Awards
Parlons français 2020
6 December 2019 (AMOPA)
The competition for Advanced Higher students of French has now been running for over ten years and is back again for 2020!
To enter, all that's needed is a short recording of students as they prepare for their speaking test. Judges will assess it, provide feedback to everyone and some will be awarded prizes and certificates. It is hoped that taking part will be a useful exercise to support pupils' learning and preparation and not a distraction. Since they are practising anyway, why not let them have some feedback on that?
For more information and how to enter see the attached flyer.
Scottish school pupils show off their language skills in Mandarin Speaking Competition
6 December 2019 (CISS)
Over 40 pupils from 14 Scottish Schools put their linguistic skills to the test on 26 November as they bid to be crowned Scotland’s best Mandarin speakers. They took part in the Glasgow heat of this year’s British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition, held at the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS) within Scotland’s National Centre for Languages (SCILT).
The winners of the heat will be announced next month after all the UK heats have been completed, and they will be put forward to the final in London in February 2020 with the overall winner winning a fully-funded educational and cultural visit to China. Now in its sixteenth year, the national competition aims to build interest in Chinese language and culture.
Mr Jiayi Chen, Teacher of Mandarin at Kinross High, said:
“Learning Mandarin has been incredibly important at Kinross High and our pupils gain so much confidence when using the language and taking part in the competition. We’ve seen a big impact from the opportunity to put language skills to use outside of a classroom setting. It’s also great to see that many of our students have been inspired to continue studying languages to a higher level.”
As the most spoken language in the world, Mandarin is recognised as a valuable skill for young people in the UK to acquire. 77 per cent of British business leaders surveyed in 2018 saying that speaking Mandarin will give school leavers a career advantage. Research by the British Council has found that Mandarin is the second most important foreign language for the UK’s influence on the global stage.
However, the numbers of pupils studying Mandarin are low when compared to other languages. This year, in Scotland for example, just 232 pupils took the Scottish National 5 exam in Mandarin compared to more than 10,720 students who took French and over 7000 pupils who took Spanish.
Jackie Killeen, Director, British Council Scotland said;
“It’s wonderful to see so many Scottish Schools and pupils involved in the Mandarin Speaking Competition this year – and we’re delighted to help host this event in Glasgow. Mandarin Chinese is a vital language world-wide and this competition provides a powerful way for students not only to enhance their language skills but also to broaden their horizons for life and work in the global economy. We wish all the pupils and Schools the very best for the heats and the final”.
Fhiona Mackay, Director, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, added;
“SCILT is delighted to host the Scottish heats of the British Council’s annual Mandarin Speaking Competition. These events highlight the importance of languages as key skills for life and work and showcase the talents of youngsters across the country who are enthusiastically learning Mandarin. It’s certainly not easy an easy task to speak in a language you are learning in front of a panel of distinguished judges and I am impressed by the young people’s courage, motivation and commitment. The confidence that is developed by taking part in such an event will serve them well throughout their school careers. Regardless of the outcome of the judges’ final decisions, everyone who takes part is a winner!”
Since 2003, around 3,000 young people from across the UK have entered the competition – with some of these pupils later going on to graduate in Mandarin Chinese.
Pupils can compete in the Individual Language Ability or the Group Performance section. In the Individual section, contestants give a short presentation in Mandarin and translate sentences from English into Mandarin. In the Group Performance section, groups of five students of mixed Mandarin experience perform a piece of drama in Mandarin, involving imaginative performances and drama.
The national final of the Mandarin Speaking Competition will take place in London on 5 February 2020.
6 December 2019 (Goethe-Institut)
The German Olympics (IDO) is the biggest competition for the German language. Every two years over 100 students from all around the world meet to compete in their most beloved foreign language.
We are happy to welcome the German Olympics for schools worldwide to the United Kingdom in 2020 for the third time. The competition is open to secondary school students born between August 2002 and July 2006.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information about eligibility and how to enter the competition. Submission deadline is 27 March 2020.
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6 December 2019 (Scottish Parliament)
Well done to all the semi-finalists and finalists of the Gaelic National Schools Debate. And congratulations to winners Sgoil Lionacleit and Raonaid Campbell from Sir E Scott.
The final was hosted at the Scottish Parliament on 5 December and is available to watch on the Scottish Parliament's TV channel.
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4 December 2019 (Scottish Education Awards)
The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education.
The annual event recognises those who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcases the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms.
Among the wide range of categories are the awards for Gaelic Education and the Internationalism and Languages award.
Nominations are now invited.
Visit the Scottish Education Awards website for further information and to submit your nomination by 14 February 2020.
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4 December 2019 (Institut français)
Do you think you could sing or rap in French? Do you have the skills to make a video clip for your song? If so, this competition is for you!
The competition is open to any student or groups of students in full time education in the national-curriculum primary and secondary schools of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and the Channel Islands, in 3 age-group categories: 7-11, 12-15, and 16-18.
Entries should be original compositions around 3 minutes long and must be performed in French.
Visit the competition website for more information and submit entries by 3 April 2020.
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3 December 2019 (UWS)
Mathématiques sans Frontières is an annual international mathematics competition for S4-S6 schoolchildren, centrally run by the Académie de Strasbourg since 1989. This interclass competition involves a number of mathematical puzzles where one of the puzzles is posed, and must be answered, in a foreign language.
Schools are now invited to register for the competition by 24 January 2020 and receive a set of practice questions. The questions from the 2019 competition can be found on the attached document.
For more information about the competition timeline and how to apply, visit the Mathématiques sans Frontières website.
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2 December 2019 (Stornoway Gazette)
The semi-finals of the National Secondary Schools’ Gaelic Debate will take place on Wednesday this week.The first semi-final will see Inverness Royal Academy B up against Lionacleit School. The second debate will see Bishopbriggs High School take on Sir E Scott.The two winning teams will meet in the Final, at The Scottish Parliament on Thursday, December 5th, at 7pm, where they will debate, ‘In 20 years time, the real Gàidhlig communities will be situated in the big cities’.
Looking forward to the final, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP, said: “Gaelic matters. “It is part of who we are and part of Scotland’s rich cultural identity. The humour, insight and linguistic skill displayed by young people in this competition year after year, convincingly demonstrates that the language continues to flourish. “It gives me immense pleasure that the final will be held on the floor of Holyrood’s debating chamber, marking this, our joint twentieth anniversary.”
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29 November 2019 (European Parliament)
Aged 16-30 and working on a project with a European dimension? Apply for the 2020 Charlemagne Youth Prize and win funds to further develop your initiative.
The European Parliament and the International Charlemagne Prize Foundation of Aachen award the Charlemagne Youth Prize every year to projects by young people with a strong EU dimension. Applications for 2020 open on 6 November and run until 31 January.
Visit the website for more information.
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28 November 2019 (Queens University Belfast)
This competition invites you to consider the linguistic ‘ingredients’ that make up place-names, and capture elements of these as they exist today in a photo
- Entries welcome from individuals and schools
- Cash prizes for both categories
- Easy to enter, email some details and the photo to townlands@qub.ac.uk
- Closes 31st Dec
- Funded by the ‘Language Acts and World Making project
Visit the website for more information.
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20 November 2019 (SEET)
Have you registered your school yet for either of the competitions run by the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET)?
The Euroquiz project is open to all P6 pupils across Scotland and sees teams of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe and the wider world. Subjects covered include languages, history, geography, culture and European affairs. Heats commence January 2020.
Our World is a film making project for S3-S6 pupils asking them to use modern languages to express thoughts on topics such as migration and sustainable tourism through the media of film. Deadline for storyboard submissions is 3 December 2019.
More information about each project and how to register can be found on the attached document or visit the SEET website.
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8 November 2019 (ULIP)
Studying French at AS/A Level (or equivalent) and fancy a weekend away to the City of Light?
The University of London Institute in Paris’ (ULIP) annual Win a Trip to Paris competition is now open for students of AS/A-Level French (or equivalent)! The weekend offers the perfect chance to explore the French capital, try out your taste for croissants, and see what it might be like to live and study for your undergraduate degree in one of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities.
This year's competition focuses on an important forthcoming event that will take place in Paris. To spur creativity, we have changed our format: this year we are inviting you to create an image caption. Be imaginative and bold! For your chance to spend a weekend in Paris, simply answer two questions and add your snappy caption under the image before midnight UK time 31 January 2020.
Visit the ULIP website for more information and to enter.
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Spanish stamp competition
7 November 2019 (RZSS)
RZSS and partner StampIT have launched a great new Spanish competition. It's a fantastic activity which covers many curriculum objectives all starting with just one postage stamp. Tell the story of a Spanish stamp. Full details about the competition and how to enter are on the attached pdf leaflet. This activity links to the RZSS & StampIT Spanish language pack (but you don't need the pack to enter).
The competition will continue to run each year, therefore there is no time limit for entries. Entries will be entered as appropriate to the current year competition, so schools can just send in when complete. All age levels can enter in primary and secondary.
Scottish Languages Employability Award
4 November 2019 (SCILT)
Schools and businesses across Scotland can now receive recognition for successful partnership working in promoting languages as a key skill for employment.
The Scottish Languages Employability Award (SLEA), developed by SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages in partnership with Bòrd na Gàidhlig, encourages innovation and creativity in the promotion of language skills through meaningful engagement between employers and schools.
The Award is available at three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze. A toolkit has been developed to support schools in achieving the Award, available in Gaelic and English through support from the Gaelic Language Act Implementation Fund.
Fhiona Mackay, Director of SCILT said: “The Award recognises the achievements of schools and learners who have ensured that language skills are at the heart of their Developing the Young Workforce agenda. Three quarters of employers report that they are looking for young people with better language skills. In addition, language learning develops a whole range of important meta-skills: enhanced communication, inter-cultural sensitivity, problem solving and critical thinking. When youngsters learn to read, write, talk and listen in different languages they are therefore developing key skills for life and work and this award celebrates that.”
Shona MacLennan, Ceannard, Bòrd na Gàidhlig said “Recent research has shown how useful Gaelic skills are in the world of work, with increasing opportunities in a wide range of careers for people who speak Gaelic. We’re delighted to see that Bishopbriggs Academy has been awarded Gold for the way they have developed pupils’ skills and interests through Gaelic.”
The Award was launched at a ceremony on 1 November 2019 at The Ramshorn, University of Strathclyde. Three Awards were presented to schools whose links with employers have demonstrated to learners how languages can be used in the world of work:
The “Chinese Tuesdays” project, centred at Braehead Primary in Stirling, saw seven primaries in the Stirling Learning Community come together in a multi-disciplinary project involving media, cookery, art and drama. This exciting collaboration was awarded Gold.
Bishopbriggs Academy submitted a wide range of projects from across the school: language-promotional events, Gaelic film projects and German science projects. Using the toolkit to capture the school’s innovation allowed Bishopbriggs to become the first secondary in Scotland to gain a Gold Award.
St Mary’s Primary in Bannockburn linked with local historic attraction Bannockburn House in a project that saw pupils work with staff from Bannockburn House to create a range of resources in French for tour guides to use with French-speaking visitors. The project was awarded a Silver Award.
Staff and pupils from these schools attended the ceremony to collect their Awards.
The toolkit for applying for the Scottish Languages Employability Award is available to download.
Meaningful employer engagement and providing relevant careers advice are both key recommendations of Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy, “Developing the young workforce”. The SLEA supports these aims by giving young people the opportunity to find out more about the role of languages in the business world.
Collaboration between schools and businesses supports Scotland’s International Policy to equip young people with international communication and employability skills that they will need in our increasingly globalised society and economy.
More information on SCILT’s work to promote the value of languages amongst young people in Scotland.
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Duais Fastadh Cànainean na h-Alba
’S urrainn do sgoiltean agus ghnìomhachasan air feadh na h-Alba aithne fhaighinn airson obair shoirbheachail ann an compàirteachas le bhith a’ bronsachadh chànainean mar sgil dheatamach airson fastadh.
Tha Duais Fastadh Cànainean na h-Alba, leasaichte le SCILT, Ionad Nàiseanta na h-Alba airson Cànainean ann an compàirteachas le Bòrd na Gàidhlig, a’ brosnachadh ùr-ghnàthachas agus tionnsgalachd ann am brosnachadh sgilean cànain tro cho-obrachadh sùsbainteach eadar luchd-fastaidh agus sgoiltean.
Gheibhear an Duais aig trì ìre: Òr, Airgead agus Umha. Tha acainn air a bhith ga leasachadh airson taic do sgoiltean ann a bhith a’ faighinn na Duaise, ri fhaotainn sa Ghàidhlig agus sa Bheurla air sgàth taic-airgid o Mhaoin Buileachaidh Achd na Gàidhlig.
Thuirt Fionnghal NicAoidh, Stiùiriche SCILT: “Tha an Duais ag aithneachadh euchdan sgoiltean agus luchd-ionnsachaidh a tha air dearbhadh gu bheil sgilean cànain aig cridhe a’ chlàir-ghnothaich Leasachadh na Feachd-obrach Òige aca. Tha trì cairteal de luchd-fastaidh ag ràdh gu bheil iad a’ sireadh dhaoine òga le sgilean cànain nas fheàrr. A bharrachd air sin, tha ionnsachadh cànain a’ leasachadh raon fasrsaing de dh’àrd-chomasan: conaltradh nas fheàrr, tuigse eadar-chultaral, fuasgladh thrioblaidean agus smaoineachadh sgrùdach. Nuair a bhios daoine òga ag ionnsachadh mar a leughas, a sgrìobhas, a labhras agus a dh’èisteas iad ri diofar chànainean, bidh iad a’ leasachadh sgilean deatamach airson beatha is obair agus tha an Duais seo a’ comharrachadh sin.”
Thuirt Shona NicIllinnein, Ceannard, Bòrd na Gàidhlig “Tha rannsachadh ùr air sealltainn dè cho feumail ’s a tha sgilean Gàidhlig ann an saoghal na h-obrach, le barrachd chothroman ann an raon farsaing de dhreuchdan airson daoine aig a bheil Gàidhlig. Tha sinn air ar dòigh a bhith a’ faicinn mar a fhuair Acadamaidh Dhrochaid an Easbuig Duais Òr airson an dòigh sa bheil iad air sgilean is ùidhean nan sgoilearan a leasachadh tro Ghàidhlig.”
Chaidh an Duais a chur air bhog aig cùirm air 1 an t-Samhain 2019 aig an Ramshorn, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh. Chaidh trì Duaisean a thoirt seachad do sgoiltean le ceanglaichean do luchd-ionnsachadh a bha a’ taisbeanadh do luchd-ionnsachaidh mar as urrainn dhaibh cànainean a chleachdadh ann an saoghal na h-obrach:
Chunnacas leis a’ phròiseact “Chinese Tuesdays”, stèidhichte air Bun-sgoil Cheann a’ Bhràigh ann an Sruighlea, seachd sgoiltean a’ tighinn ri chèile ann an Coimhearsnachd Ionnsachaidh Shruighleas airson pròiseact ioma-gnìomh Mandarnais leis na meadhanan, còcaireachd, ealain agus dràma na lùib. Choisinn an co-obrachadh ionmholta seo Duais Òr.
Chuir Acadamaidh Dhrochaid an Easbuig a-steach raon farsaing de phròiseactan thar na sgoile: Tachartasan Bronsachaidh Chànainean, pròiseactan fiolm Gàidhlig agus pròiseactan Saidheans Gearmailtis. Ghlac an acainn ùr-ghnàthachas na sgoile agus leig e le Drochaid an Easbuig a bhith na ciad àrd-sgoil ann an Alba a choisinn an Duais Òr.
Bha Bun-sgoil Naomh Muire ann an Allt a’ Bhonnaich an compairteachas le àite eachdraidheil ionadail Taigh Allt a’ Bhonnaich airson pròiseact far an robh luchd-obrach agobair le sgoilearan gus taghadh de ghoireasan ann am Fraingis airson luchd-iùil a chur gu feum le luchd-tadhail le Fraingis. Choisinn a’ phròiseact seo an Duais Airgead.
Bha luchd-obrach agus sgoilearan o na sgoiltean seo an lathair aig a’ chùirm seo airson na duaisean aca a chruinneachadh.
Tha acainn airson cur a-steach airson Duais Fastadh Cànainean na h-Alba ri luchdachadh a-nuas o làrach-lìn SCILT https://scilt.org.uk/Employment/Skillsforlifeandwork/tabid/1597/Default.aspx.
Tha compàirteachadh ciallach agus libhrigeadh comhairle dhreuchdan freagarrach nan dà àrd-mholadh aig Roi-innleachd Fastadh Òigridh na h-Alba, “Leasachadh na Feachd-obrach Òige”. Tha an Duais a’ cur taic ris na h-amasan seo tro bhith a’ toirt cothrom do dh’òigridh a bhith a’ faighinn a-mach barrachd mu àite nan cànaineann ann an saoghal a’ ghnìomhachais.
Tha co-obrachadh eadar sgoiltean agus gnìomhachasan a’ cur taic ri Poileasaidh Eadar-nàiseanta na h-Alba gus sgilean fastaidh agus conaltraidh eadar-nàiseanta a thoirt do dhaoine òga gus nach bi iad a dhìth orra ann an comann-soisealta agus eaconamaidh a tha a’ fàs nas ceangailte thar an t-saoghail.
Airson barrachd fiosrachaidh mu obair SCILT a thaobh bronsachadh luach cànainean a-measg òigridh na h-Alba, bheir sùil air https://scilt.org.uk/Employment/tabid/8062/Default.aspx.
Related Links
Another accolade for Bishopbriggs Academy (Kirkintilloch Herald, 5 November 2019)
3 November 2019 (Grampian Online)
Entries are being sought for an annual Scots language writing competition.
The Keith branch of the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland are looking for entries for the Charles Murray Writing Competition, which encourages the passing down of the Scots language from generation to generation.
The competition was launched to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Charles Murray, an Alford-born poet, and is now into its sixth year.
Work entered into the competition can be prose or poetry and can be written about anything – but has to be in Scots. The competition is open to anyone, of any age, but must be written by two or more people of different generations – for example mother and daughter or grandfather and grandson.
Read more...
28 October 2019 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut currently has the following opportunities for schools teaching German. Click on the relevant link for more information:
Visit the main Goethe-Institut website for more information about the organisation and the full range of activities offered.
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28 October 2019 (Institut français)
The Institut français d'Ecosse has launched their annual Concours de la Francophonie for schools, which aims to encourage all young French learners and their teachers around Scotland to celebrate the international day of la francophonie.
All Scottish primary and secondary schools offering French may enter this competition by submitting a short video of a classroom activity in French.
Entries can be submitted in four categories: P1/P4 - P5/P7 - S1/S3 - S4/S6.
The submission deadline is 20 January 2020.
This school competition is sponsored by TOTAL E&P, the Franco Scottish Society and is organised in partnership with the Alliance française de Glasgow, SALT, SCILT and the University of Edinburgh.
Visit the Institut français website for more information and to discover previous competition winners.
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22 October 2019 (British Council)
There’s a new opportunity for Connecting Classrooms partnership schools – the do your :bit competition!
do your :bit is a coding competition, which encourages children and teenagers to combine creativity and technology in solutions for the Global Goals, using BBC micro:bit handheld computers.
The partnership resource has been produced to help schools collaborate on the do your :bit design challenge and enter the competition. Completing this unit together will give pupils opportunities to develop core skills in digital literacy, critical thinking and problem solving, creativity, communication and collaboration, and citizenship.
Visit the British Council Connecting Classrooms website to find out more about the competition and how to get involved.
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16 October 2019 (King's College London)
The Department of German at King's College London are again holding their Königspost essay writing competition for year 12 and 13 students of German (senior phase in Scotland).
Students are invited to write an article in German on the subject of Jugend und Protest. The winning entry will be published in our popular newspaper, the Königspost, and there will be further prizes for the winner and runners-up.
See the attached flyer for full details about the competition and how to enter or visit the website. Submission deadline is 18 November 2019.
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10 October 2019 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut invites secondary school students to take part in a competition to engage with questions about ecology, sustainability and Europe.
There will be different rounds in which the participating schools compete against each other. At the end, all students will be invited to the final in which the two winning teams will show their language skills.
The preliminary rounds will take place at participating schools whilst the final will take place at the British Council in London.
In order to prepare the students for the competition and to ensure that they can express themselves at the appropriate language level, the Goethe-Institut provides teachers with useful phrases.
The debating competition offers a great chance to actively use the German language in an authentic setting and at the same time to get to know other secondary school students from across the United Kingdom. Debating in a foreign language will bring immeasurable benefits to significantly improve the students' communication skills.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information and to register eligible teams of four by 25 October 2019. Spaces for taking part in the competition are limited and you will be confirmed after the deadline.
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8 October 2019 (Deadline News)
A University of Dundee lecturer has been honoured for using sign language and music to bring youngsters together in harmony.
Sharon Tonner-Saunders, a lecturer in the University’s School of Education and Social Work, has been named as a recipient of a British Council eTwinning National Award for using songs and Makaton to break down international language barriers.
Unlike British Sign Language, which is the language of the UK’s deaf community, Makaton was developed to assist hearing people with learning or communication difficulties. Signs are developed to look like a word and be as simple as possible to perform, making it particularly easy for children to learn.
Her project, Hands of the World, has brought together learners of all ages and student teachers in schools from more than 40 countries, with classes contributing video clips of themselves singing and signing along to popular songs.
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3 October 2019 (Oxford German Network)
The Oxford German Olympiad competition 2020 is now open!
The 2020 theme is Natur und Technik.
There are four age categories with different competition tasks for each, which can be found on the competition webpage. There is also a category for group/class submissions as well as a Discover German - Taster Competition for those with no prior knowledge of the language.
Visit the website for full details. Submission deadline is 13 March 2020.
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29 September 2019 (The Scotsman)
Writers, broadcasters, singers, poets and schools have been honoured at the first ever Scots Language Oscars, in the latest addition to the nation’s traditional arts and culture calendar.
The event, which saw 11 awards presented at the Mitchell Theatre in Glasgow, was launched to coincide with the United Nations’ International Year of Indigenous Languages initiative.
The new Scots Language Awards celebrate the country’s original tongue, which dates back around 1,400 years and is thought to have been spoken by almost a third of the population.
The event, backed by arts agency Creative Scotland, the Scottish Government and the Scots Language Centre, has been instigated by Hands Up for Trad, who are also behind the BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year contest, which has been staged for the last 20 years, and the Scots Trad Music Awards, which were launched in 2003.
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20 September 2019 (Education Scotland)
Education Scotland is proud to be sponsoring the Young Scots Speaker Award at the Scots Language Awards 2019. Winners will be unveiled at a ceremony in Glasgow on 27 September.
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18 September 2019 (SEET)
Want to get pupils more engaged in language learning, global citizenship and encourage uptake? Are you keen to improve their confidence and win an award or two? Then get involved!
SEET’s popular Our World film making project has now launched for the 2019-20 year! Our World uses film making and global citizenship as a means to help pupils explore and improve their use of foreign languages. It’s totally free, and all you have to do is sign up. Last year over 70% of participant pupils said they were more likely to continue with their study of languages after taking part.
Teams of four, from S3-S6, need to come up with a creative idea for a film based on one of this year's themes and submit their storyboard by 3 December 2019.
See the attached flyer or visit the website for more information.
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German debating competition for secondary schools
16 September 2019 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut invites secondary school students to take part in a competition to engage with questions about ecology, sustainability and Europe.
There will be different rounds in which the participating schools compete against each other. At the end, all students will be invited to the final in which the two winning teams will show their language skills.
The preliminary rounds will take place at participating schools whilst the final will take place at the British Council in London.
In order to prepare the students for the competition and to ensure that they can express themselves at the appropriate language level, the Goethe-Institut provides teachers with useful phrases.
The debating competition offers a great chance to actively use the German language in an authentic setting and at the same time to get to know other secondary school students from across the United Kingdom. Debating in a foreign language will bring immeasurable benefits to significantly improve the students' communication skills.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information and to register eligible teams of four by 25 October 2019. Spaces for taking part in the competition are limited and you will be confirmed after the deadline.
16 September 2019 (BBC)
A Scots language poem has won the international Wigtown Poetry Prize for the first time.
Shiftin, by Mhairi Owens, saw off entries from the USA, China, Canada and Ecuador for the £1,500 award.
This year the prize was opened up to entries in Scots, English and Gaelic for the first time.
Ms Owens, from Anstruther, who tutors in creative writing at the University of St Andrews, said she was delighted to be told she had won the award.
"It's literally a slim wee poem, but uses some very beautiful and unique Scots words and phrases," she said.
"It's right that many of us who use Scots in our everyday communication should use it in our poetry."
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10 September 2019 (British Council)
Applications are now invited for the British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition 2019/20.
The competition provides a great, fun opportunity for secondary school students to practice and improve their Mandarin Chinese language skills along with the chance to win a week in Beijing!
Heats will be held in Belfast, Glasgow and London during November and December 2019 with the final taking place in London on 5 February 2020.
See the attached flyer for more information and visit the website for eligibility and entry criteria.
Entry deadline: 14 October 2019.
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10 September 2019 (The Edinburgh Reporter)
Scottish Book Trust has announced that applications are open for their What’s Your Story? programme. Now in its fifth year, the scheme has helped around 30 young Scots to develop writing, illustration and performance projects.
14 – 17 year olds living in Scotland are encouraged to apply for an all expenses paid opportunity to learn, grow and create as a writer or illustrator.
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said : “Nurturing new young talent in the Scottish literary scene is so important and Scottish Book Trust is proud to launch the fifth year of What’s Your Story, focused on supporting young people. The programme offers a truly unique opportunity and we urge parents and teachers to encourage the teens in their lives with a passion for writing or illustration to apply.”
[..] The Gaelic Books Council funds a Gaelic-language place.
Applications close on 27 November 2019, and can be made online.
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23 August 2019 (European Commission)
The European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation (DG Translation) runs Juvenes Translatores 2019, an online translation contest for secondary schools in the European Union. Up to now, we’ve been asking Juvenes Translatores contestants to put pen to paper. Now we want to bring them closer to the real world of professional translation world by going digital. This time round, contestants will be translating online for the first time.
Interested schools can enter 2-5 participants who must have been born in 2002. Schools can register on the official website between 2 September, 12 noon (Central European time), and 20 October 2019, 12 noon (Central European time). A random electronic draw will be held to select schools for the contest from among those that have registered. The contest will be held on 21 November 2019.
Visit the Juvenes Translatores website for more information.
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14 August 2019 (Daily Record)
Two Galloway writers are among nine scrievers nationwide to be awarded funding to support their work in Scots.
Stuart A Paterson from Kirkbean and Susi Briggs from Gatehouse have both received Scots Language Publication grants.
The scheme, funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Scottish Book Trust, was created by the Scots Language Resource Network to support Scots publishers and to encourage Scots writers.
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13 August 2019 (Into Film)
The Into Film Awards is the best place to showcase young filmmaking talent, with categories designed to highlight the large pool of young creatives in the UK. Setting out to discover and honour the most talented filmmakers, reviewers, Into Film Clubs and educators, we encourage children and young people aged 5-19 from all backgrounds and with all abilities to get involved.
The 6th annual Into Film Awards will take place in March 2020, and this year sees some exciting new changes. Entering the Awards now not only gives you the chance to be nominated and join us at our star-studded ceremony in London, but this year, every single verified submission will also be entered into a prize draw to win £1,000 worth of filmmaking equipment for the filmmakers, film clubs or schools!
Visit the Into Film website for more information about the award categories and submit your entry by 6 December 2019.
The site also contains a wide range of films and teaching materials, including a selection for the languages classroom.
Read more...
13 August 2019 (Scottish Gaelic Awards)
The Scottish Gaelic Awards reward all aspects of the Gaelic language and culture across the length and breadth of the country.
The Daily Record, alongside headline sponsor Bòrd na Gàidhlig are proud to host the most prestigious night of the year within the Gaelic community calendar. Celebrating Gaelic culture, education and language highlighting the excellent work undertaken to maintain growth and heritage.
The awards are now in their seventh year and attended by over 200 guests including finalists, event sponsors and members of the Gaelic community. The event itself will be a celebration embracing traditional and modern entertainment.
The Scottish Gaelic Awards will take place on Tuesday 19 November at the Glasgow Marriott Hotel and returning to host the event will be Scottish Broadcaster and Producer, Cathy MacDonald.
Visit the website for more information and to view the award categories. Submit your nominations by 25 September 2019.
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Related Links
Gaelic Awards: hail the Gaels (Daily Record, 13 August 2019)
1 November 2018 (FE News)
Japanese language scholarship open for entries
The search is on to find the next recipient of the Thomas Blake Glover ASI Scholarship, which will enable one Scottish student to have “the experience of a lifetime” studying in Japan.
Initiated by the Japan Society of Scotland and sponsored by Aberdeen Standard Investments, the scholarship offers a fully funded opportunity to undertake an intensive language course at a Japanese university.
Read more...
25 October 2018 (SEET)
SEET is delighted to announce that registration is now open for Euroquiz 2018-19!
Euroquiz is an annual project open to all P6 pupils across Scotland, which sees teams of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe and the wider world. Subjects covered include languages, history, geography, culture and European affairs. Heats take place in every local authority from January to March, with the winning teams from all areas going forward to the National Euroquiz Final held in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament in May.
See the attached flyer to find out more about how your school can get involved and visit the website to watch the Euroquiz Highlights Film for a taste of the Euroquiz journey, including interviews with previous participants and teachers.
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24 October 2018 (Daily Record)
The finalists have been announced for this year’s Daily Record and Bòrd na Gàidhlig Scottish Gaelic Awards.
The awards pay tribute to all aspects of Gaelic culture, education and language.
And the winners will be revealed on Wednesday, November 14, in Glasgow.
Read more...
16 October 2018 (Press and Journal)
A youth committee is working with An Comunn Gàidhealach to shape the Mods of the future.
The group was set up this year giving a nod to The National Year of the Young Person – and so far has set its sights on modernising the way in which the historic organisation communicates with the public to secure its future.
The committee of three – Shannon MacLean, 21, Padruig Morrison, 22 and Katie MacInnes 18 – is supported by 25-year-old Alison Bruce who is also employed by An Comunn Gàidhealach.
