Languages ICT

ARCHIVED MARCH 2006

Top stories | Other current news | Quick-stop news | Events | Archives

Top stories

The Modern Foreign Languages Environment

Are you looking for help and guidance on how to use ICT in your language lessons? Have you just got an interactive whiteboard, but are not sure what to do with it? Well, then the recently launched Modern Foreign Languages Environment from Scotland could be just what you need! There is an impressive array of information currently available on the site, which has been organised into helpful subsections. These provide support for any language teacher who wants to explore the potential of ICT to enhance teaching and learning.

The ICT Register

The ICT Register is a list of schools around the country who wish to share their skills and expertise with others. Set up by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust last year, the register already has an impressive number of members who can offer a range of different services, including some which particularly support training in the use of ICT in modern foreign languages. To find out what is on offer near you, just go to the home page of the ICT register site and click on the virtual map of England according to where you live. Then simply click to find out which services are being offered in a school in your region. Interested?

Other current news

BBC Jam

BBC Jam is the catchy title of the long-awaited digital curriculum from the BBC. Ready to go online in the new year, the service is aimed at primary and secondary school pupils and promises to exploit the latest technologies to help the nation’s children to learn across the curriculum at home or at school. French for ages 11-14 will be offered in the first year, with other subjects being added later.

TeachNet UK

Have you ever fancied yourself as an author of training materials in ICT and languages? Do you want to share your knowledge with others and be paid for it? Would you like to put yourself and your school on the map? Well, if the answers to these questions are all ‘yes’ then the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust would like to hear from you.

Partners in progress

Partners in progress is a homegrown initiative from CILT, The National Centre for Languages and the Association for Language Learning via the Languages ICT website. Similar to the TeachNet UK programme, the scheme encourages innovative classroom teachers to take part in action research in the area of ICT in languages and pass on their good practice to other colleagues. As well as reading material and guidance on setting up action research, these web pages detail a wealth of funding and dissemination opportunities available.

Becta ICT Advice: Focus On … MFL

For practical and relevant articles and reviews on using ICT in language teaching, why not take a look at the new issue of the Secondary e-magazine from Becta’s ICT Advice? Find out about the latest news and views with a focus on languages by visiting the site or search the archives for useful ideas. You can even sign up for an email alert so you’ll be one of the first to know when the next issue is out.

Effective use of ICT in subject teaching (Secondary)

Following on from last year’s CD ROM ‘Effective use of ICT in subject teaching (Primary)’, Becta have now produced its secondary equivalent ‘Effective use of ICT in subject teaching (Secondary)’. Structured like its predecessor, the resource includes suggestions for classroom activities, effective practice, hints and tips with supporting web links and downloadable documents. Examples given are based on the experience of real teachers and show how ICT can enhance learning across the curriculum. Intrigued?

Quick-stop news

Teachers' TV

Why not watch, or register and download, some MFL related programmes from Teachers' TV, the new DfES-funded channel? There are programmes designed for primary and secondary colleagues. Run a search for the following examples:

For KS3-4:

For KS2:

Whiteboard Tips for language teachers

The Cardiff LEA Whiteboard Development Group have produced a useful web page called ‘Boarding and Surfing – Making the most of the interactive whiteboard in MFL teaching’ which can be found on the NGfL Cymru website.

It includes downloadable documents such as

Check it out!

Trampoline

Trampoline is a new ten-part radio series designed to improve the speaking skills of Primary-aged pupils in French. Each fifteen-minute programme is intended to be ‘fun and easy to use’ and the topics covered match the QCA Scheme of Work for KS2 French. Here are the listings:

1. Salut
12/01/2006
2. Ma famille
19/01/2006
3. Les animaux
26/01/2006
4. Les fêtes
02/02/2006
5. Le monde
09/02/2006
6. L'école
23/02/2006
7. La nourriture
02/03/2006
8. Le sport
09/03/2006
9. Les vêtements
16/03/2006
10. En ville
23/03/2006

Programmes are first broadcast at 0335 on Thursdays, but can be listened to again up to seven days after the initial transmission. There will also be a pack to support the programmes, which can be ordered from the BBC.

Now for something completely different ... Verbcasts!

Partners in Excellence (PiE) have recently made twenty Verbcasts available for download to your mp3 player or computer. Using innovative relaxation and visualisation techniques, the sound files are designed to help pupils learn all regular and twenty common irregular verbs in the present, perfect, imperfect and future tenses in French. The Verbcasts can be downloaded from the Podcast Alley website. Go on. Give it a go!

Events

ICT Events from CILT, The National Centre for Languages

For full details of events focusing on ICT run by CILT, The National Centre for Languages, please visit the CILT website

Getting started with ICT in Panjabi and Urdu
A one-day hands-on course on the exploitation of word-processing, PowerPoint and the Internet in language teaching
Saturday 4 February 2006, Bradford College

Core Skills in ICT
A distance-learning course in the application of core ICT skills to effective MFL teaching and learning, including two contact days
Monday 13 March to Wednesday 24 May 2006, CILT, London, and
Wednesday 10 May to Wednesday 12 July 2006, CILT, London

Language World Conference 2006: Working together, the Association for Language Learning

7-8 April, University of Manchester
The Language World 2006 Conference & Exhibition from the Association for Language Learning offers a rich programme of ICT-focused sessions. Please see below or visit the ALL website for the full programme.

Using photo-stories to develop writing skills
Mark Pentleton

Working together to share best practice and resources...today and in the future!
Helen Myers

Lights, camera, action: out-of-school film-making activities for languages
Mark Pentleton

Blogs and podcasts: the learner is the resource
Ewan McIntosh

‘Working together’ - live online language teaching
Karsten Stephan

Interactive whiteboard resources sharing forum: bring an idea – take 20 away!
Wendy Adeniji and Ros Walker

Free games, time-saving utilities and fun with MS Word: integrating ICT into the MFL classroom
Joe Dale

Primary French on the interactive whiteboard (Harcourt Education Limited)
Jackie Coe

The i-way to great lessons – and exam success! (Oxford University Press)
Louise Perrier, Dick Capel-Davies and Richard Matthews

Including every child: an analysis of student response systems in the MFL classroom (Promethean Technologies Limited)
Ros Walker

The ICT news update pages are published on a termly basis. See Archives for previous editions.