The Links into Languages LinkedUp Award Scheme has produced a series of free resources for teachers of primary, secondary, and post-16 languages. From CLIL to transition and from alternative accreditation to progression, these materials have been created and tested by groups of practising teachers and others working with languages. The LinkedUp Award Scheme aims to tackle the challenges we are facing and make a difference to teachers and learners, with the emphasis on innovation and creativity. Funded projects cover all ages from 4 to 19, a wide range of different languages and ten themes which reflect national priorities for language learning. Find out more about the Award Scheme.
There are resources from a wide array of different languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Japanese, Polish, Punjabi, Russian and Urdu:
Arabic, French, German: Real Communication in Modern Languages
http://www.linksintolanguages.ac.uk/resources/2334
This project has explored the use of video-conferencing between schools in Exeter and schools in France and Germany with 3 focal points: practice for GCSE; discussion of current affairs at AS and A level; and links with a local business for vocational languages – to bring real people and language into the classroom and give students the chance to listen, think on their feet and answer in the target language.
Gujarati, Bengali, Urdu: Teaching and Learning in the Community Language Classroom
http://www.linksintolanguages.ac.uk/resources/2523
This project focussed on raising the standards of teaching and learning in the Bangla, Gujarati, and Urdu Community Language schools in Crawley. A course was developed, delivered and accredited by the Open College Network (OCN) at Levels 2 and 3 for volunteer teachers currently teaching in these language schools.
Japanese: Sharing Best Practice for Teaching Beginners’ Japanese using the ABC Course for Certification
http://www.linksintolanguages.ac.uk/resources/2539
A project to link teachers and develop resources for teaching beginners’ Japanese using ABC for certification: to link teachers up with each other to end the sense of isolation often felt, to provide a usable and flexible scheme of work, to provide training for teachers in how to deliver the course, and also to support teachers in interpreting the assessment criteria, help them create realistic and suitable assessment tasks for their own learners, and generate a shared sense of what is reasonable and can be expected of learners at this stage.
Polish, Chinese, Punjabi, Urdu: Web-based teachers pack: languages and cultures
http://www.linksintolanguages.ac.uk/resources/2355
Within the multicultural, ethnically and linguistically diverse West Midlands region, it is important to value and recognise pupils’ individual backgrounds, experiences and languages. This project aimed to raise the profile of community languages by engaging pupils in a new learning experience where they become central to the teaching and learning of the language(s).
Russian: Widening Russian Horizons
http://www.linksintolanguages.ac.uk/resources/2385
The focus of this project was a Russia Day involving nine schools, with two sessions held during the day. After a concert from the Hermitage Ensemble, students were taught a Russian song and then took part in four activities on Russian business, culture or language.
All of the LinkedUp projects can be accessed on www.linksintolanguages.ac.uk/linkedup.