The Language Resource Centre at Newcastle University has a small team in place, which will be available from Mid-January for virtual school visits, synchronous and asynchronous to promote language learning, and inter-cultural activities in line with the Routes into Languages aims. Please contact Ashleigh via: routesne@newcastle.ac.uk
Sunderland University will be hosting a fun and interactive session from 09.00-11.30 on Thursday 27th March for Year 8 pupils to encourage them to develop their Spanish language skills and learn a little about Spain and Latin America. For further details please email jenny.hayes@sunderland.ac.uk.
The Newcastle Strand of Routes into Languages would like to invite local schools in the North East of England on a free visit to Newcastle University campus. Pupils (accompanied by their teachers) will be given the chance to work with our staff and students from all over the world to improve their language skills and their confidence.
Activities will normally include:
Exact content can be tailored on request and in accordance with a teacher’s needs (for example, ensuring that topics and vocabulary recently covered at school are included within the various sessions). We are happy to arrange a Linguacast Day upon request at anytime during the school year, simply include the best date for you in the 'comments' section of your registration. You will be contacted shortly after registration by a member of the Routes into Languages team confirming your booking.
Contact thomas.snell@ncl.ac.uk for further information or with queries regarding the day’s content and arrangements.
The date of your Linguacast Day will be decided according to your schedule and convenience. Please mention possible dates in the comments section of the booking form.
In collaboration with Europe Direct, Routes into Languages present Beat the Rat Race: Using Languages To Get Ahead. Speakers from a wide range of professional sectors will demonstrate how language skills have benefited them in their careers in a fun and interactive way. There will also be the opportunity to learn a completely new language during taster sessions run by our very own Student Language Ambassadors and to hear about the opportunities available for studying languages at university.
With an exciting panel of real life linguists, language taster sessions and more, this event is designed to inspire your pupils to take languages forward at GCSE and show them just where it could take them in future. The panellists use languages in their jobs every day and come from industry, European institutions and a wide variety of organisations in the region. This is a unique chance to highlight the opportunities available to those who have a languages qualification.
The event is open to groups of up to 15 pupils per school who are in their options year (Year 8/9). The event will take place on Wednesday 27th November from 10.00-14.30, with registration from 09.30. Please see below for a full programme and a promotional flyer.
Event Programme
09:30 - 09:55
Registration
10:00 - 10:10
Welcome & Introduction from event organisers.
10:10 - 10:40
Keynote Presentation from June Lowery-Kingston of the European Commission.
10.40 - 10:50
Video presentation—languages at work.
10:50 - 11:50
What’s my line?” - Micro-panels with real-life linguists challenge pupils to guess the career of each panellist and how they use languages
11:50 - 12:00
What else is a linguist good at ? The soft skills acquired in language learning.
12:00 - 12:45
Lunch (provided free of charge).
12:50 - 13:00
What it is really like to study a language at university -
School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University .
13.00 - 13:45 Language taster sessions with current university students, featuring an introduction to languages such as Chinese, Japanese or Portuguese.
13:50 - 14:15 Feedback & close.
Please note that the programme may be subject to change.
Led by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, 'Mother Tongue, Other Tongue' is a multilingual poetry competition that celebrates cultural diversity and the many languages currently spoken in the schools across the UK.
The Rules
Mother Tongue, Other Tongue is open to mainstream and supplementary schools in the UK and pupils can enter as individuals or groups of any size.
Mother Tongue entries will be in two parts:
The first part is the poem. This can be an original, creative piece, or a poem or song that is ‘remembered’ (i.e. something in your first language that you recall, or that has been told to you by a relative.) This can be in any language other than English.
The second part should be a short explanation of the inspiration behind the piece, where it comes from, or why it is important to the person sub- mitting it. (No more than half a page). This part must be written in English and is the part your entry will be judged on.
Other Tongue entries must be an original poem written in a language that is not the first language spoken by the person writing it. The languages you write in should be studied in your school and can be any of the following: French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Italian.
For more details about the national Mother Tongue, Other Tongue project click here.
In the North East
In the North East of England the competition is open to all primary schools and secondary schools. Entries received will be judged in four categories:
1) Years 4, 5 & 6.
2) Years 7, 8 & 9.
3) Years 10 & 11.
4) Years 12 & 13.
The deadline for submitting your entries is July the 1st, 2013.
The winners will be announced at a special celebration event, which will be held on Friday the 12th of July 2013. In addition to competition results being announced, activities with local poets and workshops with Routes into Languages Student Ambassadors will be provided on the day. If you intend to enter your students into this competition please use the registration form below to ensure full details of the Celebration Event can be e-mailed to you in advance of your student's poems being received.
Winners in each category will receive prizes for winning the North East Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition and be invited to attend a special event in early November 2013 where regional winners from across the country will convene at Manchester Metropolitan University for a national celebration of the diverse range of languages and cultures that make up the United Kingdom today.
