The ALL June event is approaching! Saturday 13th June 2015
Here is an update from my previous post:
1. Here is the list of all the speakers:
Sylvia Bartlett-Rawlings
Suzi Bewell
Liz Black
Nadine Chadier
Joe Dale
Peter Downes
Gina Hall
René Koglbauer
Katrin Lauber
Karl Pfeiffer
2. Can I stress that this is a morning for all teachers, whatever language they teach, and there is the bonus of an afternoon for Germanists who can stay on.
3. We are offering free places to primary teachers who are with us for the first time.
4. We have 11 exhibitorsconfirmed so far. I will list them in a post next week when others have had a chance to register their interest. There are some great raffle prizes in store!
Please book before Monday 8th June to get the early bird rate. It really is excellent value for money! Thanks so much to the Goethe Institut, exhibitors and the City of London School for making this possible.
ALL London is delighted to announce its annual 'June Event' which will be taking place on Saturday 13th June 2015 from 10 am at The City of London School, 107 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 3AL, and we hope that as many people as possible will come along. Here is a link to the details and registration on Eventbrite: Here is a link to the web page: (apologies for antiquated style. I will take up Stéphane's kind offer to help me revamp the site soon!) There are many reasons why we think that this event will attract even more people than usual, and here are just some (in no particular order …!) Our event is running alongside the annual 'Goethe German Day', which means that there are even more choices. You can follow the 'ALL London June Event' path, or you can follow the 'Goethe Institut German Day' path, or you can mix and match the two. This gives you the best of both worlds! The location is central and simply breath-taking! There is plenty of room to accommodate as many as want to come, and We are hoping for a sunny day so that you can benefit from a stunning view across the Thames and up to St Paul's dome! Thanks SO much to Robin Edmundson for arranging the use of his fantastic school! Many exhibitors are subsidising our morning break, and you will have plenty of opportunities to see their wares and network with colleagues and friends. The Goethe Institut is generously subsidising a buffet lunch, so it will be convenient and satisfying to have something to eat before you either go off to explore London in the afternoon, or stay on for the German-focused afternoon Primary colleagues will have a strand to keep them occupied all morning, packed with great ideas Germanists have a wealth of information from the Goethe Institut and as an added bonus, they have an afternoon especially for them, at no extra cost! We have a stellar cast of superb, popular speakers who cover a wide range of topics
Training Teachers: what better way than to meet up with your fellow students for a final training session and mix with more teachers before you embark on your career?! We'd LOVE to see you and to wish you well! The event offers extremely good value for money It is very useful to have an idea of numbers at an early stage - especially for catering - and so we have included an 'early bird' rate. If people cannot make it in the end, we can transfer the registration as long as you let us know before the event, so there is no reason to delay! We look forward to seeing you soon!
All the best
Helen Myers On behalf of the ALL London committee.
I felt really embarrassed about not knowing any Dutch when I visited Groningen for the Eurocall conference last year. As a result of the conference I am now embarking on an exciting TILA project with Bart Pardoel whom I met at the 3D special interest group meeting. As I tested out a new game online last Friday with Bart and his colleagues, I once again felt ashamed that I did not even know how to say thanks!
This was in my mind when all of a sudden I spotted a link on my Facebook page ... a message from Groningen University inviting people to sign up for a basic course of Dutch available via Futurelearn. I have been wanting to experience a 'MOOC' and I learn so much my personal experience of learning languages which I can apply to my teaching ... (most recently, Italian...) so I just had to join it! Here is a link to the page on 'why it works'
I then thought of Duolingo and was delighted to discover that there is a Dutch course there too.
I declared my intention to learn some Dutch to the Twitterworld (a way of committing myself I suppose!) .. and Steve Smith suggested I write a blog of my experience. So here goes...
DAY 1
Duolingo:
I find the audio very clear, and the pace suits me well.
A knowledge of German speeds things up.
Some frustration when I come across words on which I cannot 'hook' anything.
Read the 'tips' and learner comments when you can to understand a bit more about the background.. e.g. goededag (good day) but goedeNavond (good evening) .. add an 'n' before a vowel. I gave a couple of people 'lingots' for helpful comments. (I'm just so generous!). e.g. How can you remember the tough word for please: Alsjebleift. It really helps when you can break it down .. [as it to you pleases.]
So, learners like me need to understand the components, then we have more chance of remembering the word.
Futurelearn
Very well constructed, inviting course I think, with pictures. Short introduction.
Videos well scripted.. not wasting time. Possible to read pdf in place of watching video.
Activities divided into three weeks. Each references 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc. Learner clicks
A video of real people inviting you to participate.
A community .. you follow the teachers.