Miss MacLean, from Mull, said: “Being on the committee has been very interesting. Our main goal is to get more young people to come to the mod and get them involved in local mods around the country.
“This is my third mod in Dunoon, and it is certainly the competitions that have helped me, as a non-native speaker, take the language seriously.
“My job is to make sure it survives for a long time yet.”
Read more...
Related Links
Top Gaelic learner blooms at the Mòd (The Scotsman, 17 October 2018)
13 October 2018 (BBC)
A 22-year-old singer from Skye has been named Gaelic Ambassador of the Year, as the Royal National Mod gets under way.
Eilidh Cormack, from Portree, said she was "absolutely delighted".
The Gaelic cultural festival began in Dunoon on Friday night, with a special celebration honouring Scotland's Year of Young People.
Over the next eight days there will be more than 200 competitions and events in Highland dancing, sport, literature, drama, Gaelic music and song.
Read more...
12 October 2018 (Education Perfect)
Raise the profile of languages at your school. The competitive element threaded through Education Perfect can excite and engage even the most unenthusiastic students!
The championships are a brilliant chance for revision of vocabulary and celebration of achievements in language learning. Students compete live and online from computers and iPod/Android apps.
The competition runs from 6 - 13 November 2018 and registration is now open!
Visit the website for more information.
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Königspost competition 2018
12 October 2018 (King's College London)
King's College London's Department of German is delighted to announce its 2018 competition for Year 12 and 13 students of German, the equivalent S5 and S6 in Scotland.
Students are invited to write an article of around 400-450 words in German in response to this quotation from a short story by the German-Japanese author Yoko Tawada: ‘Das Monsterbaby erwartet von der Mutter Meer, immer wieder neue Windeln zu waschen. Das Meer wird als eine überdimensionale Waschmaschine benutzt.’
The winner and runners-up will be invited to a prize-giving ceremony and seminar at King's College London in early December 2018.
Entries should be submitted by 22 November 2018. See the attached flyer for more information.
11 October 2018 (SEET)
SEET’s popular Our World film making project has now launched for the 2018-19 year! Our World uses film making and language learning as a means to help pupils explore the themes of LfS and the Sustainable Development Goals. It’s totally free, and all you have to do is sign up.
The project has been running for the past 6 years, has a proven track record of encouraging languages uptake at higher secondary levels, and is open to any team of four from S3 - S6 (no previous film making knowledge is required). All teams have to do to enter is come up with a creative idea for a film, based on one of this year's themes. Then, with SEET’s help teams put that idea into storyboard form and send it to us with an audio or video clip explaining it. The deadline for storyboard submissions is 5th December 2018.
Themes:
As part of a team of four, come up with a creative idea for a short film about being a citizen of the world. Your team should consider one of the following themes to get you started:
- Sustainable Tourism (going on holiday, exploring other countries and cultures and making a positive impact on the environment)
- Migration and welcome (refugees, moving abroad, how people are treated)
- Trade (how businesses work in different countries, importing and exporting)
All films must include the use of at least one language other than English - but the more the merrier!
After all the entries are submitted, 18 teams from across Scotland will be invited to one of three regional film making workshop days (roughly 6 teams per workshop) where they will get the opportunity to make their film a reality. Pupils are given technology and professional film-making training on the day to help them, so don't worry if they don't have experience - all they need are their ideas.
Throughout the project SEET staff are happy to make trips to schools to work with classes and answer any questions you might have.
If you'd like to register or sign up a team visit the website, where you can also hear previous participants talk about their experience of the project, OR contact Madeleine McGirk at SEET (madeleine@seet.org.uk).
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8 October 2018 (British Council)
The International School Award (ISA) can help with your vision for school improvement. If you are writing your School Improvement Plan, and you’re looking for something new that has a proven track record of making a difference, then the International School Award could be what you are looking for.
It works in all profiles of schools: primary and secondary, inner-city and rural, thriving and struggling. Everyone has something to gain.
Experienced head teachers like Kevin McCabe, now Director of Improvement at Drb Ignite Multi-Academy Trust, testify to the ISA’s effectiveness as a tool to change the culture of your school. It does this by opening up the classroom to the world, giving the students the motivation they need to change the way they work and enriching the curriculum with cross-curriculum work.
Visit the website for more information and to register interest. Action plans should be submitted by 18 November 2018.
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4 October 2018 (The Pushkin Prizes)
Somewhere out there, in an S1 or S2 class in a school in Scotland, there are ten writers worthy of the title Pushkin Prize-winner. Are you one of them?
What can you write about? ANYTHING! We're looking for stories, poems, plays, articles, memoirs - anything you like on a subject of your choice. You can write in English, Scots or Gaelic.
Visit the website for more information and submit your entries by 20 December 2018.
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3 October 2018 (Deasbad)
The announcement of the preliminary rounds of the National Gaelic Schools Debate competition has been made and the 2018 competition looks set to be another excellent year! The first two rounds will be held at the Town Hall in Stornoway, on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th of November 2018. Last year, for the first time ever the first rounds from Stornoway were available online, through e-Sgoil’s You Tube channel and the Deasbad Committee will be making sure that this year’s first round will also be live streamed to a potentially global audience!
Sixteen teams from fourteen schools are due to compete in the 2018 competition. Following on from the positive feedback received from the new competition format, all the schools will participate in debates over the two days, with the four teams with the highest points, across the two days, progressing to the final stages which will be held in Edinburgh on Tuesday and Wednesday the 27th and 28th of November 2018. The Committee welcome Agnes Rennie and Boyd Robertson who will join Iain Stephen Morrison as judges.
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2 October 2018 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut invites secondary school students to take part in a competition to engage with questions about the future of Europe.
The debating competition offers a great chance to actively use the German language in an authentic setting and at the same time to get to know other secondary school students from across the United Kingdom. Debating in a foreign language will bring immeasurable benefits to significantly improve the student’s communication skills.
Applications are invited from teams of four year 12 students (4th year of learning German).
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information and to register by 26 October 2018.
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2 October 2018 (Vocab Express)
Create a languages buzz around your school by taking part in a global online vocabulary competition.
The competition is free to all existing school subscribers to Vocab Express. There are also a limited number of free places available for schools not currently subscribed.
Our week-long global competitions are a great way to get your school enthused about language learning. We run our League of Champions competition in the autumn term from the 10th - 16th of October and our Global Challenge competition in spring.
Each sees 10s of thousands of students competing to win the top spot on our overall and individual language leaderboards. There are competitions in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Latin, Greek, Arabic, Urdu, Hebrew, Mandarin and Japanese.
Applications for the next League of Champions are now open. Visit the Vocab Express website for further information and to register by 9 October 2018.
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1 October 2018 (Highland Council)
Iomain Cholmcille – the Gaelic Shinty Project – has worked in partnership with The Highland Council’s Gaelic Team to organise a six aside national Shinty event for P4 to P7 Gaelic Medium pupils from schools across Scotland.
In August Iomain Cholmchille announced funding of £8000, from Bord na Gàidhlig in order to help develop the use of Gaelic in youth Shinty. The project was launched at Bun- Sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh and pupils were presented with new Gaelic strips for the school Shinty team. The funding for community projects aims to build on Iomain Cholmcille’s successful work, in partnership with the Highland Council’s Gaelic Team running Cupa Iomain na h-Òige.
Cupa Iomain na h-Òige – Youth Shinty Cup - is in its third year and although based in the Highlands, the competition, which is held entirely through the medium of Gaelic, is open to schools from across Scotland. This year the competition took place at the Bught Park in Inverness which is a national stadium and 14 teams have entered with approximately 100 pupils participating in the event.
Schools from across Scotland entered which include Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dingwall, this is the first time that the smaller schools in Skye have taken part.
Iomain Cholmcille is a project dedicated to encouraging the use of Gaelic in the Shinty world and regularly organises international exchanges with Irish-speaking hurling teams for both men and women.
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Advanced Higher pupil workshops - Glasgow and Edinburgh
21 September 2018 (SCILT)
Due to high demand for our events earlier in September, we are running three more Advanced Higher pupil workshops. These are taking place in:
- Glasgow - Monday 8th October 10am-12 midday, University of Strathclyde
- Glasgow - Monday 8th October 2-4pm, University of Strathclyde (this event is now fully booked, you can register on the waiting list on Eventbrite)
- Edinburgh - Thursday 11th October 11am-1pm, University of Edinburgh
This is a pupil workshop which will focus on what is required at Advanced Higher level. We will look at ways of tackling;
- the overall purpose question in the reading
- the discursive writing
- the portfolio
- the talking
This will also be an opportunity to meet with your peers and set up links so you could support one another in your studies.
Schools should register on behalf of their pupils. Please indicate when registering how many pupils will be attending. While this event is for pupils, teachers may wish to attend and this should be reflected in the numbers when you register.
14 September 2018 (SCILT)
Today we're launching the 2018-19 Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) multilingual poetry competition in Scotland.
All students who are learning a language at school, college or university, or who speak a native language at home, can get involved in celebrating their linguistic and cultural diversity through creative poetry writing as there are options to enter in either the Mother Tongue or Other Tongue category. All entries must be the students' own, original work.
For more information about this year's competition and previous events, visit our MTOT website and register to take part! The closing date for registrations is 26 October 2018.
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13 September 2018 (Eurodesk)
The Time to Move T-shirt contest returns in 2018!
If you are at least 13 years old and not more than 30, design a Time to Move themed T-shirt that best represents the spirit of the campaign, share it with us and have a chance to travel around Europe by train!
Time to Move is a collection of events for young people organised all over Europe during the month of October. The activities focus on introducing hundreds of possibilities through which you can go abroad and take part in an international project, explore Europe or gain experience you need for your future.
Visit the website for more information and submit entries by 31 October 2018.
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13 September 2018 (UKLO)
UKLO is a competition for students who are still at school (or equivalent college) – any age, any ability level – in which they have to solve linguistic data problems. It’s completely free to both competitors and schools.
Teachers can now register their school for the United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO) 2019. Round 1 will take place from 4-8 February.
Visit the UKLO website for more information about the competition and registration.
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10 September 2018 (DAAD)
In addition to accompanying written texts, competitors are asked this year to make a short video on ‘Auf deutschen Spuren - In the footsteps of German-language culture’.
Find out about historical or current traces of German-language culture in your area and create a short film not exceeding 3 minutes featuring German-language dialogue or voice-over. Judges will be looking for creativity and language use - rather than technical ability.
The competition is open to all German speakers upwards from secondary school level.
Find out more about the competition on the DAAD website and submit entries by 5 October 2018.
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3 September 2018 (British Council)
A great, fun opportunity for students to practise and improve their Mandarin Chinese language skills.
Taking part in the competition:
- increases students’ motivation for learning the language
- develops vocabulary and improves pronunciation
- raises confidence for oral examinations
- encourages students to interact with their classmates
- inspires students to discover more about Chinese culture.
The prize is a week in Beijing! Students will visit historical sites, interact with Chinese students and experience Chinese culture with the British Council, who have over twenty years’ experience in running cultural exchanges with China.
Applications for the 2018/19 competition are now open. Apply by Friday 5 October 2018.
Visit the British Council website for more information and to download the application form.
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1 September 2018 (European Commission)
The European Commission has just launched Juvenes Translatores 2018, a translation contest for schools in the European Union.
Schools wishing to participate must respond by registering electronically on the website between 1 September and 20 October 2018.
Selected schools will be able to enter between two and five students, who must have been born in 2001. Each student can choose to translate from any official EU language into any other official EU language.
Further information, rules and criteria can be found on the Juvenes Translatores website.
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Portuguese,
Polish
16 August 2018 (Institut français)
The Institut français d’Ecosse launched in 2016 le concours de la francophonie, a national school competition to encourage all young French learners and their teachers around Scotland to celebrate the international day of la francophonie.
All Scottish primary and secondary schools offering French may enter this competition by submitting a short video of a classroom activity in French. Entry deadline: January 2019.
Visit the Institut français d’Ecosse website for more information.
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7 August 2018 (Scottish Gaelic Awards)
The Daily Record, alongside headline sponsor Bòrd na Gàidhlig are proud to launch the 2018 campaign to celebrate Gaelic culture, education and language highlighting the excellent work undertaken to maintain growth and heritage.
Visit the website for more information and submit your nomination by 25 September 2018.
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20 June 2018 (FilmG)
The successful Film G project which encourages the use of Gaelic through film-making has entered it’s 11th year. Film G is run by MG Alba in partnership with CGS and has been a very popular event for Gaelic Learners and Fluent speakers alike over the last decade. Film G organise school visits and more information can be found on their website.
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20 June 2018 (Shetland News)
TEN pupils at Mid Yell Junior High School received prizes on Monday (18 June) as part of a celebration of the teaching and use of French in Scottish schools.
The S2 students, winners of this year's Concours de la francophonie competition, received their prizes during a special award ceremony at the school in the presence of education attaché of the French Embassy in the UK Thomas Chaurin and Shetland Gas Plant facilities management co-ordinator Jenny Wink, who was also representing sponsor Total E&P UK.
The VIP visit came after the Yell bairns were unable to attend the official award ceremony in Edinburgh in March.
With the majority of children now learning French from P1 in Scotland, la francophonie is said to be thriving.
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8 June 2018 (Scottish Book Trust)
Can you write a story in just 50 words? Each month we’ll provide a prompt to get you started, but where the story goes from there is entirely up to you.
The competition includes four categories, Adult Writers, All-age Gaelic Writers, Young Writers 5-11 and Young Writer 12-18. The entries will be judged by a panel and the four winning stories will be published on our website two weeks after the closing date.
Entries for our June competition are currently open. The prompt is to 'write a story set on a beach'. Submit your story by Tuesday 3 July 2018 at noon.
Visit the Scottish Book Trust website for more information.
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7 June 2018 (Stephen Spender Trust)
The "Polish Spotlight" is a new strand of the Stephen Spender Prize for 2018, with entries in three categories: 18-and-under, 14-and-under and 10-and-under. You do not have to be fluent in Polish to enter the prize: it is open to all those interested in trying their hand at translation. To enter translate any Polish poem into English.
Resources for teachers to introduce poetry translation as a classroom activity, and suggestions of Polish poems for translation, are available on the Stephen Spender Trust website.
Entries should be submitted by 5 October 2018.
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6 June 2018 (Scottish Education Awards)
Congratulations to all the winners in this year's Scottish Education Awards, particularly those schools who came top in the language categories:
- Larbert High School Cluster (1+2 Languages Award)
- Greenfaulds High School (Gaelic Education Award
Visit the Scottish Education Award website for information and photos of all the category winners.
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23 May 2018 (DAAD)
To all learners and lovers of German, it’s time again to release your creative spirit and enter the annual writing DAAD/IMLR writing competition!
This – our fifth – jointly organised competition branches out into new territory: after successful (and exciting!) forays into poetry, prose, translation and dramatic dialogue writing, competitors are asked this year to make a short video on ‘Auf deutschen Spuren - In the footsteps of German-language culture’.
Find out more and how to enter on the DAAD website. Submission deadline is 5 October 2018.
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18 May 2018 (Babel)
Our 2018 competition is now open to 16-18-year-olds and undergraduates! Young linguists have until 24 August to enter for the chance to be published in Babel No25, to be published in November. The winner also, of course, receives a year's subscription to Babel!
Entries should be no longer than 2,500 words, and can discuss any topic to do with languages and linguistics.
Visit the website for more information.
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18 May 2018 (SALT)
Entries are now being accepted for the #SALT18 competition!
Primary, secondary and senior phase students are invited to produce a promotional video, poster or presentation in the language of their choice.
Find out more on the SALT website. Entry deadline is 7 September 2018.
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10 May 2018 (National Library of Scotland)
A competition opens today (10 May) which invites young people to show in film what Scotland means to them. The competition has been organised by the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish Youth Film Festival as part of the Year of Young People.
Anyone under 19 years of age can submit a one-minute film on any theme, in any language and in any genre.
Visit the National Library of Scotland website for more information.
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30 April 2018 (Goethe-Institut)
The German Foreign Office is looking for children and teens who love writing and who would like to publish their own texts: Along the lines of “A world for you and me” young authors from around the world are invited to depict their fantasies, hopes and dreams.
Children and teens up to 19 years old can participate. Entries can be short stories, essays, poems or songs consisting of no more than 3000 characters (including spaces) and can be written in either German or English.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for further information. Entry deadline is 15 July 2018.
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24 April 2018 (British Council)
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London is offering sixth form students a chance to boost their CV by spending a month at a Hong Kong university this summer. All they have to do is demonstrate why they think Hong Kong is a unique and attractive place for start-up businesses.
Visit the British Council website for more information.
Applications close on 8 May 2018.
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17 April 2018 (University of Liverpool)
A new 500-word short story competition – with entries judged by best-selling author Philip Pullman – is being launched ahead of the 2018 Liverpool Literary Festival.
The China Stories competition is looking for submissions across a broad range of categories. Winners will see their work published in a special anthology and take part in a writing session with the Royal Society of Literature, as well as receiving vouchers to spend as they wish.
Stories can be about anything, but to coincide with Liverpool’s China Dream season all entries should have a Chinese theme.
Entries are invited from primary and secondary students and should be submitted by 20 July 2018.
Further information can be found on the University of Liverpool website.
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10 April 2018 (UK-German Connection)
Together is a creative arts project, which invites young people to produce poetry, art, or songs on the themes of hope and unity, inspired by the shared history between the UK and Germany to mark the WW1 Centenary.
Open to all young people aged 9-16 working in groups or individually, projects should be on the theme of hope and unity, inspired by the First World War.
Poetry and songs can be in English, German, Gaelic or Welsh. Art work can be in any medium.
Visit the UK-German Connection website for more information. Entry deadline is Friday 15 June 2018.
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2 April 2018 (Falkirk Herald)
The multilingual talents of budding poets from Graeme High and Moray Primary were celebrated in the 2018 Mother Tongue Other Tongue awards.
Graeme High pupil Danai Nikitea was crowned the winner of the Mother Tongue category during a prestigious ceremony at University of Strathclyde on March 17.
While Kole Murray from Moray Primary and Harely Ewen and Simi Singh, both from Graeme High, were Highly Commended in the Other Tongue category.
These students used their language skills to create and share poetry for the ceremony.
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Languages in the press
29 March 2018 (Daily Record)
Following an editorial campaign running in the Daily Record, the finalists for this year's Scottish Education Awards have been announced.
Finalists will attend the prestigious awards ceremony at Glasgow's Doubletree by Hilton Glasgow Central on June 6th, where each of the fifteen winners will be announced.
Details of all the finalists can be found in the Daily Record news article online.
Congratulations and good luck to the schools shortlisted in the language-related categories!Read more...
27 March 2018 (Consejería de Educación)
The Ministry of Education of the Embassy of Spain in the United Kingdom, with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Junta de Castilla y León, annually announces the award to the student with the best results in Spanish in the United Kingdom that has, in addition, the best academic record.
Applications are now open for the 2018 award and should be submitted by 30 April. Visit the website for more information.
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22 March 2018 (YOYP/National Lottery)
To mark the Year of Young People 2018, a new National Lottery fund has been launched to help young people #SparkAChange in their lives. Grants between £3,000 and £10,000 are available for heritage, community and sports projects which are run by and for young people aged eight to 26. Funding is available for projects which encourage positive mental health for young people and inspire them to lead active lives.
We’re all aware of the positive mental health benefits of language learning, so why not encourage your students to set up a language project, perhaps a community language class or an outdoor language adventure trail? Visit the Lottery Fund website for more information and to apply by one of the two funding deadlines - 30 April 2018 or 18 June 2018.
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21 March 2018 (Goethe-Institut)
The German Embassy is pleased to announce to award the 15th German Teacher Award. The award recognises outstanding achievements by individual teachers of German and pays tribute to the work of German language teachers in primary and secondary schools in the UK.
Teachers will be selected who have made an outstanding and dedicated contribution to German teaching within the curriculum and beyond, e.g. through:
- a record of successful teaching at a school, including innovative language teaching
- successful introduction of German teaching at a school, e.g. in a primary school as a first foreign language or in a secondary school as a new language
- established and successful link activities with Germany, e.g. projects and exchanges, bilingual projects, curriculum projects
- use of German language in subjects other than German
- local or regional outreach activities.
Nominations must be submitted and signed by the head teacher by Monday 7 May 2018.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information and to download the application form.
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New competition launched - LinguaChef 2018!
13 February 2018 (SCILT / City of Glasgow College)
We are thrilled to announce that we are working in partnership with City of Glasgow College to host a pilot version of a new SCILT competition called LinguaChef. The competition brings together two of our favourite topics – languages and food! As well as practising linguistic and culinary skills, pupils will work on their wider social, literacy, numeracy and financial skills.
Pupils from P1 – S6 are invited to work in teams of four to submit a recipe for an international dish symbolic of a country where either a
language they are learning in school or a
language that pupils use at home is spoken. So we are expecting to see some exciting recipes from France, Spain, Germany, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Poland, Russia, the Middle East or even as far as China or Japan. We are also encouraging pupils to be creative, for example they could incorporate a bit of Scottish ‘fusion’ into their recipe to give it a twist.
Three semi-finalists from each age category will be selected based on their submitted recipes and they will then be invited to the grand finale with a chance to prepare, cook and present their dish in the professional kitchens at City of Glasgow College. An overall winner from each category will be chosen to win a prize for themselves and their school. Their recipes will also feature in the first ever SCILT cook book.
There are four age categories:
|
o P1-P3
|
Primary categories to present a SWEET dish that could be a cake, biscuit, pudding or dessert for example
|
|
o P4-P7
|
|
o S1-S3
|
Secondary categories to present a SAVOURY dish that would be eaten as a main course
|
|
o S4-S6
|
Recipes should include an introduction/explanation of the dish, a list of ingredients and the method. It can be submitted as a video clip (3 mins max) or as a PPT including photos of steps involved and the final dish, and possibly a voice-over too if pupils would like to add audio. Younger primary pupils in particular may find a video clip easier to submit as it does not require writing although if they choose to submit a PPT version we understand they may require some adult help with this.
A costings sheet will also be provided to help pupils with their financial education skills and to stay within budget.
Key dates and deadlines
Friday 9th March - Deadline for teachers to register interest using the online form
Friday 27th April - Submit entries via email to SCILT
Early May (tbc) - Judging of videos/PPTs to select semi-finalists
Friday 22nd June - Grand Finale at City of Glasgow College
After registration closes on 9th March, teachers will receive a further email with detailed guidelines, exemplar entries, costings sheets and an entry form. However, if you have any queries in the meantime then please contact Angela de Britos by email (angela.de-britos@strath.ac.uk ).
Register now via the online form.
MTOT 2017-18 winners announced!
9 February 2018 (SCILT)
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate everyone who took part in this year's Mother Tongue Other Tongue multilingual poetry competition in Scotland. The poems we received were inspiring, creative, funny and thought-provoking. We were delighted to receive so many entries and had an incredibly difficult time selecting those we felt were most deserving of a place in the 2017-18 MTOT anthology. Thank you to all who participated!
We are pleased to announce this year’s successful entries as follows:
Mother Tongue
|
Category
|
Award
|
Name
|
School
|
|
P4 – P6
|
Winner
|
Julia Wólszczak (Polish)
|
St James' Primary
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Rayan Al-Boushi (Arabic)
|
St Albert's Primary
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Zinaida Benya (Hungarian)
|
St James' Primary
|
|
P7 – S1
|
Winner
|
Nora Dhanou Rodriguez (Spanish)
|
West Primary
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Bahadar Esakhiel (Pashto)
|
East Fulton Primary
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Mohamad Al Chouhel (Arabic)
|
Williamsburgh Primary
|
|
S2 – S3
|
Winner
|
Erika Aitkenhead (Russian)
|
Kirkintilloch High
|
|
Senior Phase
|
Winner
|
Danai Nikitea (Greek)
|
Graeme High
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Sayma Hossain (Italian)
|
Craigroyston Community High
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Anett Ziegler (Hungarian)
|
Johnstone High
|
|
FE/HE
|
Winner
|
Su Min Lai (Chinese)
|
University of Dundee
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Yinuo Wang (Chinese)
|
University of Dundee
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Hong Lin (Chinese)
|
City of Glasgow College
|
Other Tongue
|
Category
|
Award
|
Name
|
School
|
|
Early Years
|
Winner
|
St Bridget's Early Years Class (Gaelic)
|
St Bridget's Primary
|
|
P4 – P6
|
Winner
|
Ava Stewart (German)
|
Gartcosh Primary
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Kole Murray (Spanish)
|
Moray Primary
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Nathan Decuyper (German)
|
Gartcosh Primary
|
|
P7 – S1
|
Winner
|
Maria Stewart (Irish)
|
St Mari Goretti Primary
|
|
S2 – S3
|
Winner
|
Emily McNally (French)
|
St Margaret's Academy
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Ella Blake, Ashley Forrest, Hollie Speirs, Ilari Tsiko, William Wilson (French)
|
Craigroyston Community High
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Harley Ewen (French)
|
Graeme High
|
|
Senior Phase
|
Winner
|
Maria Dorot (Spanish)
|
Craigroyston Community High
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Simi Singh (French)
|
Graeme High
|
|
|
Highly commended
|
Jasmin Jardine (French)
|
Loudoun Academy
|
| FE/HE |
Winner |
Arnault Bembo (Spanish) |
University of the West of Scotland |
| |
Highly commended |
Farah Nabila Binti Mohd Zin and Nurul Syakirah Binti Ahmad Ghazali (Japanese and Italian) |
University of Dundee and University of Edinburgh |
Well done to everyone who took part in the competition. It's been a marvellous celebration of the various languages spoken in our communities. You should all be very proud of your work.
To mark participation in the competition, registered schools and institutions will shortly be sent a certificate which can be printed out and presented to pupils who took part. The finalists above will be invited in due course to receive theirs at the MTOT celebration event on 17 March.
Thank you all once again and keep writing!
Concours de la francophonie 2018 - winners announced
5 February 2018 (Institut français d’Écosse )
The winners of Le concours de la francophonie 2018 have been announced. Please see attached file for the full list.
This competition was launched in 2016 to support and encourage teachers and learners in primary and secondary schools and to showcase their progress as teaching of modern languages in primary schools becomes the new norm. The competition was designed to encourage wide participation: schools need to submit a short video of a class production in French. The selection takes place in two phases, a semi-final at the council level, with a special semi-final for independent schools, and a national final, which took place on 1st February.
The international day of la francophonie is celebrated all over the world on 20 March to celebrate the French language.
29 January 2018 (Goethe-Institut Glasgow)
The German Olympics (IDO) is the biggest competition for the German language. Every two years over 100 students from all around the world meet to compete in their most beloved foreign language.
This year, the German Olympics for schools worldwide is open to pupils in the United Kingdom for the second time. The final will take place in Freiburg, 15 to 28 July 2018. The United Kingdom are eligible to send two secondary school students born 2001 to 2004. The German Olympics promotes young people from all around the world to encounter one another thanks to the fact they all study German. They will become friends and build up an international network.
Read more...
16 January 2018 (Education Scotland)
Do you know of or work in a school with strong cluster-working in languages? Nominate now for the Scottish Education Award for 1+2!
The Scottish Education Awards recognise early learning and childcare settings and schools that have developed a vibrant and progressive culture and climate of continuous innovation in relation to Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach.
Read more...
16 January 2018 (Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL))
CIOL is calling for nominations for the next winner of the Threlford Cup – the prestigious award for inspiration and originality in language teaching and learning.
The cup is presented annually to a person, to an organisation, or for a project that has inspired others with an original language-learning initiative.
Maybe you know of a teacher who has inspired young minds, a business or organisation that has led a project, or someone who works hard within the local community to keep alive a heritage language and culture. If so, CIOL would love to hear from you.
Read more...
9 January 2018 (Writing Chinese)
The University of Chinese Writing Chinese Network runs an annual translation competition. This year it is open exclusively to secondary school students. The winning writer will be mentored by a professional translator and have their translation published in a journal.
The competition deadline is midnight (GMT) on 26th February 2018.
Read more...
8 January 2018 (Japan Foundation London)
Japan Foundation London is delighted to announce that the Nihongo Cup Japanese Speech Contest for Secondary Schools in the UK is open for applications!
Nihongo Cup, the Japanese Speech Contest for Secondary School students, is accepting applications across three categories: Key Stage 3, Pre-GCSE Key Stage 4/5, and Post GCSE Key Stage 4 and 5.
Finalists will be invited to perform their speech at Conway Hall in front of a panel of judges and VIPs from the field of Japanese language education and Japan-UK relations, for the chance to win some fantastic prizes – including a trip to Japan!
Applications will close on 23rd March 2018 (Friday) and finals day will take place on 16 June 2018 (Saturday). Finals will take place at Conway Hall in London.
Read more...
AMOPA Advanced Higher French speaking competition
8 January 2018 (Alliance Française Glasgow )
The AMOPA Advanced Higher French speaking competition is been running for seven years and is going from strength to strength. We are delighted to open the competition again this year, with support from Total.
It must be the easiest competition ever to take part in!
To enter, all you need to do is submit a short recording of students as they prepare for their speaking test. The panel will assess it and give everyone some feedback. We also award prizes and certificates.
We hope that taking part in the competition is a way to support your pupils’ learning and exam preparation, and it's a great opportunity for them to receive feedback. Once again we will have prizes for the best entries and a gift for each school taking part.
8 December 2017 (Education Scotland)
The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms.
Nominations are now open and language practitioners will want to consider applying for the following categories:
- The 1+2 Languages Award (primary and secondary cluster working)
- Gaelic Education Award
Read more...
28 November 2017 (Schools Online)
If you are already planning to do international work in your school over the academic year 2017/18 you could apply for the International School Award and join our prestigious national award ceremony.
Although it’s called an award, everyone who meets a given standard gets the accreditation. That’s because we believe that everyone who is willing to put the work in to enrich the curriculum with international work is worthy of celebration.
Read more...
13 November 2017 (British Council)
What images, emotions or memories come to mind when you think of the word ‘Peace’? Children around the world are invited to capture its meaning for this year’s Commonwealth Class Short Story Writing Competition. The competition offers a unique opportunity for students to become part of the Commonwealth’s rich storytelling heritage and to be in with the chance of winning some great prizes!
