North West

This INSET event is aimed at teachers of French and Spanish working in Sixth Forms and Colleges, specifically year 10 and 11, but if can be applied to A Levels students. It is informed by the new developments in the GCSE and A Level curriculum and current research evidence.

The workshop will:

• Increase teachers’ confidence in the way they teach media contents.
• Provide relevant key terminology and concepts of video game and transmedia analysis and examples to illustrate them.
• Discuss methodologies to integrate transmedia literacy into existing modern languages syllabi.
• Develop a series of practical tasks using formative exercises to promote critical analysis and media literacy with interactive contents that can be exciting for students
• Offer tailored guidance on how to develop students’ storytelling skills.
• Bring together teachers to share expertise and practice.

The examples/exercises will use French and Spanish, but could be adapted for other languages. Teachers of other languages are welcome! However, we expect to deliver the practical sessions mostly in French and Spanish.

Recommended for GCSE and equivalent level German

This study morning will provide an intro to the film in English plus key vocab. The screening will be followed by a few German language exercises relating to the film.

Led by Janine Turner, Languages Consultant 

This study morning will look at relevant themes including music, friendship, family life, poverty, education, and references to social issues in contemporary Dominican Republic.

An English intro to the film will provide contextual information and key Spanish vocab. The screening will be followed by exercises and a discussion relating to the characters of the film, the narrative, intercultural differences, film genre conventions and style.

Led by Carmen Herrero, Head of Spanish at Manchester Metropolitan University

Recommended for GCSE, AS and A2 or equivalent level Arabic

In this study day, students will be introduced to contemporary Arabic cinema through a screening of The Idol.
Salwa Mohamed will introduce the film and its context. Learners will have the opportunity to explore a broad range of topics related to Arabic language and culture. This will help to cultivate a positive attitude towards learning Arabic and to enable them to develop the ability to summarise the plot as well as describe their feelings and reactions to the film.

This will be followed by a series of Arabic GCSE and AS/A2 level language exercises based on the film’s main characters, events and themes. Study session activities will be in Arabic.

Led by Salwa Mohamed, Associate Lecturer of Arabic, Manchester Metropolitan University and Arabic Language Tutor, The University of Manchester

Recommended for AS and equivalent level French

This study day will focus on character studies. It will look at stardom, the colonial historical context of the film and the theme of racism.

An intro to the film, the director and the actors will be provided in French, providing contextual information on the historical context of the film (‘belle époque’). Short exercises will provide key vocab.

After lunch, French exercises will focus on character studies and the main themes (fame, image, racism). One objective will be to enhance the students’ intercultural awareness and their appreciation of period films.

Led by Isabelle Vanderschelden, Head of French at Manchester Metropolitan University

Recommended for AS and equivalent level Spanish

This study day will address the themes of family, friendship, multilingual life, education, and include some contextual information about Cuba (history, and past and present socio-political issues).

An intro to the film in Spanish will provide relevant historical and contextual information as well as key vocab. The screening will be followed after lunch by a series of Spanish exercises based on the film, including character studies, film genre analysis and discussion of the main themes. The session will also include a short overview of contemporary Cuban film.

Led by Carmen Herrero, Head of Spanish at Manchester Metropolitan University

Recommended for GCSE and equivalent level French

This study morning will look at relevant themes relating to France including childhood, family, rural France, regions and historical background.

An English intro to the film will provide contextual information and key French phrases and vocab.

The screening will be followed by French language exercises relating to the Alps region, the characters of the film, film genre conventions and intercultural differences.

Led by Isabelle Vanderschelden, Head of French at Manchester Metropolitan University

Recommended for GCSE, AS and A2 or equivalent level Urdu

This Urdu study day will be built around a screening of Hichki. Students will watch a full screening of the film and this will be followed by a series of Urdu GCSE and AS/A2 level language exercises based on the film’s main character and themes. Hichki is a Hindi language film.

The study session activities will be only in Urdu with Urdu script.

Led by Sheraz Ali, Urdu Teacher at Levenshulme High School & Urdu Lecturer at The University of Manchester

This study day will explore the use of genre to introduce the themes of the film which include; religion; migration; terrorism and political reaction to radicalisation.

An intro to the film, the director and the actors will be given in French, providing information on the social context of the period – the 1990s, and the genres referenced (political drama, road movie etc). Short exercises will provide the key vocab.
After lunch, a series of exercises in French will focus on the film’s main characters, plot development and themes. One objective will be to show how film helps to enhance the intercultural awareness of language students.

Led by Isabelle Vanderschelden, Head of French at Manchester Metropolitan University

This A2 study session will include an intro to the film, examining key themes of family relationships, traditions, urban and rural culture, women in Spain, genre and characterisation. After the screening, an interactive study session will include discussion of the content of the film, asking questions and completing A2 Level language exercises.

Led by Carmen Herrero, Head of Spanish at Manchester Metropolitan University