Thanks to the exhibitors and speakers at BETT2015. I really enjoyed my day there on Friday 23rd January.
Here are some notes from my experience.
Practical stuff
Really worthwhile downloading the BETT app onto my phone, scrolling through the schedule and marking favourites.
The Excel London very easy to get to. Waterloo, Jubilee line, change at Canning Town, then two stops on the DLR to Custom House. Really helpful tube staff telling you to go to the middle of the platform.
Excel staff all very cheerful and helpful
Not as warm as Olympia.. kept coat on!
Easy to find your way around with reference to the entrances
I queued up before 10am .. noticed lots of people having coffee casually at the tables and realised why. Doors open, everyone just piles in!!
Met friends at The Fox lower bar... cosier than the centre.
Programs/Stands/People we met
All subjects:
Kahoot - fantastic free app from Norway .. for mobile apps or fixed PCs. The video was brilliant.. focussed on the reaction of the students of all ages!
E-factor: Story-based computer simulations. A Polish-based company/. Looks great! Fronter - the VLE system we use. Must follow up the additional hand-in tool which you can add to rooms (instead of making folders hand-in folders) Pearson - we were looking for advice about content to add to Fronter. Anthony told us that Pearson is organising 'ready-made' rooms. Not yet there for ML - we may be able to help. Schools Serious Games - an eu project to create adventure games for learning e.g. Playing History and Global Conflicts and Materials Future Sonocent audio note taker - I need to look at the this more to understand fully what it does. I really liked the stand!
Literacy/SEN:
NASEN - a must for SEN. Join the association. Good quality regular magazine, High quality conference. Spelling tutor Units of sound Online - Seems to be a really good way of getting specialist support for pupils who need help with literacy, especially at a time when schools may have to be reducing staffing. Really nice to meet Maria Mahoney again, and thanks to Clare Effingham who explained it all to me.
PSE
Issues online - PSHE support - up-to-date Zumos - looks like a really good resource to promote 'well being'. Business model makes it free at delivery.
Languages:
Exampro - as recommended by Bertram Richter, so I would like to have it even though we do not use AQA for ML. Eurotalk - we already subscribe to their excellent products. Looking forward to seeing the authoring version which will be out shortly. Flashsticks - seems very engaging - probably mainly for primary environments. Nice people on the stand, and thanks that they replied to my tweet! Lexicum - a new way to learn and reinforce new vocabulary. Being developed still. I was really impressed. Radiolingua - so pleased at the success Mark Pentleton is having with his company. We go back a long way! (He set up my Facebook and Twitter accounts at a past BETT show!). Nice to meet Katie! Talking Products - excellent for straightforward recordings - especially for people without access to mobile phones. I was really surprised at how cheap they were.
Sorry I didn't make it to see Marta Palomerasi and Cheryl Sanchez of bilingual bookshop but thanks for your tweets! I will definitely look at your books!
Hardware:
Online Parents' evening booking system - will pass on this idea. Route2education - engaging digital tables for primary schools. Makes me wish I worked in a primary school! Soundfield / Connevans - I always want to buy this product! Teacher wears a small microphone around their neck, and their voice comes out of a speaker placed at the back of the room. Reduces voice strain, and would be fantastic for teaching languages. Really nice to meet the Director, Phil Boswell and to know that the company is based very near our school.
Talks and meetings
We attended a very good talk called 'Active literacy - getting words off the page!' by Donald Cumming, Assistant Headteacher, Holmfirth High School. Description of the session: 'Writing is a high-stakes activity for many young people as well as a difficult-yet-essential skill: the written word is there to be seen and judged by everyone! So what can be done? This session will demonstrate active approaches to literacy ranging from using rugby balls to making the best of IT in order to develop confidence and skills'. Donald generously offered to share his PowerPoint. We loved the active and engaging techniques he suggested .. e.g. two over-sized hands used to accompany 'on the one hand .. on the other hand' ... and over-sized cut-outs of footsteps to accompany 'Point - Explanation - Evidence [and optionally, link]'
It was good to meet Jens Kjaer Olsen and Mr Rasmussen and his son. I am delighted that they are investigating providing an affordable way of allowing pupils to work in a 3D Virtual environment with other pupils form around the world. At the moment I am really excited about trying out a similar project with TILA and I would love to be involved with whatever they set up!
I'd like to follow up the talk I saw on using 'Minecraft'.
At last we met, @basbettj !!!! It was great to see you for real, and I look forward to a webinar from you! Sorry you didn't get to give your presentation Janet. I agree with you and others tweeting that having lots of so-called 'nano' presentations would be best as a way of sharing a maximum of ideas which people could then follow up they want.