Workshops led by Routes into Languages Student Ambassadors (with a background in Modern Languages or Creative Writing studies) are available to support the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition and can take place either in your school or at Newcastle University. These can be booked online by clicking here.
How To Enter the Competition
Each individual entry must include the student's name, school & year group along with their teacher’s name and e-mail address. Please note we cannot accept entries that do not include this information.
By email: Send your entries to thomas.snell@newcastle.ac.uk
By post: Send a copy of your entries ato Mother Tongue, Other Tongue, Routes into Languages North East, FAO: Thomas Snell, Language Resource Centre, School of Modern Languages, Old Library Building, NE1 7RU.
The deadline for submitting your entries is July the 1st 2013.
As part of its contribution to the 2013 Laureate Education project "Mother Tongue, Other Tongue," Routes into Languages North East is offering a series of workshops that support its regional Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition (see: here)
Workshops can be arranged on a convenient day and time to take place either in your school or on campus at Newcastle University and will be led by our Student Ambassadors (with a background in Modern Languages or English/Creative Writing studies).
Mother Tongue, Other Tongue .
Led by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Mother Tongue, Other Tongue is a multilingual poetry competition that celebrates cultural diversity and the many languages currently spoken in the schools across the UK.
The Mother Tongue category of the projects focuses on a poem in the students's first language (in any language other than English). This can be an original, creative piece, or a poem or song that is ‘remembered’ (i.e. something in your first language that you recall, or that has been told to you by a relative.) Students are invited to select a poem in their Mother Tongue and to submit it into the competition along with short explanation of the inspiration behind the piece, where it comes from, or why it is important to the person submitting it. (No more than half a page). This part must be written in English and is the part the of the that the student will be judged on.
The Other Tongue category of the project encourages students learning a second language to write an original poem in a language that is not the first language spoken by the person writing it and to enter it into the competition. The languages students write in should be studied in their school and can be any of the following: French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Italian.
Workshops are designed to help your students prepare entries for either the Mother Tongue or Other Tongue categories of the competition while also exploring other aspects of poetry, identity, multiculturalism, languages and creative expression. They can be held for any classes from Year 4 to Year 13 in schools within the North East region.
For more details about the national Mother Tongue, Other Tongue project click here. For details of the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue North East regional competition (and to enter some of your pupils into the competition) please click here.
Workshops
“Primary School Workshops” These workshop feature activities designed for Years 4, 5, or 6 and can be tailored to match any topics currently being studied in your curriculum.
“Mixing Tongues” This workshop is a playful way for pupils who have a range of different first languages to see how their languages are alike and unalike, playing on phonetics, word connotation and combination. Images will be used to create poems/short narratives as well as a mix of words to form a fun type of dialogue. The workshop aims to push creative boundaries as well as try to release any fears students may have about using their mother tongue. The workshop will focus on culture and language will help students to understand and appreciate their natural gift, allowing them the freedom to use it creatively. (Ideal for a class or group of children that come from a range of different multicultural backgrounds and can help pupils prepare an entry for the Mother Tongue category of the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition).
Past, Present and Future is an inspirational workshop that covers the three stages of a pupil’s life. This workshop will help to increase pupils’ confidence, develop their creative writing skills and help them to prepare their entries for the competition. (Ideal for a MFL class or group of pupils learning a second language and can help pupils prepare an entry for the Other Tongue category of the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition).
What language do you dream in? Growing up in the UK when your parents come abroad your friends often ask: What is your main language? What language do you dream in? Often, the answer changes depending on who was asking. Being bilingual can mean that you don’t just know two languages, but that you have two languages fighting it out inside of you. All exercises are there to give participants space and encouragement to eventually write or collect poems in their mother tongue, and help write the accompanying commentary for the competition. The pupils will be given an idea of the challenges and joys that others like them face in reconciling two languages. (Ideal for a class or group of bilingual pupils and can help pupils prepare an entry for the Mother Tongue category of the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition).
Born Identity. This workshop allows students to explore the various ‘names’ and ‘labels’ imposed upon us as human beings and how far these labels work to shape one’s identity. Students will utilise these ideas to develop their writing skills and create a poem which they could enter into the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition. Ultimately this workshop will enhance the students’ self confidence, influence personal growth and combine the various and contradictory aspects of their identity to make them feel secure with who they are. (Ideal for a class or group of children that come from a range of different multicultural backgrounds and can help pupils prepare an entry for the Mother Tongue category of the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition).
Fun with Etymology A workshop that traces the origins of words and how their meaning has changed over time. The workshop will also encourage students to think about their own cultural origins and how this has helped to shape them as individuals. (Ideal for a class or group of children that come from a range of different multicultural backgrounds and can help pupils prepare an entry for the Mother Tongue category of the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition).
