West Midlands

The Summer Holiday Language Immersion Challenge is open to Year 10 students who will be taking their GCSEs next year and is designed to keep them practising their target language during the long summer break.

Students each receive a booklet containing 14 activities for them to complete, ranging from sending an email, watching a film or reading a teenagers blog in the target language to name just a few.

Participants will be awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze certificates after the summer holidays, depending on how many of the challenges they have completed.

Routes will award a small prize to all of those students who complete 12 or more challenges!

Please email routes@aston.ac.uk for a printable copy of the challenge booklet and certificates.

Our Languages in HE Sixth Form Conference will take place at Aston University on Wednesday 20 June 2018. 

The Languages in HE Sixth Form Conference will enable your Year 12 students to discover more about the opportunities available for language study at university, helping them to make an informed decision about their future studies.

The varied conference programme will provide Year 12 students with an opportunity to hear about the different types of language study at university, as well as hearing from current undergraduate students about their experiences of language study and the year abroad.  In addition, students will participate in two sessions in their current language(s) of study (French, Spanish or German) and a taster session in a new language, or in Translation studies.

This conference will start at 10.00am and end at 3.30pm on Wednesday 20 June 2018.

There is a cost of £9 per student to attend. Closing date for registrations is Monday 21 May.

Please note that places are limited so early booking is advisable as all places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. 

A multilingual poetry competition that celebrates cultural diversity and the many languages currently spoken in schools across the UK.

The aim of the Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition is to celebrate languages, culture and language-learning, giving secondary school students the opportunity to practise and improve their foreign language skills (any language they are learning in school) and appreciate their heritage, using poetry. The regional competition is being led by Routes into Languages West Midlands at Aston University, Birmingham.

The idea was originally developed by the Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Manchester Metropolitan University and Routes into Languages North West and due to its success, is now being rolled out across the country.

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.

So how can we encourage and enthuse more students to study languages at GCSE level and beyond?

In order to get your KS4 and 5 students thinking about this, we would like them to design a three hour event for students in years 7 to 9 to illustrate the benefits of learning a foreign language.

• The theme of the event can be of their choosing and they can use interactive activities as well as classroom time to put their ideas across to the students – it’s up to them to be as creative as possible to engage the younger students in language learning.

• Entries will need to include the following information:

  • Programme for the event – this must show how the time is split for each part of the event.

  • Presentation materials – if the event includes a formal presentation, a copy of this will need to be submitted. Please note the event does not need to include a formal presentation.

  • Activity materials – if a specific activity is to be delivered, an explanation and materials for this should be submitted.

• Students should bear in mind the language level of the group of students the event is aimed at and ensure that the vocabulary used in the presentation/activities is suitable.

Prizes will be awarded for the best event!

The competition is open to pupils in Years 10 – 13. Students should work in groups and each entry MUST be clearly marked on the back with the group’s name, year group, teacher and school.

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 copies 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 Friday 9 March 2018

Please send your entries to: KS4 and 5 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.

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

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 and 8 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 FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH, POLISH AND MANDARIN – entries submitted in 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 and 8 and the winning entry will be used as our Christmas E-card for 2017 and the winner will also receive a prize of a languages book. 

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) 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 11  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.

Routes into Languages West Midlands invites you to Aston University’s campus for this fun and interactive French cultural event for Year 8 and 9 pupils from 12.45pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 21 March 2018.

The afternoon will feature native French speakers who will deliver language and culture workshops about French speaking countries outside of France to small groups of pupils.

Using the information they have learned in the workshop, pupils will then take part in an interactive session around the culture of the country and present their work to the larger group at the end of the event.

Cost: £9 per student

Routes into Languages West Midlands invites you to Aston University’s campus for this fun and interactive Spanish cultural event for Year 8 and 9 pupils from 12.45pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 28 February 2018.

The afternoon will feature native Spanish speakers who will deliver language and culture workshops about Spanish speaking countries outside of Spain to small groups of pupils.

Using the information they have learned in the workshop, pupils will then take part in an interactive session around the culture of the country and present their work to the larger group at the end of the event. A representative from the Spanish Embassy Education Office will be in attendance to judge the winning group.

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

Cost: £9 per student

Routes into Languages West Midlands invites you to Aston University’s campus for this fun and interactive German cultural event for Year 8 and 9 pupils from 12.45pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 24 January 2018.

The afternoon will feature native German speakers who will deliver language and culture workshops about German speaking countries outside of Germany to small groups of pupils..

Using the information they have learned in the workshop, pupils will then take part in an interactive session around the culture of the country 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. 

Cost: £9 per student

Routes into Languages West Midlands invites you to a national event entitled “Careers in Translation and Interpreting” to be held at Aston University from 12.00pm to 6.30pm on Wednesday 15th November 2017.

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

Throughout the event, participants can talk to industry representatives in a separate exhibition area, and there will be refreshments and a networking session later in the afternoon to talk to the speakers and other visitors personally. The day will round up with three practical taster sessions where participants themselves can have a go at interpreting and translation.

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

A full programme for the event will be available in September as soon as all speakers are secured.

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

To mark the European Day of Languages, 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. As many athletes and sportsmen and women speak more than one language, our theme for this year’s Poster Competition is “My Sports Language Role Model”. Pupils should research and design their own poster, using, if they wish, a variety of materials and languages!

Pupils should choose a sportsperson who speaks a language they study at school. The poster should tell us who they are, what they do, which language(s) they speak and what they admire about them!

Entries can be submitted in any foreign language or languages 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.

Winners will each receive a prize and the the winning entries will be displayed around the School of Languages and Social Sciences at Aston University, will feature on our website and may be used in a press release. They may also be used in publicity materials in future. Prizes will 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.

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 Friday 6 October.

Please send your entries to: European Day of Languages Competition, Routes into Languages West Midlands, Room NW803A, 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