West Midlands

The Year 9 Language Day at the University of Wolverhampton aims to raise aspirations and encourage pupils from schools in the West Midlands to study languages. The day features inspirational talks from local business executives and a marketing activity related directly to language learning and its relevance in business. This event has always been well received and well attended.

Please note that there is a cost of £9 per student to attend.

Registration for this event will open at the beginning of October.

This is a national competition open to schools in all regions in England.

Learn about Christmas traditions in different countries by taking part in our Christmas Card Design competition!

This year Routes into Languages West Midlands will be sending out a Christmas e-card to all of our contacts and would like to invite students in years 7, 8 and 9 from schools in England to participate in our Christmas Card Design Competition.

We would like the students to design a card which shows the Christmas traditions of another country. Pupils should research and design their own card, using, if they wish, a variety of materials.

Entries can be submitted in any foreign langauge – entries containing English will not be accepted.

Each card should be no larger than a sheet of A4 paper and must be completed by hand but any form of materials can be used – felt tips, paint, fabric etc. Judges will be looking for originality of illustration as well as accuracy of language and content.

The competition is open to pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 and the winning entry will be used as our Christmas E-card for 2018. The winner will also receive a £20 National Book token.

The winning entry will also be displayed around the School of Languages and Social Sciences at Aston University and will feature on our website. It may also be used in publicity materials in future.

Each entry MUST be clearly marked on the back with the pupil’s name, age, year group, teacher and school, as well as any necessary information about the language(s) chosen (i.e. if it is a less widely learned language) to facilitate judging. When sending school entries, teachers should provide a covering note with their contact details for ease of notifying winners.

Please note that entries cannot be returned, we advise making a scanned copy for pupils who wish to retain their work. In the event of insufficient entries of good quality, no prize will be awarded; the Judges’ decision is final.

We hope that you will encourage your pupils to take part in this competition. The deadline for submission of entries will be Monday 3 December.

Please send your entries to: Claire Richards, Project Manager, Routes into Languages West Midlands, Room MB777, School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET. If you have any queries please email us at routes@aston.ac.uk or call 0121 204 4720.

The Year 9 Language Day at the University of Wolverhampton aims to raise aspirations and encourage pupils from schools in the West Midlands to study languages. The day features inspirational talks from local business executives and a marketing activity related directly to language learning and its relevance in business. This event has always been well received and well attended.

Please note that there is a cost of £9 per student to attend.

Registration for this event will open at the beginning of September.

Routes into Languages West Midlands invites you to Aston University’s campus for this fun and interesting German cultural event for Year 8 and 9 pupils from 12.00pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 20 March 2019.

The afternoon will feature native German speakers who will deliver language and culture workshops on the topic of 'School in the UK and Germany' to small groups of pupils. Using the information they have learned in the workshop, pupils will then take part in a fun interactive session and present their work to the larger group at the end of the event. A representative from the Goethe Institut will be in attendance to judge the winning group.

Alongside the pupils' sessions, the Goethe Institut will provide CPD training for teachers. 

Lunch will be provided.

Please note that this year there is a cost of £9 per student for this event.

Routes into Languages West Midlands invites you to Aston University’s campus for this fun and interesting Spanish cultural event for Year 8 and 9 pupils from 12.00pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 27 February 2019.

The afternoon will feature native Spanish speakers who will deliver language and culture workshops to small groups of pupils on the topic of  'Dia de los Muertos'. Using the information they have learned in the workshop, pupils will then take part in a fun interactive session and present their work to the larger group at the end of the event. A representative from the Spanish Embassy Education Department will be in attendance to judge the winning group.

Alongside the pupils' sessions, the Spanish Embassy Education Department will provide a CPD training session for teachers. 

Lunch will be provided.

Please note that this year there is a cost of £9 per student for this event.

Routes into Languages West Midlands invites you to Aston University’s campus for this fun and interesting French cultural event for Year 8 and 9 pupils from 12.00pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 30 January 2018.

The afternoon will feature native French speakers who will deliver language and culture workshops on the topic of 'Carnivale' to small groups of pupils. Using the information they have learned in the workshop, pupils will then take part in a fun interactive session and present their work to the larger group at the end of the event.