Read more...
13 November 2017 (Daily Record)
The Scottish Gaelic Awards bring together the very best in learning, achievement and development and celebrate the great work being done by Gaels in every corner of Scotland.
From inner cities to the Western Isles, traditional language and culture is being developed and promoted by amazing people from every walk of life.
Read more...
8 November 2017 (BBC)
A mentoring project which has doubled the uptake of modern languages at GCSE in some areas has won a UK-wide award.
The modern foreign language (MFL) scheme trains students from Welsh universities to talk to pupils about the benefits of studying languages.
Cardiff University, which led the work, was awarded the Threlford Cup by the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
Read more...
GTCS Excellence in Professional Learning Awards for Universities of Dundee and Glasgow
23 October 2017 (University of Dundee/UCMLS)
On 21 September 2017 GTCS held its first Excellence in Professional Learning Award ceremony at the Hilton Grosvenor Hotel in Glasgow. The event also celebrated professional learning programmes that have been accredited with GTCS Professional Recognition. This included the University of Dundee for its Graduate Diplomas in French, German and Spanish by distance learning and the University of Glasgow for its Postgraduate Certificate ‘Teaching and Learning of Modern Languages in Primary Schools’. UCMLS Chair Marion Sporing said "Universities in Scotland continue to play an important role in supporting teachers in promoting and sustaining the learning of languages in Scottish schools and the wider education sector."
19 October 2017 (King's College London)
King's College London's Department of German is delighted to announce its 2017 competition for Year 12 and 13 students of German, the equivalent S5 and S6 in Scotland.
Students are invited to write an article of around 400 words in German in response to the question: 'Soziale Netzwerke in der Politik: Welchen politischen Einfluss haben die virtuellen Gemeinschaften?'
The winner and runners-up will be invited to a prize-giving ceremony and seminar at King's College London in early December 2017.
Entries should be submitted by 22 November 2017. See the flyer below or visit the website for more information.
Read more...
10 October 2017 (European Commission)
Juvenes Translatores is the annual translation contest for 17-year old students (those born in 2000). The 2017 contest will take place on 23 November.
To participate, schools must register first — between 1 September and 20 October 2017.
The materials for the Juvenes Translatores are available to download on the day of the competition so that schools can make use of them even if they are not selected to take part. Perhaps you may wish to use them to organise a competition in your own school?”
See the website for full details.
Read more...
9 October 2017 (DAAD)
Jointly organised by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the IMLR, this year sees the fourth writing competition for all learners and lovers of German. The competition is open to secondary schools, undergraduates, postgraduates and anyone else who feels up to the challenge!
This year, the task ties in with the 500th anniversary of Luther’s publication of his 95 theses that sparked the Reformation. Put yourself in the shoes of a time-travelling spy: you overhear a conversation between Luther or one of his German, Austrian or Swiss contemporaries (real or imagined) and a figure from public life in 2017 Britain. Is the German-speaking 16th-century time traveller debating Brexit with Boris Johnson or comparing sporting skills with Andy Murray? Does Jamie Oliver try to revolutionise cooking skills of Reformation Germany? Write down what you hear! The only two rules: the dialogue must be written in German and it must not be longer than 350 words.
Visit the DAAD website for more information and to submit entries by 23 October 2017.
Read more...
2 October 2017 (Japan Foundation)
We are delighted to announce that the 13th Japanese Speech Contest for University Students is open for applications!
This contest gives students the chance to make their voices heard in Japanese, and win some fantastic prizes! Finalists will all perform their speeches on Saturday 24 February 2018 at King’s College London.
The contest is aimed at undergraduate students who are currently studying Japanese as a foreign language at a university in the UK or Ireland.
Visit the Japan Foundation website for more information and to apply by 9 November 2017.
Read more...
29 September 2017 (ALL)
Do you know a teacher who inspires pupils through superb teaching and supports colleagues by sharing their expertise and ideas? Association for Language Learning is now looking for nominations in two categories for the 2018 awards – which are now open to teachers throughout the UK.
Read more...
22 September 2017 (SCILT/CISS)
Today sees the launch of this year's Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) multilingual poetry competition and we're delighted to announce the addition of a category for students in further and higher education, enabling all Scottish educational establishments to participate.
Whether pupils are learning a language at school, college or university, or whether they speak a native language at home, everyone can get involved in celebrating their linguistic and cultural diversity through creative poetry writing as there are options to enter in either the Mother Tongue or Other Tongue category. Even if you've taken part in the competition before, please note and read the new rules and criteria as only original work will be considered.
For more information about this year's competition and previous events, visit our MTOT website and register to take part! Closing date for registrations is 27 October 2017.
Read more...
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22 September 2017 (SCILT)
On Thursday 21 September, the General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) hosted their first Excellence in Professional Learning Awards held at the Hilton Grosvenor Hotel in Glasgow.
The Excellence in Professional Learning Award for Schools and Learning Communities recognises the central role that leadership at all levels plays in creating and sustaining professional learning environments where teacher professionalism can flourish and bring sustained impact on learning and learners.
Sir Harry Burns, Former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland and Ken Muir, CEO of the GTCS presented this new award to Windygoul Primary School, East Lothian; North Ayrshire Professional Learning Academy and Fife Pedagogy Team and St Ninian’s RC High School, East Dunbartonshire. See the
GTCS website for more detail about the individual successes.
In addition, professional learning programmes that have been accredited with Professional Recognition were also celebrated. As such, Lynne Jones Professional Development Officer at SCILT was delighted to accept a trophy on behalf of SCILT and Education Scotland as further validation of the 1+2 Languages Leadership Programme (formerly known as Train the Trainer). Visit the SCILT website for more information about this national, flagship professional learning opportunity.
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20 September 2017 (Education Scotland)
2017 is the year of History, Heritage & Archaeology . To celebrate, Education Scotland are launching a Creative Writing competition at the Scottish Learning Festival on 20 September. Learners of any and all ages are invited to enter to win Scots Language books for their school. Learners should write a poem or short story of not more than 750 words in length. The story or poem must be written in Scots language – though can be in any dialect of Scots, as broad or unique as the writer would like.
Log onto Glow and join the Scots blether to be kept up to date on all information on the competition. Go to the
Visit Scotland website for more info on the 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.
Read more...
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20 September 2017 (Glasgow Live)
Glasgow is officially home to a world leader in the teaching of Chinese language and culture.
The Confucius Institute for Scotland's Schools (CISS) has been appointed a Model Confucius Institute by the global headquarters, Hanban.
The centre, based at the University of Strathclyde, is one of only 40 facilities out of 500 across the globe to be given the status.
Bosses have also announced the institute, which is open to people from all over the country, is set for a move to a new HQ at the university's Ramshorn Theatre.
The Grade A-Listed building is being given a £2 million refurbishment - which includes a substantial investment by Hanban - to develop it as a publicly-accessible hub for learning and cultural exchange.
The new premises will have the capacity to host performances, conferences and exhibitions.
A plaque marking the new status of the institute was unveiled at a conference attended by Scottish Higher Education Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville.
Liu Xiaoming, China’s Ambassador to the UK, was also a keynote speaker at the event, held to mark the fifth anniversary of the foundation of the Institute.
Strathclyde Principal Professor Sir Jim McDonald said: “As a leading international university, we are extremely proud of our academic links around the globe and our diverse student and staff community.
“This prestigious accolade for our Confucius Institute reflects the important role it plays in improving understanding of Chinese language and culture across Scotland, and we congratulate everyone involved on their fantastic achievement.
“I’m particularly pleased that the Institute’s move to its new headquarters on campus will enable even more schools, businesses and community groups to benefit from increased educational and economic opportunities, with a further 10 Confucius Classroom Hubs being announced today.”
Read more...
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Languages in the press
19 September 2017 (British Council)
A great, fun opportunity for students to practice and improve their Mandarin Chinese language skills. The competition also offers the chance to win a week in Beijing.
Find out more about the competition and how to apply. Entry deadline is Friday 6 October 2017.
Read more...
18 September 2017 (Language Perfect)
The 2017 Language Perfect Northern Championships dates have been announced!
Join schools from the northern hemisphere 7-14 November for a week of online competition, and celebration of language learning!
Visit the website to find out about how the competition works and register to take part.
Read more...
14 September 2017 (SEET)
Want to get pupils more engaged in language learning and encourage uptake? Are you keen to improve their confidence and win an award or two? Then get involved!
SEET's Our World is a free film making project, run by the Scottish European Educational Trust, which is designed to encourage language learning and uptake among pupils. The project is open to any team of four from S3 - S6 (no previous film making knowledge is required) and last year resulted in over 88% of participant pupils saying they were more likely to take languages into their next year as a result of taking part.
All teams have to do to enter is come up with a creative idea for a film, based on this year's theme. Then, with our help teams put that idea into storyboard form and send it to us with an audio or video clip explaining it. The deadline for storyboard submissions is 4 December 2017.
Visit the website to find out more about the project and how to enter.
Read more...
7 September 2017 (ALL)
Do you know an inspirational primary or secondary teacher?
The Association for Language Learning (ALL) are now looking for nominations in the two categories for the 2018 awards – which are now open to teachers throughout the UK.
The award scheme aims to support and promote language teaching, recognise the efforts and achievements of language teachers, encourage and disseminate exciting, motivating practice among language teachers and raise the profile of language teaching as a career.
Visit the ALL website for more information about each award and how to make a nomination.
Read more...
21 August 2017 (Vocab Express)
The next League of Champions competition from Vocab Express will be taking place from 28 September to 4 October 2017.
It's a fantastic way to engage students in vocabulary building by challenging them to compete against other schools across the UK and from around the world.
The challenge will feature French, Spanish, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Urdu, Arabic, Hebrew and Latin competitions.
The challenge is free to all schools subscribing to Vocab Express. In addition, there are 150 free school places available to non-subscribers, each for up to 150 students. Free spaces are still currently available!
Visit the website for more information and to register your school.
Teachers can also sign up for guest access to a free trial of the Vocab Express platform using their school or academic e-mail address.
Read more...
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18 August 2017 (Institut français)
The Institut français d'Ecosse is pleased to launch this year's concours de la francophonie, a national school competition to encourage all young French learners and their teachers around Scotland to celebrate the international day of la francophonie.
All Scottish primary and secondary schools offering French may enter this competition by submitting a short video of a classroom activity in French.
Visit the Institut français website to find out more about the competition and how to enter by 19 December 2017.
Read more...
13 June 2017 (German Embassy)
On Monday, 12 June, Ambassador Peter Ammon welcomed John le Carré to his Residence for the annual ‘Sommerfest der deutschen Sprache’, where they presented the 14th German Teacher Awards to outstanding teachers of German in the UK.
The annual German Teacher Award and the ‘Sommerfest’ pay tribute to the work of German teachers across the UK and give guests the opportunity to network. Over 220 teachers and representatives from the education and language teaching sectors, business and media from all over the UK joined this year’s celebrations and followed the announcement of the 2017 winners.
Addressing the teachers in his welcome speech, Ambassador Ammon said that "never before has your mission to teach languages as a gateway to another culture encouraging friendship, trust and understanding across borders been more important than today." He was delighted to welcome renowned writer John le Carré as the keynote speaker for the event, who once more proved himself a staunch supporter of language learning as the key to understanding other cultures.
Morag E J Allan of Wellington School in Ayr was one of the teachers awarded a "Special Mention" at the ceremony.
Read more...
12 June 2017 (Oxford University)
The University of Oxford is delighted to announce the launch of a new essay prize competition: ‘A German Classic’. It is aimed at students with a GCSE or equivalent in German and currently in Sixth-form (equivalent to Years 12 and 13 or S5 and S6 in Scotland).
The classic celebrated this year is Goethe’s Faust, Part I. The task is to write an essay in English (between 2000 and 3000 words) so students who are not yet able to write fluently in German can focus on the challenges of engaging with the language, ideas and conflicts of the work itself.
Visit the university's website to find out more about the competition, prizes and how to submit entries by 13 September 2017.
Read more...
26 May 2017 (SCILT)
S1-S3 pupils from across Scotland took part in the national final of Word Wizard at the Scottish Parliament on 12 May 2017. Word Wizard is a multilingual spelling competition for pupils learning French, Gaelic, German, Mandarin and Spanish. Forty-nine learners from nine local authorities and independent schools competed in the final in front of an audience of teachers, supporters and guests. Each year pupils and teachers report that the competition increases motivation, enhances language performance and improves attitudes to language learning.
A teacher entering pupils into the final commented: “Practice for the competition has seen pupils increase in their confidence and has allowed pupils to be competitive with each other in a different way.”
A pupil competing in the final said: “I liked learning new words; it gave me a head start in class.”
Another competing pupil said: “I enjoyed performing in front of the crowd, but most of all watching and listening to the other languages, which was inspiring.”
Word Wizard is organised by SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages based at University of Strathclyde, in partnership with the University Council for Modern Languages Scotland. In March 2017, 170 pupils from 20 local authorities and independent schools competed in semi-finals in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee to battle it out for a place at the prestigious final.
Fhiona Mackay, Director of SCILT added: “It’s wonderful to see so many young people taking part in the Word Wizard competition representing a wide range of local authorities. Having an understanding of another language can really transform a person’s life and encourages the development of a whole range of important skills. Through such events, SCILT aims to offer teachers really motivating ways of enhancing the curriculum so that Scottish young people can reap the benefits of learning languages.”
Word Wizard supports the Scottish Government initiative, “Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 approach” by offering a diversity of languages as recommended by the report.
The targets laid out in the Scottish Attainment Challenge are about achieving equity in educational outcomes, with a particular focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap. One of the key drivers is improved literacy. The competition promotes literacy skills amongst pupils and helps schools develop partnership working with universities.
Word Wizard is supported by the European Commission and the final was sponsored by Colin Beattie, MSP.
Full details of the winners and further information on the competition can be found on the SCILT website.
Read more...
16 May 2017 (SEET)
Congratulations to the P6 team from Comely Park Primary School, who won the Scottish European Educational Trust’s National Euroquiz Final 2017, which took place in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament on 15th May 2017.
Team members Tamsin Gold, Edwin Walker, Robyn Dewar-Young and Jaymie Jones were crowned SEET’s Euroquiz Champions 2017 at the national final. The winners were closely followed by St Leonard’s Primary School team from South Lanarkshire, in a nail-biting final round. Sciennes Primary School from Edinburgh also did incredibly well, winning the prize for third place.
Euroquiz is run by the Scottish European Educational Trust, a non-political charity, which promotes education about language learning, Europe and the wider world amongst Scotland’s young people.
See the attached press release for full details about this year's competition and participating schools.
If your school might like to take part in future competitions, visit the SEET website for more information.
Read more...
Related Links
Third Place in Euroquiz 2017! (Sciennes Primary School, 15 May 2017) - post includes photos and links to the event on Parliament TV.
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15 May 2017 (B small publishing)
The Young Language Learner Awards are back!
B small publishing are inviting children and young people to write a four-page story in a foreign language they are learning (choose from Chinese, English, French, German, Italian or Spanish) to be in with a chance of winning books worth £50.
One winner will be picked from the under 6 category and one winner from the 6 and over entries.
Visit the website for full details and to submit entries by 15 June 2017.
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12 May 2017 (ALL)
This year's Language Perfect World Championships take place from 15 - 25 May.
Students participate in the world's largest online languages event over 10 days with the chance to earn certificates and qualify for awards and prizes by translating between their target language and English. The competition is relevant for everyone, whatever their ability.
The first 500 schools to register will receive 50 free entries. (ALL members can register all students for free).
Find out more about the competition via the ALL webpage and the
competition website.
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9 May 2017 (Stephen Spender Trust)
The 2017 Stephen Spender Prize is open for entries. Entrants are invited to submit an English translation of a poem from any language, ancient or modern. As always, there are prizes in three categories – Open, 18-and-under and 14-and-under – and the competition is open to UK and Irish citizens and residents.
Entry deadline is Friday 26 May 2017.
Visit the website for further information and submission guidelines.
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5 May 2017 (SCILT)
We're pleased to announce the SCILT website has been updated and details of this year's Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) multilingual poetry competition award celebration held at the SEC, Glasgow in March are now available.
Here you can see photos of our winning performers, read the anthology of winning entries, access press articles and see feedback from pupils, teachers and parents.
Read more...
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3 May 2017 (Goethe-Institut/German Embassy)
Does your school have a truly outstanding German teacher? There's still time to get nominations in for the 14th annual German Teacher Award offered by the German Embassy in London.
The purpose of this award is:
- to recognise outstanding achievement by individual teachers of German in the UK
- to highlight and pay tribute to the work of German teachers in the UK
- to encourage the commitment of the winners' schools to modern language teaching
Deadline for applications: 17 May 2017. Nominations must be submitted and signed by the headteacher.
Visit the German Embassy's website for detailed information and nomination form.
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2 May 2017 (Scottish Education Awards)
Good luck to the Scottish Education Award finalists in the language categories!
Making languages come alive (primary)
- Braehead Primary School, Stirling
- Doune Primary School, Stirling
- St Winning's Primary School, North Ayrshire
Gaelic Education Award / Duais Foghlam Gàidhlig
- Ardnamurchan High School, Highland
- Sgoil an Taobh Siar, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
- Gartcosh Primary School, North Lanarkshire
The award presentations will take place on 7 June. For more information about the awards visit the Scottish Education Awards 2017 website.
Read more...
30 March 2017 (ALL)
The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Embassy in London, the Institut Français du Royaume-Uni and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) are looking for the next generation of translators into English.
Higher Education Institutions across the UK are being invited to nominate their most promising undergraduate student(s) to take part in a one-day exclusive Masterclass in Translation to be held at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, on Thursday, 27th April 2017 with the opportunity for two Masterclass students to visit the Frankfurt Book Fair this year.
This call is open to undergraduate students only. Students must have a proficiency in either German or French (Level B1 and higher, according to CEFR). A combination of the two languages is very welcome but not required.
The candidates and the nominators are asked to complete the application form and send it electronically to
application@lond.diplo.de by Tuesday 18 April 2017.
For full terms and conditions, visit the Association for Language Learning (ALL) website.
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Les Resultats ! Le Quiz de la Francophonie
24 March 2017 (Institut français / Canadian High Commission)
The Canadian High Commission in London, who organised the Quiz de la francophonie this year, have just announced the names of the winning schools who are all from Scotland!
Congratulations to:
- Sir E. Scott School ( Les Gateaux Gris)
- Mid Yell JHS ( Les Petits Crofters)
- Westhill Academy ( les Grenouilles 2 E)
Thank you to all participants and well done to the winning schools who will receive their prizes in due course.
24 March 2017 (SCILT)
The multilingual talents of budding young poets from across Scotland were celebrated at a prestigious award ceremony in Glasgow. Jackie Kay, Scotland's Makar, presented the prizes.
Primary and secondary students from Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Stirling and West Lothian used their language skills to create and share poetry for this year’s Mother Tongue Other Tongue multilingual poetry competition. Winners received their prizes on the main Piazza stage at the SEC Glasgow on Saturday 11 March 2017 as part of the wider Languages Show Live Scotland event. Their work is published in an anthology.
Mother Tongue Other Tongue is an exciting project which celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity through creative writing and showcases the many languages which are used by children and young people across Scotland, in school and at home. The competition is organised by SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, based at University of Strathclyde. Jackie Kay is the patron of the competition.
One teacher said of the event: “Taking part in the Mother Tongue Other Tongue poetry competition was a very worthwhile endeavour. Pupils really enjoyed creating poems in another language and interesting language based discussions were generated. The emphasis on celebrating all languages from across the globe was a great message to share with pupils and they especially enjoyed mixing their own language with the languages they are learning at school. We will definitely be taking part again next year.”
Whilst one of the pupils summed up their feelings: “I feel happy, proud and special.”
Fhiona Mackay, Director of SCILT, says: “Mother Tongue Other Tongue is a celebration of the many languages that are spoken and learned by children and young people across Scotland. The collection of their poems weaves a rich tapestry of voices that honours cultural diversity and pays testament to the wealth of Scotland’s many languages and cultures. We were delighted to see such a high calibre of entries this year, submitted in 35 different languages. Our congratulations go to the winners and to all who took part in the competition.”
Mother Tongue invites children who do not speak English as a first language to write a poem, rap or song in their mother tongue and share their inspiration. Other Tongue encourages children learning another language in school to use that language creatively with an original poem, rap or song in that other tongue. Prizes are awarded in both categories.
Mother Tongue Other Tongue supports the Scottish Government initiative, ‘Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 approach’ by allowing pupils to apply their language learning in a creative way. The competition provides children who do not have English as their first language an opportunity to celebrate their mother tongue.
The targets laid out in the Scottish Attainment Challenge are about achieving equity in educational outcomes, with a particular focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap. One of the key drivers is improved literacy. Through reflecting on poetry in their mother tongue and creating poetry in another tongue, learners are developing their literacy skills.
Mother Tongue Other Tongue is supported by the University Council for Modern Languages Scotland, creative writer Juliette Lee and the Scottish Poetry Library.
Details of the winners and the anthology are published on the SCILT website.
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24 March 2017 (Consejería de Educación)
Each year the Ministry of Education of the Spanish Embassy in the United Kingdom, with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Junta de Castilla y León, awards the student with the best results in Spanish in the United Kingdom.
The winner will receive a 3-day (2-night) trip to Castilla y León (Spain) for two people, including travel, accommodation, meals and visits.
For more information see the attached leaflet or visit the Consejería de Educación website. Applications should be submitted by 28 April 2017.
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20 March 2017 (The Southern Reporter)
Galashiels Academy played host to the annual Eildon West Primary Schools Celebration of Scots Language and Culture, held on Friday, March 3.
All primary schools, from Tweedbank to Heriot, were represented. Medals, presented by Alistair Christie, vice-president of the Galashiels Burns Club, were awarded for Scots writing and recitation of Scots poetry.
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14 March 2017 (Junior Language Challenge)
Calling all Scottish primary schools! The Junior Language Challenge is the UK’s only language challenge for primary schools, introducing children to new, exciting languages and encouraging them to become independent learners, while raising money for charity. The first language this year is French.
There are great prizes to be won, including a family holiday to Africa!
Visit the JLC website to find out more and to register a school or an individual. (Please note there is an entry charge per child with all proceeds going to the educational charity, onebillion).
Read more...
11 March 2017 (SALT)
There are four categories in this years competition: Primary & BGE, National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher.
The theme is I love Languages Because and students can submit their entries in any format (PowerPoint, poster, song, poem, etc).
Visit the SALT website for further information and to submit entries by 26 May 2017.
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9 March 2017 (Renfrewshire 24)
Six bilingual pupils from Renfrewshire have scooped up awards at a national poetry competition for their creative writing talents.
Of the 14 awards up for grabs through the ‘Mother Tongue Other Tongue’ competition run by SCILT – Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, six were awarded to pupils from St John Ogilvie Primary School, St James Primary School and Castlehead High School, who had written poetry in their native tongue in order to share their “other voices”.
Renfrewshire EAL (English as an additional language) teachers helped support bilingual pupils to create a collection of poems written in languages such as; Polish, Hungarian, Chinese, Punjabi, Catalan, Arabic, Greek, Filipino, Korean and Dutch.
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3 March 2017 (Open University)
Make a short video explaining what you consider your biggest hurdles to language learning and you could win up to £150 in Amazon UK gift vouchers.
We want to hear what you find most difficult about language learning, especially when you start learning a new language. We are looking for well thought-out answers with specific examples of your language learning experience, or maybe good one-liners that showcase some of the difficulties that you have faced in the following areas:
- Your motivation for learning a new language
- Managing your expectations when starting to learn a new language
- Coping with grammar and grammatical terminology
- Creating (and sticking to) a learning routine
- Practising speaking (as a beginner)
- Listening (as a beginner)
- Learning vocabulary (as a beginner)
- Reading (as a beginner)
- Writing (as a beginner)
- Finding, evaluating and selecting resources to support learning for beginners
- Immersing yourself in the language when not in an area where it is spoken
- Getting support from others (including online communities
- Keeping your motivation going in the medium to long term
Your video must cover only one of these areas, but you are welcome to submit a video for each of the topics that are relevant to you.
Your video must be no longer than 30 seconds and must be in English.
Visit the Open University website to find out more and how to submit your entry by 17 March 2017.
Read more...
27 February 2017 (Institut français)
Each year the embassies of the francophone countries organise a UK-wide quiz for S2 and S3 students entitled Vive la francophonie. This year's competition will take place on 13 March.
It is simple for schools to take part:
- Enrol your team
- The quiz will be online on 13 March any time from 10am to 2pm. It should take maximum an hour to answer the questions.
The top 3 teams with the most answers right, in the shortest time, wins!
Visit the website to find out more about the competition and to register your students by 8 March.
Read more...
10 February 2017 (Education Scotland)
This translation competition is open to all children and young people in both Gaelic Learner and Gaelic Medium Education.
There are nine English and eight Gaelic posters of Scotland’s scientists available on the National Improvement Hub. One of the Gaelic posters is missing- Alexander Graham Bell.
Children and young people are invited to translate a short biography on Alexander Graham Bell into Gaelic. This is an exciting opportunity to have your work shared nationally and to feature alongside the other eight scientist biographies available on the National Improvement Hub. Your work could support learners of Gaelic across Scotland.
For more information visit the Education Scotland Learning Blog. Entries should be submitted by 3 March 2017.
Read more...
MTOT 2016-17 winners announced!
10 February 2017 (SCILT)
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate everyone who took part in this year's Mother Tongue Other Tongue multilingual poetry competition for schools in Scotland. We had a wonderful variety of entries and appreciated the creative effort that went into the submissions.
Selecting the finalists for this year's anthology was incredibly difficult for the judges. However, after considerable deliberation, we're pleased to now be able to announce the winners in each category along with highly commended entries which will also feature in the MTOT anthology of poems.
Mother Tongue
| Category | Award | Name | School |
| P1 – P3 | Winner | Jan Piwowarczyk (Polish) | St Benedict’s Primary |
| | Highly commended | Kacper Jodelka (Polish) | St John Ogilvie Primary |
| P4 – P6 | Winner | Laith Kabour (Arabic) | St John Ogilvie Primary |
| | Highly commended | Ashley Li (Mandarin) | St James’ Primary |
| | Highly commended | Amira Shaaban and Aidah Abubaker (Swahili) | St Rose of Lima Primary |
| | Highly commended | Caroline Rotimi and Joolade Adekoya (Yoruba) | St Maria Goretti Primary |
| P7 – S1 | Winner | Miriam Espinosa (Catalan) | St James’ Renfrew |
| | Highly commended | Lemuel Pascual (Filipino) | St James’ Renfrew |
| | Highly commended | Noemi Dzurjanikova (Slovak) | St Rose of Lima |
| S2 – S3 | Winner | Stefan Benyak (Hungarian) | Castlehead High |
| | Highly commended | Éva Tallaron (French) | Royal High |
| Senior Phase | Winner | Boglarka Balla (Hungarian) | Graeme High |
| | Highly commended | Ayesha Mujeb (Urdu) | George Heriot’s |
| | Highly commended | Nadya Clarkson (Russian) | George Heriot’s |
Other Tongue
| Category | Award | Name | School |
| P1 – P3 | Winner | Julia Gawel (Scots) | Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary |
| P4 – P6 | Winner(s) | Nathan Watson and Aiden Wardrop (French) | Johnshaven Primary |
| | Highly commended | Jack Shaw (German) | Gartcosh Primary |
| | | Eva Campbell (German) | Gartcosh Primary |
| P7 – S1 | Winner | Rosalind Turnbull (French) | Doune Primary |
| | Highly commended | Samuel Kassm, Theo Wilson, Emma Cullen and Darren Campbell (French, Spanish, Italian, Urdu, Scots) | Battlefield Primary |
| S2 – S3 | Winner | Simi Singh (French) | Graeme High |
| | Highly commended | Ciara Wilkie (French) | St Margaret’s Academy |
| Senior Phase | Winner | Jordanna Bashir (French) | Shawlands Academy |
| | Highly commended | Holly Mincher (Spanish) | St Andrew’s |
| | Highly commended | Rachel Cairns (French) | Graeme High |
Well done to everyone who took part in the competition. It's been a marvellous celebration of the various languages spoken in our communities. You should all be very proud of your work.
To mark participation in the competition, registered schools will shortly be sent a certificate which can be printed out and presented to pupils who took part. The finalists above will be invited in due course to receive theirs at the MTOT celebration event on 11 March.
Thank you all once again and keep writing!
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8 February 2017 (SALT / Institut français)
Winners of the 2017 Concours de la francophonie, a competition run by the Institut français d'Ecosse for schools in Scotland, have now been announced!
Visit the SALT website for more information about the winners in each category.
Read more...
7 February 2017 (Many Languages One World)
The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), in collaboration with ELS Educational Services, Inc., (ELS) invites students, 18 years and older, who are enrolled in a full-time course of study at a college or university, to participate in the Many Languages, One World Essay Contest.
The essay should discuss global citizenship and cultural understanding, and the role that multilingual ability can play in fostering these and must be written in one of the six official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish).
Visit the Many Languages, One World website for more information about the competition and how to enter. Submission deadline is 16 March 2017.
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24 January 2017 (Daily Record)
Lanarkshire may not be known as a hotbed of Gaelic but a little school are doing their best to reintroduce the language to the wider community.
Gartcosh Primary have been nominated for the Gaelic Education Award at this year’s Scottish Education Awards.
Rachel Neilly is one of four teachers at the village primary who has done the Gaelic Learning in Primary Schools course and teaches the language to primaries five to seven.
All children from primary two upwards learn German but the upper three classes have Gaelic as a third language.
They also learn about the culture in the Highlands and islands as part of their studies.
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19 January 2017 (Scottish Education Awards)
The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms.
There's still time to submit nominations for the Awards, so get your entries in for the Making Languages Come Alive (Primary) and Gaelic Education/Duais Foghlam Gàidhlig.awards before the closing date of 15 February 2017.
Visit the Scottish Education Award website to make your nomination.