Translating Poetry. This workshop will inspire pupils to write creatively in another language. We will explore language with phonetic poetry tasks, working both individually and in pairs to begin the work of translating. There will also be group activities to feedback on how language creates meaning. The workshop aims to get pupils thinking about the act of translation as an enjoyable, fun activity that can be used to creatively express themselves. Pupils will also be encouraged to play with poetic forms through free writing and structured writing. (Ideal for a MFL class or group of pupils learning a second language and can help pupils prepare an entry for the Other Tongue category of the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition).
19th Century French Poetry. This workshop looks at the Romanticism and Modernism movements of French Poetry through the works of Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud and Guillaume Apollinaire. Exploring themses of Self, Love, Beauty and Time. This workshop is intended for Year 12/13 students studying A-Level French in support of possible coursework options and as inspiration for entries into the Other Tongue category of the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition.
20th Century French Poetry. This workshop looks at the Surrealism and Negritude movements of French Poetry through the works of André Breton, Robert Desnos, Paul Eluard, Leopold Sédar Senghor and Aimé Césaire. Exploring themses of Self, Love, Beauty and Time. This workshop is intended for Year 12/13 students studying A-Level French in support of possible coursework options and as inspiration for entries into the Other Tongue category of the Mother Tongue, Other Tongue competition.
También la lluvia (2011)
As a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply.
At this event, students will take part in simple discussions about social themes and carry out a series of interactive activities with student ambassadors to improve their speaking and listening skills.
This event will run from 10:00 - 13:00. A film screening will be followed by activities.
This Masterclass aims to promote language learning and motivate students to take up German at option-time for their GCSE, giving them the opportunity to develop their speaking and listening skills through a variety of activities.
This event will run from 12:30 - 2:30pm at Sunderland University.
For more information please contact Jenny Hayes
This Masterclass aims to promote language learning and motivate students to take up Spanish at option-time for their GCSE, giving them the opportunity to develop their speaking and listening skills through a variety of activities.
This event will run from 12:30 - 2:30pm at Sunderland University.
For more information please contact Jenny Hayes
This is an exciting new initiative from Routes into Languages NE where year 9 students can prepare videos in which they make a dish from a country of their choice and explain the process in another language. This dish need not be an expensive gourmwet recipe and could be something cheap and relatively simple to make such as Magdalenas (Spain), Apfelstrudel (Germany/Austria), Brioche (France), Yokan (Japan) etc. The video will be submitted to a panel of judges.
Schools apply to take part and can put a maximum of 3 groups forward per school (any or all languages). Entries will be accepted in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin or Japanese. There must be a minimum of 2 entries per language to be eligible to run the competition in that language.
Each participating school must prepare a dish from another country. They must:
The recipes and videos are to be submitted to a panel of judges.
Presentation: All pupils come together to give a presentation (in English) on the process and show their video to an audience of peers and university staff (on Friday May 10th at Sunderland University). Student ambassadors will provide a variety of language learning activities throughout the day.
1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes will be awarded for the best three dishes. All participants receive a certificate of participation.
All the recipes go into a PDF e- booklet that is distributed to schools and universities via the Routes into Languages network and the ALL.
All of the participating pupils’ food-making videos and presentations will be housed on a special Great Languages Bake Off page on http://linguacast.ncl.ac.uk, for use by participating pupils and teachers upon return to school and for free dissemination.
Participating Schools will be able to request that Routes NE staff (a cooking expert, a language expert, a technical expert, or student ambassadors) visit their school to attend their cookery session and assist them with the cooking, the language production task, or the filming if they need support.
If needed, Digital Camcorders will be made available for lending to all participating schools by Newcastle University Language Resource Centre upon request.
Celebration event will be held on 10th May at Sunderland University where participating schools will be invited to bring samples of their baking and make a short presentation in the target language.
Schools will be sent more information about this event upon registration.
How to use languages to get ahead in the job market
Wednesday, 12th December 09:30 – 12:00, Newcastle University
The North East's biggest languages employability event is getting bigger! This year will see Routes into Languages North working in partnership with Europe Direct North East to stage a new event for key stage 4 language students.
This is an opportunity for students to learn about where languages can take them beyond school, in higher education and in their careers.
A keynote address will be given by the official Olympic race starter Alan Bell who has lead a unique and international career in athletics.
Speakers from a wide range of professional sectors will demonstrate how language skills have benefited them in their careers in a fun and interactive way. There will also be the opportunity to learn a completely new language and to hear about the opportunities available for studying languages at university.
9:30-9:45 - Arrivals & Registration
9:45 - 10:00 - Keynote address
10:00 - 10:30 - Industry Q&A (What's my line)
10:30 - 10:50 - Break
10:50 - 11:10 - Languages work
11:10 - 11:20 - Languages at University
11:20 - 12:00 - Language taster sessions
12:00 - Close
