North West

The Spanish Section of the Department of Languages, Information and Communications at Manchester Metropolitan University is pleased to announce its annual Translation Competition for A-Level students. As a participant – past or present – in our events for schools (6th Form Days, Language Enrichment Events, etc), your school is offered the chance to take part.

The task is to produce an English version of a newly-published children’s short story. The competition aims to promote language-learning through story reading and to introduce students to the challenges of translating materials of this kind. The short story to be translated - by Spanish children’s author Pedro Pablo Sacristán - has the catchy title of A gritos con los mosquitos and is attached at the end of these instructions.

Schools are asked to submit a maximum of 2 entries chosen internally from among their participating students and to send them to the following address: hlssschools@mmu.ac.uk.

Please indicate clearly in the e-mail subject line that the contents are for the Spanish A-Level Translation Competition.

The French section of the Department of Languages, Information and Communications at Manchester Metropolitan University is pleased to announce its annual Translation Competition for A-Level students. 

The translation task is to produce an English version of part of a book titled Nico perdu à Londres by Hubert Ben Kemoun (Editions Nathan 2010).  Ben Kemoun is a childrens’ writer and playwright who is almost unknown in English speaking countries. 

The competition aims to promote language learning through French popular culture.  It will introduce A-Level students to the challenges of translating a range of grammatical structures, colloquial expressions and cultural references into authentic English.

Nico perdu à Londres is about a French schoolboy who gets lost on a trip to London.  It gives a light-hearted view of English life seen through French eyes.  The passage to be translated is centred around their trip to Buckingham Palace.

The text can be downloaded here:

https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/hlss/schools-liaison/french-competition/

Schools are asked to submit 2 entries chosen internally from among their participating students and to send both to the following address: hlssschools@mmu.ac.uk

Aimed at year 8 pupils, the events are designed to motivate language learners and encourage them to carry on with their languages to GCSE level. Our research shows that the events improve uptake at GCSE by 24%. The events use language tasters and cultural activities in less widely taught languages to encourage the learning of languages generally. This event has a small charge and we are asking for a nominal fee of £10 per pupil to cover some of the costs.

Three actresses play both the male and female roles in David Lescot’s heart-warming adolescent drama about the challenges of school, friendships and growing up.

J’ai Trop Peur was commissioned by the Theatre de la Villa and has toured extensively throughout France. This show will be in French with English subtitles.

A tried and tested multilingual poetry competition that celebrates cultural diversity and the many languages currently spoken in schools across the UK.

Mother Tongue Other Tongue is a national Laureate Education Project, led by the Poet Laureate, Dame Carol Ann Duffy. Regional competitions and events take place throughout the year. The competition is co-ordinated by Routes into Languages.

The competition is officially endorsed by Malala Yousafzai, youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and education activist.

"When you are learning another language, you learn to think in that language, you learn to speak in that language and you learn to believe in that language and it allows you to think from a completely different perspective: it's not just about the words and the grammar but the culture and the language it is associated with.

"It's a skill - a talent - and I hope those of you learning a new language continue to do so because the more you learn, the broader your mind becomes and allows you to think big."

The Mother Tongue part of the competition requires children who do not have English as a first language, or who speak a different language at home, to share a creative piece, poem or song from their Mother Tongue. They then write a short piece in English to explain the poem’s significance to them.  

The Other Tongue part of the competition encourages children learning another language in school to use that language creatively to write a poem.

Work should be submitted by post only - sorry we are unable to accept email entries.  All entries must reach us by the 15th May 2019. They will then be judged by a team of multi-lingual student judges.

We will be holding a celebration June 21st where we will be joined by a surprise VIP guest.

These half-day events are offered in French, German and Spanish, and focus on a popular film studied by A-level students. The workshop will cover structuring an essay, arguing and illustrating a point, focusing on characters, themes and director’s style, building a phrase-bank to discuss films, learning film terminology. This event has a small charge and we are asking for a nominal fee of £10 per pupil to cover some of the costs.

These half-day events are offered in French, German and Spanish, and focus on a popular film studied by A-level students. The workshop will cover structuring an essay, arguing and illustrating a point, focusing on characters, themes and director’s style, building a phrase-bank to discuss films, learning film terminology. This event has a small charge and we are asking for a nominal fee of £10 per pupil to cover some of the costs.

These half-day events are offered in French, German and Spanish, and focus on a popular film studied by A-level students. The workshop will cover structuring an essay, arguing and illustrating a point, focusing on characters, themes and director’s style, building a phrase-bank to discuss films, learning film terminology. This event has a small charge and we are asking for a nominal fee of £10 per pupil to cover some of the costs.

These half-day events are offered in French, German and Spanish, and focus on a popular film studied by A-level students. The workshop will cover structuring an essay, arguing and illustrating a point, focusing on characters, themes and director’s style, building a phrase-bank to discuss films, learning film terminology. This event has a small charge and we are asking for a nominal fee of £10 per pupil to cover some of the costs.