The absolute highlight for the day was listening to 'visionary' Sir Ken Robinson in the BETT arena. Chris Panting, Deputy Head at The Ashcombe, was very envious of the chance we had to see Sir Ken Robinson, and I am just so sorry that I could not get a signed copy of his book for him. They ran out of the stock just before I got to the front of the queue. Sorry Chris!
The programme notes for this session were as follows: "I am delighted to be part of the international education community that will gather at Bett 2015 in London. In my keynote session, Out of our Minds: learning to be creative, I will challenge many of the test-based, standardised educational reforms being pushed globally to 'reform' education. I look forward especially to learning about how you are working creatively to transform education where you are."
I do hope that someone was videoing it and that we can see it again. I did not want to take notes .. the experience of sitting on the floor watching an accomplished orator at work close-up was unmissable .. but I did take time to write a few tweets of things which really struck me: (obviously the bits I really believe in too!)
Waiting to hear Sir Ken Robinson talk about a culture of collaboration growth sitting on the floor
Culture is the sum of your behaviour. It can change in a short space of time e.g. tolerance of smoking
You are more important to the pupils than the Secretary of education who is passing through to another job.... you are the school
Not against assessment e.g PISA ('the European song contest of education!') but the way it is used by politicians
Definition of creativity..original ideas with a value
Schools have a narrow conception of talent. Overlooked because we are looking for something else..
Question is not whether to use technology but how
Absolutely inspiring and entertaining talk from Sir Ken...life is not linear..it is organic..you cannot plan life
Look at video 'going nuts'..fantastic..demonstrations that all we need is already there..we need to be open
Very moving advert for mind art..they deserve the publicity..
Must buy new edition of out of our minds by Sir Ken...so sad that they had sold out on the stand :-(
Excellent analogy drawn between farming and education..danger of the monoculture..need to concentrate on the soil
Our job is not to teach the national curriculum but to teach children
Loving the evangelism of Sir Ken
Sir Ken is not saying there are not things we need to learn in common
Education is to help children learn what they might not learn on their own..expose them to ideas.no single definition
It was like being in an evangelical meeting ... Sir Ken speaks in a down-to-earth yet eloquent way, pulling at the heart-strings as he describes what are humane 'common sense' objectives and methods in education. You felt like standing up and saying 'Hallelujah!' There is no way that I would have asked any even vaguely critical question following such an experience!
And yet I know that when I have read what he has said in the past, although agreeing absolutely with him about the purpose of education and the problems in the current system, I have wondered how this would work fairly within our publicly accountable system where our aim is to give equality of opportunity and access. My question might be: How would he advise government to do the following without tests and standards: (a) establish the 'common core' (b) define a common understanding of what we should be doing 'beyond the core' (c) ensure accountability in a public service for the common core and 'beyond'. I am motivated to read more deeply and find out how he would answer.
I am sure I have missed lots of things I saw and did and will add them on this page. Hope this may be helpful to others as well as a 'reminder' to me about what to pass on to colleagues!
I hope I can be let out to experience BETT again next year!
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Happy New Year everyone!
I do hope that you are going to be able to join us at our
'ALL London January Event' this year on Saturday 17th January, 10-1 at SOAS, University of London.Here is a link to the ALL London website where you can see more information and download an invitation.
SOAS are generously hosting us again.We are so lucky to be in such a central
place, easy to get to, and close to other attractions for later visiting /
shopping.
Who is it for?
We are especially looking forward to having more primary
teachers with us, as every session will have something for both primary and
secondary teachers/trainers.It is also
a time when we love to welcome students to our 'main' event.We met over 120 students at our October
reception, and very much hope that they will come along!It is free to student members and student
non-members can come at a reduced price.(The same price as teacher members).
What is on offer?
The committee will be sporting brand new sweatshirts, and
Stéphane Derône has done a great job in recruiting sponsors to subsidise out
refreshments, so you will be able to browse through excellent resources while
chatting and drinking in breaks.Sponsors include Maison Claire Fontaine, Vocab Express, OUP .. andLinguascope will provide bags and freebies
for us all!
In the first short session, you will be able to choose between
primary and secondary 'up-date' sessions when we will give 'the big picture' of
everything you need to know (curriculum - requirements - OFSTED - examinations
etc.)!Nick Mair and I will lead the
secondary session, and Nadine Chadier and Sylvie Bartlett-Rawlings will lead
the primary session, including some input from Peter Downes.
In the second session, SOAS are going to show us what they can
offer schools in the form of a short lesson in Indonesian for all
participants.This will be fun as well
as educational, and delegates may be interested in asking SOAS to be involved
in their schools to spread interest tasting 'different' languages.
