Modern Languages Blog

Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) has signed a Letter of Co-operation Intent with the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban). The two bodies will work together to develop the understanding of the Chinese language and culture in Scotland. LTS will establish a number of Confucius Classrooms which will be dedicated to promoting the learning and teaching of Chinese.

Every two weeks on average, one of the 6,500 languages of the world vanishes with the death of its last elderly speakers, taking with it a wealth of cultural knowledge, experts say.

The Reuters website reports that, at a recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur, linguistic experts said the United States, Canada and Australia were the worse off, with a wealth of Asian languages also under threat.

‘There is a vast treasure house of human knowledge,’ said Nicholas Ostler, President of Foundation for Endangered Languages, a UK-based group.

‘So when a language is lost, it’s just not the words but typically it’s a kind of knowledge that came with that language.’

According to a report in U.S. magazine Cultural Survival, 89 percent of the 154 tribal languages left in the United States were in imminent danger of extinction, with more than half having only a handful of elderly speakers.

In the state of Oklahoma for example, at least 14 languages - including Hitchiti, Kaw, Kitsai and Peoria of the native Americans - are no longer spoken.

Read more on the Reuters website.

A 10-year-old schoolboy has mastered 10 languages - and is busy learning his 11th, reports the Guardian website. As well as English, Arpan Sharma speaks Hindi, picked up from his parents, and has learned Spanish, Italian, German and French at school.

The primary school pupil has also taught himself to speak Thai, Swahili, Mandarin and Polish using DVDs, as part of a programme called the Junior Language Challenge. And for his 11th language, he is learning Lugandan - a language spoken in Uganda.

Read more on the Guardian website.

Boosting young people’s enthusiasm for language learning has been identified as a priority for new networks of languages teachers in England.

This report on the CILT website says that almost half of the 355 Strategic Learning Networks (SLNs) working to improve language teaching and learning at Key Stage 3 have decided to focus on motivating learners during this phase of their work.

Increasing the numbers of students choosing languages post-14 also features on a third of the action plans. The SLN objectives have been set in the networks’ action plans and teachers are working together in the networks to share strategies, resources and good practice. While motivation, raising achievement and improving transition from primary to secondary school are common aims for the programme, networks have also been encouraged to respond to local needs.

The East Midlands and South East, for example, have a focus on narrowing the gender gap and boosting boys’ achievement. The south of England shows a trend towards improving the use of ICT and target language, while the northern networks are developing their strategies in assessment for learning.

Read more in the CILT report.

A formerly dyslexic taxi driver claims he has created a revolutionary system of learning Irish and other languages. The Smart Learning program patented by Pat Howe in conjunction with Dublin City University features an audio CD and pocket-sized memory cards.

Read this story on the Irish Times website.

Mr Howe (57), from Palmerstown, Dublin, claims the colour-coded and phonetic structure of his invention can help people learn a new language in nine weeks.

‘It puts the fun back into learning whatever your background or education level,’ he said.

Smart Learning packs are already available in Irish, Spanish and Polish and are aimed at all ages, from students to workers.

Mr Howe suffered from dyslexia as a schoolboy and left school at 14. However, he has had a lifelong interest in learning and personal development. He tested and honed Smart Learning system with parents and students over the past four years.

The head of the advisory body that oversees language policy in Quebec says it would be unethical for the government to impose the need to learn French on immigrants, reports the CBC news website.

As part of the Glasgow 2014 bid to host the Commonwealth Games, various resources have been produced for use with primary and secondary schools. The resources can be downloaded from the Glasgow 2014 website. The winning bid will be announced at a special ceremony on Friday 9 November with Glasgow and Abuja in Nigeria as the two candidates.

The draft outcomes for Curriculum for Excellence in modern foreign languages have been published.

You can read more in the MFLE’S Curriculum for Excellence section.

As well as our information on the draft outcomes and experiences and how you can use the MFLE to help embed them in your teaching, you can now ask our experts - Brian Templeton and Robert McKinstry - a question about Curriculum for Excellence, in confidence.

Deutsch am Wochenende

Saturday, 17.11.2007, 10:00-16:30

Goethe-Institut, 3 Park Circus, Glasgow G3 6AX

Fee: £55

Tel.: +44 141 332 25 55 language@glasgow.goethe.org

This course offers the chance to immerse yourself in the German language. The emphasis will be on spoken interaction, vocabulary consolidation and pronunciation as well as current developments in German society. Enrolment by 5 November.

Find out more: http://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/gla/lrn/deu/int/en2476095.htm

Theatre for young people: ‘Stones’

Fri 23.11.2007, 11:00 - 12:30 (play 60 min. plus discussion)

Theaterhaus Ensemble Frankfurt
Bellahouston Academy
Gower Terrace
Glasgow
G41 5QE

Free of charge but booking essential - registrations by 5 November.
Suitable for S4/S5/S6

Tel: +44 141 332 2555
Email: language@glasgow.goethe.org

This play, performed in German by the award-winning Theaterhaus Ensemble Frankfurt, is aimed at learners at S4/S5/S6 level. The action centres on two young men who suddenly find themselves standing on a motorway with stones in their hands …

http://cms.goethe.de/ins/gb/gla/lhr/en2652079.htm?edit=176084

Workshop for primary teachers

Saturday 24.11.2007, 10:00 - 15:00

Goethe-Institut, 3 Park Circus, Glasgow G3 6AX

Fee (inclusive of materials): £25 - registration by 8 November.

Tel: +44 141 332 2555
Email: language@glasgow.goethe.org

The aim of this workshop is to up-date your MLPS training with language immersion, presentation of German projects and discussion of cross-curricular links rounded off by an introduction to new resources.

http://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/gla/lhr/en2664124.htm

Residential training courses for teachers in Germany

Every year the Goethe-Institut offers an attractive range of residential training and language courses for teachers of German Language Courses: Language Courses Landeskunde Methodology/Teaching Strategies Courses for Teacher Trainers

Applications by 30 November.

http://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/gla/lhr/sem/fbs/enindex.htm

CILT, the National Centre for Languages, welcomes the announcement this week of a Diploma in Languages to be available to young people from September 2011.

A press release on the CILT website says:

‘The case for improving the position of languages in Key Stage 4 and through into higher education and employment is incontestable, and a subject-based Diploma in languages will help build a wider range of options for fourteen- to nineteen-year-olds, as recommended in Lord Dearing’s Languages Review earlier this year.

‘As the Government’s national centre of expertise on languages, and the recognised expert body for languages within the Skills for Business network, we look forward to playing a key role both in the development of the Diploma, and in supporting its successful implementation in schools and colleges.

‘At the same time, we will continue to argue strongly for a place for languages within the other Diploma qualifications, in order to ensure that languages can be learned in combination with other economically valuable skills such as technology and engineering.’

Early next month CILT will be launching new Languages Work materials for careers education and guidance to highlight the value of languages in specific employment sectors (Engineering, Construction, Hospitality, Environmental and Land-based industries, Hair and Beauty, Manufacturing, Business, Administration and Finance). These complement existing materials available for ICT, Creative and Media, and Society, Health and Development.