the Festival of International Culture from 21st-23rd March.

The regional competition is now open to all primary and secondary aged pupils aged 9-18 years old in the North East of England who can enter as individuals or small groups of up to 3 pupils. The competition comprises two distinct categories:

The Mother Tongue category of the competition consists of two parts, the first of which is the poem itself. This can be either 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) and can be in any language other than English. The second part should be a short explanation (no more than half a page) of the inspiration behind the piece, where it comes from, or why it is important to the person submitting it. This part must be written in English and is the part your entry will be judged on.

The Other Tongue category requires entries to be an original poem written in a language that is not the first language spoken by the person writing it. The languages you create your poem in should be studied in your school or as part of extra-curricular activity and can be any of the following: French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian and Italian.

The deadline for entering the competition is Friday 29th April 2016. Please find details in the flyer below for further reference, too.

Please send all entries as hard copies via post to:

Routes into Languages North East
Room 6.3 Old Library Building
Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU

Please remember to complete and attach the cover sheet available to download below, detailing your name, school, year group and teacher’s name and e-mail address (or parent/guardian if sending in the work yourself).

Winners of each Key Stage category will be shortlisted by Friday 6th May and invited to attend the National Celebration ceremony at Manchester Metropolitan University on Thursday 30th June.

If you have any queries about the competition please email Consortium Project Manager Sophie Stewart at sophie.stewart2@ncl.ac.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.