In the third session, we are delighted that the incredibly
popular Steven Fawkes will talk to us about using authentic texts at both
primary and secondary level.His
sessions are always thought provoking, practical and highly entertaining.You cannot miss this opportunity!
The morning is rounded off with a choice.
·Nick Mair will offer his extremely helpful
session for student teachers on getting prepared for interviews / CV writing
etc.It isreally useful to hear what a school manager is
looking for when interviewing.
·Peter Downes will give more information about a
realistic way of providing languages in the primary setting, whatever the
expertise of the staff involved.Our own
committee member Anette Corbach speaks very highly of this approach, and Peter
is very committed to helping teachers and managers.
·Otherwise, you can come along to the Annual
General Meeting to monitor how we are running the branch!(We will not be offended if you choose one of
the other sessions!)
Please sign up soon
to benefit from an early bird rate.(It
will be £5 more after next Monday).See
you soon!Helen (Helen MyersALL London Chair)
I have just seen a flurry of messages in response to the BBC article of Bernice McCabe's speech about language learning.
Every now and then there are articles like this which provoke reactions, some of which can be helpful responses, but some of which can be unhelpful.
For what it's worth, here are a few reflections on this process.
1)Reporting
technique ….
Sadly, the reporter has chosen a‘headline ‘ that blames teaching and
teachers.
How much more useful it would have been if the headline
chosen had been ‘schools are put off from offering language qualifications
because ….top grades in languages are
harder to obtain than in many other subjects".
2) Language / Assumptions
Be aware of
giving credence to implicit 'assumptions' in 'catch phrases' and false logic (commonly used by politicians ...)
By the phrasing ‘Language teachers should aim beyond
"functional phrasebook competence" and encourage self-expression in
pupils…’there is an implied but false
inference which many people will draw that that is all that language teachers
are doing at themoment.
Just repeating the precise phrase like ‘functional
phrasebook competence’ - ’ Berlitz phrasebook approach’ … gives it credibility.
And thereforewe
must positively be asserting the range and breadth of what happens on a regular
basis in schools .. the rich variety and imagination that is happening day in,
day out in our schools … and we must not even get into appearing to tackle the original
phrase because of the risk of giving it credibility.Politicians are very good at this kind of
‘false logic’ leading to their ‘quick solution’.
[Here’s another, this time ‘made-up’ example of a false
negative / derogatory assumption ‘Teachers should be more than people in school
from 9to 3.30’ …. and so they should
swear an oath to extra-curricular activities’ … Discuss!(Actually, don’t discuss!!! It was just to
make the point!!!)]
Please let’s not fall into the trap of a knee-jerk reactions
e.g. to falling numbers / low grades…. Or the ‘we must do something ..
therefore this something is the solution’ ….
3)The importance
of assessment / grading
I'm pleased that the Headteacher talks about grading although she is wrong to use the word ‘perception’ of difficulty of-course, as we now know it is a reality, backed up by an Ofqual report.
Wemust address the
grading and assessment situation otherwise we are operating effectively with
‘one hand tied behind our back’Weneed to have a level playing field with other
subjects
In itself, this will not solve all problems, but it is an essential first step. We know that there are many
factors which contribute to pupils’ achievement and desire to continue a
subject.But the nature of the
assessment and the way grade boundaries are set are key.I really hope that with the changes to
assessment and grade descriptors someone sensible will make the conditions
appropriate for pupils to experience success in a fair system.
4)The assumption
about teaching
I am concerned about some of the assumptions being made
about teaching and thenature of
language teaching in this article.
At the ALL Language World 2012 and 2013, it was heartening
to hear such positive comments about teaching from Elaine Taylor, who was then
the lead Ofsted inspector for languages.
This was based on the Ofsted report 'Modern languages: achievement and challenge 2007-2010'.See in particular Pages 28 – 31 which reports on Teaching and learning. [Read it all.. don’t dwell on the negative – note that 2/3 of
schools visited were good or outstanding,and 1/9 were outstanding … only 1/90 was unsatisfactory].I went up to her afterwards and thanked her
for being so positive and encouraging, and I told her that too often I feel
teachers are over self-critical.
There is such a danger of us beating ourselves up about the
situation .. believing what the press reports.Of-course there will sometimes be teachers who do not have such high
standards, just as in any subject area but official reports do
not highlight teacher competence as a particular problem for language teaching
5)Conclusion
Advice to myself! …. (but may help others!)
Don’t react to the headline – look at the whole article
Avoid giving credence to politicians' phrases by repeating them - even if it is to disagree with them
Accept that there are many factors which contribute to an issue
Keep stressing the need for reform of assessment and grade boundaries as an essential ‘first step’
Enlighten people about what actually happens in language lessons (where possible giving official evidence.. not only personal anecdote or gut-feeling)
