Latest News

All the latest news from the world of languages and language teaching.

Australia needs to make languages compulsory

Over many decades, governments and others have made commitments to increasing Australia’s ‘Asia literacy’. But is this goal being met? Has the growth in investment in language programs and language study seen in the 1980s resulted in lasting change, or is Australia...

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European Day of Languages 2021

European Day of Languages 2021 Annual competition for schools in the UK organised in North-East England My time capsule ALLNE, NfLNE and partners are once again organising the annual European Day of Languages Competition for Schools and in 2021 it is again open to...

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BBC Future: How finger counting gives away your nationality

Many people around the world learn to count on their fingers, but we don't all do it in the same way. Could there be a better method? How would you count to 10 on your fingers? Do you start with the thumb or the index finger? Left hand or right? Dactylonomy (counting...

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Why some languages are almost wordless

Dozens of traditional cultures use a whistled form of their native language for long-distance communication. TOURISTS VISITING La Gomera and El Hierro in the Canary Islands can often hear locals communicating over long distances by whistling — not a tune, but the...

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Are Brain Breaks Worth Classroom Time? 10 Resources To Try

Have you tried out brain breaks in your physical or virtual classroom? Today’s blog post is all about brain breaks: what a brain break is and how to use them with your students. The purpose of a brain break is more than just a pause in instruction; it can have a big...

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How to embed Mandarin into your curriculum

With Mandarin growing in popularity, teachers explain how schools can make the most out of teaching the language. “Why is learning Mandarin beneficial to children? Where do I start,” asks Liqun Dai, the head of Chinese at Archbishop Sentamu Academy in Hull. “The...

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FT: Global Britain needs to improve its language learning

In a classroom this summer at Azbuka, a London bilingual primary school of which I am a governor, the children switched easily between English and Russian as they designed colourful posters in the two languages to help learn about coronavirus, climate change and...

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European Parliament Ambassador School programme

Are you interested in Accreditation for your school/college for staff and students taking on leadership roles? Links and travel throughout a network of 1600 schools across the EU and the UK? Support in the form of free resources, lesson plans and funding for events?...

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Press Release: GCSE 2021 Results

  Press Release 12/08/2021 GCSE 2021 Results   ALL President Kim Bower Comments “At the end of this exceptional year, I want to congratulate all language learners across the U.K. who are collecting their GCSE results today. I particularly want to acknowledge...

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Press releases & open letters from the Association for Language Learning.