Modern Languages Blog

Last Thursday evening, Radio Five Live broadcast a special item on languages, which featured Helen Myers, Chair of ALL’s London branch. You can listen again to the languages item until Wednesday this week at BBC Radio’s Listen Again service.

Click on Launch BBC radio player (on the right), then Five Live, then Anita Anand . Click on THU for Thursday. The languages item lasts from 10.10pm to 10.35pm approximately.

This is not just for Germanists but anyone who wants to show their students how football can help cultures unite. But for German teachers this is admittedly a great opportunity to increase pupil motivation and interest in German language and culture.

A photographic exhibition, with images from across the globe from the Magnum agency, is staying at Hampden until January 10th before moving to Aberdeen.

The Goethe-Institut provide teaching material, including background information, worksheets and follow-up activities. To make more out of this educational and exciting experience the Institut can also combine your visit with a German language study on the topic.

To organise a visit contact:
Scottish Football Museum, Hampden Park, Glasgow
Tel: 0141 616 6139
info@scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk

As the hype reaches fever pitch for the latest Harry Potter film ot be released, German newspaper Die Zeit carries this super article on Edinburgh city, where Harry was born. There are some great excerpts in there for writing assessments on my city. Even if you’re from Glasgow !

The search phrases “Paris riots” is the top search theme across the Internet at the moment. As the press around the world push the story the front of their papers and broadcasts the blogging world is providing an “on the ground” version of events from around France. Look at the search results on Technorati, the foremost blog search, when you run the search “Paris riots”.

Craig Cockburn, who runs an online guide to Scotland, says children should be exposed to Gaelic so that they can learn their history. Read more on the BBC website.

The number of pupils leaving school without mastering the three Rs has reached ‘crisis’ proportions, the CBI warned today. Sir Digby Jones, CBI Director-General, said in the Education Guardian article that more attention should be given to teaching foreign languages such as Spanish and Mandarin.

Senior teachers from Scotland have just returned from a group visit to China, set up to establish links with partner schools in Tianjin. The visit was part of the Scottish Executive’s programme to establish closer educational links between Scotland and China. This is the first headteacher visit within a three-year programme that includes funding immersion courses in Mandarin for Scottish school groups, bringing Chinese language assistants to work in Scottish schools and enabling graduates of Scottish universities to teach English in China. The British Council Scotland is managing each of these strands of the programme.

Read more on the British Council website.