Alongside the pupils' sessions, a CPD training session will be provided for teachers - title TBC. 

Lunch will be provided.

Please note that this year there is a cost of £9 per student for this event.

Routes into Languages West Midlands warmly invites you to a national event entitled “Careers in Translation and Interpreting” to be held at Aston University from 12.45pm to 5.45pm on Wednesday 14th November 2018.

The event is aimed at sixth form and undergraduate students who are thinking of a career in the translation and interpreting industry. Participants will hear from employers, alumni and current translation students about becoming a translator or interpreter and the many exciting job opportunities in the translation and interpreting industry

An exhibition and networking session will take place later in the afternoon giving delegates the chance to speak to the speakers and other visitors personally. Delegates will also have a choice of one of three practical taster sessions where participants themselves can have a go at interpreting and translation.

The event is free and open to students of any university in the UK, as well as sixth form students from across the West Midlands.

Celebrate the European Day of Languages on 26 September by taking part in our poster competition!

To mark the European Day of Languages and following the success of the competition last year, we invite schools in the region to participate in our poster competition. With the number of UK languages learners reducing, whilst international commerce and travel increase, our aim is to spread the message of the importance of learning languages, promoting intercultural awareness and encourage uptake, particularly at GCSE and beyond.

Speaking another language can lead to new friendships, more fun when on holiday and opportunities to study or work abroad in the future. So, to get our Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils thinking about these things, this year we would like the students to design a poster about another European country they would like to visit. Pupils should research and design their own poster, using, if they wish, a variety of materials and languages!

The poster should tell us which country it is, why they chose it and some facts about it e.g. language spoken, food, music, famous landmarks etc. – the more the better!

Entries can be submitted in any foreign langauge or langauges and may include some English if desired (for example, pupils may like to provide a translation of the facts they provide). Each poster should be no larger than a sheet of A4 paper and must be completed by hand but any form of materials can be used – felt tips, paint, fabric etc. Judges will be looking for originality of illustration as well as accuracy of language and content.

The competition is open to pupils in Year 7, 8 and 9 with one winner for each year group. Each entry MUST be clearly marked on the back with the pupil’s name, age, year group, teacher and school, as well as any necessary information about the language(s) chosen (i.e. if it is a less widely learned language) to facilitate judging. When sending school entries, teachers should provide a covering note with their contact details for ease of notifying winners.

Please note that entries cannot be returned, we advise making a scanned copy for pupils who wish to retain their work. In the event of insufficient entries of good quality, no prize will be awarded; the judges’ decision is final.

The prizes will be a £20 Lover to Shop voucher for each of the winners plus a winner’s certificate. The winning entries will be displayed around the School of Languages and Social Sciences at Aston University and will feature on our website. They may also be used in publicity materials in future. Prizes will be posted out or may be presented in schools by a member of Routes into Languages staff or a languages ambassador who will also deliver a “Why Study Languages” presentation to your pupils should you wish.

We hope that you will encourage your pupils to take part in this competition as part of your in-school European Day of Languages celebrations. The deadline for submission of entries will be Monday 1 October.

Please send your entries to: European Day of Languages Competition, Routes into Languages West Midlands, Room MB777, School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET. If you have any queries please email us at routes@aston.ac.uk or call 0121 204 4720.

Need some inspiration?

• Encourage pupils to use home languages – they could even teach a few words or phrases to other pupils.
• Take the opportunity to so some cross curricular work with your art department
• Visit http://www.oddizzi.com/teachers/explore-the-world/places/europe/
• Have a look at the European Day of Languages website https://edl.ecml.at/

The Year 9 Language Day at the University of Wolverhampton aims to raise aspirations and encourage pupils from schools in the West Midlands to study languages. The day features inspirational talks from local business executives and a marketing activity related directly to language learning and its relevance in business. This event has always been well received and well attended.

60 places are available and there is a cost of £9 per student to attend. Please email monica.cozzone@wlv.ac.uk to confirm your attendance.