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19 January 2017 (BBC News)
A Skye shinty player's comedy rap has helped to get a video on the shortlist of Gaelic short film competition FilmG.
Ally MacLeod performs in Girls, Strì and Macaroni, a short film made by Iain Wilson from Staffin on Skye.
The video is among entries in the running for best mobile short and best comedy. Mr MacLeod has also been shortlisted for the best performance award.
The full list of shortlisted films can be found on the FilmG website.
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17 January 2017 (UKLO)
UKLO is a competition for students who are still at school (or equivalent college) – any age, any ability level – in which they have to solve linguistic data problems. Thanks to our generous academic supporters, it’s completely free to both competitors and schools.
The UK Olympiad also enters at least one team in the International Linguistics Olympiad.
The United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO) for 2017 will soon get underway with round 1 taking place from 6-10 February.
If you are interested in finding out more about the competition and registering your school to take part, visit the UKLO website.
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9 January 2017 (Acair Books)
Acair Books, an Lanntair and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar have created a new award to encourage original writing in Gaelic for children.
The aim of the award is to:
- Actively support original writing in Gaelic for children
- Encourage and nurture new writers in Gaelic
In 2017, the award is for a book for 5 to 8 year-olds and must be between 1000 and 2000 words.
The work must be written in Gaelic by a writer aged 16-years or over, and who has never had a Gaelic book published for children before.
Visit the website for further information and submit your entry by 31 January 2017.
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6 January 2017 (Japan Foundation)
The Nihongo Cup Japanese Speech Contest for Secondary School Students in the UK is open for applications!
This contest is open to students in the UK studying Japanese language.
Visit the Japan Foundation website for more information and to download the application pack.
Closing date for entries: 24 March 2017.
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6 January 2017 (Oxford University)
The Oxford German Olympiad 2017 is open to UK pupils aged from 9 to 18 with a range of different tasks to suit different age groups. There is also an open competition for groups or classes of 4+ participants.
This year's theme is Deutsch(e) jenseits von Deutschland - German(s) beyond Germany.
Visit the Oxford German Olympiad website for more information and to enter by 17 March 2017.
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6 January 2017 (ALL)
A new competition from the Modern Languages Department at Oxford University invites secondary students to write a story in Spanish of not more than 100 words, and send it to schools.liaison@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk by noon on Friday 31 March 2017 with your name, age and year group, and the name and address of your school.
The judges will be looking for creativity and imagination as well as good Spanish!
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6 January 2017 (ALL / SOAS)
Run by SOAS, University of London, the Languages Challenge is now in its third year.
The Languages Challenge is a collaborative project aimed at students in year 8, 9 & 10 (S2-S4). Students have a choice of task and a choice of which languages they use in each of them. The aim of the challenge is to:
- provide students with opportunities to actively engage with languages
- encourage independent study and a range of soft skills like team-work, planning, leadership and negotiation skills
- raise awareness of the cross-curricular opportunities in language studies
Students are encouraged to use oral as well as written skills, to plan each task, conduct research and produce multiple drafts. They must take different roles and complete a short reflective report for each task.
Attached is a Teacher Information Pack, which is also available to download on the ALL website along with further information about how to take part.
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6 January 2017 (British Council)
Spark enthusiasm for international learning by getting your school community on board with the International School Award.
Managed by the British Council, the International School Award is a supportive and motivational framework that guides schools through their international work. With three certified levels, and free in the UK, the award will take you from introducing international work to the curriculum, to embedding it within your school’s culture.
Following an accessible methodology you will forge links with partner schools around the world, enhance your curriculum and prepare your students for life as global citizens.
Visit the British Council Schools Online website to find out more about how your school can grow and develop with the International School Award and read the article below from the British Council Voices blog which offers advice on 'Six ways to make your school more international.'
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Related Links
Six ways to make your school more international (British Council Voices blog, 14 November 2016)
Mathématiques sans frontières
6 January 2017 (North Lanarkshire Council)
North Lanarkshire Council and Heriot Watt University are once again jointly organising the world-wide Maths and Language competition “Mathématiques sans Frontières” in Scotland.
Schools are invited to participate in this stimulating and light-hearted competition for S4 and S5 which combines Maths and Modern Languages and aims to motivate pupils.
The competition itself will be held on Tuesday 7 March 2017 and schools wishing to participate should complete the proforma attached and return by 27 January 2017. There is also a training test available for download.
See the attachments for more information and to register your school.
2 January 2017 (Culturethèque)
An exciting French writing competition has just been launched by French astronaut, Thomas Pesquet, from the International Space Station.
Young people, up to the age of 25, are invited to write a short piece in French based on le Petit Prince and submit their entries by 28 February 2017.
See Thomas speaking about the competition on the launch video and find out how to enter on the Culturethèque website.
Read more...
9 December 2016 (Education Scotland)
The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms.
Entry to the Awards is open to all publicly funded schools, including secondary, primary, nursery and special schools. There is a wide variety of categories to enter which are linked to Curriculum for Excellence. SCILT encourage schools to consider applying for Making Languages Come Alive (Primary) and Gaelic Education/Duais Foghlam Gàidhlig.
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29 November 2016 (All Media Scotland)
The closing date for entries in FilmG 2017 is fast approaching. However, if anyone is yet to complete their film there are still two weeks left, before the competition closes on Wednesday 14 December.
Whether it be a comedy, drama, documentary or even a music video, one of the simplest ways to make a short film, is to use mobile technology.
The FilmG team are hopeful that the increasing availability of technology along with a broader range of prizes than ever before will see a record number of entries this year.
The theme for this year’s FilmG competition is ‘Strì’ meaning to strive or endeavour. All films must be in Scottish Gaelic and can be up to five minutes long for youth category entrants or up to eight minutes in length for open category entrants.
Read more...
28 November 2016 (SEET)
Find out the latest about the Our Europe and Euroquiz competitions for Scottish schools in SEET's November 2016 newsletter.
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23 November 2016 (Alliance Française)
L’Institut Français d’Écosse and the Alliance Française de Glasgow, in partnership with SCILT, are delighted to launch the 2nd edition of the Concours de la Francophonie which encourages young French learners and their teachers across Scotland to celebrate French language and the international Journée mondiale de la francophonie taking place in March each year..
To participate, you need to submit a short video (max 5mins) in French such as a dialogue, a song a short drama piece, etc. There are four categories:
The four winning teams will be invited to the University of Edinburgh on Friday 17 March 2017 to take part in a special day of workshops in French and the awards ceremony.
For more information and to enter the competition by 14 December visit the Alliance Française or Institut Français website.
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17 November 2016 (Daily Record)
Outlander's Gaelic consultant Àdhamh Ó Broin has been honoured at The Scottish Gaelic Awards.
The Gaelic consultant scooped the International Award for his work as a Gaelic language coach on the popular TV series, which has showcased the language to an audience of millions.
Gaelic in the STARZ original series Outlander, now in its third season, is considered integral to the authenticity of the show and its characters
In his role, Àdhamh teaches the actors to deliver complex Gaelic-language scenes despite having no previous spoken ability.
Read more...
16 November 2016 (Oxford German Network)
The Oxford German Olympiad 2017 is now open! This year's theme is Deutsch(e) jenseits von Deutschland - German(s) beyond Germany.
The competition is open to UK pupils aged from 9 to 18 with a range of different tasks to suit different age groups. There is also an open competition for groups or classes of 4+ participants.
Visit the Oxford German Olympiad website for more information. Entry deadline is 17 March 2017.
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7 November 2016 (SALT)
After a fantastic response to the 2016 Schools Poster Competition, the winning entries can now be seen on the SALT website.
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7 November 2016 (Daily Record)
The finalists have been announced for this year’s Scottish Gaelic Awards with just over a week to go until the big event.
The awards pay tribute to all aspects of Gaelic culture, education and language, highlighting the excellent work done in maintaining its growth and heritage.
The winners will be revealed on Wednesday, November 16 at Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel.
One of the finalists in the Learner Award is radio show Beag air Bheag, aired weekly on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal.
The programme’s title means “little by little” and it introduces Gaelic learners to the language at an accessible pace.
Read more...
4 November 2016 (SCILT/CISS)
SCILT's Word Wizard competition is returning for a fourth year and we are delighted to announce that registrations are now open!
Word Wizard is a multilingual spelling competition open to S1-S3 pupils learning French, Gaelic, German, Mandarin or Spanish. The competition provides a perfect opportunity for language teachers to address The Attainment Challenge by allowing pupils of all levels the chance to excel in language learning. Word Wizard develops skills in acquisition of vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, recall and public speaking; not to mention the many literacy outcomes it addresses. This hugely motivating competition encourages links with other curricular areas and with health and wellbeing, culminating in a high profile celebration of language learning.
Visit SCILT's Word Wizard webpage to find out more about this year's competition and to register your school.
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4 November 2016 (SCILT)
We are delighted to have Jackie Kay, the national laureate, as patron for this year's Mother Tongue Other Tongue multilingual poetry competition for schools in Scotland.
Hear Jackie's message supporting the aims and values of the competition in the video on our MTOT webpage.
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28 October 2016 (European Parliament)
Since 2008, the European Parliament together with the ‘Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen’ have each year been inviting young people from all EU Member States to submit projects run by and for youth showing an active participation in the development of Europe.
Young people aged between 16 and 30 from any EU Member States can submit projects for the European Charlemagne Youth Prize. Projects can be submitted individually or, preferably, in groups.
This year's competition is now open and invites projects on EU development, integration and European identity issues which must be submitted by 30 January 2017.
Visit the website for more information.
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26 October 2016 (Daily Record)
Entrants from across the country and across the generations and will be rewarded for their work promoting Gaelic culture and language.
Judges at this year’s Scottish Gaelic Awards have admitted they face a tough task.
Entrants of all ages delighted the panel with their high standards – but made the task of choosing the best a difficult one, according to chairman Cathy MacDonald.
The broadcaster said: “Once again, there is an excellent standard spanning the generations.
“The awards seek to reward all aspects of Scottish Gaelic culture and language, highlighting some of the excellent work undertaken to maintain its growth and heritage.
"It’s encouraging to see how much they’ve grown, attracting younger Gaelic speakers.
“They create an opportunity for those unsung heroes whom we otherwise wouldn’t have heard of and whose contribution deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated publicly.”
Read more...
25 October 2016 (DAAD)
The DAAD and the IMLR, together with the Goethe-Institut and the Swiss and German Embassies in London, are calling all learners and lovers of German to take part in a writing competition! This time, the task is to write a story in German.
Two German-speaking authors, Anja Tuckermann (Berlin) and Ulrike Ulrich (Zurich), have provided beginnings of stories of migration. Now it’s your turn to take one of these beginnings and continue spinning the yarn. You are free to develop your text in any direction you choose: to write a story of flight or refuge, of identities and self-images, of encounters or new beginnings … . Your story can be set in the past, the present or the future - and in any geographical setting you wish. The only rule: it must not be longer than 250 words.
The competition is open to students at secondary schools, Sixth-Formers, undergraduates, postgraduates and anybody else who feels up to the challenge!
Visit the DAAD website to find out more and submit your entry by 6 January 2017.
Read more...
24 October 2016 (SEET)
SEET is very pleased to announce that Euroquiz 2016-17 has now officially launched! We run an annual Euroquiz for P6 pupils, promoting education about Europe and encouraging the development of foreign language skills and intercultural competencies amongst young people in Scotland.
If you are interested in finding out more about Euroquiz, visit the SEET website where you can watch our promo video, or contact jane@seet.org.uk. Primary schools will receive information via their local authority including a registration form.
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21 October 2016 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut London invites German teachers and their pupils to take part in this competition series requiring language and computer skills alike! The topic this year is Digital D.
Several categories for different levels of language skills are provided. Primary teachers and secondary teachers can choose which competition they think suits their students’ best.
To take part in the competition, visit the website and submit the registration form by 10 November 2016.
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21 October 2016 (Institut français)
The Institut français d'Écosse is pleased to announce the launch of the second edition of our new Concours de la francophonie to encourage all young French learners and their teachers across Scotland.
The competition is open to primary and secondary pupils and involves producing a short video in French which should be submitted by 14 December 2016.
See the attached flyer for more information about the competition and how to take part. You can also see pictures from the first edition competition on the Institut français website.
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11 October 2016 (ALL)
Calling all head teachers, heads of department, language coordinators and ALL primary hub leaders! Do you know a very special primary or secondary language teacher?
If you know a teacher who inspires pupils through superb teaching and supports colleagues by sharing their expertise and ideas, then why not nominate them for an Association for Language Learning (ALL) Language Teacher of the Year Award 2017?
Open to teachers throughout the UK.
Visit the ALL website for full details and submit your nomination by Friday 21 October 2016.
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9 October 2016 (British Council)
The British Council are holding a series of free webinars during October and November that aim to support schools with submission of the Action plan for Accreditation/Reaccreditation level of the International School Award prior to the deadline on 13 November 2016.
Visit the Schools Online website for further details and to register.
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6 October 2016 (STV News)
For most of her life, it seemed as though Keren Mingole would never have a place to call home.
Forced to escape war-torn country of DR Congo, the 16-year-old has been brought up in Scotland from a very early age. Not only faced with the difficulty of communicating with strangers, Keren also had to learn British Sign Language.
[..] In 2015, an opportunity arose for Keren to explore and draw from her difficult experiences as a child through a multilingual poetry contest.
The Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition explores cultural identity, and allows pupils from P1-S6 to enter creative pieces of work and celebrate the many different languages used in schools throughout the UK.
Pupils from across Scotland are currently participating in the multi-cultural competition, which is officially endorsed by Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai. Scottish Makar Jackie Kay is also the official patron.
Keren won the 2015 Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition with her poem 'Who am I?' - a composition of her journey from her native home to her current home, Scotland.
Read more...
Related Links
National Poetry Day (STV News, 6 October 2016) See Jackie Kay and one of last year's MTOT winners, Keren Mingole, talk about poetry in their lives (the programme is available on iPlayer until 13/09/16 - watch from 28:50).
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Languages in the press
9 September 2016 (SCILT)
Once again, we are delighted to be able to offer FREE poetry workshops for primary and secondary teachers at four different venues across Scotland.
Teachers will work with Juliette Lee, a poet and creative writer, for a half-day workshop to develop their own creativity, explore poetry and the impact of language we use. We hope that teachers will leave inspired and able to take back some ideas and examples to work with their own pupils who will then submit their poems/rhymes/raps/songs into the MTOT competition.
Teachers do not have to attend one of the workshops to register their school for the MTOT competition although the workshops are a fantastic opportunity to develop your skills in teaching poetry, languages and to gather ideas to take back into the classroom. Due to the creative and interactive nature of these workshops, places are limited to 15 teachers at each venue, therefore we advise you to book your place early.
Details of the workshops are as follows. Click on the appropriate workshop link below to register for the event.
- Saturday 24 September, 10.00 – 12.30; Dundee University, Dundee (deadline for registration Friday 16 September)
- Friday 30 September, 13.30 – 16.00; The Open University in Scotland, Edinburgh (deadline for registration 6pm Monday 26 September)
- Saturday 1 October, 10.00 – 12.30; Inverness College - UHI, Inverness (deadline for registration 6pm Monday 26 September)
- Saturday 8 October, 12.00 – 14.30; University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (deadline for registration Friday 30 September) PLEASE NOTE EVENT NOW FULL!
For more information about the competition visit the
MTOT page on our website and
register your school to take part!
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8 September 2016 (Erasmus+)
Erasmus+ is running a fun photo competition for anyone from the UK who has taken part in the Erasmus+ programme in 2016 – from students to staff members, volunteers to youth workers, teachers to trainers, and apprentices to trainees.
Send us your best ‘Erasmus+ Moment’ photo for a chance to win one of ten prizes and have it posted on our website and social media sites, produced as a canvas keepsake or perhaps even for it to appear in our brochures!
The competition closes on 13 October 2016.
Visit the website for full details and how to enter.
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8 September 2016 (British Council)
The competition, organised by HSBC and the British Council, offers a fun opportunity for secondary students to practise and improve their Mandarin Chinese language skills.
Participating students have the chance to win a week in Beijing, visiting historical sites, interacting with Chinese students and experiencing Chinese culture.
Visit the British Council website to find out more and to apply by 7 October.
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6 September 2016 (British Council)
The British Council is calling for worldwide nominations for its 2017 ELTons award scheme which recognises innovation in English language teaching.
The annual awards are into their fifteenth year and celebrate innovation and excellence in different aspects of English language teaching (ELT) around the world.
Any ELT professional can apply for consideration for one of the categories including authors, teachers, trainers and publishers.
The deadline for submissions is 4 November 2016 and a shortlist will be drawn up by March 2017.
Visit the British Council website for more information and to download an application pack.
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5 September 2016 (ALL)
Calling all head teachers, heads of department, language coordinators and ALL primary hub leaders!
Do you know a very special primary or secondary language teacher?
If you know a teacher who inspires pupils through superb teaching and supports colleagues by sharing their expertise and ideas, then why not nominate them for an Association for Language Learning (ALL) Language Teacher of the Year Award 2017?
Now open to teachers throughout the UK.
Visit the ALL website for full details and submit your nomination by Friday 21 October 2016.
Read more...
24 June 2016 (Heriot-Watt University)
The SCHOLympics is a multi-disciplinary, scholarly competition that is open to all students who have access to SCHOLAR via their individual username and password. It features an extensive range of questions from the subjects that are currently available in the SCHOLAR programme, including a Mandarin listening comprehension which requires speakers or headphones, and questions from our brand new, soon to be published, English courses. The questions are set at Higher level or below.
The competition will be open between Monday 25 July until Wednesday 28 August 2016.
Visit the SCHOLAR website to find out more.
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20 June 2016 (Vocab Express)
Create a languages buzz around your school to kick-start the new academic year!
Share in the excitement and energy generated by the Vocab Express League of Champions. The championship will run from Wednesday 28 September until Tuesday 4 October 2016. It's a fantastic way to engage students in vocabulary building by challenging them to compete against other schools across the UK and from around the world.
The challenge will feature French, Spanish, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Urdu, Arabic, Hebrew and Latin competitions.
The challenge is free to all schools subscribing to Vocab Express. In addition, there are 100 free school places available to non-subscribers.
Visit the League of Champions website to find out more and to register for one of the free school places.
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Mathematiques sans Frontieres 2016
20 June 2016 (North Lanarkshire Council)
North Lanarkshire Council in association with Heriot Watt University once again organised 
the “Mathematiques sans Frontieres” competition across Scotland this year.
63 teams took part from 39 schools and 18 schools entered an S5 team.
The competition requires one question to be answered using a foreign language.
The winners in S4 were Renfrew High and the S5 winners and overall winners were St Aloysius College.
The prize giving was held on Friday 17 June at Heriot Watt University. Gavin Reid gave an informative talk on probability which resulted in one lucky pupil winning an Amazon gift voucher!
15 June 2016 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut is looking for the best ideas on how to use the 'Deutsch für dich' community in class. Teachers, take part in the competition and win an iPad!
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for more information and submit your ideas by 30 June 2016.
If you're not already familiar with the Deutsch für dich resource, find this and other packages on the Goethe-Institut website to help learners practice German free of charge.
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10 June 2016 (SCILT/CISS)
S1-S3 pupils from across Scotland took part in the National Final of Word Wizard at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 24 May 2016. 46 learners from eight local authorities and independent schools competed in French, Gaelic, German, Mandarin and Spanish in front of an audience of teachers, supporters and guests.
Visit our Word Wizard Final 2016 webpage to read the full list of prizewinners and to see photos from the event.
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10 June 2016 (Chartered Institute of Linguists)
We are calling for nominations for the Threlford Memorial Cup 2016. The cup is presented annually to a person, an organisation, or for a project that has inspired others with an original language initiative.
So if you know of someone who has done something truly amazing for language-learning, we would love to hear from you.
Visit the Chartered Institute of Linguists' website to download the nomination form and submit entries by 29 July 2016.
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9 June 2016 (SCILT / Education Scotland)
The Scottish Education Awards took place on 8 June in the Glasgow City Hotel. Congratulations to the winning schools in the language categories!
- St Michael's Primary, Dumfries & Galloway - Making Languages Come Alive
- Abercorn School, Glasgow - Gaelic Education
For more information about the awards and the finalists in each category, visit the Scottish Education Awards website.
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1 June 2016 (Chinese Consulate General, Edinburgh)
On 27 May, the Scotland-China Association (SCA) Primary School Art Competition Prizegiving was held in the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Chinese Consul General Pan Xinchun attended the event and presented the prize to the winners.
Consul General Pan expressed his congratulations to the winners, sayiing he was very pleased to see so many students entered the competition and created lots of excellent art works centered on China. Though they have never been to China, the works of Chinese Dragon, Giant Panda and Zodiac Monkey they created are so lively and impressive. With the development of the China-Scotland relations, Chinese language and culture become more and more popular among Scottish teenagers. So far, 5 Confucius Institutes have been established in Scotland, and more than 20,000 primary and secondary students are learning Chinese language and culture.
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23 May 2016 (Education Scotland)
Finalists in the 17 categories for the Scottish Education Awards 2016 have now been announced.
Congratulations and good luck to the schools nominated in the following language categories:
Making Languages Come Alive
- St Michael's Primary School
- St Blane's Primary School
- Dalmilling Primary School
Gaelic Education Award
- Abercorn School
- Sgoil an Iochdair agus Sgoil Dhalabroig
- Bun Sgoil Chnoc a' Chonaisg | Whinhill Primary
More information about the awards can be found on the Scottish Education Awards website.
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West Dunbartonshire win at Euroquiz final: St Mary’s Primary team named Euroquiz Champions
18 May 2016 (SEET)
Congratulations to the P6 team from St Mary’s Primary School Duntocher, who won the Scottish European Educational Trust’s National Euroquiz Final 2016, which took place at Heriot Watt University yesterday (17th May 2016).Team members Anna Dalrymple, Molly Hall, Nicky Borthwick and Owen Graham were crowned Euroquiz Champions 2016 at the national final. The winners were closely followed by St Margaret’s Primary School team from Fife, with their fingers on the buzzer in a nail-biting final round. Alloway Primary School (South Ayrshire) and St Leonard’s Primary School (South Lanarkshire) also did excellently, both coming in at third place.
Euroquiz is run by the Scottish European Educational Trust, a non-political charity, which promotes education about Europe and language learning amongst Scotland’s young people. 31 teams of primary six pupils came from all across Scotland to attend the final, all hoping to raise the trophy as winners. All teams demonstrated an impressive level of knowledge about European countries, history, culture, current affairs and the EU. All participants were a credit to their schools and worked really well together in their teams. The finalists were put through their paces by quizmaster and Director of SCILT Fhiona Fisher and Head of the European Parliament Information Office in Scotland, Per Johansson, who read out the answers. Well done to everyone who participated in Euroquiz 2016!
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30 April 2016 (SALT)
The SALT schools competition 2016 is open to all students studying a modern language in a Scottish primary or secondary school.
This year’s topic is Friendship and Solidarity and pupils are invited to submit a poster, Powerpoint presentation, or a short video (maximum 3 mins) containing foreign language expressions related to the topic.
Entry deadline is 2 September 2016.
Visit the SALT website for more information and a poster to download for your classroom.
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29 April 2016 (SCILT)
The celebration event for MTOT 2015-16 saw 20 award winners receive their prizes on the main Piazza stage at the SECC on Saturday 12 March 2016 as part of the wider Language Show Live Scotland event.
Pupils took the opportunity to perform their poems and rhymes to the audience, showcasing the many languages used by children and young people both in school and at home. The event drew in a huge crowd, with passers-by stopping to also see and hear their work.
Find out more about the day on our MTOT Celebration Event webpage, where you can also find links to the list of winners, pupil videos and recitals, the anthology, press articles and photos from the event.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone again for their support and participation, which helped make the competition and celebration such a success. We hope to run MTOT again next year, so make sure you sign up to our e-bulletin for updates, or follow us on our social media sites Twitter or Facebook.
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25 April 2016 (German Embassy)
If you know a truly outstanding German teacher at your school – make sure that their dedication and excellence get the recognition they deserve!
The German Embassy is pleased to invite nominations for the annual German Teacher Award, now in its 13th successful year. Further information on the nomination process and selection criteria is available on their website as well as on the documents attached.
Please note, only head teachers can make a nomination. Submissions from German teachers themselves or their pupils will not be accepted.
The deadline for nominations is 1 May 2016.
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8 April 2016 (TESS)
Entries to Mother Tongue Other Tongue were submitted in 36 languages.
(Read the item in TESS online, page 8, under the 'a week in primary' feature - subscription required)
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23 March 2016 (Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office)
UK secondary school students in the senior phase are offered the chance to win a place at a university summer school in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London has launched for the fifth time the Student Competition this year with the title “Hong Kong: A Smart City in the World!”. The objective of the Competition is to enable British students to experience Hong Kong’s vibrancy, innovation and creativity; and to consider pursuing tertiary education in Hong Kong.
To enter, students are invited to conduct research on the strengths of Hong Kong to develop itself as a Smart City, and to come up with a proposed project for Hong Kong to further integrate technology to improve the quality of living. . Entries can be through any means – an essay or through social media, for example a video clip on YouTube, a post in a blog. Five winners will be selected and entries will be judged based on content, creativity and presentation. Entries to be submitted by 15 April 2016.
Full details are available on the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office website.
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22 March 2016 (SCILT)
The multilingual talents of budding young poets from across Scotland were celebrated at a prestigious award ceremony in Glasgow.
Primary and secondary students from Aberdeenshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, West Lothian and George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh used their language skills to create and share poetry for this year’s Mother Tongue Other Tongue multilingual poetry competition. Winners received their prizes on the main Piazza stage at the SECC on Saturday 12 March 2016 as part of the wider Languages Show Live Scotland event. Their work is published in an anthology.
Mother Tongue Other Tongue is an exciting project which celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity through creative writing and showcases the many languages used by children and young people across Scotland, in school and at home. The competition is organised by SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, based at University of Strathclyde. This year over 400 pupils from across Scotland took part in the competition.
Ruth Cunningham, EAL teacher from Renfrewshire, said of the competition: “Being part of the Mother Tongue Other Tongue project has been a privilege. I have heard the ‘other voices’ of my bilingual pupils, witnessed them careful craft their poems, laugh about the differences in language and, above all, feel valued and respected for their ability to speak with another voice. This event has opened my eyes to the importance of supporting children to continue to learn in their mother tongue and of engaging with my pupils’ voices, in whatever language that may be.”
One of the young competitors commented: “I had a great time writing the poem and getting my prize was exciting. It makes me more eager to learn and write in different languages.”
Fhiona Fisher, Director of SCILT, added: “Mother Tongue Other Tongue is a celebration of the many languages that are spoken and learned by children and young people across Scotland. The collection of their poems weaves a rich tapestry of voices that honours cultural diversity and pays testament to the wealth of Scotland’s many languages and cultures. We were delighted to see such a high calibre of entries this year, submitted in 36 different languages. Our congratulations go to the winners and to all who took part in the competition.”
Mother Tongue invites children who do not speak English as a first language to share a lullaby, poem, rap or song from their mother tongue and to write about why this piece is important to them. Other Tongue encourages children learning another language in school to use that language creatively with an original poem, rap or song in that other tongue. Prizes are awarded in both categories.
Mother Tongue Other Tongue supports the Scottish Government initiative, “Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 approach” by allowing pupils to apply their language learning in a creative way. The competition provides children who do not have English as their first language with an opportunity to celebrate their mother tongue. This year saw over 150 entries submitted from primary and secondary pupils across the country. The competition was supported by the University Council for Modern Languages Scotland and creative writer Juliette Lee. Prizes were presented at the ceremony by actor Atta Yaqub and Juliette Lee.
Full details of the winners and further information on the competition can be found on the SCILT website.
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16 March 2016 (Arsenal Double Club)
In celebration of the European Championships in France this summer, the Arsenal Double Club team are launching an exciting, free-to-enter language challenge for all UK secondary schools.
The challenge is to create a language activity for primary school children aged 9-11, in a language of your choice, about any aspect of France or French culture.
The best overall group, as decided by the judges, will receive the Arsenal Double Club Euro 2016 trophy and have their language activity adapted and published as an official Arsenal Double Club teaching material!
This competition is open to all UK secondary schools and you do not need to be an existing Double Club school to participate.
Deadline for entries is 6pm on Tuesday 10 May 2016.
Visit the Arsenal Double Club website for more information and how to register to take part.
Read more...
Mother Tongue Other Tongue 2015-16 finale!
15 March 2016 (SCILT)
Our Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) multilingual poetry competition came to its finale at the Languages Show Live at the SECC, Glasgow on Saturday 12 March. Pupils, parents and teachers celebrated the children’s creativity at the event which gave the opportunity for the children and young people to perform their poems to the audience.
The event drew in a huge audience, with passers-by stopping to also hear their poetry and see them being presented with trophies and prizes from Atta Yaqub, SFA Equity Officer and actor, and Juana Adcock, bilingual poet and translator. The MTOT 2015/16 anthology was also launched, with children and teachers taking home copies containing their wonderful poems.
