West Midlands

Routes into Languages West Midlands invites you to The University of Wolverhampton's campus for this fun and interesting Spanish cultural event for Year 8 and 9 pupils from 12.45pm to 3.30pm on Friday 3 March 2017.

The afternoon will feature native Spanish speakers from countries outside Spain who will deliver language and culture workshops to small groups of pupils. Pupils will then design their own posters and present what they have learned to the larger group at the end of the event.

This event is fully funded and therefore FREE to attend. There are a maximum of 80 places on this event and we can offer each school up to 10 places. Late cancellations (one week before the event) are charged at £5 per pupil.

 Routes into Languages West Midlands invites you to a national event entitled “Careers in Translation and Interpreting” to be held at Aston University from 12.45pm to 6.30pm on Wednesday 30th November 2016.

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 free and 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 is attached below.

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 12.45pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 25 January 2017.

The afternoon will feature native German speakers from countries outside Germany who will deliver language and culture workshops to small groups of pupils. Pupils will then design their own posters and present what they have learned 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. 

This event is fully funded and therefore FREE to attend. There are a maximum of 80 places on this event and we can offer each school up to 10 places. Late cancellations (one week before the event) are charged at £5 per pupil.

Registration for this event opens on Monday 12 September

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, understanding of other cultures, more fun when on holiday and opportunities to study or work abroad in the future to name but a few benefits. 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 and famous landmarks, national celebrations, traditions etc. – the more the better!

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.

The prizes will be £20 vouchers for 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 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 7 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

• Visit http://www.ducksters.com/geography/europe.php

Are you interested in learning a new language?

• Do you want to practise your existing language skills?

• Are you interested in working as a translator or interpreter?

• Or perhaps you are a language teacher looking to network and explore the latest language learning research from The Open University?

Explore the latest language learning and teaching technologies

Practise speaking a variety of languages in the Language Café area

Watch live cultural performances from local schools

Find out more about translating and interpreting

Discover the options for language learning in the Milton Keynes area

Join language taster sessions in French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Greek,

Japanese, German, British Sign Language, Russian

Participate in professional development sessions for language teachers

For more information and to book a place at this event visit:

www.open.ac.uk/languages-mk

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/languagesmk

Eventbrite: http://bit.ly/1WGiYLf

Email L.Crutchley@bham.ac.uk to confirm your place asap

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.