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April 2008 | Issue 2

Welcome | Innovation | Language Networks | News | 14 to 19 | Community languages | Event reports | Training opportunities | Resources

Welcome
Welcome to this new edition of the CILT secondary ezine. We had excellent feedback on the first edition which was published in the autumn and hope that you are enjoying this new way of gathering and sharing information and ideas amongst language professionals.

Once again there is a wide range of new material, written by practising teachers and advisers. The articles continue to remind us that there is still a real desire by teachers and students at all levels to make language learning exciting, meaningful and relevant to our everyday lives and personal, social and intellectual development.

We have included links to some new - look in particular at the new 14 to 19 web pages - and some well established innovations that are already on the CILT website. Please take time to read these too!

Do continue to let us know your views on this new format and do let us have any links or articles that you would like to see included in future editions. Don’t be modest – share your thoughts, practice, questions and answers with your colleagues so that everyone can benefit from this collaborative and special way of working.

All good wishes and happy reading,

Carmel O’Hagan
Head of Secondary Education
CILT, the National Centre for Languages

Innovation
In this section we highlight some of the many innovative, creative and award-winning approaches to language teaching and learning. However, you will also find examples of innovative and stimulating approaches to teaching and learning in other sections of this ezine, for example CILT's 14 to 19 work.

Young Language Leaders
At William Beamont High School and Specialist Sports College Key Stage 4 pupils have been following the Young Language Leaders Award from Sports Leaders UK. Read more

Languages and sport
Linking languages and sport is proving to have a very positive effect on language learning. Working in partnership with the Youth Sports Trust a number of schools which have been developing projects to explore impact are reporting successes on many different levels. Impact ranges from a raised profile and perception of the Languages Department to improved behaviour, attainment and achievement in lessons and increased uptake of language courses at Key Stage 4. Read more

Language networks
One of the greatest successes of recent initiatives and developments in language teaching is the fact that teachers are working more and more in teams of like-minded professionals which cut across school and sometimes Local Authority boundaries. There is a wide range of networks that teachers and advisers can access up and down the country which provide professional development, support, advice and even morale boosting opportunites! For details on just some of the networks that CILT supports please read more....

Comenius Network
England is divided into nine Comenius regions, which have been working with CILT on a voluntary basis for the past ten to twelve years. They strengthen regional support for implementing the National Languages Strategy. Each region has its own web pages which sets out in more detail what resources it has and what its annual work programme is. Read more

Key Stage 3 Strategic Learning Networks
355 Key Stage 3 MFL Strategic Learning Networks have been meeting over the last year and CILT has collected case studies describing how these networks of teachers got off the ground. Read more

14-19 Learning Networks
In 2006, CILT set-up14-19 Learning Networks in different regions of England, each of which concentrated on a particular strand of curriculum innovation. Read more

Our Languages clusters
So far four clusters have been set up in major cities across the UK, each made up of one mainstream and at least one complementary school. Satellite clusters will be added in the next phase of the project, bringing the total to 17. Read more

News

New material on primary languages website
This year’s Primary Language Show saw the launch of brand new material on CILT’s Primary Languages website, the training zone for languages at Key Stage 2: www.primarylanguages.org.uk

CILT primary/secondary transition project
CILT has been commissioned by the DCSF to run a transition project. This involves CILT Language Teaching Advisers working with eight LAs who are currently trialling various projects where the focus is on developing ways to ensure that transition is meaningful and relevant. Read more

Key Stage 3
CILT is delighted that the funding for the 355 Key Stage 3 MFL Strategic Learning Networks will continue for another year (April '08 - March '09). Networks wrote an evaluation of their first year at the end of March. You can read case studies about how the networks got off the ground and find useful resources for improving teaching and learning at KS3 and running teacher network sessions. Read more

SNS online language training materials
A new online module (or “nugget”) will help motivate learners across all key stages to learn a foreign language. As part of the National Strategy online suite of materials, Motivation and Participation offers resources and teaching strategies to help language learners see the benefits of continuing with their studies after Year 9. Case studies and video footage demonstrate what schools are already doing to encourage MFL take-up. Read more

New Secondary Curriculum
Schools will be aware that the implementation of the New Secondary Curriculum will soon be upon us and that from September 2008 Year 7 pupils will be involved in very new ways of learning. These changes will affect not only languages; they are part of a new whole-school approach to the curriculum. There are many opportunities to take languages teaching in a new direction and most importantly there is lots of support available to schools and teachers. Read more on the QCA and ALL websites.

Ofsted supports community languages in schools
Ofsted marked this year’s International Mother Language Day on 21 February with the release of Every Language Matters, a report evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of initial teacher training in languages other than French, German, Irish, Spanish and Welsh. The report recommended that community languages should be given higher status in England’s schools to make them more widely available to pupils. Read more

14 to 19 - Reshaping languages
We are delighted to announce the launch of our new 14 to 19 microsite which brings together a wealth of information on 14 to 19 developments and highlights the many areas of innovative practice that schools and colleges are involved in including applied language learning, CLIL, alternative accreditation.