With over 400 children participating, the hardest task was to decide upon our winners and highly commended entries from each category. Our award winners are as follows:
| Category | Name | School |
| Mother Tongue | | |
| P1 - 3 (Winner) | Simon Paulicek (Czech) | St Paul’s, Shettleston |
| P1 - 3 (Highly Commended) | Emili Harris (German) | Preston Street Primary |
| P4 – 6 (Winner) | Daniel Homstol (Norwegian) | Bishopton Primary |
| P4 – 6 (Highly Commended) | Milmante Dzisevic (Russian) | St Fergus Primary |
| P4 – 6 (Highly Commended) | Andras Poszmik (Hungarian) | St Anne’s Primary |
| P7 – S1 (Winner) | Weronika Jargielo (Polish) | Douglas Academy |
| P7 – S1 (Highly Commended) | Blanka Szopa (Polish) | St Paul’s Primary |
| P7 – S1 (Highly Commended) | Nina Bourdarias (French) | Inveralmond Community High |
| S2 – 3 (Winner) | Keren Mingole (BSL) | St Roch’s Secondary |
| S2 – 3 (Highly Commended) | Solange Becquart (French) | Ellon Academy |
| Senior (Winner) | Lin Meng (Mandarin) | Ellon Academy |
| | | |
| Other Tongue | | |
| P1 – 3 (Winner) | Freya Mole (BSL) | Preston Street Primary |
| P4 - 6 (Winner) | Khadidja Chaher (French) | Netherlee Primary |
| P4 - 6 (Highly Commended | Avelon Mungersdorf (French) | St Ninian’s Primary |
| P7 – S1 (Winner) | Ailbhe Murphy (Gaelic) | Glasgow Gaelic School |
| P7 – S1 (Highly Commended) | Maggie Lawson (French) | Douglas Academy |
| S2 – 3 (Winner) | Gregor Murray (Spanish) | St Margaret’s Academy |
| S2 – 3 (Highly Commended) | Aimee Campbell (French) | Inveralmond CHS |
| Senior (Winner) | Ronan McCart (Spanish) | St Margaret’s Academy |
| Senior (Highly Commended) | Eleanor Pain (Italian) | George Heriot’s School |
Once we have published photographs from the day and the on-line version of the anthology, we will post via the weekly e-bulletin. If you don't already receive the news bulletin you can sign-up to receive this each Friday during term time.
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SCILT news
14 March 2016 (ASLS)
The Association for Scottish Literary Studies (ASLS) is running a creative writing competition for stories in Scots for S1 and S2 pupils.
Pupils should write a short story of not more than 750 words in length and submit their entries by 31 May 2016.
A slide presentation is attached which can be used to support the teaching of creative writing in Scots. A further document is also attached containing examples of previous entries.
Further information about the competition and how to enter can be found on the ASLS website.
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8 March 2016 (TES)
There are still a few days left to get your nomination in for the International Award category of this year's TES School Awards.
This award is for the school with the most innovative international strategy, ranging from initiatives to improve pupils’ and teachers’ understanding of other countries, languages and cultures to full-scale international partnerships.
You will need to demonstrate the impact this strategy has had across the school and the wider community. The judges will be keen to see clear achievements and quantifiable evidence of the success of any initiatives.
Visit the TES School Awards 2016 website for full details and to submit your nomination by 13 March 2016.
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3 March 2016 (Institut français)
The Institut français d’Ecosse, in partnership with SCILT, launched in 2016 le concours de la francophonie, a new national competition to encourage all young French learners and their teachers around Scotland and to celebrate the international day of la francophonie.
Winners of this 2016 edition can be seen on the Institut français website.
Read more...
Related Links
Concours de la francophonie (East Lothian Council, 4 March 2016) - winning P1-4 video entry from Cockenzie Primary School.
29 February 2016 (Goethe-Institut)
Goethe-Institut (London) are happy to welcome the German Olympics for schools worldwide to the United Kingdom in 2016 for the first time. The final will take place in Berlin, 17th to 30th of July 2016 - 65 countries from all around the world will take part. The United Kingdom are eligible to send two secondary school students born 1997 to 2002. The German Olympics - the biggest competition for the German language - promotes young people from all around the world to encounter one another thanks to the fact they all study German. They will become friends and build up an international network.
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16 February 2016 (Junior Language Challenge)
The Junior Language Challenge 2016 will open to schools and individuals on 11 March and the first language this year will be… Romanian!
The Junior Language Challenge is the UK’s only language challenge for primary schools, inspiring a love of languages at a young age and encouraging children to become independent learners.
Please note there is an entry fee with all proceeds being donated to charity.
Visit the Junior Language Challenge website for more information or see the YouTube video of last year's final.
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11 February 2016 (British Council)
There are three entry points to the International School Award: Foundation, Intermediate and Accreditation. The level your school is at will depend on how much international work you have already done.
Hosting a language assistant automatically qualifies you for the Foundation Level of the International School Award.
Visit the British Council Schools Online website for more information.
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2 February 216 (Institut français d’Ecosse)
The Institut français d’Ecosse, in partnership with SCILT, presents a new national competition to encourage all young French learners and their teachers around Scotland and to celebrate the international day of la francophonie, which is celebrated around the globe on 20 March.
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2 February 2016 (Stephen Spender Trust)
The 2016 Stephen Spender Prize is open for entries. Entrants are invited to submit an English translation of a poem from any language, ancient or modern. As always, there are prizes in three categories – Open, 18-and-under and 14-and-under – and the competition is open to UK and Irish citizens and residents.
Closing date: Friday 27 May.
Read more...
2 February 2016 (Education Scotland)
Does your school:
- Develops a culture which actively promotes the value of learning languages within the school and wider community?
- Enable pupils to use language skills as a means to communicate in school routines and to learn about other people and other parts of the world?
- Work effectively within its cluster group to implement the 1+2 policy for language learning?
- Shares the benefits of language learning with parents and the extended school community?
- Celebrates achievement in language learning?
The 'Making language come alive' awards is open for nominations from PRIMARY schools across Scotland which can demonstrate the above and the impact this has on learners, the school and the wider community.
Nominations close 12pm 15 February 2016 so there is still time to apply!
The Gaelic Education Awards is also open for nominations.
Read more...
29 January 2016 (Oxford German Network)
The Oxford German Olympiad 2016 is open for submissions from primary and secondary pupils.
This year's theme is 'Deutscher Humor - nichts zum Lachen? You can find the full guidelines and instructions for taking part on the website along with a flyer for your school.
Entries should be submitted online before noon on Friday 4 March 2016.
Read more...
29 January 2016 (TESS)
Entries are invited for the TES Schools Awards 2016.
Now in its 8th year, the event aims to spotlight the extraordinary dedication and skill of school staff who are helping pupils to achieve both inside and outside of the classroom. There is an 'International' category, which includes Foreign Languages.
Visit the website for a full list of categories and entry criteria.
Enter online by 6 March 2016.
Read more...
Related Links
TES Schools Awards 2016 opens for entries (TESS online, page 16-17, 29 January 2016) - subscription required to access
AMOPA Parlons Français competition - deadline approaching
26 January 2016 (AMOPA)
The 'Parlons français' competition, run by AMOPA in collaboration with Total, is now five years old and is going from strength to strength.
To enter all that's required is a short recording of students as they prepare for their speaking test. This is then assessed and feedback given. Prizes and certificates will also be awarded.
The competition is so easy to enter now as the technology is readily available and it supports your own preparation with students, it's not an "extra" task.
To find out more about the competition and how to enter see the attached flyer.
Entries must be submitted by 15 February 2016.
13 January 2016 (Scottish Book Trust)
Can you write a story in just 50 words? Each month a prompt will be provided to get you started, but where the story goes from there is entirely up to you.
For January the prompt is 'write a story set in the future.'
Adults and young writers are eligible to enter. Submissions are welcomed in Scots and Gaelic.
Visit the Scottish Book Trust website for more information and to submit your short story.
Read more...
11 January 2016 (ELS Educational Services)
Full-time university students are invited to write an original essay (2,000 words or less) discussing global citizenship and cultural understanding and the role that multilingual ability can play in fostering these. The essay should reflect your personal, academic, cultural and national context.
Essays must be written in an official language of the United Nations that is not your first language or primary language of instruction during your primary or secondary education.
Essays should be submitted by Thursday 31 March 2016.
Visit the competition website for more information..
Read more...
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11 January 2016 (Goethe-Institut)
The International German Olympics competition is coming to the UK for the first time in 2016! It's the biggest competition celebrating the German language and promotes the gathering of young people from around the globe who are united in their study of German and the forging of international friendships.
The final takes place in Berlin from 17-30 July 2016 with 65 countries taking part. Two secondary school students will be selected to attend and represent the UK. To take part in the preliminary selection process, students born between 1997 and 2002 are invited to produce a 2 minute video, upload to YouTube and submit the link to the Goethe-Institut by 31 March 2016.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for full competition details and entry criteria.
Read more...
11 January 2016 (Education Scotland)
There's still time to make a nomination for the Scottish Education Awards 2016.
The awards celebrate the hard work and success in Scottish education and showcase the valuable work and innovation in learning environments across Scotland.
If you'd like to see a primary establishment be recognised for 'Making Languages Come Alive' or acknowledge an organisation for the Gaelic Education Award, nominations can be made until midday on Monday 15 February and the awards ceremony takes place in June.
Visit the Scottish Education Awards website for more information about the award categories and to submit a nomination.
Read more...
15 December 2015 (SEET)
We have now reached the end of the first stage in the Our Films:Our Europe project. We are delighted to announce that the following schools will be joining us in one of our three film-making workshops. During the workshop pupils will have all day to work with media professionals to shoot and edit their films, bringing their ideas to life.
- Balfron High (Stirling)
- Holyrood Secondary (Glasgow)
- Lenzie Acadmey (East Dunbartonshire)
- Drumchapel High School (Glasgow)
- Harlaw Academy (Aberdeen City)
- West Calder High School (West Lothian)
- Larbert High School (Falkirk)
- Kirkcaldy High (Fife)
- St Mungos High School (Falkirk)
- Falkirk Hgih School (Falkirk)
- Bishopbriggs Academy (East Dunbartonshire)
- Auchinleck Acadmeny (East Ayrshire)
- St Roch's Secondary (Glasgow)
- St Luke's High School (East Renfrewshire)
- Cardinal Newman (North Lanarkshire)
A big thank you and well done to all of the schools who have participated in the project so far!
You can find out more about the film-making project on the SEET website.
Read more...
15 December 2015 (SCILT)
Last chance to submit entries for this year’s MTOT multilingual poetry competition! You have until midnight 18 December to get your entries in.
Thanks to all those who have participated. We look forward to seeing all the great work which has been produced and will be in touch again in the New Year once judging has taken place.
If you still need to submit your pupils’ entries, follow the guidance in the Teacher's Pack within the RESOURCES tab on our MTOT page. Or see the MTOT blog where you can also find submission guidelines.
Read more...
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SCILT news
15 December 2015 (Institut français)
The Institut français is delighted to present le concours de la francophonie, a new competition for all primary and secondary French learners across Scotland, in partnership with SCILT.
To participate, schools have to submit a video (filmed with tablets, phones or other devices) of a small piece in French: a song, a dialogue, a play etc. So, if you had prepared something with your students for les rencontres théâtrales, you just need to film the performance. This way, all schools across Scotland will be able to take part.
There are four categories:
The competition will be held in two phases, semi-finals at the council level, and finals at the national level. The two best productions of each category will win the following:
- P1/P4 students and schools who may not be able to travel to Edinburgh in a day will win an immersion day in their school, with French native speakers.
- P5 to S6 students who are able to travel will be invited to celebrate la journée mondiale de la francophonie in Edinburgh on 18 March, with French immersion activities and an award ceremony.
Creativity is a key element of this student led competition; dialogues, reportages, interviews and all other forms are possible. In addition, jury will look at the command of the French language, which will be adapted to your students level. Finally, we encourage the participation of all students in the classroom.
More details about the competition will be available in January.
Read more...
14 December 2015 (British Council)
In partnership, Education Scotland and British Council Scotland launched a secondary school writing competition to promote international education in schools and to find pupils' views on how international they thought their school is.
To enter, Scottish secondary school pupils were asked to submit a short essay answering the question below:
‘How international is your school and how International could it be? Please write about how international experience has shaped or could shape your time at school.’
We received an overwhelming number of submissions from pupils across Scotland and the three winning entries can be seen on the British Council website.
Congratulations to the winners and their schools!
Read more...
11 December 2015 (Japan Foundation)
The Nihongo Cup Japanese Speech Contest for Secondary School Students in the UK is open for applications!
This contest is open to students in the UK studying Japanese language. There are three categories: Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4&5 Pre-GCSE, and Key Stage 4&5 Post GCSE. Finalists will be invited to perform their speech at Conway Hall in front of a panel of judges and VIPs from the field of Japanese language education and Japan-UK relations, for the chance to win some fantastic prizes – including a trip to Japan!
For more information and to apply, visit the Japan Foundation website.
Closing date for entries is 31 March 2016.
Read more...
10 December 2015 (SCILT)
Entries have been arriving thick and fast in our inboxes here at SCILT. It is fantastic to see the hard-work and enthusiasm of your pupils in a multitude of languages being creative in such a wide variety of themes from football to holidays, memories of family to recent terrorist events in Paris.
Just a reminder that the closing date for entries is 18 December. All the information and documentation you need to enter pupils' work can be found in the Teacher's Pack within the RESOURCES tab on our MTOT page. Those of you following our MTOT blog can also find submission guidelines there.
Read more...
9 December 2015 (Scottish Education Awards)
Nominations are open for the Scottish Education Awards 2016!
Categories include:
- Gaelic Education Award - recognising establishments who provide opportunities for children to develop fluency in the Gaelic language and culture
- Making Languages Come Alive (primary) - recognising establishments who are working effectively to implement the 1+2 policy for language learning
Visit the Scottish Education Awards website for information on all the nomination categories, criteria and to submit your nomination by 15 February 2016.
Read more...
4 December 2015 (Education Scotland)
Education Scotland is challenging young people across Scotland to translate Alexander Fleming’s biography into Scots.
Translations are invited from learners of all ages and can be submitted in any variety of Scots. Translations should be submitted to
Diane Anderson by 10 December 2015 to mark the seventieth anniversary of Fleming’s Nobel Prize for Medicine for his discovery of penicillin. The best translation will be added to the Celebrating Scotland’s Scientists resource.
You can find the English biography of Alexander Fleming to translate in the Celebrating Scotland’s Scientists resource. It includes biographies of Scotland’s most famous and influential scientists’ with translations available in both Scots and English.
Read more...
3 December2015 (Erasmus+)
Apply for school staff mobility funding through Erasmus+. Whether you are a teacher or support staff in a school, Key Action 1 is the funding strand that applies to you and your organisation.
Key Action 1 is about mobility which would usually mean you spend time abroad. Mobility projects are transnational, and so all project activity except structured courses or training events must involve at least two schools – your own school and the partner school(s) abroad.
To find out more and to apply for funding, visit the Erasmus+ website. Application deadline is 2 February 2016.
Read more...
2 December 2015 (SCILT)
In the latest MTOT blogpost we share 10 fun poetry ideas.
Read more...
British Council news
30 November 2015 (British Council Schools Online)
The British Council has a number of resources and partnership working opportunities they offer to schools in the UK. Below are some of their forthcoming developments with a language or international element which may be of interest to teachers:
- Shakespeare lives - Designed as a cross-curricular activity pack which could also be part of project with a partner school overseas, this resource will be available mid-December and will be available in Welsh, Chinese and Arabic.
- Teaching the core skills - In today’s globalised world children not only need to be able to communicate and collaborate; they also need to be prepared to do so interculturally, in diverse and often multilingual settings. More information about teaching the communication and collaboration module can be accessed on page 14 of the brochure: Unlocking a world of potential. Sign up to Schools Online to access the training package.
- Employ a language assistant in Scottish schools - Employing a British Council Language Assistant is a unique way to broaden your pupils' understanding of the world, improve their language skills and increase their cultural awareness. See the online video. Applications open 4 January 2016.
- International School Award (ISA) - Read about Portlethen Academy's cross-curricular project which took them to France and earned them an ISA in recognition of the global dimension of their work.
Posted in:
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International Education,
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Partnership Working,
Teacher Education,
News from language & education organisations
26 November 2015 (One Third Stories)
One Third Stories are keen to get children everywhere excited about speaking foreign languages and are inviting primary pupils to help make a storybook that makes learning a new language simple and fun in their new competition.
Visit the One Third Stories website for more information and to enter your school. Entries can be in French, German or Spanish and must be submitted by 18 December 2015.
Read more...
26 November 2015 (SCILT/CISS)
Registrations for Word Wizard 2016 close on Monday 30th November, don't miss out on the chance to enter this motivating and challenging competition!
Open to S1-S3 pupils to compete in French, Gaelic, German, Mandarin or Spanish, Word Wizard provides learners with the opportunity to improve their vocabulary, pronunciation and memory skills in a competition format.
In partnership with UCMLS this year we have semi-finals in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow. Sign up now to receive the first set of word lists and start practising!
Read more...
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German,
Spanish,
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SCILT news,
CISS news
25 November 2015 (SEET)
The deadline for the Our Europe film-making project is fast approaching, but don't worry, there's still time to sign up! Entries must be in by 10 December 2015, so if you want to sign up and haven't yet done so make sure you do it soon! If you have teams of S3-6 pupils who are interested in taking part please complete the registration form.
We are also adding new features to our Script Centre tool, designed to help students with scripting the language component of the project.
We have been extremely busy over the past few weeks making visits to schools all across Scotland and it has been great to see such enthusiasm for the project from students. For more information about the Our Europe project, please visit our website. Remember, it's not too late to sign up!
Read more...
23 November 2015 (SCEN/SCA)
For 50 years, the SCA has been a society of people in Scotland furthering interest in the culture, history and modern progress of China. Help to celebrate this connection in painting, drawing, calligraphy, poetry, video or sound.
There are 3 entry categories:
The closing date for entries is 25 March 2016. Prize-giving will take place on Friday 27 May 2016, with the Tom Murray Memorial Prize to be awarded to the school with the best standard of entries.
Please register your interest by the end of 2015 with: scacompetition2016@scotchina.org
For more information, visit the SCA website.
Read more...
10 November 2015 (Oxford German Network)
The Oxford German Olympiad 2016 is open for submissions!
This year's theme is 'Deutscher Humor – nichts zum Lachen?' with different tasks applicable to the various age categories being judged.
You can find the full guidelines and instructions for taking part on the Oxford German Olympiad website along with a downloadable flyer for your school.
Entries must be submitted before the deadline at noon on Friday 4 March 2016.
Read more...
10 November 2015 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut London invites German teachers and their pupils to take part in this unique competition series. The topic for this year's competition is Geschenke - Gifts.
Five categories for different levels of language skills are provided. Primary teachers and secondary teachers can choose which competition they think suits their students best.
Please register by sending an email to roma.schultz@london.goethe.org by 13 November 2015.
More information is available on the Goethe-Institut website.
Read more...
9 November 2015 (SEET)
The Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) runs an annual Euroquiz for P6 pupils, which sees teams of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe. Subjects covered include history, geography, sport, culture, languages and the European Union.
Heats take place in local authorities from January to March, with the winning teams from all areas going forward to the national final in May.
Plans for Euroquiz 2016 are now underway and schools are invited to register their interest with their local authority Euroquiz co-ordinator.
Further information about the competition and preparation materials are available on the SEET website.
Read more...
9 November 2015 (ULIP)
The University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP) are again offering students studying French at AS/A Level or equivalent the chance to win a trip to the City of Light!
This year ULIP's "Win a Trip to Paris" competition theme is Europe. Politicians are discussing whether or not the UK should stay, or leave the European Union, otherwise known as 'Brexit'. All you have to do to enter is watch the video about "Quel serait l'impact du ''Brexit'' sur l'activité économique ?" and answer a few related questions before 31 January 2016.
Full details can be found on the ULIP website.
Read more...
9 November 2015 (SALT)
The winners of this year’s modern languages competition for schools 'The Language of Food' were announced at the SALT conference in Glasgow on 7 November.
Congratulations to the winners and SALT extends their thanks to everyone who entered.
Winning entries can be seen on the SALT website.
Read more...
5 November 2015 (SCILT/CISS)
Registrations for Word Wizard 2016 are now open for your French, Gaelic, German, Mandarin and Spanish pupils to develop their vocabulary, spelling and memory skills.
This year we have 3 semi-finals in venues across the country - in the Universities of Strathclyde, Dundee and Aberdeen. Schools can now choose to attend the semi-final which is most convenient for them.
The Stage 1 word lists were sent to registered schools this week, so sign up now to take part in this exciting and motivating competition!
Read more...
Posted in:
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5 November 2015 (BBC News)
The organisers of Gaelic short film competition FilmG hope to attract increased entries with new prizes rewarding the use of smartphones.
Prizes for best mobile short have been added to the youth and open categories of the annual contest.
Organisers said they hoped the new awards would help them to better engage with young Gaelic speakers.
The closing date for entries to all FilmG's categories is 16 December.
Read more...
30 October 2015 (SCILT)
Corseford School in Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire supports children and young people with complex health, education, movement and communication needs. They are using inclusive pedagogies and technologies such as alternative and augmentative communication systems to support the teaching and learning of Spanish. One of two schools in the country run by Capability Scotland, Corseford School was the proud recipient of the 'Making Languages Come Alive' category in the Scottish Education Awards 2015.
Read about their experiences and how other schools are implementing the 1+2 languages policy in the Case Studies on the 1+2 section of our website.
Read more...
30 October 2015 (SCILT/CISS)
Scotland's National Centre for Languages and Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools, in partnership with The University of St Andrews, are proud to announce the return of Word Wizard for its third year!
Motivate your French, Gaelic, German, Mandarin and Spanish pupils by taking part in this spellbinding multilingual spelling competition!
Building on the success of last year's competition, this year we are holding 3 semi-finals across the country - hosted by the universities of Strathclyde, Dundee and Aberdeen.
Visit our Word Wizard 2016 webpage for more information and to download the Teacher's Pack and Registration form.
Read more...
Posted in:
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German,
Spanish,
Awards,
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SCILT news,
CISS news
Parlons français - French speaking competition for AH students
20 October 2015 (AMOPA)
The 'Parlons français' competition, run by AMOPA in collaboration with Total, is now five years old and is going from strength to strength.
To enter all that's required is a short recording of students as they prepare for their speaking test. This is then assessed and feedback given. Prizes and certificates will also be awarded.
The competition is so easy to enter now as the technology is readily available and it supports your own preparation with students, it's not an "extra" task.
To find out more about the competition and how to enter see the attached flyer.
16 October 2015 (British Academy)
The British Academy has today announced the 2015 winners of its Schools Language Awards. From more than 150 applications submitted from across the UK, 14 prizes of £4,000 each are being awarded to schools and colleges – or institutions supporting them – for innovative projects aimed at increasing the numbers of students learning languages at higher levels. Spanning 17 languages, the awards are being made across both mainstream and supplementary sectors.
Congratulations to Scottish winners, St John's RC High School in Dundee and Polish School Glasgow CIC. Also to Bellahouston Academy in Glasgow for a highly commended from the judges.
Read more...
12 October 2015 (Goethe-Institut)
DAAD Translation Competition is open to secondary school pupils, undergraduates, postgraduates and anybody else who feels up to the challenge of translating a passage of German literature into English.
Read more...
9 October 2015 (The Scottish Government)
Professor Boyd Robertson has been named as the 2015 Gaelic Ambassador of the Year on the opening night of Scotland’s annual celebration of Gaelic culture, the Royal National Mὸd, in Oban.
Professor Robertson, Principal of Sabhal Mὸr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic language and culture, was congratulated by Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages, Dr Alasdair Allan.
Professor Robertson is well known to Oban’s Gaelic community, having once been Principal Teacher of Gaelic at Oban High School. He has since been closely involved with a host of groups involved in Gaelic education, at all levels of learning.
The award followed an announcement of an additional £50,000 in funding from the Scottish Government to Bòrd na Gàidhlig to support growth in Gaelic medium education.
Read more...
17 September 2015 (SEET)
This innovative, educational project, run by the Scottish European Educational Trust, asks pupils in S3-S6 to work in teams of four to come up with an idea for a short film based on how being a European citizen affects them as young people living in Scotland. The concept must creatively address European issues as well as include at least one language other than English.
Our Europe is a great way to get pupils engaged in language learning, boost their confidence
and develop their core skills. If you would like to know more about the project, or arrange a
school visit, see the attached flyer and head to the Our Europe website to register for the competition.
Read more...
4 September 2015 (SCILT)
In taking MTOT to a national level this year, we are delighted to be able to offer FREE poetry workshops for primary and secondary teachers at four different venues across Scotland.
Teachers will work with Juliette Lee, a poet and creative writer, for a half-day workshop to develop their own creativity, explore poetry and the impact of language we use, including our Mother Tongue and also experimenting with poetry in an Other Tongue too. We hope that teachers will leave inspired and able to take back some ideas and examples to work with their own pupils who will then submit their poems/rhymes/raps/songs into the MTOT competition.
Due to high levels of interest for the competition in general, we have decided to leave registration for schools open until Friday 9 October. Teachers do not have to attend one of the workshops to register their school for the MTOT competition although the workshops are a fantastic opportunity to develop your skills in teaching poetry, languages and to gather ideas to take back into the classroom.
Spaces are still available at the following workshop:
- Friday 9 October, 13.30 – 16.30 ; Open University, Edinburgh (deadline for registration Friday 2 October)
Register by completing the MTOT workshop registration form on the SCILT website.
For more information about MTOT and to register your school to take part in the competition visit the MTOT 2015-16 page of our website.
Read more...
4 September 2015 (El País)
As of September 2016, students of Spanish will be able to sit a single proficiency exam that aims to represent the many variants of the language, which is spoken around the world by more than half-a-billion people.
Modeled on the TOEFL and IELTS English exams, the International Spanish Language Evaluation Service (SIELE) is the brainchild of the Instituto Cervantes, the government-funded agency responsible for promoting Spanish around the world, and has been developed in conjunction with the University of Salamanca, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, along with Telefónica, which is responsible for the technological platform.
Read more...
2 September 2015 (British Council)
Entry is now open for the HSCB/British Council 2015/16 Mandarin Chinese speaking competition!
The competition is a great, fun opportunity for students to practise and improve their Mandarin Chinese language skills. It is open to UK secondary schools and further education colleges and entrants must be non-native speakers of Chinese.
Visit the British Council website to find out more and apply by 9 October and your students could win a trip to Beijing.
Read more...
1 September 2015 (SCILT)
Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) 2015-16 has launched in Scotland!
The multilingual poetry competition celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity through creative writing. Mother Tongue encourages children who do not speak English as a first language to share a remembered poem from their mother tongue. Other Tongue encourages children learning another language in school to write an original poem in that other tongue.
The competition was successfully piloted in Glasgow last year and we're delighted to now offer all primary and secondary schools in Scotland the chance to participate.
Take a look at our MTOT 2015-16 webpages for full details about this year's competition. You'll also find a section on previous events and testimonials from those who took part, as well as links to the MTOT blog and a host of other useful resources, including the teacher's pack containing the categories, criteria and rules.
During September and October there will be some Saturday workshops available for teachers from schools registered for the competition. There will be a limited number of places which will be allocated on a first come first served basis, so watch for more details about these soon and ensure you don't miss out!
Register your school for MTOT now*! Deadline extended to 9 October 2015.
*Some schools are reporting an issue with accessing the online registration form. If your authority is also blocking the page, we would suggest registering from a home PC or emailing us to be registered manually.
Read more...
1 September 2015 (SEET)
Our Films, Our Europe is an innovative film making project run by SEET and supported by the European Parliament. Teams of S3-S6 pupils from all secondary schools in Scotland are invited to take part in the project which encourages European languages, international discussions and creative film making.
The competition has now launched and all secondary schools in Scotland are invited to take part.
For more information and to register for the competition visit the Our Europe website.
Read more...
31 August 2015 (The Story Is)
We’re looking for 10 young people in Scotland, aged 14-17, with stories to share and a passion for discovering how to tell them.
We’re not just talking novels and poems, we’re talking video games, blogs, fanfic, slam poetry and spoken word, TV, movies, comic books, journalism, illustration, zines, song lyrics, web serials and anything you’d like to write!
The application process is in English but your creative work sample does not have to be. Plenty of creative people in Scotland make work in other languages and everyone who meets our application criteria is welcome to apply. We will get your work translated so that we can consider it.
Gaelic applicants, please note that there is one place specifically intended for a person working in Gaelic, but that does not necessarily mean that only one person working in Gaelic will be selected.
For more information visit The Story Is website.
Read more...
28 August 2015 (Daily Record)
Calling all Gaels – we’re looking for entries for the annual Gaelic Awards that recognise your contribution to Scottish life.
In its third year, we are proud to launch the 2015 campaign with sponsors Bòrd Na Gàidhlig. The awards celebrate dozens of individuals and community organisations who have made a huge difference to the Gaelic world and we are encouraging readers to nominate them.
Nominations can be made up to 25 September 2015.
Read more...
21 August 2015 (Bòrd na Gàighlig)
Nominations for the 2015 Scottish Gaelic Awards are now open. The awards reward all aspects of the Gaelic culture, education and language highlighting the excellent work undertaken to maintain growth and heritage. Education Scotland are delighted to sponsor the Innovation in Education and Learner Awards. Visit the Scottish Gaelic Awards website for more information and to submit a nomination today. Nominations must be submitted by Friday 25 September 2015.
Read more...
20 August 2015 (SEET)
Our Films, Our Europe is an innovative film making project run by SEET and supported by the European Parliament. Teams of S3-S6 pupils from all secondary schools in Scotland are invited to take part in the project which encourages European languages, international discussions and creative film making.
The competition will launch on 1 September 2015 with all secondary schools in Scotland invited to take part.
For more information, see the attached press release or visit the SEET website where you can also find details of last year's competitors and the winning films.
Read more...
13 August 2015 (SCILT/CISS)
After announcing the Word Wizard 2015 prizewinners back in June, we have now published the photos from the Final in the Scottish Parliament on 29th May.
Visit our Word Wizard 2015 Final webpage for the full list of prizewinners and to view the photos via our Flickr album.
You can download any of the photos by right clicking on the image and selecting 'Save as'.
Read more...
Posted in:
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German,
Spanish,
Awards,
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SCILT news,
CISS news
28 July 2015 (Glasgow City Council)
Three pupils from Bannerman High School, who are attending the Shanghai International Youth Summer Camp with young people from 22 countries, have been awarded second place for their presentation and exhibition about Scotland.
S4 pupils Heather Finlay, Alicia Harvey and Emma Hastings, who are studying Chinese at the school, are accompanied on this international trip by their teacher, Jenny Chang.
Fhiona Fisher, Director of the Confucius Institute for Scotland's Schools (CISS) based at the University of Strathclyde and who facilitated the trip said: 'This is an outstanding achievement for the pupils from Bannerman High School and their teacher. They have shown the world how great young people from Glasgow can be!'
The Shanghai International Youth Summer Camp runs from 21-30 July 2015 and welcomes young people from all over the world. CISS worked with schools in Scotland to put forward three pupils for this unique opportunity.
