The bSmall Young Language Learner Award is returning on 15 April 2024! The Young Language Learner Award (YLLA) is an exciting story-writing opportunity aimed at 6-11 year olds. Children are encouraged to send in a story or comic written in a language of their choice, other than a mother tongue. bSmall will provide a template, notes for teachers/ parents/ tutors and a downloadable entry form for entrants to submit the finished story. All entrants have the chance of winning up to 10 books of their choice from the bSmall website. More details of YLLA will follow as it opens on 15th Ap ..read more

After a six year hiatus, Practical Pedagogies returns in 2024. To say I was excited when Russel first floated the idea would be an understatement! Practical Pedagogies is a conference like no other. Over to Russel Tarr to explain: Educational conferences can be prohibitively expensive for ordinary teachers, and often focus on abstract theory rather than real-world ways of immediately improving classroom practice. In contrast, “Practical Pedagogies” believes the best training is delivered by practising teachers, sharing effective and creative strategies and resources at an affordabl ..read more

Last week I had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop entitled Welcome to Germany and the German speaking world being held in Durham as part of the Express Yourself North East Festival of Languages. Held at Durham University, it was organised by the British Council and the university with support from the Goethe Institut. In the morning primary aged pupils (years 5-6) with little or no experience of German were introduced to the German speaking world via an introductory presentation by Sara Davidson, learning that German is spoken in a number of European countries but also in an African ..read more

Created using AI – I’m learning! Each meeting and conference I attend, I take my notebook and pens, and attempt to sketchnote proceedings. It helps me listen carefully (and sit still!), enables me to recall what was said after the event in a way that taking notes doesn’t, and also enables me to share with those who weren’t there. I do my notes live and therefore tweeted them as soon as the sessions were over – you may have seen them on Twitter/X over the weekend, but I like to publish them as a collection after the event. It also enables me to make sure I haven’t missed anything and check I ha ..read more

I was really pleased to be asked to present at the annual Association for Language Learning national conference, Language World. This year it was held in Kenilworth with the title Languages – a unique ingredient of learning. There were several threads running through the weekend including parental engagement, AI, transition and international partnerships. It was on that latter topic that my presentation focussed. My talk was on Saturday afternoon, and over the preceding 36 hours I attended several presentations that celebrated and promoted international links including one by Jane Harvey and ..read more

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of presenting at the PSB MFL conference via Zoom. My presentation was entitled More than words with the subtitle Language learning is about more than learning lists of vocabulary. In it, I discussed my ‘idea of what ‘list of ingredients’ for language learning, particularly in the primary context. After discussing OFSTED’s 3 pillars and 3Is, I moved on to present my 7Cs! And what are my 7Cs? Context Consolidation Confidence Communication Culture Celebration Connection I was thrilled with the response to my presentation and want to thank all the attendees for ..read more

The annual conference of the Association for Language Learning (ALL) is fast approaching. This year Language World will be held in Kenilworth on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th March. The theme is Language – a unique ingredient of learning. As the website says: We will consider together many aspects of education today in multilingual Britain. What is unique about our subject? In what ways does the learning of a language support learners today beyond the classroom – from being a child to becoming an adult? What are the ingredients of a healthy learning experience? Culture and International Conta ..read more

This Tuesday (27th June) I’ll be speaking at the L.E.A.D. TSA Hub Online Primary Languages event. Jo Darley has put together a really interesting programme covering learner autonomy, linguistic thinking, “quality first” teaching for all, literature and culture, and the value of supporting and celebrating languages through global communication. I’m really excited to be taking part. My presentation will be about the benefits of international links and global communication in the primary classroom. As a primary languages teacher, it will be heavily influenced by the impact of my young linguists ..read more

If you read my post a few weeks ago about my recent presentations, you may be interested in an article I wrote for the Global School Alliance. In it, I wrote about the international journey of Whitehouse Common Primary and why it has been so important. Click the link below the image to read it. The importance of international links at WCPS While you’re there, why not have a look at the other posts from schools around the world, sharing their projects and the impact it has had on their school communities. It’s free to join the Global School Alliance and there are many interesting opportunities ..read more

After the success of last year’s competition, the bSmall Young Language Learner Award returns. This year the theme is… Children aged 6-11 are invited to submit a story written in a language other than English. On the website https://bsmall.co.uk/ylla  you can find template, notes for teachers/ parents/ tutors and a downloadable entry form for entrants to submit the finished story. Winners will receive books from the bSmall and the opportunity to have their work published in PDF form on the website. The closing date for entries is Monday 5th June and winners will be announced on Jun ..read more