The new microsite, ‘Reshaping languages’ has been designed to respond closely to the recommendations in Lord Dearing’s 2007 Languages Review, as part of a move to promote innovative practice across a wide range of language requirements.

The site is illustrated with a unique collection of videos and case studies highlighting how new approaches to language provision can re-engage learners, inspire enjoyment and increase take-up of languages from age 14 onwards. Read more

Benchmarks, performance indicators and take up in Key Stage 4
Could your Head and Governing body do with some straightforward information about the statutory position of languages in Key Stage 4, and the new reporting arrangements which will come into force in September? CILT is producing an information leaflet explaining DCSF expectations and how schools are going to be measured on their language provision. We'll be sending it out later in the year to secondary schools, and meanwhile posting it on our new 14 to 19 Reshaping languages web pages for downloading.

Community languages

E-Conference on ‘Our Languages’
From 10-14 March, CILT hosted an e-Conference, via an online blog, as part of the Our Languages project on community languages. Pupils from both maintained and complementary schools from the project were invited to participate in an online discussion on the languages they speak, how they prefer to learn, and what languages they think will be learnt in the future. Read more

If you or colleagues have an interest in the teaching and learning of community languages, why not join the free Community Languages Forum? Read more

Event reports

Early Language Learning and Language Colleges (ELL-LC) 2007
Over 200 Specialist Language Colleges are participating in the ELL-LC project now in its sixth phase. In this project SLCs work with identified primary partners in order to successfully deliver primary languages and work with primary teachers to focus on the most effective ways of teaching the foreign language to young learners. The focus of this project is on MFL pedagogy in primary teaching and transition from KS2 to KS3. Read more

Flying High 2008
Flying High continues to be a welcome and stimulating event for Specialist Language Colleges and other schools who are interested in becoming SLCs or who simply enjoy the opportunity to find out about latest developments in language teaching and spend some time discussing and reflecting on these with like-minded colleagues. Read more

Digital video in action: movie-making with language learners
During February and March 2008, CILT ran a series of day-long courses on digital movie-making aimed specifically at MFL teachers at KS3 and KS4. Read more

Training opportunities

Adult Education Languages Show, 6 June 2008
This year’s CILT AE show takes place on 6 June in Derby. The show provides an opportunity for all those involved in adult education to catch up on new developments, share ideas and concerns, find solutions and network with other language professionals. Read more

Community Languages National Conference, 11 June 2008
The third national community language education conference, ‘Community Languages: Developing practice for the 21st century’, takes place on 11 June at the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria in Sheffield. Read more

Higher Education National Conference, 8-9 July 2008
The next biennial HE National Conference will take place at the University of York on 8 - 9 July 2008. The conference will be of interest to all those concerned with the learning and teaching of languages in higher education both in the UK and internationally. Read more

Courses abroad, October 2008
CILT offers a range of one-week continuous professional development courses abroad for MFL teachers, which include languages enhancement classes, workshops, and a variety of cultural visits. Teachers can apply for a grant to cover the course fees through the British Council. The next courses for the secondary school with funding still available will be running in October: Vive la france in Besançon, for teachers of French at upper intermediate or advanced level, and Italiano alla fiorentina, for teachers of Italian at all levels. More information will be available shortly at: www.cilt.org.uk/cpd/abroad.htm

Other CPD opportunities
Each of the nine English regions is served by a Comenius Regional Manager and between them, the Network puts on a vast range of activities including CPD. Summer term courses include alternative accreditations, transition KS2-3, assessment, use of technology, preparing NQTs and increasing interest in MFL. Teachers should avail themselves of courses wherever they occur in the country. Comenius Network events are now listed with CILT events. Read more

To be the first to hear about CILT training opportunities sign-up to our events alert. Register now.

Resources, new, recent and forthcoming
Would you like information on new, recent and forthcoming resources, including provision for 2008 changes to the Key Stage 3 curriculum and to AS/A2 specifications? Read more

Free languages resources available from online shop
A range of free resources, including posters, postcards and CILT reports, are now available to order from CILT’s online shop: www.cilt.org.uk/shop. Reports include Positively Plurilingual, a report published by CILT on the contribution of languages to UK education and society, Talking World Class, a report highlighting the impact of language skills on the UK economy, and Key Facts, the pocket-sized leaflets linking to this report.

We welcome your contributions for future issues. Please send your submissions to:
Carmel O’Hagan at  CILT, 3rd Floor, 111 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7HR  or Carmel.O’Hagan@cilt.org.uk
We reserve the right to edit items submitted.  If you have any suggestions or comments, please contact Carmel O’Hagan. The views expressed in this e-bulletin are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect any view or policy of CILT.
The Bulletin may be copied or printed for non-commercial purposes provided the source is acknowledged.

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© 2008 CILT, the National Centre for Languages | www.cilt.org.uk | info@cilt.org.uk