Read more...
30 June 2015 (SEET)
Finalist teams from Balfron High School (Stirling) and Lenzie Academy (East Dunbartonshire) spent three days in Brussels last week, from Sunday 21st June to Wednesday 24th June, competing in the final of the Our Europe Film Competition run by the Scottish European Educational Trust.
After a close-run final at Scotland House, Balfron High were determined to be the overall winners of the competition.
For more information about the final see the attached flyer or visit the SEET website.
Read more...
25 June 2015 (eTwinning)
The British Council celebrated the 10th Annual eTwinning UK conference at the National
College for Teaching and Leadership in Nottingham from 5-7 June. The main event of the conference was the 2015 UK eTwinning National Award ceremony, celebrating those who have produced outstanding collaborative work as part of the eTwinning programme.
There were 13 awards presented in various categories, as well as one award for the overall
winning project. Congratulations to Balfron High School who won an award in the student engagement category.
See the press release for more information and a full listing of the awards presented.
Read more...
Mathématiques sans Frontières 2015
23 June 2015 (North Lanarkshire Council)
Mathématiques Sans Frontières is an annual competition organised jointly by North Lanarkshire Council and Heriot Watt University. This year's winning team were from the High School of Glasgow!
See the attached documents for more information about the competition and this year's entries and winners.
19 June 2015 (British Academy / SCILT)
British Academy Schools Language Awards (BASLA) 2015
The deadline for applications is now approaching! You have until 30 June to apply for the 2015 Schools Language Awards.
As part of its programme to support and champion the learning of languages, the British Academy is again offering a series of Awards to schools and colleges throughout the UK for the encouragement of excellence in language learning. This year the Awards focus on activity which encourages more students to take language learning to a higher level.
The Awards are intended to encourage schools to find imaginative and effective ways of improving take up and enthusiasm for language learning into S5, S6 and beyond, which build partnerships and address the social imbalance in the profile of language learners at higher levels.
The Awards are open to all secondary schools and colleges and cover all languages other than English, including those learnt as community languages. A total of 15 Awards of £4000 each will be made to schools throughout the UK and at least one Award will go to a winning proposal from Scotland. One outstanding project from across the UK will receive an additional £2000.
Supplementary education
The British Academy are also offering Awards for innovative and exciting projects throughout the UK that encourage larger numbers of supplementary school students to take language learning to a higher level – the sort of level where they can use the language in the workplace and their future careers to benefit others. Schools could win £4,000 or more to put their ideas into action.
The deadline for applications for both awards is Tuesday 30 June 2015. See the attached document or visit the British Academy website for more information and to apply.
Read more...
19 June 2015 (SCILT/CISS)
Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) is an exciting multilingual poetry project which celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity through creative writing, and showcases the many languages which are spoken and learned by young people in school and at home. After a very successful pilot of the competition in the Glasgow area last year, SCILT are excited to announce the roll-out of MTOT across the country from August 2015. 2015/16 will build on the success of last year’s initiative and see the competition go nationwide allowing all pupils from P1 – S6 to participate in collaboration with our partner universities.
The winning poems, as well as a wider selection of commendable entries, will be compiled and published in a Mother Tongue Other Tongue anthology. There will be additional prizes, so start thinking now about how you might get involved.
September will see the official launch of the competition with poetry and creative writing workshops for teachers taking place at our HE partner institutions across the country (dates and venues tbc). Registration to take part in the competition and to attend the teachers’ poetry workshop launch events will open in August 2015. More information on how to register and book a place on a workshop will be available to schools early in the new school year.
Why not visit our MTOT 2015-16 webpage where you'll find all the information you need, including links to our poetry resources page, where we have collated a number of downloadable poetry and language materials as well as links to useful websites. You could also read the 2014 winning poems featured in our anthology for some further inspiration and find out about last year's competition and celebration event, or take a look at the MTOT website from Routes into Languages North West and Manchester Metropolitan University to see how the competition ran in England and Wales last year.
Read more...
18 June 2015 (SCILT/CISS)
On Friday 29th May 42 talented linguists competed in the National Finals of Word Wizard 2015.
Visit our 2015 Final webpage to read all about this year's event and our impressive competitors. Photos from the event will be published soon.
Read more...
Posted in:
Chinese,
French,
Gaelic,
German,
Spanish,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Language Learning,
Promoting Languages,
SCILT news,
CISS news
10 June 2015 (Education Scotland)
Congratulations to the winners at this year's Scottish Education Awards, particularly those in the languages categories:
- Gaelic Education Award - Clann Throndairnis - Staffin and Kilmuir Primary Schools (Highlands)
- Making Languages Come Alive - Corseford School (Renfrewshire)
Details of all the winners and finalists can be found on the Education Scotland website.
Read more...
9 June 2015 (Babelzine)
This year, Babel is once more celebrating young linguists' insights about language. Previous articles by young writers Niamh Mulholland and Kateryna Pavliuk have demonstrated the linguistic talents of Babel readers, and so this year we've decided to publish two lucky winners' articles in Issue 13.
There are two age groups for this competition; 16-18 and undergraduates. So tell your friends, tell your children, tell your grandchildren, and get involved! And if you would like some inspiration, have a read of Niamh's article on Konglish and Kateryna's on British Sign Language.
The deadline for entries is Friday 31 August 2015.
Read more...
8 June 2015 (The Herald)
The 2015 James McCash Scots Poetry Competition, announced today, offers total prize money of £3,500, making it among the UK's major poetry prizes.
The total has more than doubled since last year, when it was £1,500.
The free-to-enter competition, which has been run jointly by The Herald and Glasgow University since 2003, aims to celebrate and encourage the use of the Scots language in all its rich diversity.
Read more...
Related Links
Tinto Hill Withoot Oxygen (The Herald, 9 June 2015)
11 May 2015 (SEET/Scottish Parliament)
Well done to all the teams who took part in this year’s Euroquiz final in the Scottish Parliament, but especially to the winners, Carmondean Primary School from West Lothian.
For more information about the competition, see the attached press release or visit the SEET website.
Read more...
Related Links
Primary school Euroquiz 2015 – winners (Education Scotland blog, 12 May 2015)
7 May 2015 (Education Scotland)
The finalists of the Scottish Education Awards 2015 have been announced.
A huge range of high quality nominations were received demonstrating the innovative practice, dedication and fantastic work that is taking place in learning environments across Scotland.
The finalists in the Making Languages Come Alive category are:
- Corseford School (Renfrewshire)
- Ardgowan Primary School (Inverclyde)
- Dalmilling Primary School (South Ayrshire)
The finalists for the Gaelic Education Award are:
- The Nicolson Institute (Sgoil MhicNeacail) (Western Isles)
- Norma Martin – Stenhouse Primary School (Edinburgh City)
- Clann Throndairnis - Staffin and Kilmuir Primary Schools (Highlands)
To find out who the finalists are in each of the 17 categories visit the awards website. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in Glasgow on Wednesday 10 June. Good luck to all the finalists!
Read more...
27 April 2015 (Chartered Institute of Linguists)
IoL Educational Trust (IoLET), the awarding body of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, invites nominations for the Threlford Memorial Cup 2015.
The Threlford Memorial Cup is awarded annually to an individual, organisation or project making a significant contribution to 'fostering the study of languages', in the words of CIOL founder Sir Lacon Threlford, and will be presented to the winner at an awards ceremony in central London in November. The runner up receives the David Crystal Trophy, kindly donated by renowned linguist and CIOL Honorary Fellow, Professor David Crystal.
The awards have attracted a wide variety of nominations in previous years and recent winners include the Arsenal Double Club Languages, thirdyearabroad.com and GCHQ's Language Outreach Project.
Anyone wishing to submit a suitable candidate for the award should download the nomination form from the Annual Awards 2015 page of the CIOL website, complete in full, supplying two referees, and send by email to comms@ciol.org.uk. Closing date for nominations: 31 July 2015.
Read more...
16 April 2015 (British Council)
British Council Scotland and Education Scotland are pleased to announce a writing competition for secondary schools in Scotland! We would like to ask you to encourage your secondary school pupils to submit short essays to highlight how international their school is, or how international could it be.
Examples of things pupils could write about are:
- how their language learning experience allows them to think more internationally or opens international opportunities
- what they have learned about other countries and how that changed their perception of the world
- what other international activities already exist in their school such as school exchanges or school links with schools abroad
- what international activities they would like to see happening in their school in the future
Competition overview
Topic of the short essay: ‘How international is your school and how International could it be? Please write about how international experience has shaped or could shape your time at school.’
Word limit: 300 words maximum, 280 words minimum (the title is included in the word count)
How to enter: Pupils have to submit their work in PDF format by midnight on Monday 25 May 2015 to Natasha Kozlowska at natasha.kozlowska@britishcouncil.org stating the subject as ‘Writing entry’. Entries must be submitted with your name and your school.
Deadline: Midnight on Monday 25 May 2015
Prizes: The prize for the winning pupil is an iPad and a certificate signed by Education Scotland. The winning work will also be published on the Education Scotland website, and the winner will be invited to an awards ceremony to present their work. The prize for the school is a framed certificate signed by Education Scotland, presented during an event celebrating Scotland’s international links.
Please see the attached document for further information about the competition, which can be found be also found on the British Council website.
Read more...
31 March 2015 (Stornoway Gazette)
Stars of the big screen turned out in Glasgow on Friday to present a number of awards at the seventh National Gaelic Film Awards ceremony.
MG ALBA, the Gaelic Media Service, was celebrating another successful FilmG competition, its prestigious Gaelic screen talent awards, which were held at The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow and hosted by Fiona MacKenzie, face of BBC ALBA, and Niall Iain Macdonald, TV & radio presenter.
Read more...
24 March 2015 (The Guardian)
Every year the British Council runs a competition to find Britain's best young Mandarin speakers. Those that make it through to the last stage of the competition come to London to compete at the British Museum. We went behind scenes of the competition to follow Louis Carmicheal, 17, from Hull and Natalia Barton, 13, from Liverpool as they prepared for the final.
Read more...
19 March 2015 (SCILT)
SCILT was delighted to have received over 100 entries to the first ever Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) competition in Scotland!
On Saturday 7 March our MTOT stars were invited to a special celebration event in the Burns room of the Mitchell Library. Many of our MTOT stars took to the stage to read or sing their poems and songs before being presented with their own copy of the MTOT Anthology by Jim Carruth, Glasgow's Poet Laureate.
Visit our MTOT Celebration Event webpage to find out more about the event, see the photos and read the winning poems.
Read more...
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival Poster Competition 2015
17 March 2015 (Consejería de Educación)
We invite Scottish students studying Spanish in secondary education to take part in a competition to produce a poster with a striking image reflecting both cinema and Spain, although the competition is open to all students in secondary education, especially those studying media, product design and art.
The poster will be displayed around the city of Edinburgh in September and October 2015 in various sizes and formats. It will also be the cover of our programme and leaflets.
The deadline for entries is 1 April 2015.
See the attached flyer for full details and how to enter.
27 February 2015 (Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany)
If you know a truly outstanding German teacher at your school – make sure that their dedication and excellence get the recognition they deserve!
Please note that headteachers must nominate the German teacher; unfortunately applications by German teachers submitted by themselves and applications submitted by pupils cannot be accepted. Application deadline: 12 May 2015.
Read more...
13 February 2015 (TESS)
East Dunbartonshire Council has won the Scottish Confucius Classroom of the Year Award at the annual conference of the Confucius Institute in China. It was chosen as one of eight authorities in Scotland to establish a Confucius Hub for teaching Mandarin.
Read more...
12 February 2015 (Ellon Times)
Young Ellon storytellers helped local housebuilder Barratt celebrate Burns Night by taking part in a Scots language-themed writing competition.
Ellon Primary School P7 pupils were tasked with writing about celebrating at home, and in memory of Scotland’s national poet. The 29 children told their stories about weddings, birthdays, Christmas and New Year using Scots verse.
The team at Barratt Homes was so impressed they decided to donate £100 of book tokens to the school.
Read more...
10 February 2015 (BBC News)
Secondary school students have been testing their language skills in the final of the British Council's Mandarin Speaking Competition.
One school delighted judges with a comic play about what can go wrong if you turn up at a Chinese restaurant without your purse.
Another embarked on their own version of the tale of Mulan.
Just over 3,000 students take Mandarin at GCSE and the competition's aim is to boost uptake in schools.
Read more...
10 February 2015 (SCEN)
The 2015 SCEN competition invited pupils to write a piece on 'Why all Scottish students should have the opportunity to learn Chinese.'
Congratulations to the winners!
- Lily Penman, P7 (Geits), The Edinburgh Academy - see Lily's entry attached below
- Joanna Martin, Queen Anne High School, Dunfermline - whose article is published in The Scottish Review
Read more...
9 February 2015 (Into Film)
We are partnering with the Guardian Teacher Network for this award and are looking for the most inspirational examples of using film or film-making activities in the classroom.
See the Into Film website for entry criteria. Submission deadline is 26 February 2015.
Read more...
5 February 2015 (Routes into Languages)
The competition invites teams of students to choose 6 of 7 challenges to complete in any language they wish. In fact, the more languages used to complete the tasks the better. After tasks are completed, students will need to enter examples of careers which use the skills and knowledge they have used!
This activity is targeted at Years, 8, 9 and 10 in England, S1-S3 in Scotland.
The deadline for submitting entries is 1 May 2015.
For more information about the competition, see the teacher information sheet or visit the Routes into Languages website.
To register to take part and to receive copies of the poster and students's sheets, please go to the Languages Challenge 2015 registration form.
Read more...
SCEN Competition 2015
23 January 2015 (SCEN)
The SCEN Competition invited our young people to write an article entitled:
- Why all Scottish students should have the opportunity to learn Chinese
SCEN had a very healthy range of entries in both the Senior and the Junior categories! Congratulations to all those who took part and are delighted to announce the winners!
The Senior Prize in the SCEN Competition 2015 has been awarded to:
Joanna Martin, S4, Queen Anne High School, DunfermlineThe Junior Prize has been awarded to:
Lily Penman, P7 (the Geits), The Edinburgh AcademyThe Judging Panel were:
- Kenneth Roy, Editor, The Scottish Review
- Simon Macaulay, SCEN Field Worker and Chairman of the National Languages Working Group
- Dr Judith McClure, Convener of SCEN
Joanna will receive a cheque for £250 and her article will be published in The Scottish Review.
Lily will receive a cheque for £100 and her article will be published in a SCEN update.
23 January 2015 (Institut français d'Écosse )
Institut français d'Écosse are ready for the 2015 edition of Les Rencontres Théâtrales in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen in March to celebrate la Francophonie. Have your class create or adapt a short piece in French and help them to put it on stage. Check out the dates for your city and fill in the enrolment form online.
Read more...
23 January 2015 (BP Art Exchange/Institut Français)
BP Art Exchange and the
Institut Français would like to invite French and art teachers to participate in an exciting initiative exploring art and Language with a class of their choice.
‘Dis-moi dix mots... que tu accueilles’ is a project initiated by the French Ministry of Education and the aim of this annual initiative is for classes to create a collective artistic piece of work responding to a selection of 10 chosen French words. The words selected this year are: amalgame, bravo, cibler, grigri, inuit, kermesse, kitsch, sérendipité, wiki, zénitude. If you would like to participate in this project,
register at bpartexchange.tate.org.uk and join the Dix Mots group. Upload the works that your students have created to share them with others before
01 March 2015. A panel of judges representing the BP Art Exchange community, comprising an artist, a teacher and a representative from Institut Français and BP Art Exchange will meet in March 2015 to select the three most interesting submissions to be featured on Tate website.
Click here for more information about the project ‘Dis-moi dix mots... que tu accueilles’. For inspiration, you can visit your local gallery,
browse the Tate online digitised collection as a reference point for creating works in response to one or more of the 10 words.
Read more...
15 January 2015 (UKLO)
Round one of this year’s UKLO competition starts in just under 3 weeks.
UKLO is a competition for students who are still at school (or equivalent college) – any age, any ability level – in which they have to solve linguistic data problems and is free to enter.
For more information about the competition and how to register your school visit the UKLO website.
Read more...
13 January 2015 (European Parliament)
The Charlemagne Youth Prize is organised jointly by the European Parliament and the International Charlemagne Prize Foundation in Aachen and awarded each year for projects which foster understanding between people from different European countries.
The projects are run by people aged between 16 and 30 and winning projects should provide models for young people living in Europe and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community.
Past winners include youth exchange programmes and artistic and internet projects with a European dimension.
The deadline for submissions is 2 February 2015. More information and guidelines for submitting applications are on the website.
Read more...
Related Links
The European Parliament also provides a number of online
teaching resources and opportunities for schools to learn about the European Union and related issues.
5 December 2014 (Scottish Education Awards)
Nominations are now open for the 2015 Scottish Education Awards, which celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms.
There are two language categories this year:
- Making Languages Come Alive (Primary) – to recognise establishments who are working effectively to implement the 1+2 policy for language learning
- Gaelic Education Award – to recognise establishments who are providing opportunities for all children to develop fluency in the Gaelic language and culture
Get your nominations in before the closing date of Monday 16 February 2015.
Read more...
27 November 2014 (The Herald)
As Gaelic-speaking students from Edinburgh, Dingwall and Stornoway battled for honours in the BT Scotland National Gaelic Schools Debate at Holyrood this week, they demonstrated the worth of every penny spent on Gaelic, whether in education, broadcasting or extra-curricular activities.
Read more...
18 November 2014 (Daily Record)
The Scottish Gaelic Awards celebrate businesses, teachers, artists, sports groups and young people who promote traditional culture all over the country.
Read more...
SCEN Competition
18 November 2014 (SCEN)
We invite entries for the SCEN Competition, in collaboration with The Scottish Review and its Editor Kenneth Roy. The challenge is to write an article (maximum 850 words for senior students, 200 words for primary and S1-S2 students) on the following:
'Why all Scottish students should have the opportunity to learn Chinese'
The winning entry will be published in The Scottish Review!
- Senior Prize (senior phase school pupils; university and college students and young professionals): £250
- Junior Prize (upper primary and lower secondary pupils: £100!
Closing Date: 15 December 2014.
Please send entries electronically to the Convener of SCEN: judithmcclure12a@aol.com
14 November 2014 (Sanako)
Sanako is celebrating our new look website and are excited to announce that we are giving away a 20 position language lab…. just in time for Christmas!
The winning School/College/University will receive a 20 position Sanako Study 700 Language lab, our basic-level software language laboratory for the classroom environment. The Study 700 is ideal for the language lab novice and is an entry level system which incorporates all the basic language laboratory functions such as monitoring, discussion, pairing, listening activities and two-track recording as well as many more innovative features!
For a chance to win this fantastic prize, visit the competition website.
Read more...
13 November 2014 (ULIP)
To commemorate the centenary of WW1 the University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP) is running this year's 'Win a trip to Paris' competition with a WW1 theme. To enter, students of Higher/Advanced Higher French have to watch the video on their website about "Les Taxis de la Marne", a famous WW1 event that took place right outside ULIP's front door, and answer a few related questions before 31 January 2015.
The French teacher of the winning student also receives a hamper of luxury Parisien goodies!
Visit the ULIP website for full terms and conditions and to take part in the competition.
Read more...
10 November 2014 (eTwinning)
Congratulations to the Scottish schools awarded a European Quality Label this October!
- Annanhill Primary, Kilmarnock
- Balfron High School, Balfron
- Mid Yell Junior High School, Shetland
For a list of all the UK winners and their projects, see the eTwinning website.
Read more...
6 November 2014 (eTwinning)
To join the competition, projects must have been awarded the European Quality Label in any year of the project’s lifespan. Only the partners of a project who have received the European Quality Label can apply for and win a European Prize. All projects must demonstrate that they have been active in the 2013-2014 school year.
Prizes are available for primary through to secondary ages with special category prizes also being awarded in the 2015 competition.
Read more...
31 October 2014 (Language Perfect)
The search is on for the top language student and languages department in the northern hemisphere... The Northern Championships, taking place from 3-13 November 2014 , pitches students and schools in the northern hemisphere against one another, ONLINE and LIVE, from computers and iPod/Android apps. Teachers can watch the scoreboards for up-to-the-minute updates on how their school and students are going. Maybe your school will become the champions in 2014?
Visit the Language Perfect website for more information.
Read more...
Posted in:
Chinese,
French,
German,
Italian,
Spanish,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
News from language & education organisations,
Russian,
Japanese,
Arabic
29 September 2014 (ThirdYearAbroad)
Enter our competition for a chance to win amazing prizes! Here at ThirdYearAbroad.com, we think that everyone will benefit from a year abroad. Now we just need to convince them!
We want you to sum up your year abroad for us. You can write us a blog post or a poem, you can send us a photo or a collage, or enter a short video. Be creative!
Your entries will be used to create toolkits to help teachers to promote the year abroad to their students.
More information is available on the ThirdYearAbroad website.
Read more...
22 September 2014 (Linlithgow Gazette)
A local primary school is celebrating after securing a prestigious award for making pupils aware of foreign cultures.
The International School Award from the British Council is a badge of honour for schools that do outstanding work in international education. Bo’ness Public Primary School pupils worked with children in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Kenya.
They also held an international education day where they learned about other cultures.
Read more...
19 September 2014 (SEET)
“Our Europe is a great way to get young people engaged in language learning and thinking about European Issues. It asks them to form opinions in a fun and creative way.” – John Mulgrew, (Former Director of Education)
The Our Europe Film Competition is set to launch on 23 September 2014 for its third consecutive year. The project is run by the Scottish European Educational Trust, who are planning to make visits to schools over the coming months in order to promote the project and work with pupils.
The Our Europe film competition encourages an innovative approach to education by asking pupils from S3 -S6 to work in teams of four to create story boards, and subsequently films, about how being a European citizen affects them. Through the process of making storyboards, multi-lingual scripts and narratives the pupils are asked to consider European issues in a creative and engaging way.
The six best storyboards are selected and the teams behind them come together for a day’s workshop. During the workshop, pupils will work with media and language professionals to both make their films and develop their skillset. At the end of the day the teams will present their films to a panel of judges who will pick the best two. The two finalist teams chosen, win an educational tour of Brussels where they can meet European experts, practice their language in a real life context and develop their films further.
If you wish to register a team the competition will open on Tuesday 23 September and sign up forms as well as rules and FAQs will be available online at the competition website.
If you have any further questions or would like to discuss the possibility of SEET staff visiting your school please contact: madeleine@seet.org.uk.
Read more...
11 September 2014 (Education Scotland)
Entries are being sought for the annual Gaelic Awards that recognise the contribution the language and culture make to Scottish life. Following the success of the 2013 Gaelic Awards, The Daily Record are proud to launch the 2014 campaign with sponsors Bord Na Gaidhlig. Education Scotland is delighted to sponsor the Innovation in Education Award.
Last year's awards celebrated dozens of individuals and community organisations who had made a huge difference to the Gaelic world. With 10 categories, this year’s awards will highlight education and language and the excellent work done to maintain growth and heritage.
To place a nomination please visit the Scottish Gaelic Awards website. The deadline for nominations is Friday 26 September.
Read more...
2 September 2014 (European Commission)
The eighth Juvenes Translatores translation contest for 17-year-old students in secondary schools will be held on 27 November 2014.
To participate, schools must register first — between 1 September and 20 October (see the rules on the website for details). This year's theme will be "European identity".
The winners (one per Member State) are invited to Brussels in spring the following year to
attend an award ceremony at the European Commission's headquarters.
The winners' teachers are also invited to the award ceremony, in recognition of their work in
motivating their students to learn languages.
For further information about the competition and to register visit the Juvenes Translatores 2014 website. An information sheet with the key details can also be found on the attached letter from Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
Read more...
1 September 2014 (Japan Foundation)
The Japan Webpage Contest for Schools will be running again in 2014-15, and is now open for applications!
We know that many schools are teaching Japanese or doing other projects about Japan, and we want to hear more about it.
This contest is open to any UK school that is teaching Japanese or doing any kind of project related to Japan. Your school does not need to be teaching Japanese to enter the contest.
To enter the contest, all you need to do is make a simple webpage about the work that your school is doing with Japanese or Japan. This could be a blog, a wiki, or a page that's part of your school's website. Win up to £1000 worth of prizes.
Entry deadline is 12 January 2015.
For further information visit the Japan Foundation website.
Read more...
25 June 2014 (STV)
Scotland's teacher of the year has been named at the Scottish Education Awards.
Languages department head Gillian Campbell-Thow, from All Saints Secondary in Barmulloch in Glasgow, won the title at the Scottish Education Awards earlier in June.
Read more...
24 June 2014 (East Ayrshire Council)
Budding young entrepreneurs from East Ayrshire academies entered Sir Tom Hunter’s Dragons’ Den once more, in a bid to scoop the top prize of £3,000 – and Monsieur Soleil swept the board!
An educational board game in French/English, Monsieur Soleil (Mr Sunny) was the brainchild of the team from Doon Academy, Dalmellington, which took them to victory on the night.
Sir Tom praised the quality and innovation of the game, which could also expand into other languages – and he urged them to consider Mandarin.
Read more...
20 June 2014 (SCILT)
Photos from the Word Wizard Final, featuring all of our great winners, and now available to view via our Word Wizard Final webpage.
We also have a short video, filmed throughout the day, giving some background to the competition and showcasing the wonderful skills demonstrated by all of our spellers.
Read more...
19 June 2014 (Speak to the Future)
Last year’s national winner of the British Academy Schools Language Awards was Oldham Sixth Form College, for their project in which A level language students act as ambassadors for languages in primary and secondary schools throughout the borough. Sarah Shaw, French teacher and school liaison officer at the college, describes how the project has already reached out to more than 1000 young people to inspire them in their language learning.
Read about their project and see how you can apply for a BASLA this year – deadline is 18 July.
Read more...
20 May 2014 (SCILT)
The British Academy is offering a total of 14 Awards of £4000 each for projects throughout the UK that encourage larger numbers of students to take languages to advanced and degree level.
The Awards are open to all UK secondary schools, supplementary schools and FE colleges – and organisations supporting them.
The deadline to apply for the British Academy Schools Language Awards has been extended to 18 July 2014.
Visit the BASLA webpage for further information.
You can also view SCILT's Glow Meet held on 12 May to provide key information and helpful insights to BASLA success. You will need a Glow userid and password to access the Glow Meet recording.
Read more...
16 June 2014 (Japan Foundation)
We know that many schools are teaching Japanese or doing other projects about Japan, and we want to hear more about it.
This contest is open to any UK school that is teaching Japanese or doing any kind of project related to Japan. Your school does not need to be teaching Japanese to enter the contest.
To enter the contest, all you need to do is make a simple webpage about the work that your school is doing with Japanese or Japan. This could be a blog, a wiki, or a page that's part of your school's website.
For full details of the competition and how to enter, visit the Japan Webpage Contest website.
Read more...
13 June 2014 (SCILT)
Following the announcement of the Word Wizard winners last week we now have a web page celebrating the final. We will be publishing photos from this fantastic event soon!
Details of the 2015 competition will be announced later this year so stay tuned.
Read more...
12 June 2014 (SCILT)
On Wednesday 28th of May, poets and young people from Glasgow schools celebrated the launch of the Mother Tongue Other Tongue (MTOT) multilingual poetry competition at the University of Strathclyde. SCILT is running the pilot competition for Glasgow schools from the start of the 2014-15 session. Take a look at the highlights of the launch event on our website and find out more about the competition and how your school can take part. Invitations to register in MTOT will be issued to schools throughout Glasgow in August so make sure you get involved!
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
All Languages,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Mother Tongue,
Promoting Languages,
SCILT news
Word Wizard finals
6 June 2014 (SCILT)
Last Friday, 30th May, saw the final of our new Word Wizard competition take place in the prestigious venue of the Scottish Parliament. 60 pupils from schools across Scotland took part in the semi-finals in the morning, and over 100 pupils, teachers and guests enjoyed the final in the Members’ Restaurant. The day opened with an inspiring speech from Maureen Watt MSP and ended with a vote of thanks from Annette Zimmermann of the University of St Andrews, who supported us in running the competition. We were delighted to have Graham Blythe from the European Commission and Ms. Lv Yanxia from the Chinese Consulate present the shields and cups to the winners. The pupils demonstrated excellent skills in spelling, vocabulary and character recognition, and displayed great confidence in doing so in front of an audience.
The winners in each category were:
French Beginner:
- 1st Elspeth Nicol – Ross High School
- 2nd Amelie Davidson – St Joseph’s Academy
- 3rd Robert Brewer – The Glasgow Academy
French Intermediate:
- 1st Owen Wilson – Greenwood Academy
- 2nd Steffi Graham-McGill – James Hamilton Academy
- 3rd Emma Rattray – Dollar Academy
Gaelic Beginner:
- 1st Anna Gallagher – St Ninian’s High School (East Renfrewshire)
German Beginner:
- 1st Fraser Anderson – Stewart’s Melville College
- 2nd Charlotte Caskie – Lomond School
- 3rd Florence Macgregor – The Mary Erskine School
German Intermediate:
- 1st Eilish Murphy – St Margaret’s School for Girls
- 2nd Freja Arnlund – The Mary Erskine School
- 3rd Fiona Todman – Queen Anne High School
Mandarin Beginner:
- 1st Francesca Tassieri – Hillhead High School
- 2nd Charlotte Johns – Dollar Academy
- 3rd William Cox – Perth High School
Mandarin Intermediate:
- 1st Ines Bertaso – St Ninian’s High School (East Renfrewshire)
- 2nd Ivan Myachykov – Hillhead High School
- 3rd Jack Mitchell-Luker – Williamwood High School
Spanish Beginner:
- 1st Paul Gillon – John Ogilvie High School
- 2nd Georgie Cassidy – Dollar Academy
- 3rd Erin McIntyre – The Glasgow Academy
Spanish Intermediate:
- 1st Rosie Hutcheon – The Glasgow Academy
- 2nd Caitlin Barrie – John Ogilvie High School
- 3rd Ella McPherson – St Margaret’s School for Girls
We would like to congratulate all pupils who reached the finals and every pupil who took part in the competition in their schools over the past year.
