West Midlands

Routes into Languages West Midlands are currently working with local Schools and Colleges as hubs to host language activities for other schools in the same area. The first of these activities will be a Year 9 language day with King Edward VI College Stourbridge.

The event takes place on 16th December 1pm – 4pm and pupils will have the chance to find out more about languages at GCSE, A-level and beyond including a hands on session on careers with languages. Current college and undergraduate language students will be on hand throughout the afternoon to provide advice, support and guidance to pupils and a guided tour of the College in target language (from a choice of Spanish, French or German). Have a look at the programme here.

This event is initially restricted to schools in the wider Dudley area, however there is a waiting list for schools outside the area. Please note, places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
 

Staff and students from Coventry University design and deliver bespoke revision days to be held in local schools. Content is tailored to meet the needs of the participating pupils. The sessions will be taught by University staff, supported by Student Ambassadors and content is drawn from GCSE syllabus.

For more information please contact routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3872.

Please note this activity is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only. Please visit the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.

University of Warwick volunteers will visit schools in the region during the Spring term to work with students with the aim of improving oral language skills, stimulate interest in language and culture, and act as role models.

Please note this activity is restricted to schools in Coventry and Warwickshire.

For more information please contact routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3872.

Students and staff from University of Warwick visit schools to work with students in all year groups delivering interactive language workshops combined with various life-skills activities e.g.: Italian and football, Spanish and cooking etc. This may involve learning the Italian vocabulary for playing football and then go out and play, but you can only speak Italian!

Student volunteers will lead the sessions. Native speakers of languages will give their perspective on learning English and studying in the UK, and lead sessions on exploring the links between languages and careers.

For more information please contact routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3872.

Please note this activity is restricted to schools in the Coventry and Warwickshire area only.

• Are you interested in a career with languages?
• Would you like to know more about working in translation, interpreting and related areas?

On this careers day you will be able to talk to people who work as translators, interpreters and project managers in the translation industry. The presenters of the careers day include graduates of Aston University's translation programmes.

To register for your FREE place please follow the link below.

For more information please contact us on routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3872.

This event is organised by Aston University's School of Languages and Social Sciences as part of the programme for the National Network for Translation with the support of Routes into Languages West Midlands.

This Language Day for Year 9 students focusses on careers with languages. The day will include talks by representatives from local businesses which use languages on a daily basis and a target language marketing exercise using staff and students from University of Wolverhampton.

This event aims to increase motivation for studying languages by raising awareness about how language skills can be used in the real world.

This event is primarily for schools taking part in Wolf activities with University of Wolverhampton. However, if your school is not involved in Wolf activities you may join a waiting list and if places become available we will contact you. To register interest in this event and join the waiting list please follow the link below and enter your details. Any queries should be directed to routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3872.

Please note this activity is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only. Please check the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.

This event for Year 8 pupils and their parents will take place at Keele University with a series of workshops with the aim of encouraging GCSE uptake of languages and enthusing pupils and parents for languages. There will be emphasis on the fun element of learning languages as well as the advantages of having a language in the world of business and employment.

This is a two part project with the second phase, a two day residential for pupils and teachers held at Keele University. Parents will be invited to a celebration evening meal at the end of the residential phase.

For more information please contact us at routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3872.
 

Coventry University Staff and Students work with Year 7 students to deliver the "Microville" activity. Students visit an imaginary French Town and act out every day situations such as buying a postcard, visiting a museum, ordering food at a French café, booking a hotel room and even a visit to the zoo! Native French speaking Coventry University Student Ambassadors acted out the role of hoteliers, shopkeepers and police officers. Students also build and decorate their own mini French town out of cardboard and label it in French.

The aim of the activity isto encourage Year 7 students to participate in day to day conversation, as they would in everyday life in France.

For more information please contact routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 207 3872.

Please note this activity is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only, please see the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.

A half-day or whole day event delivered at local schools by Coventry University staff, supported by Student Ambassadors. Pupils develop and market a product for either the Chinese, Japanese, Italian or Portuguese markets as well as learning some key vocabulary in their target language. Other languages may be possible. 'Business Dragons' from the local business community can also be invited to evaluate the pupils' product presentations.

For more information please contact routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3872.

Please note this activity is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only. Please visit the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.
 

This e-mentoring project, hosted by the University of Birmingham, aims to raise the enthusiasm for language learning in Year 9 pupils by offering them a 9-week Web CT course in a new language. The pupils are supported in their learning by undergraduate e-mentors. The languages for 2009/10 are Italian, Japanese , German or Mandarin Chinese 

FLAGS stands for “Foreign Language Awareness Group for Schools”. The idea is to introduce pupils to a new language and thus get them inspired and enthusiastic about language learning. FLAGS works as an e-mentoring project: The language learning content is delivered via WebCT, our virtual learning environment. With the help of undergraduate student e-mentors, the pupils work their way through up to nine online language learning sessions. For more information about FLAGS, please see the flyer at the bottom of the page and/or contact Sonja Bernhard.

The exact project dates are to be arranged with each participating school. As the project has to run during university term time to guarantee the availability of our undergraduate mentors, we aim for a start in October/early November. The project runs for 11 weeks - nine weekly language learning sessions plus a visit to your school at the start and end.

If interested, please contact:

Sonja Bernhard

University of Birmingham

School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music

S.Bernhard@bham.ac.uk

Tel 0121 414 2564

Please note this activity is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only. Please check the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.