Jan Lewandowski

The Language Show at Olympia (31st Oct)

The Language Show does not necessarily attract teachers from the Primary sector as it also features secondary, higher and business recruitment.  Nevertheless, as a regular visitor, I’ve noticed that gradually more exhibitors are offering resources for Primary.

Here is a selection (in alphabetical order) of just some of the exhibitors and resources that I came across; for a full list visit ……

The Basque Government had a stand; they have language brochures and badges are available which might be useful for Spanish/multi-lingual/language days or European Day of Languages.

BBC Active

The Primary French course Primary French is Fun 1 - Let’s Begin (age 7-11) has been updated with a new section to bring it into line with the QCA scheme of work.  It may be useful for all those schools who are busy finding resources to fit the scheme of work; it might save reinventing the wheel!  To be published very soon.

Beelingua

I was delighted to see that Val Thornber has a new resource about to be published which will replace ‘Little Tales of the Unexpected’

GrowStoryGrow is to be published in March and seems to tick an awful lot of boxes.  I chatted with Valerie Thornber, the author, for some time; this resource must have been a marathon effort and a real labour of love.  Here’s the summary from the Language Show catalogue:

‘GrowStoryGrow is our new multilingual, multi-themed, multi-skilled, multi-levelled and multi-storied website.  It is very simple to use: choose a language (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Urdu, Mandarin, Arabic), choose a story (The Plant Cycle, The Solar System, The Tudors), choose a level (there are four) and go.’

This resource could work on sorts of levels, nit least to complement the QCA SOW.  Watch this space for more information as it becomes available.

Bilingual Games

This company, which I think is new, is offering Français Snap which might be useful for odd moments outside normal lesson times or for wet play activities etc.  I’ve asked for samples to check the resource out for myself and to evaluate it for the classroom.

Brilliant Publications

I’ve been familiar with the resources produced by Brilliant Publications for a long time now; they have a broad catalogue of publications in French, German, Spanish and Italian, most of which are suitable for non-specialists in KS2.  They are one of the few publishers who have produced specific material for KS1; ‘J’aime parler’ and ‘J’aime chanter’  are useful and not too expensive.  They also avoid using the same material which you might want to use in KS2.

Chinese Made Easy

CME Books Europe are the producers of Chinese Made Easy for Kids series.
Sorry to say I know no Chinese but find the language and culture fascinating. The company can also supply posters, flashcards, DVDs, word cards and reward stickers; all of which might be useful for language days / European Day of Languages.

The Consejería De Educacíon

The Consejería  is becoming more geared up to Primary languages and provides online and CPD support resources, a good song CD, posters etc.  I’ve always found them very helpful, particularly for some of my festivals workshops.  The URL is certainly not the most catchy or obvious!  Here’s a contact name if that helps: isabel.mateos@mepsyd.es

European Schoolbooks Ltd

Had a very big stand at the Language Show where it was possible to browse an extensive collection of story books for KS2 MFL.  Most were for French still, but there was also an increased range for Spanish (for which there is a big demand) and other languages.  I’m a regular visitor at the European Bookshop (part of European Schoolbooks) in Warwick St., just off Regent St., in London; well worth a visit if you are in town.  European Schoolbooks seems to have pretty much cornered the market in importing foreign language story books for KS2; they also stock the titles and CDs etc that complements the Catherine Cheater schemes of work and the Jolie Ronde schemes of work for French and Spanish.

Some teachers don’t seem to realise that the books will complement most other schemes of work, and in particular the ‘Mon Ane’ DVD is a useful resource for anyone teaching French and is actually produced by Folimage.

I really recommend that teachers have a good look at story books before they buy to check that the language level is appropriate for their classes and for their own personal language level; buying books ‘cold’ can be very expensive.

I’ve run workshops in ‘Stories and Big Books’ and will be doing so again at the Comenius East Conference on 26th November.

More to follow ………………

We’re getting to that stage in the year where schools are beginning to organise Language Days.You can’t have a Language Day without appropriate food and drink. I’ve mentioned before that Aldi often have foreign specialities, I’ve certainly bought Greek, Spanish and Italian in the past and I’m sure they offer other goodies.

From today, LIDL have French specialities on offer; you may have to get there quickly as the offer usually only lasts for a week and they don’t always have big stocks. Here are some of the products that I found there: croque monsieur, jambon de Bayonne, pommes noisette, tarte flambée, palets Bretons and several more. They are actually made in France so I guess they are authentic and some things are either frozen or have a long shelf life …….. well worth a look!

My last post should, of course, have included catalan as a tag! I’ve rectified that now.

I’ve enjoyed many visits to Catalunya and although Spanish gets me by it’s always interesting to compare and contrast the two languages.

You can get a free, comprehensive and beautifully illustrated Catalan language guide called `Vocabulari en imatges‘ from the Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de la Presidencia, Secretaria de Politica Linguistica. You can download it, complete with multilingual translations, directly from the site or email spl.presidencia@gencat.net direct to obtain the paper version. Worth it!

You can also get a Catalan verb wheel, if you are so inclined, from www.llull.ca

I got my book and verb wheel from The Language Show last November, look out for yours next year.

I’ve been out and about this term doing a series of workshops at Regional Support Groups around the country. The focus of these presentations was Spring and Summer Festivals explored through the medium of French and Spanish; taking in some of the main festivals and celebrations from February to July.

The feedback has been very positive:

Worcestershire RSG - “People found Jan’s session overwhelmingly ‘excellent’ …. ‘She demonstrated how festivals can meet the intercultural understanding objectives through song, dance, design technology, games and tongue-twisters’ …. ‘ Jan’s handouts should be kept in a safe place as they are a valuable repository for her careful research into the best websites, the best YouTube downloads etc’..”

This is the Year of the Rat in Chinese culture and as usual La Poste in France has issued a set of commemorative stamps which are rather fine. Incidentally in any post office in France it is always worthwhile asking for posters and brochures about commemorative stamps throughout the year. Sometimes the material has already been thrown away but often you can get really great posters for the classroom wall.