We hope to see lots of you entering the competition next year!
5 June 2014 (Scottish Parliament)
Maureen Watt, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, has lodged a parliamentary motion congratulating SCILT and CISS on the Word Wizard competition 2014. The motion states:
"That the Parliament congratulates Scotland‘s National Centre for Languages and the Confucius Institute for Scotland‘s Schools on the Word Wizard Competition 2014, which was held in the Parliament on 30 May 2014; recognises the S1-S3 pupils, including those from Bucksburn Academy and Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen, who impressed the judges with their French, German, Spanish, Mandarin and Gaelic skills; notes that, in partnership with the University of St Andrews, and with the support of the Goethe-Institut, the contest encourages pupils nationally to improve their vocabulary, and highlights what it sees as the importance of language and learning."
Motions are used by MSPs to initiate debate or propose a course of action, or simply to generate support, and many other MSPs have signed up in support of this motion. It's very encouraging to have SCILT/CISS work acknowledged in this way.
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Posted in:
S1-S3,
Chinese,
French,
Gaelic,
German,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Scottish Parliament,
News from language & education organisations
2 June 2014 (Language Show Live / Speak to the Future)
Strictly 1,000 Words is a national competition for language learners in schools, universities and language enthusiasts everywhere to produce a short video containing no more than 1,000 words in another language. Videos must be no more than 2 minutes long and contain up to 1,000 words in another language.
See the website for entry criteria. Deadline for applications is 11 July 2014.
Read more...
16 May 2014 (SALT)
For this year’s competition you are invited to design a poster, slide presentation or short video with pictures and text on the subject ‘FESTIVALS‘. Entry is open to any individual pupil/student or group of pupils/students in any Scottish school. The use of a language other than English must feature on the entry. The closing date for submissions is 20 June.
Visit the SALT website for full details.
Read more...
15 May 2014 (ALL)
The ever popular annual global competition, the Language Perfect World Championships, is an intense competition to learn vocabulary, verbs and common phrases from a wide range of foreign languages. This year’s event takes place from 19 to 29 May…and you can still register to take part.
Read more...
14 May 2014 (CLAS)
CLAS, the Professional Association for Secondary Teachers of Gaelic, is pleased to launch their annual writing competition for Gaelic Medium and Gaelic Learner Education.
Young people in S1 and S2 are being encouraged to write on a choice of topics related to the significance of the year 2014 for Scotland. Schools should submit their entries by 9 June 2014.
For more information on the competition, please visit the CLAS website. For general information on CLAS, which celebrates its 10th anniversary later this year, visit their Facebook page.
Read more...
14 May 2014 (bsmall publishing)
The b small Young Language Learner of the Year Award is open to all children in the UK aged 6 - 11 years and will run throughout the spring and summer terms. Children can enter their stories in French, Spanish, German, Italian, or, for the first time this year, Mandarin.
You can enter in one of two categories according to your age: 6-9 years or 9-11 years. We have included nine year olds in both categories in case you want to enter with your class.
Closing date for entries is 2 June 2014.
Read more...
13 May 2014 (SEET)
Congratulations to the Euroquiz team from Crossford Primary school in Dunfermline who won the Scottish European Educational Trust’s National Euroquiz Final, which took place in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament yesterday (12th May 2014).
Team members Lewis Mackintosh, Matthew Twaddle, Ben Knowles and Blair Kerr came out on top with their fingers on the buzzers. They won against Crown Primary School, who were defending last year’s Highland title, in a close run final round. Allan’s Primary School in Stirling also did excellently, coming in at third place.
Download the attached press release for more information or visit the SEET website where you can view a recording of the event.
Read more...
Related Links
Photos from the Euroquiz 2014 final (Scottish Parliament, 13 May 2014)
8 May 2014 (SEET)
The Euroquiz final will take place on 12 May 2014 in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament. 31 teams, from primary school across Scotland, have won coveted places in the grand final of the Scottish European Educational Trust's Euroquiz, sponsored by the European Parliament.
Over 1700 pupils from 425 schools have taken part in the local heats between January and April this year, and the winning teams from each of them will now compete in the final.
Euroquiz is a competition for Primary 6 pupils, which encourages them to develop their knowledge about Europe and the European Union. It also helps build on their core skills through communication and teamwork. Questions are asked on history, geography current affairs, culture, languages, sport and the European Union. This is the seventh year the Euroquiz has been held in the Scottish Parliament, and this year’s event is sponsored by the European Parliament and the Scottish Government.
The pupils, representing 31 of Scotland’s local authority areas, take part in 3 rounds. This year’s event includes a language round which we developed with SCILT. The questions test the pupils’ knowledge of French, German and Spanish. The top two teams then go head to head in the fourth and final round.
You can support your local team, or even take the quiz yourself, by watching the event live at: http://www.scottishparliament.tv
Tune in for a 1pm start!
Read more...
7 May 2014 (Stornoway Gazette)
Scottish Book Trust is poised to help a Gaelic teenager move one step closer to their dream of becoming a published author, with the launch of the Young Writers Awards 2014.
The Young Writers Awards offer three awards to people between 14 and 17 who write in English or Scots and a fourth award is available to a person between 14 and 17 writing in Gaelic.
[..] Budding authors are invited to submit a piece of creative writing, such as a poem, short story or extract of work, which is no longer than 2,000 words, and a personal statement of 1,000 words explaining why they would benefit from this programme. The closing date for applications is June 27th.
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2 May 2014 (SCILT)
From August 2014, SCILT will be piloting the inspiring multi-lingual poetry competition and Poet Laureate Education Project, Mother Tongue Other Tongue, in Glasgow schools. If you are a teacher in a Glasgow primary or secondary school who is looking for a creative way to motivate language learning and celebrate all the languages spoken by your learners, go to our webpage to read more about what MTOT can offer you.
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Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
All Languages,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Community Languages,
Language Learning,
Minority Languages,
Mother Tongue,
Promoting Languages,
SCILT news
2 May 2014 (Confucius Institute Edinburgh)
The next exam date for HSK candidates who are sitting the offline exam at the Confucius Institute for Scotland is Saturday 10 May 2014.
The exam schedules are available on the website.
Read more...
29 April 2014 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut London invites German teachers and their pupils to take part in this unique competition series requiring language and computer skills alike! Fun and steep learning curves are guaranteed when you take on one of these tasks:
- Watching a video animation clip to solve a German city puzzle
- Doing a digital treasure hunt about Germany’s UNESCO sites
- Taking part in a sports commentary reading competition by recording or filming your class/group (texts will be provided)
- Completing your own German comic inventing a funny storyboard
- Using your own creativity to write an e-postcard
- Doing the sound recording for the Felix & Franzi-Reise animation clip and come up with creative German dialogues
- Special: Finding German traces in your neighbourhood and present them
… and all you need is a computer.
Seven categories for different levels of language skills are provided. Primary teachers and secondary teachers can choose which competition they think suits their students’ best.
Please register by sending a registration form to roma.schultz@london.goethe.org by 20th May 2014 and you will be sent a USB-stick. All the categories are explained and the relevant materials are provided. The materials are also suitable for work offline.
Visit the Goethe-Institut London website for full details and the registration form.
Read more...
29 April 2014 (German Embassy)
Calling all German Teachers in the UK!
If you know a truly outstanding German teacher at your school – make sure that their dedication and excellence get the recognition they deserve!
The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany is pleased to invite nominations for the annual German Teacher Award, now in its 11th successful year. The winners will receive a personal prize and a certificate. The prizes will be presented at a special ceremony at the "Sommerfest der Deutschen Sprache" in June 2014 when the winners will be announced.
Please download the leaflets for detailed information on the selection criteria and the nomination process for the Award. Please note that headteachers must nominate the German teacher; unfortunately applications by German teachers submitted by themselves and applications submitted by pupils cannot be accepted. The deadline for nominations has now been extended to 12 May 2014.
The Embassy is delighted to work on this great initiative with its partners:
- Goethe-Institut
- UK-German Connection
- Deutsche Schule London
- Department for Education
- CfBT
- Association for Language Learning
Read more...
31 May deadline for funding for UK-German activities
25 April 2014 (UK German Connection)
The next deadline for grants for UK-German activities is 31 May 2014. This includes the brand new grant, the Partnerships in Learning Fund. Please note that the guidelines for all of the grants have been updated, so please do read them carefully before submitting an application.
The grants are:
Partnerships in learning: for joint thematic activities, involving a broad range of pupils and with a wide impact across the school.
Challenge fund: for joint projects between UK and German schools in all curriculum areas.
Challenge fund - world of work: for UK-German school partnerships undertaking work experience or enterprise-related projects.
Celebratory fund: for projects in celebration of a partnership anniversary between a UK and German school.
If you have any questions about the above grants or would like to discuss your ideas or your project dates, please contact my colleague Frederike Müller either by email on frederike.mueller@ukgermanconnection.org or by telephone (020 7824 1573).
The next application deadline for these funds after
May is 31 October 2014.
Applications for the Instant Impact fund for first-time taster trips to Germany can be submitted at any time, with a minimum of 6 weeks before travel.
24 April 2014 (British Council)
The winners of the HSBC Mandarin Speaking Competition 2013-14 visited China earlier in the month.
Winners included John Moore from Dollar Academy who won the Beginners Individual category and Hillhead High School which came third in the Groups category. Congratulations to all the winners!
Visit the British Council website for more information.
Read more...
17 April 2014 (British Council)
Have you completed, or are you in the final phase of your eTwinning project? Would you like recognition of your hard work? Then apply by Monday 19 May for the highly regarded eTwinning Quality Label.
As a recipient of a Quality Label you can:
- motivate pupils - show them their work is valued outside the school
- share your successes with your wider community by placing your certificate and online banner in pride of place
- use your Quality Label to support accreditation for the prestigious British Council International School Award
- have a chance of winning a National Award and attending our high profile annual awards ceremony in June 2014
- maybe even win a European award and an invitation to the international awards ceremony in another European city
Don't just take our word for it. Visit our blog where you can hear about the successes from previous Quality Label recipients Winchester College and Mid Calder Primary School.
The application process is quick and easy. To learn more please visit the eTwinning website.
Application deadline: Monday 19 May 2014.
If you would like to discuss your application or have any enquiries then please get in touch with us - email etwinning@britishcouncil.org.
Read more...
8 April 2014 (British Council blog)
How can ICT help children learn about people from other cultures? Teacher Wilma Gordon has this week won an eTwinning European prize for an online school project which joined together primary school pupils from around Europe. Here, she explains the benefits of using ICT in the classroom and tells us about some useful tools.
Read more...
Related Links
Do you believe in European Identity? They did (eTwinning, 9 April 2014) This Thursday (8th April 2014) students and teachers involved in eTwinning projects were in Palais des Academies where the award ceremony of 6 winning projects (out of 300) took place. See the full blog of the eTwinning Prize event, 2014, including the Special Project winners of the Mevlana Prize for Intercultural Understanding – Winner project: e-cultural Kaleidoscope, a collaboration involving Mid Calder Primary.
8 April 2014 (Creative Scotland)
Struileag has launched a major new poetry competition, giving you the chance to win great prizes!
Struileag is a multi-faceted project, creating a live stage event to be performed during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games as part of the year of Homecoming, an interactive story-telling website, a TV programme, a book, a CD album and many other exciting elements, such as this competition!
Poems must be in Scottish Gaelic, be unpublished and under 50 lines in length. The deadline for entry is the 17th of May.
For full details visit the Creative Scotland website.
Read more...
2 April 2014 (Language Perfect)
The ever popular annual global competition, the Language Perfect World Championships, helps students across the globe to learn vocabulary, verbs and common phrases from a wide range of foreign languages. Registration for the 2014 competition is now open!
Read more...
4 April 2014 (SCILT )
Over £8000 to be won! BASLA Alert! Calling all secondary, supplementary and FE languages teachers!
£4000 will be awarded to two language learning projects in Scottish secondary, supplementary schools or FE colleges via the British Academy Schools Language Award (BASLA) this Autumn.
If your establishment has plans in place or is already involved in an imaginative language learning project which is improving uptake in languages in the Senior Phase and beyond, then you could be in with a chance of winning. See the British Academy website for more information.
All winning projects are then considered in the UK category. The overall UK winner will double their money, walking away with £8000 and the title of British Academy Schools Languages Award Winner 2014.
The deadline for applications is 30th June 2014. SCILT is hosting a GLOW Meet to provide key information and helpful insights to BASLA success. Anne Breivik, one of the BASLA judging panel will explain how to write a dazzling submission. Gillian Campbell-Thow, Education Support Officer for Modern Languages at Glasgow City Council and co-leader of one of the two Scottish winning projects in BASLA 2013, will share details of the very successful ‘Parliamo Glasgow’ venture.
This GLOW Meet will be recorded and made available to watch again.
Date: Monday 12th May Time: 4-5pm
Venue: GLOW - go to ‘View Web Conferencing Room GLOW MEET HERE’ in the ‘GLOW MEET HERE’ section of the page.
Read more...
4 April 2014 (Institut français)
The Institut français d’Ecosse is organising the Rencontres théâtrales on 12 June in Glasgow.
Please register your school before 30 April 2014.
Download the attached registration form or visit the Institut français website for more information.
Read more...
27 March 2014 (Propeller TV)
On behalf of Propeller TV, the premium channel for the UK-China community broadcasting on SKY 189 and Freeview 229, I would like to invite your students to enter the "2014 Propeller TV Presenter Competition". All those who are fluent in both Mandarin and English and who are interested in presenting are welcome. The final will be held in London in early April.
It would be a great opportunity for students to practise their linguistic and presenting skills. On top of that, the winner will be given the opportunity to work as a presenter at Propeller TV.
For the rules and more information about the competition, please visit the Propeller TV website.
Deadline for applications is 14 April 2014.
Read more...
13 March 2014 (Alliance Française)
Test your level of French by participating in an international competition, "les Timbrés de l’orthographe" !
Organised by the Fondation Alliance Française and les Éditions de l’Opportun, an international spelling competition will take place on Saturday 5th April at 2pm at the Alliance Française de Glasgow. Test your abilities in French with a spelling bee and try to win a one-week trip Paris to attend the final!
This competition will be divided into two categories - Francophone and non-Francophone participants - and is open to anyone aged 8 years and over.
You must register in advance if you wish to take part in this competition; the deadline is Wednesday 2nd April. Visit the Alliance Française website for full details.
Read more...
25 February 2014 (Confucius Institute Edinburgh)
The first diet of HSK exams of 2014 organised by the Confucius Institute for Scotland will be held on Saturday 15 March.
For further information visit their website.
Read more...
20 February 2014 (Radio Lingua/SEET)
The winning films from this year’s Our Europe film competition for schools can now be viewed online.
Read more...
13 February 2014 (British Council)
Please follow the link to find the latest news on Erasmus+ including updates on the availability of application forms.
You can start preparing for your application by reading the Erasmus+ Programme Guide. This gives detailed information on the different areas of the programme. Key areas to look at are:
- p55 onwards for KA1 for schools. This includes information on eligibility, duration of projects and funding
- p96 onwards for KA2 for all organisations. This includes information on eligibility, duration of projects and funding
The distance calculator is also live on the EC website.
For any queries please contact the British Council via: erasmusplus.enquiries@britishcouncil.org
Follow us on Twitter: #erasmusplusuk
Read more...
6 February 2014 (SEET)
Congratulations to Lenzie Academy who triumphed at the final of the Our Europe Film Competition hosted by the Scottish European Educational Trust on Monday 3rd February.
Six teams of high school pupils (S3-S6) participated in the film-making workshop at SocietyM in Glasgow. With the assistance of technology expert, Mark Pentleton from Radio Lingua, the pupils worked hard throughout the day to turn their storyboard ideas into short films.
Download the attached flyer for details of all the finalists who took part or for more information about the competition visit the SEET website.
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Posted in:
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
French,
German,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Language Learning,
Technology,
News from language & education organisations
3 February 2014 (British Council)
Congratulations to the winners of the HSBC/British Council Mandarin Chinese Speaking Competition 2013/14 who took part in the final at The British Museum on 3 February.
Scottish schools performed well in the competition with Dollar Academy winning the individual beginner category, whilst Hillhead High School came third in the group category.
The winning students will spend a week in Beijing in April, visiting historical sites, interacting with Chinese students and experiencing Chinese culture. Well done everyone!
For more information about the competition, visit the British Council website.
Read more...
3 February 2014 (British Academy)
As part of its programme to support and champion the learning of languages, the British Academy is again offering a series of Awards to schools and colleges throughout the UK for the encouragement of excellence in language learning. This year the Awards focus on activity which encourages more students to take language learning to a higher level.
The Awards are intended to encourage schools to find imaginative and effective ways of improving take up and enthusiasm for language learning into S5, S6 and beyond, and of addressing the social imbalance in the profile of language learners at higher levels. Projects which target learners from less advantaged social groups or areas of the country are particularly welcomed.
The Awards are open to all secondary schools and colleges and cover all languages other than English, including those learnt as community languages. A total of 15 Awards of £4000 each will be made to schools throughout the UK. At least one Award will go to a winning proposal from Scotland. Application is via a simple online form with a closing date of 30 June 2014.
Visit the British Academy website to download the complete information pack and apply now!
Two projects in Scotland won an Award in 2013. Find out more.
Read more...
30 January 2014 (SEET)
On Monday 3rd February the Scottish European Educational Trust is hosting the final of the Our Europe Film Competition 2013-14. Six teams of high school pupils (S3-S6) have won a place in the final film-making workshop. These pupils will spend the day working with Mark Pentleton, from Radio Lingua, to turn their storyboard ideas into short films. The films highlight what being an EU citizen means to them, and finalists are also required to demonstrate their knowledge of other European languages. This year’s finalists are teams from: Doon Academy, Linwood Academy, Lenzie Academy, Mary Erskine, Smithycroft Secondary, Stewarton Academy.
See the attached Press Release or visit the competition website for more information.
Read more...
30 January 2014 (Scots Language Centre)
Episode 2 of Scots Language Radio is available to listen to. The episode includes information about the new ‘Scots Toun Award’ which encourages communities to get involved to have a chance of winning up to £6000.
Read more...
30 January 2014 (Alliance Française)
The next session for the DELF/DALF will take place between Monday 17th and
Friday 28th March 2014.
Deadline to enrol for the DELF/DALF in March 2014 : 15th February.
The DELF (Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française) and the DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) are official diplomas awarded by the French Ministry for Education certifying competency in French for foreign candidates. Since 2005, the DELF and the DALF certificates are harmonized with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages from the Council of Europe.
Further information is available on the Alliance Française website for those wishing to sit the exams in Glasgow.
To sit the DELF/DALF examinations in Edinburgh, visit the Institut français website for details.
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29 January 2014 (Japan Foundation)
The criteria of the Japan Foundation’s Local Project Support Programme has changed for 2014-2015. If your school is considering introducing Japanese, you might be able to take advantage of this funding programme.
Institutions can apply for up to £3000 for non-profit-making projects or activities which will have a significant and wide impact on the promotion of Japanese language education throughout the UK, or in their local area. Priority is given to the following:
- Projects with a wide impact on Japanese language education - up to £3,000 for projects that contribute widely to the maintenance and strengthening of Japanese language education, eg conferences on Japanese language education, seminars for teachers, projects to produce Japanese language teaching materials, projects by organisations working in partnership, which benefit not only the institution applying for the programme, but which have a beneficial effect on others etc.
- Introducing Japanese to schools or universities:
- Up to £3,000 for projects that promote the introduction of Japanese into the curriculum (or onto the main school timetable) at primary and secondary schools. Or projects that support the introduction of Japanese language classes at university.
As part of our Primary Japanese Campaign, primary schools that would like to introduce Japanese as their main language in the new Key Stage 2 curriculum from September 2014, will be able to maintain their project by re-applying for funding twice for the same project. This means primary schools will be able to apply for up to a total of £9,000 over three years. - Up to £1,000 for projects in primary or secondary schools that introduce Japanese as an extra-curricular activity or enrichment subject, even if this is not within the school timetable. These activities must continue for at least a year to qualify for the grant.
There will be four application deadlines for the 2014-15 programme: April 1st 2014, June 20th 2014, September 26th 2014 and November 28th 2014. This funding will last until March 2015.
For further information about the programme and the application process, visit the Japan Foundation website.
Read more...
24 January 2014 (Institut français)
Each year the Institut français d’Ecosse organises the Rencontres théâtrales, a drama competition in French for primary and secondary schools. This year the competition will take place on the following dates:
- Edinburgh (24 March 2014)
- Aberdeen (31 March 2014)
- Glasgow (12 June 2014)
Visit the Insitut français website for further information and to register your school. Registrations for the March events should be submitted by 31 January 2014.
Read more...
22 January 2014 (Scottish Government)
Communities with strong links to their Scots heritage are being urged to nominate themselves for the new Scots Toun Awards.
The first prize of £6,000 will help the winner to develop new projects aimed at encouraging the Scots language, Minister for Scotland’s Languages Alasdair Allan announced today.
The awards have been launched by the Scots Language Centre and applicants have until February 28 to put themselves forward.
Read more...
16 January 2014 (British Council)
The new Erasmus+ programme, which succeeds the Comenius (schools and FE) and Erasmus (HE) programmes, has just been launched. We will be running a series of webinars to help potential applicants find out more about the new programme. These will be running in January and February (and March, depending on demand).
The webinars will give organisations an overview of the decentralised funding opportunities available under Erasmus+ and provide tailored application guidance by field.
The Erasmus+ website also contains a quick guide to making applications under Erasmus+ and information about how organisations should register on the European Commission Authentication Service (ECAS) to obtain a Participant Identification Code (PIC).
Visit the Erasmus+ website for further details of the webinars and to register.
Read more...
9 January 2014 (Goethe Institut)
Goethe-Institut examinations are well known throughout the world and the associated certificates are accepted as a qualification by employers and further education institutions in many countries.
The next exam dates are:
- 08.02.2014 (levels A1 to C1)
- 04.02.2014 (level C2)
Registration deadline: 24 January 2014.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for full details and to register.
Read more...
9 January 2014 (TESS)
School qualifications are failing to keep pace with immigration in Scotland, with the result that the language skills of thousands of children and young people from Poland are not being recognised, campaigners have warned.
According to the latest census, carried out in 2011, Poles are Scotland's largest migrant group. They number 61,000, overtaking the 49,000-strong Pakistani population, which was the largest migrant group at the time of the 2001 census.
However, although it is possible to sit National and Higher exams in Urdu there are no national qualifications in Polish in Scotland. GCSE and A-level qualifications in the language are available in other parts of the UK. But support from Scottish schools and local authorities for Polish students to take these qualifications is patchy, according to Beata Kohlbek, who sits on the Polish Council, a body set up by the Polish Consulate General in Edinburgh to campaign on issues affecting the community.
Read more...
11 December 2013 (Engage for Education)
Nominations for the 2014 awards are now open, visit the Scottish Education Awards website for more information and to submit your nomination.
The Awards celebrate the hard work and success in Scottish education. They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the value work and innovation in learning environments across Scotland. Award categories include ‘Global Citizenship’ and ‘Gaelic Awareness’. If you know of a school or teacher that deserves to be recognised for their hard work in these categories submit a nomination by Friday 21 February 2014.
Read more...
10 December 2013 (The Guardian)
It's a familiar scene: a GCSE language class, and today the students are learning vocabulary related to family life. They are poring over a cheerfully illustrated worksheet. But what's unusual is the language being taught, which is Turkish, and the ages of the class members. Rather than teenagers, these students are 10 and 11 years old – with some adults alongside.
This after-school class, being taught at Randal Cremer primary school in Hackney, east London, is part of the GCSE Family Language project, which allows primary children whose first language is not English to study for a GCSE in their mother tongue, alongside a parent or other adult family member.
Read more...
9 December 2013 (Radio Lingua)
In this special lesson of Coffee Break German, we’re challenging you to identify five personalities by using the German skills you’ve acquired in the courses so far. Listen to the show, enter our competition, and you could win an iPad mini!
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5 December 2013 (Linguascope)
Linguatrivia is an annual competition open to Year 7 students in England, Wales and the Channel Islands, S1 students in Scotland and Year 8 students in Northern Ireland. Its purpose is to stimulate interest in learning French and to identify and reward achievement on the part of students.
Students are entered into the competition by their French teacher, and have to sit a 30-minute national test.
Sponsored by Linguascope, the competition offers a range of fabulous prizes. Every participant will receive a certificate and a prize!
For more information and to download an entry form, please visit the Linguatrivia website. Entry deadline is 14 February 2014.
Read more...
26 November 2013 (SEET)
The Scottish European Educational Trust runs an annual Euroquiz for P6 pupils, which sees teams of four pupils working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe. Subjects covered include history, geography, sport, culture, languages and the European Union.
Heats take place in local authorities from January to March each year, with the winning team from each authority area competing in the national final, which takes place in the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament in May.
Registration for the 2014 Euroquiz is now open.
Visit the SEET website for all the details plus a selection of resources to help prepare for the competition.
Read more...
24 November 2013 (University of London Institute in Paris)
Did you know that Paris has been named as the top student city for 2014? Enter our competition and experience it for yourself.
Once again this year ULIP will be running its Win a Trip to Paris Competition for UK students of French at AS/A-level or equivalent. To be in with a chance of winning a trip for two to one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world, send us a piece of writing explaining why learning a language is important for young people in the UK today in no more than 400 words in French.
The closing date will be 5.00pm on 1 March 2014.
French teachers: Win a hamper of French goodies if the winning entry comes from one of your pupils!
Read more...
22 November 2013 (Daily Record)
A shinty-playing teacher, a German author and a classroom cookery book were among the winners at the first Scottish Gaelic Awards.
The celebration of Gaelic culture and the contribution the language makes to Scottish life attracted more than 180 nominations from Scotland and as far away as the US.
The event was sponsored by the Daily Record and the Gaelic language agency Bòrd na Gàidhlig.
Read more...
Related Links
University's Fiona wins Gaelic award (Evening Times, 22 November 2013)
21 November 2013 (British Council)
The British Council International School Award supports your school in embedding international learning into the curriculum. Taking part in the award links your school with others around the world, teaches your pupils about other countries and cultures, provides an internationally recognised accreditation for your school’s international work and enhances teaching standards through sharing best practice from other countries. With three entry points, you can access the Award at the level which best suits your school’s existing international work. The good news is that if you have an existing partnership with a school overseas, you can apply directly for the Intermediate Certificate or Accreditation. We are currently accepting Action Plans for the 2013/14 academic year (final deadline 13 December 2013). Visit the website for further information.
Read more...
20 November 2013 (Daily Record)
BBC Scotland presenters Kirsteen MacDonald and Alasdair Fraser have both seen Gaelic’s profile raised since they were children. The pair are familiar faces on our screens from Reporting Scotland to BBC Alba, and tonight they host the first Scottish Gaelic Awards at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. And having both begun learning Gaelic at an early age, they’re looking forward to honouring those who have played a part in its growth.
Read more...
Related Links
Botanics to host Scottish Gaelic Awards this week (The Edinburgh Reporter, 18 November 2013)
19 November 2013 (European Commission)
The European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen invite young people from all the EU member states to participate in a competition on EU development, integration and European identity issues.
The 'European Charlemagne Youth Prize' is awarded to projects, which:
- promote European and international understanding
- foster the development of a shared sense of European identity and integration
- serve as a role model for young people living in Europe and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community
The projects can focus on the organisation of various youth events, youth exchanges or online projects with a European dimension.
Submissions for 2014 are now invited. Applicants should be 16-30 years of age and should apply by 20 January 2014. Entries in all official languages of the EU are eligible. Visit the website for full details.
Read more...
15 November 2013 (The Scotsman)
An American writer has landed one of Scotland’s flagship literary prizes - with the first ever Gaelic science fiction novel.
Tim Armstrong, a former singer in a Gaelic punk rock band, has scooped the Saltire Society’s prestigious “first book” prize with his book “Air Cuan Dubh Drilseach” (On a Glittering Black Sea).
Read more...
12 November 2013 (David Buckland Trust)
Students can apply for an award from the Trust which can be used to support further foreign language studies within the UK or abroad, or to aid transition to higher study within a university in the UK. DB Trust awards fall into two categories:
- An award for an individual student aged 16 or over, this award should be applied for by the student themselves using the ‘Student Application Form‘
- An award for an individual student aged below 16, a group of students of any age, or any other award for a school/setting/organisation. This award should be applied for by a representative of the school /organisation/setting using the ‘Group Application Form‘.
For the purpose of any grants a foreign language is any language other than English which the pupil is learning solely or mainly at school (a language does not count if acquired by birth and/or upbringing).
Visit the website for more information and to apply.
Read more...
12 November 2013 (SEET)
Sophie, Jessica and Mark talk you through the 2013 Our Europe film competition run by Scottish European Educational Trust and Radio Lingua. Get the chance to make a movie and win an iPad for you and your school.
Read more...
29 October 2013 (Alliance française)
The DELF (Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française) and the DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) are official diplomas awarded by the French Ministry for Education certifying competency in French for foreign candidates. Since 2005, the DELF and the DALF certificates are harmonized with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages from the Council of Europe (levels A1 to C2).
Next sessions for the DELF/DALF will take place in December at the Alliance Française de Glasgow and also at the Institut français in Edinburgh.
Deadline for enrolment:
- Friday 8th November 2013 (Institut français, Edinburgh)
- Saturday 9th November 2013 (Alliance Française, Glasgow)
Read more...
22 October 2013 (British Council)
We are offering a final chance to enter the Link2Learn competition. Please apply for this fantastic awards opportunity by Tuesday 29 October in order to win a grant for your school.
The Link2Learn Awards, supported by HSBC Global Education Programme, recognise and reward UK schools, International Co-ordinators and local authorities for their work in forming and sustaining international school partnerships.
Enter the competition to win a cash prize to support your existing international school partnerships. All educational institutions with students aged 3 to 18 are eligible to enter the competition, i.e. nurseries, schools (including special schools) and colleges. They must have worked with a partner school in another country for at least one year.
Visit the website for further information and how to enter.
Read more...
