North West

A brand new Routes into Languages initiative has tested the foreign language skills of thousands of North West school pupils, with 12 going through to represent the region at the National Final in Cambridge.

Over 8,500 school pupils from around 70 North West schools have been taking part in a new teaching initiative, which sees year 7 pupils competing to spell the highest number of words in a foreign language.

The Spelling Bee, launched on the European Day of Languages in September 2010, uses the format of traditional Spelling Bees to encourage young pupils to learn new vocabulary in French, German and Spanish.

On Wednesday 16th March the North West Regional Final was held at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), where 100 pupils, who had won earlier rounds of the competition, came together to fight for a place in the National Final.

Dr Sharon Handley, Director of Routes North West and Head of Languages at MMU, said: “Languages play such a vital role in education and beyond, but they are a hugely under-used resource in the UK. We hope this competition has served its purpose in teaching younger pupils the benefits of learning languages.”

Twelve pupils have now won their place in the National Final, which takes place in Cambridge in July 2011. At the grand final pupils from across the country will come together to compete, determining an overall winner for French, German and Spanish.

Regional finalists came from schools across the region, including Stretford, Bury, Oldham, Lancaster, Wigan, the Wirral, Liverpool and Cheshire.

Sarah Durkin from Priestnall School in Stockport, commented: “The Spelling Bee encouraged my pupils to really learn the French alphabet. It also provided the opportunity to get my year 11s to meet with year 7s regularly, supporting them with the competition. We hope it continues in future years”.
 

The winners were:

French:
1st place – Sahifa Akther, Chesterfield High School, Liverpool
2nd place – Zach Gilbert, Lancaster Grammar School, Lancaster
3rd place – Alice Fairhurst, St Peter’s Catholic High, Wigan
4th place – Louise Munch, St Gabriel’s RC High School, Bury

German:
1st place – Emily Pote, Wilmslow High School, Wilmslow
2nd place – Jake Stonall, The Blue Coat School, Oldham
3rd place – Kate McGranahan, Wilmslow High School, Wilmslow
4th place – Darcey Reader, Crompton House School, Oldham

Spanish:
1st place – Amna Khan, Stretford High School, Stretford
2nd place – Aaron D’Cruz, Wirral grammar School for Boys, Wirral
3rd place – Tayeba Bhamjee, Stretford High School, Stretford
4th place – Ian Jones, Wirral Grammar School for Boys, Wirral
 

Why study languages? Classroom calendar and website

Order now for January!

2011 will be the third year that Routes into Languages produces its popular 'Why Study Languages?' calendar.
New for 2011 is the addition of interactive support materials that are designed to generate classroom discussion. These resources will draw on other areas of the curriculum including art and design, music, food technology, creative writing, history and culture and geography.
At just £6 including p&p, it's fun and ideal for raising awareness of a wide range of languages.

Feedback from teachers:

"The calendar has been a super resource, sparking interest and debate at a number of levels ‑ thank you again"

"The calendar you produce is fantastic and every Language Centre should have one ‑ what a great way to see different languages, scripts and alphabets with excellent images to match"

"As Head of Modern Languages I would like to congratulate you on the 2010 Why study languages calendar. It has been a joy to turn from one month to the next and learn about different countries and language"

Also, our new student facing website contains lots of interactive quizzes, videos and practical advice for KS3, KS4 and Post‑16. Visit the Why Study Languages website to access these resources.

The University of Manchester today launched their new Multilingual Manchester web archive.

Multilingual Manchester is based at the School of Languages, Linguistics & Cultures at the University of Manchester. Their aims are:

• To document languages and language use in and around Manchester
• To study community language needs, language maintenance, and multilingual identities
• To examine issues of language policy in the Manchester area and to advise local authorities and services as well as businesses, schools, media, and community institutions about opportunities and benefits of multilingualism

Their activities bring together university students, experienced researchers of international repute, community representatives, and members of local services. Together they want to celebrate Manchester's linguistic diversity while building bridges among communities and encouraging individuals to learn more about their neighbours and their cultures and languages.

For more information please visit the Multilingual Manchester website.

Check out all the latest news from Routes NW, in our Autumn 2010 newsletter.

We are pleased to announce that the North West entry "Bacon Butty" won the LAFTA Award for the category of World of Languages. The video clip was produced by students from Cumbria University and was praised for its quality of shooting, and its strong message that it is not cool to be monolingual.

You can view the winning clip through this link (it is clip number 21):
http://www.languageswork.org.uk/learner_zone/the_laftas/peoples_vote/shortlisted_videos.aspx

Congratulations to Jake McLaughlin from Irlam and Cadishead High School for his excellent account about the Language Enrichment Day held at the University of Manchester! His school awarded him with a £10 gift voucher, as well as presenting him with a certificate and medal for his achievement.

Please click here to see a copy of Jake's written account.