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Press Release
15 July 2008
UK embraces technology to win European languages awards
UK winners of the prestigious European Award for Languages have shown that learners of all ages are inspired to develop language skills through creative use of new technologies. Podcasts, interactive DVDs and video conferencing all feature in projects run by the winners of the Award, which will be presented tomorrow by CILT’s patron, Sir Trevor McDonald. Four out of the twelve winning projects come from outside of the educational sphere, with organisations ranging from local community groups to a Premiership football club earning the prestigious award, which recognises innovative approaches to language learning.
This year’s winners demonstrate that young learners are getting to grips with the latest technology, with primary pupils learning Spanish through interactive DVDs and French through blogs and podcasts. Meanwhile, secondary schools have taken part in video conferencing with the British Embassy in Madrid, and used green screen technology to produce weather forecasts in order to share their language skills with local primary children. Outside of the school environment, Eastside Educational trust has seen teenagers producing bilingual documentaries using digital film, while SOAS has produced a series of podcasts allowing students to share their experiences of learning Japanese.
Although the European Award for Languages is traditionally seen as a prize for schools and universities, this year’s winners come from a wider range of educational projects. Arsenal Football Club, Eastside Educational Trust, Suffolk Inclusive School Improvement Service, and Gael Linn and West Armagh Consortium have all won awards celebrating their innovative work with language teaching. Whether combining languages with football, sharing language and culture with Polish immigrants, or showing how languages are key to the hotel industry, these projects have great value in demonstrating how languages have a real life meaning outside of the classroom.
Languages can also complement other subjects learnt in schools. At one primary school children learned Spanish through the life of the explorer Christopher Columbus in a project taking in History, Geography and Culture, while a secondary school’s exchange with a difference gave an extra dimension to History, Drama, Music and Sport. One school managed to achieve what is sometimes seen as the biggest challenge in language teaching: getting teenaged boys talking confidently in another language.
Steven Fawkes, Chair of the UK judging panel said:
‘Reading through the entries was proof again of the adventurous, motivating and effective work going on all of the time to promote and maintain the status of languages in the public eye and to make the maximum impact on using languages and understanding other cultures.’
Find out more about this year's winners, sponsors and the European Award for Languages.
