Modern Languages Blog

The BBC reports that trainee teachers in England who will provide compulsory language lessons in primary schools are benefiting from a month’s placement abroad, say inspectors.

The government wants England’s primary pupils to have modern language lessons but there have been concerns about a lack of suitably qualified staff.

Student teachers are spending a month in schools in France, Spain and Germany as part of their training courses.

The education watchdog, Ofsted, says this is proving a considerable success.

Read this article on the BBC website.

The Education Guardian reports that the Prime Minister announced today a global fellowship programme, which will see 100 school and college leavers each year visiting some of the major countries in the new global economy, such as Brazil, China and India.
The £1.4m a year programme, developed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the British Council, will give young people the chance to explore cultures and societies that will increasingly influence life in England.

Over six weeks, they will work as language teaching assistants in schools or colleges, spend time with a company, being introduced to business operations and local community impact programmes, and learn more about the culture and language.

Brown said the scheme, funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, would help young people develop the global awareness and enterprise skills they will need to make Britain a success story in the future.

Read more about this story on the Education Guardian website.

Giving up a successful career as a Blue Peter presenter is not an easy thing to do. But that’s exactly what Romana D’Annunzio did to become an English language assistant in Rome.

Read her story on the British Council website.

Find out what our own foreign language assistants thought about working in Scotland in the MFLE sharing practice section.