11 October 2013 (eTwinning, via Twitter)
In the run-up to European Development Days 2013 - Europe's premier forum on development, poverty eradication and sustainable development - we want you to have your say!
All you have to do is make a short video (no more than 120 seconds) answering the following question: If you could have your say, how would you fight poverty?
You could be one of 4 lucky winners to win an all-expenses paid trip to Brussels to attend European Development Days, 26 - 27 November 2013, where your video will be screened.
The competition is open to young people aged 13-24 and video submissions can be made in one of the 5 official contest languages: English, French, German, Portuguese or Spanish.
More information on eligibility, competition rules and how to apply is available on the competition Facebook page.
Read more...
10 October 2013 (British Council)
We are delighted to announce the launch of the HSBC/BC Mandarin Speaking Competition 2013-2014.
Motivate your students with a trip to Beijing!
Enter your students into the HSBC/British Council Mandarin Chinese speaking competition for a chance to visit the Chinese capital. There are four categories: beginner, intermediate, advanced and group performance. Students can enter regardless of their level of proficiency in Mandarin.
The closing date for entries has been extended to 18 October 2013. Read below for information on eligibility and how to apply.
The prize
The winners from each category will spend a week in Beijing. They will experience the culture by visiting historical sites and interacting with local students and British Council staff from China. The British Council, with over 20 years' experience of running cultural exchanges with China, is responsible for accompanying the group.
Who is eligible?
Secondary schools, sixth form colleges and further education colleges in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Students must be non-native speakers of Chinese.
Visit the British Council website to discover why your school should take part and to read the story of one of last year's winners. The website also includes top tips on how to prepare a winning entry.
For enquiries please call our Customer Services team on 0161 957 7755 or email chinaschools@britishcouncil.org.
Read more...
7 October 2013 (The Guardian)
It is well-known that the UK is losing out culturally and economically because of inadequate foreign-language skills among English native speakers. This problem has been significantly exacerbated by the fact that pupils choosing modern languages have not been rewarded adequately for excellent performance.
Read more...
4 October 2013 (SCILT)
We are pleased to announce the launch of our brand new spelling competition, Word Wizard! This competition is aimed at encouraging S1-S3 pupils, studying French, German, Spanish, Mandarin and Gaelic, to learn vocabulary, and have fun at the same time. More details on the competition, and information on how to register your interest, are now available on the Word Wizard page on our website.
Read more...
3 October 2013 (Engage for Education)
Nominations are now open for the Scottish Gaelic Awards. The awards celebrate and reward all aspects of Gaelic culture, education and language highlighting the excellent work undertaken to maintain growth and heritage.
Read more...
26 September 2013 (CfBT)
This year's innovations in language learning are recognised at the annual awards in London today. The awards encourage new initiatives in the field of teaching and learning languages and recognise new techniques in language teaching.
Congratulations to St Aloysius’ College Junior School in Glasgow who received one of this year’s European Language Label Awards for their bilingual Italian lessons!
Follow the link below for more information about the ELL Awards and all the 2013 recipients.
Read more...
Spanish DELE exams 2013
25 September 2013 (Consejería de Educacion)
Spanish DELE exams 2013 will take place in Scotland on 22 November. The registration period is now open until 18 October.
For further information, please contact the Consejería de Educacion in Edinburgh asesoriaedimburgo.uk@mecd.es
The Diplomas in Spanish as a Foreign Language (DELE) are official qualifications certifying the degree of competence and mastery of Spanish, granted by Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Spain.
The DELE examinations have been designed following the guidelines of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) of the Council of Europe, which ensures a practical way of establishing a standard, international and objective measurement of the level that should be reached at each teaching stage, and in evaluating results.
The levels of the Diplomas in Spanish are integrated into the CEFR: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2
The Diplomas are internationally recognized and enjoy great prestige not only among public and private educational institutions and authorities, but also in the business world and chambers of commerce. They constitute a guarantee in assessing and evaluating linguistic competence in the Spanish language.
In many countries, the DELE Diplomas have been adopted by educational authorities and accredited schools as a complement to their own evaluation systems. They are useful to facilitate promotion at work and access to education, both in Spain and in the other countries where the tests are taken.
24 September 2013 (British Academy)
The British Academy has today announced the winners of the 2013 round of its Schools Language Awards. Schools and colleges – or institutions supporting them – were asked to submit proposals for increasing the numbers of students learning languages at higher levels.
Congratulations to Glasgow’s Polish School, the University of Strathclyde and Glasgow City Council schools who all won awards. Visit the British Academy website for full details.
Read more...
19 September 2013 (The Guardian)
Who is Britain's language champion? The Guardian, in partnership with the British Academy, is honouring the nation's leading language proponent in its inaugural language award.
The Public Language Champion Award recognises the commitment and passion shown by a public figure in the importance of language to British society. The award is part of the Guardian's language learning series, a campaign to start a national debate on language learning.
Our shortlist of nominees ranges from comedians and actors to sporting figures and broadcasters who are either great role models of the value of knowing one or more languages than your mother tongues or fierce advocates of the need for putting language learning on the national agenda.
See the shortlist and vote for your favourite by 14 October.
Read more...
11 September 2013 (QLocal Lytham St Annes)
LSA's MFL students have something to be proud of by working on eTwinning in the classroom! Sandra Underwood, School Link Coordinator and MFL teacher has been busy working on eTwinning projects with her students and has been recognized during the 2012-13 academic year by the British Council with Quality Labels for two projects: Aliens Just Like Us? and Grow with Us!
For more information on eTwinning and how you can apply for a Quality Label for your eTwinning project, follow the link below to the British Council website.
Read more...
9 September 2013 (Japan Foundation)
The next Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) will take place on Sunday 1st December 2013. It will be held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, University of London) and the University of Edinburgh.
Visit the Japan Foundation website for more information and to apply by 3 October 2013.
Read more...
3 September 2013 (The Guardian)
As part of our campaign to debate and promote the importance of languages, we're launching a special award to recognise a public figure that has done their bit for the multi-lingual cause.
Read more...
29 August 2013 (Engage for Education)
Nominations are now open for the Scottish Gaelic Awards. The awards celebrate and reward all aspects of Gaelic culture, education and language highlighting the excellent work undertaken to maintain growth and heritage.
Read more...
22 August 2013 (ALL)
Languages entries are up significantly (likely to be due to impact of EBacc). German up 9.4%, French 15.5%, Spanish 25.8%. Increase in other MLs as well. 44% of cohort took a language.
GCSE results: the headlines for languages.
The JCQ press release ‘languages’ section gives full details.
Read more...
Related Links
'Dramatic' rise in number of foreign language entries (ITV News, 22 August 2013)
GCSE results: ministers hail 'revival' of foreign languages (The Telegraph, 22 August 2013)
GCSE results: At least foreign languages provided a bright spot (The Independent, 22 August 2013)
EBac kickstarts languages revival, but there's still a long way to go (TES, 22 August 2013)
EBacc to the future? Languages results rise at GCSE but is the crisis really over? (Speak to the Future, 22 August 2013)
Why I’m not jumping for joy at the increase in GCSE entries for languages (Alcantara Communications, 22 August 2013)
GCSE results 2013 - live! (The Guardian, 22 August 2013) 09:36 item ‘Language learning on the increase’
GCSE results 2013: science grades fall after papers are made tougher (The Guardian, 22 August 2013) Figures show dramatic rise in students sitting GCSE languages, including Urdu, Arabic and Chinese.
GCSE results 2013: record fall in pupils getting C grades or higher (The Guardian, 22 August 2013) [..] However, there were many bright spots around the country...There was also good news for supporters of modern languages, with a dramatic rise in the number of entries. French, German and Spanish saw a combined increase of nearly 17%.
GCSE results 2013: headlines in vines (The Guardian, 22 August 2013) This year GuardianData has summarised the UK GCSE results in short videos known as datavines. View the key points emerging from the results statistics here...French shows a rise in popularity.
GCSE results 2013: the complete breakdown (The Guardian, 22 August 2013) The three core subjects of English, Maths and Science continue to dominate the list of most popular subjects - no modern languages make it into the top 10 despite a rise in their popularity this year.
Thousands of pupils get GCSE results (BBC News, 22 August 2013) GCSE results in Northern Ireland have stayed almost static this year. [..] Meanwhile, Northern Ireland pupils are becoming less keen on taking French and German at GCSE level but Spanish and Irish are more popular.
Russell Group warning on GCSEs (THE, 22 August 2013) The Russell Group has warned that private school pupils are more likely than state school counterparts to choose science and languages subjects at GCSE, which could give them an advantage in university entry.
English Baccalaureate brings languages bouncing back (London Evening Standard, 22 August 2013)
20 August 2013 (Third Year Abroad)
Has someone famous inspired you to learn a language? Who is your Celebrity Language Idol? (Wow - imagine that as a show!) Do you think someone well-known deserves to win an award for their Services to Languages? Then you need to nominate them for the Guardian Public Language Champion Award!
The British Academy has partnered with the Guardian to raise the profile of language learning in the UK. From August 2013 The Guardian will be campaigning to increase public interest in and awareness of the impact language learning has on British society. They want to put language learning on the agenda with the government, industry, education, media and the public and generate a national debate on the importance of language learning.
Up to 5 nominations can be submitted by Friday 30 August 2013.
Read more...
19 August 2013 (London Evening Standard)
(Relates to England) The number of teenagers passing language GCSEs is expected to rise with big increases predicted in Spanish, Polish and non-European languages, experts said.
Exam results released on Thursday are likely to show a reversal of the steady decline in foreign languages because of the introduction of the new English Baccalaureate.
A-level results last week revealed a huge drop in students taking French and German. But this week’s results for 16-year-olds are expected to show more GCSEs are being taken in all languages and teachers hope this will have a knock on effect on A-levels and university courses.
Read more...
15 August 2013 (The Guardian)
A major inquiry is under way after the number of teenagers taking traditional modern foreign languages at A-level fell to its lowest level for more than a decade.
Read more...
Related Links
A-level results show rise in science entries (The Guardian, 15 August 2013) Economics, further mathematics and Spanish also rise while PE, German and drama fall.
A-level results: live (The Guardian, 15 August 2013) (Relates to England) Trend information shows that application rates to traditional language subjects continued to suffer, with German and French application rates dipping 14.53% and 9.9%. But more students opted to study Spanish (+4.08%).
Full results breakdown can be found on the Guardian Education webpage.
Grade inflation is over: Top A-level grades down for second year running (TES, 14 August 2013) ….But the overall decline in the popularity of modern foreign languages at A level continued. French, German and Spanish have seen a collective 17.8 per cent fall in entries since 2008.
Gap widens between A-level students in Wales and England (Wales Online, 15 August 2013) ...Interest in foreign languages dropped again, with 139 fewer French entries this year than in 2012.
33,000 Northern Ireland students get A-level results (BBC News, 15 August 2013) The results show that Northern Ireland students have performed particularly well in subjects such as mathematics, chemistry and modern languages.
Minority languages report top grades (Irish Times, 14 August 2013) (Relates to Ireland) Russian is top for A grades, while science subjects perform poorly.
Ofqual to probe ‘inconsistency’ of top A-level grades (The Telegraph, 9 August 2013) [..] It raised particularly concerns over modern foreign languages such as French, German and Spanish, with warnings that examiners award “relatively few” elite A*s compared with other disciplines.
ASCL congratulates A level students for another year of excellent achievement (Association for School and College Leaders, 15 August 2013) ASCL congratulates this year’s A level students and teachers for another set of excellent results. However the overall decline in the number of modern language entries is a concern and ASCL is calling on Ofqual to address the grading issue urgently.
8 August 2013 (REAL)
Amid ever-growing interest, the European Commission will run its Juvenes Translatores translation contest for the seventh time in 2013.
The contest is organised for 17-year-olds in secondary schools throughout the European Union. They will translate a 1-page text between any 2 languages from among the EU's 24 official languages. This year the theme of the texts will be "citizens".
The authors of the best translation from each EU country will be invited to Brussels to receive an award, meet the Commissioner for multilingualism and see how professional EU translators work.
Schools can register for the contest from 1 September to 20 October 2013.
Follow the link to the website for more information.
Read more...
20 June 2013 (Institut français)
The results of the competition which took place on Tuesday 11th June 2013 at Whitehill secondary school in Glasgow are now available on the Institut français d'Ecosse website.
Read more...
Our Europe Film Competition winners, Bearsden Academy!
19 June 2013 (SEET)
Throughout the past year, the Scottish European Educational Trust has run a film competition called Our Europe: Our People, Our Places, Our Parliament. Teams from all secondary schools in Scotland were invited to take part in this competition. They were asked to create a short film to raise awareness of the positive impact of the European Parliament on the lives of young people in the EU. The competition was organised over three stages and has been designed to offer young people the opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding of Europe, develop their technology skills, increase their use of European languages and gain a range of transferrable skills through the creative process.
The final was held at Scotland House in Brussels on Wednesday 19 June, where Bearsden Academy claimed the winning title of this year’s Our Europe competition. Runner's up were Douglas Academy.
Download the attached press release for full details.
AMOPA Parlons français – a speaking competition for AH French
17 June 2013 (AMOPA)
This was the second year of the competition and the numbers grew significantly. From last year with 5 schools and 19 participants, this year there was an entry of 11 schools and 35 participants.
Entries for the AMOPA Speaking competition should be based either on the candidate’s Unit Assessment or on their preparation for that assessment. Entries consist of an audio tape or digital video recording of part of the assessment or a preparation session.
We had 3 candidates who gained the highest grade of Très bien. They were awarded the prizes.
First - Samantha Hopkins, Robert Gordons College
Second - Ewan Lawson, Mary Erskine School
Third - Sally Chute, Campbeltown Grammar
See the attached pdf for full details of the competition.
16 June 2013 (Engage for Education)
Students from all over Scotland met at the Edinburgh Filmhouse to showcase their European films in front of an audience consisting of representatives from European Parliament, Scottish Government, the European Commission, Creative Scotland, NUS and Young Scot.
Rhys, Emily, Milosz and Shannon from St. Margaret’s Academy touch on a range of topics including fair trade laws as well as work and study abroad opportunities in their video. They discuss these issues in English, Spanish, French and Polish throughout the film.
Read more...
12 June 2013 (Goethe-Institut)
To award special attainment in German the German Consulate General offers to issue certificates for outstanding achievements at your school.
If you would like to obtain these certificates, please e-mail Saskia Smellie at the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany by the end of the school year.
Please supply name/s of student/s, year and your contact details.
Read more...
10 June 2013 (Education Scotland Awards blog)
Today the Scottish Education Awards 2013 celebrated the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. The awards ceremony at the Hilton Hotel Glasgow recognises the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and the valuable work and innovation happening in Scottish classrooms.
The winner of the Gaelic Language and Culture in Learning Award was Caledonia Primary School in Glasgow, whilst the Global Citizenship Award went to The Gordon Schools in Aberdeenshire.
Congratulations to all the winners and finalists.
Read more...
6 June 2013 (SCILT)
School pupils from the Highlands to the Borders tested their linguistic skills in the final of Scotland's first National Modern Languages Spelling Bee, at the Scottish Parliament on Friday 31 May.
In the spirit of “1+2”, pupils demonstrated their knowledge of vocabulary and spelling in French, German or Spanish before an audience of parents, teachers, fellow pupils and invited guests.
Congratulations to all the pupils who took part in the competition and especially to those who competed so admirably in Friday's final.
The winners in each category were:
French
1st Manon Robinson – Glen Urquhart High School
2nd Jessica Fowler – The Nicolson Institute
3rd Ellis Wright – Boclair Academy
4th Veronica Haughey – The Glasgow Academy
Spanish
1st Amy Spence – Carluke High School
2nd Zainab Munir – The Glasgow Academy
3rd Jack Anderson – Carluke High School
4th Rosie Hutcheon – The Glasgow Academy
German
1st Jodie Howlett – Bo’ness Academy
2nd Ben Gallacher – Paisley Grammar School
3rd Ben Hewitt – Paisley Grammar School
4th Yanna Zubido – Paisley Grammar School
We are in the process of developing a page on our website to showcase the final, including photos and video footage of proceedings, so please keep checking back!
Feedback from the inaugural event has been positive and encouraging and we will use this to build on our experience to make the Spelling Bee Competition even better next year. We will be sending out details of the competition for 2014 at the start of the new term in August so please do sign up!
If you'd like further information about this year's competition please visit our website.
Read more...
Posted in:
S1-S3,
French,
German,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Promoting Languages,
SCILT,
Scottish Parliament,
SCILT news
2 June 2013 (Charleston Academy)
Claire Macleod (1L1) represented Charleston Academy at the National Spelling Bee competition held at the Scottish Parliament on Friday. She achieved the highest score of all the first years taking part. She was very dedicated and practised every lunch time the week leading up to the event. Danielle Ross (1K1) came second and was invited as official supporter. Her enthusiasm was very much appreciated by all.
Thirty seven S1 pupils from twenty schools in thirteen authorities were invited to compete in the final. They were asked to learn two hundred words in French, German or Spanish. They had to be able to translate the words from English and spell them using the alphabet of the target language. They had to spell as many words as possible in one minute.
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Posted in:
S1-S3,
French,
German,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Language Learning,
Promoting Languages,
SCILT,
Scottish Parliament,
News from language & education organisations
15 May 2013 (SEET)
Congratulations to the P6 team from Cradlehall Primary School in Inverness who won the Scottish European Educational Trust’s national Euroquiz final, which took place in the Scottish Parliament on 13 May 2013.
The quiz is run by the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) with almost 1300 pupils from 315 schools competing in the heats held across 29 of the 32 local authorities throughout the school year.
For the first time this year, the event has attracted Scottish Government funding to support the inclusion of a language component in the Euroquiz. In the language round participants had to demonstrate their understanding of simple questions and phrases spoken in French, German, Spanish and Italian.
Full details of the Euroquiz final and all the participating schools can be found on the attached flyer. Or you can visit the SEET website for more information about the competition.
Read more...
7 May 2013 (Clackmannanshire Council)
Pupils from Strathdevon Primary School in Dollar will fly the flag for Clackmannanshire in the national finals of the Scottish European Trust's Euroquiz at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh next week.
The school children will come up against 29 other primary schools from around Scotland, from as far afield as Stornoway, in a bid to lift the coveted prize.
The final will held on Monday13th May, on the floor of the Scottish Parliament debating chamber at Holyrood.
Read more...
2 May 2013 (Goethe-Institut)
The Goethe-Institut London invites German teachers and their students to take part in this unique competition series. German and IT is THE combination! Fun and steep learning curves guaranteed when you take on one of these tasks:
- solving a family puzzle
- inventing and performing a song text
- telling a joke
- doing a research puzzle about Germany’s Magic Cities
- producing your own mini - film in German
- taking part in a news reading competition
… and all you need is a computer.
Six categories for different levels of language skills are provided. Primary teachers and secondary teachers can choose which competition they think suits their students best.
Please register your interest with roma.schultz@london.goethe.org by 3rd June 2013.
Read more...
1 May 2013 (Goethe-Institut)
In 2012 the Goethe-Institut Glasgow invited learners of German to take part in a competition, involving theatrical interpretations from one of the Brother Grimms’ fairy tales. The outcome of this project showed the great enthusiasm, linguistic skills and the creative abilities of young scots, who embrace modern languages. 29 Scottish secondary and primary schools took part. Apart from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes, special prizes for particular artistic or linguistic achievements were awarded. Congratulations to the participants and prize winners.
Category ‘Secondary Schools’:
- Royal High School – 1st Prize
- Holly Brook Academy, George Heriot’s School – 2nd Prize
- Hutchesons’ Grammar School – 3rd Prize
Category ‘Primary Schools’:
- Corstorphine Primary School – 1st Prize
- Beaconhurst School – 2nd Prize
Special prizes were awarded to:
- Beaconhurst School - for modern interpretation of a fairy tale
- Bucksburn Academy - for costumes and set
- Castlebrae Community High School - for animated adaptation of a fairy tale
- Eyemouth High School - for creative script
- Kemnay Academy - for German language
- Morrison’s Academy - for humoristic interpretation of a fairy tale
The 1st Prizes will be awarded at the GALA opening of the fairy tale exhibition “Märchenwelten” on 8th May. All other winners and participants received their prizes/awards and a certificate by post. The prize winning entries have been compiled on a DVD which is now available from the Goethe-Institut - please e-mail our Language Department for a free copy.
Further information about the competition is available on the Goethe-Institut website.
Read more...
25 April 2013 (eTwinning)
If you are at or near the end of your eTwinning project, you can apply for an eTwinning Quality Label.
Quality Labels give you and your pupils recognition for the work you have done with your European partners and is also a great way to evaluate the success and impact of your project. The achievement can also be used to gain further accreditation through the International School Award.
Read more...
23 April 2013 (ALL)
The Language Perfect World Championships for 2013 has just been launched. This year’s event will take place from 20 - 30 May.
The Language Perfect World Championships is the largest online languages competition on the planet. Students compete for their class, school and country against other students from around the world, by earning points in a range of foreign languages. It’s all about motivating students to get excited about languages, learning, and having fun at the same time!
ALL, which is an official partner in the competition, is delighted to announce that this year, we will have a special trophy to give away to the top scoring school in the UK. We’ll let you have more details as soon as we have them!
For further information about the competition and to register, follow the link below to the Language Perfect World Championships 2013 website.
Read more...
SALT Poster Competition 2013
16 April 2013 (SALT)
Design a poster or leaflet with illustrations and text on the subject “Promoting Scotland to visitors coming to the Commonwealth Games”.
Entry is open to any individual pupil/student or group of pupils/students in any Scottish school. The age limit is up to and including 18. There will be two age categories: Primary and Secondary. A separate ICT prize may also be awarded.
The use of a language other than English must feature on the entry. There should be between 30 and 100 words in total. The entry should be no bigger than A3.
There will be awards of up to £25 for winning entries and many other prizes.
The closing date for the competition will be 20 June 2013.
See the attached flyer for further information and how to enter.
16 April 2013 (British Airways)
British Airways’ award winning language programmes aim to improve students’ understanding and use of a number of key languages in practical situations.
Further details and resources are available from the British Airways website, including language learning resources for the BA Language Flag Award (BALFA), which is designed to promote the learning of languages and to show pupils how important languages are to business.
Read more...
'Our Europe' film competition semi-final
20 March 2013 (SEET)
On Monday 18 March secondary pupils from all over Scotland joined Scottish European Educational Trust and its partners at SocietyM in Glasgow to take part in the 'Our Europe' film-making competition semi-final.
The event saw six teams create the most wonderful, dynamic films about Europe and how the European Parliament impacts on their daily lives. These innovative films offered students the chance to work on an engaging interdisciplinary project, combining Modern Languages with Modern Studies and Media/ICT.
Congratulations to Bearsden Academy and Douglas Academy, who secured the top two places and will go forward to the final of the competition, which will be held at Scotland House in Brussels in June.
More information about the competition and those who participated in the semi-final can be found on the attached flyer.
15 March 2013 (SCILT)
Applications are now open for the 2013 European Language Label, and schools from across the UK are invited to apply.
This year’s theme is ‘Innovation in Language Teaching and Learning’, and the Award is open to schools in the Primary and Secondary sector, as well as FE and HE institutions. This award is a great opportunity for the innovative work being done in languages in Scotland to be recognised across the UK and Europe.
The European Language Label (ELL) is an award for innovative language-learning projects. It rewards creative ways to improve the quality of language teaching, motivate learners and make the best of available resources. Winning projects may use European Language Label on stationery and websites and, in addition, all winners receive prizes of books, vouchers or teaching materials from the Award sponsors. The awards are presented at a prize-giving ceremony on European Day of Languages, 26th September.
For more information, including the online application form, please visit the ELL website or contact idjouadj@cfbt.com. For inspiration, follow the link below to see some of the previous winning projects.
The application deadline is Sunday 21 April 2013.
Previous winners from Scotland have included St Roch’s Secondary School in Glasgow in 2011 and Mid Calder Primary in 2009.
Read more...
14 March 2013 (Europa)
The best school twinning projects of the year will be honoured at the 2013 eTwinning Awards in Lisbon today. This year's top prize is awarded to the 'Rainbow Village' project which brought together 12-15-year-olds in France, Greece, Romania, the UK, Turkey, Italy, Slovakia and Poland. The pupils created a virtual post-Armageddon world and explored themes such as survival, conservation and citizenship. The eTwinning network is a virtual classroom in which pupils and teachers from 100 000 schools in 33 European countries take part in interactive projects via the internet.
Read more...
14 March 2013 (b small publishing)
We have joined forces with Little Linguist to launch a 'Little Linguist Award' for a simple story in French, German, Italian or Spanish. The competition is open to individuals or classes. Two winners will be selected and the winning stories published as e-books on our website. Each winner will also receive a b small library worth £100 for their home or school. All details of who can enter, how to enter, the story guidelines, the lovely prizes and our distinguished judging panel are on our website.
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20 February 2013 (Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany )
Does your school have a truly outstanding German teacher? Dedication and excellence deserve recognition! The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany are pleased to invite nominations for the 10th annual German Teacher Award. The winners will receive a personal prize of £750 and a certificate. The prizes will be presented at a special ceremony at the “Sommerfest der Deutschen Sprache” on 25th June 2013 at the German Ambassador’s Residence in London. Winners will be announced on the day.
For more information, please download the flyer and application form, or visit the Embassy website.
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6 February 2013 (Scottish Government)
80 students will receive a £5,000 scholarship to strengthen links between China and Scotland in celebration of one of Scotland’s greatest ever Olympians.
The Eric Liddell China Saltire Scholarships will be available to Chinese students applying for a masters degree at the University of Edinburgh, where Eric Liddell studied. They will also be available to undergraduate students at the University of Edinburgh studying for a year abroad in China.
The scholarships will help to build on the existing economic and educational links between Scotland and China.
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6 February 2013 (British Council)
Nishat Ali writes about her experience of taking part in the HSBC/British Council Mandarin Chinese Speaking Competition, and how winning the contest has changed her life.
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29 January 2013 (European Parliament)
"The European Charlemagne Youth Prize" aims to encourage the development of European consciousness among young people, as well as their participation in European integration projects.
The Prize is awarded to projects undertaken by young people which foster understanding, promote the development of a shared sense of European identity, and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community.
For further information about the competition and to apply, visit the website. Submission deadline now extended to 18 February 2013.
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28 January 2013 (European Commission)
The names of the 27 winners of the European Commission’s annual EU Young Translator Juvenes Translatores contest for secondary school pupils are published today (28 January, list of winning pupils/schools below). More than 3 000 pupils from 750 schools sat the contest in November 2012. The winners – one per EU country – will be invited to an award ceremony in Brussels on 11 April to receive their prizes from Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou and will also have the chance to see the Commission's translators at work.
“The contest is an excellent way to promote language learning and translation as a possible career. Language skills are a fantastic asset: they broaden the mind and can boost employability, something which is especially important in the current economic environment," said Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
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28 January 2013 (SCILT)
Congratulations to Gwen McCrossan from Argyll and Bute, who has received professional recognition from GTCS for her work in MLPS French. Gwen’s creative approach has integrated language learning into the wider curriculum through her skilful use of puppets, story-telling and ICT, to name but a few. If you would like to apply for professional recognition, please visit the GTCS website.
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23 January 2013 (Consejería de Educación)
Peace and Cooperation and the World Association of Early Childhood Educators (AMEI-WAECE) invite students and teachers from around the world to engage in Creativity for Peace using art as an expression of Cultural Identity for knowledge, outreach and understanding between people.
Entries are invited in the following age categories, with six diplomas to be awarded in each category and eight prizes of 300 Euros:
- Free drawing (up to 6 year-olds)
- Drawing with written message (7 to 12 year-olds)
- Mural or group work (12 to 15 year-olds)
- Free art (16 to 18 year-olds)
Works can be submitted in any of the 6 official languages of the UN (Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, English or Russian) and should be submitted by July 5th, 2013 to the headquarters of Peace and Cooperation in Madrid by mail or email.
Visit the website or download the attached flyer for further information.
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22 January 2013 (UKLO)
Want to develop critical thinking skills? Want to show that languages are fun? Why not consider entering your school in the UK Linguistics Olympiad. It's a competition for secondary students, aged 11-18, in which they have to solve linguistic data problems. It doesn't rely on knowledge of a language but on trying to find patterns in the data.
There are 2 rounds of competition and then a team is selected to represent the UK at the International competition. Round 1 is taken in schools any time week commencing 4th Feb 2013 and students can be entered at either foundation, intermediate or advanced level. Round 2 will be held at St Mary’s College, Twickenham in late March. If you want to find out more, enter your school or just register an interest, please visit the UK Linguistics Olympiad website.
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Posted in:
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
All Languages,
Awards,
Celebrating Languages,
Language Learning,
Language Learning - Secondary,
Language Learning - Secondary - Post 16,
Language Skills,
Linguistics,
News from language & education organisations
17 January 2013 (British Council)
Do you want international recognition for your school? Do you want to learn more about schools in other countries and be at the forefront of cultural exchanges among young people? If so, then you could bid for an International School Award (ISA) under the Connecting Classrooms programme.
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7 January 2013 (Confucius Institute Edinburgh)
The Confucius Institute for Scotland in the University of Edinburgh received its sixth consecutive award from Hanban when the title of `Confucius Institute of the Year` was awarded in Beijing at the opening ceremony of the seventh Global Conference on 16th December 2012.
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3 December 2012 (Education Scotland)
Nominations for the 2013 awards are now open. Categories include the Global Citizenship Award, which recognises the achievements of schools and pre-schools that have adopted a whole school approach to global citizenship, and the Gaelic Awareness Award in recognition of schools and pre-schools who are providing opportunities for all children to develop fluency in the Gaelic language and culture. Visit the Scottish Education Awards website for more information and to submit a nomination.
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Posted in:
Early Years,
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
FE,
HE,
1+2,
Gaelic,
Scotland,
Awards,
Citizenship,
Cultural Diversity,
Language Learning,
Language Skills,
Partnership Working,
News from language & education organisations
23 November 2012 (Confucius Institute Edinburgh)
A record number of candidates will present for the December 2012 HSK exams organised by the Confucius Institute for Scotland. In total in 2012, 101 candidates have registered to test their Chinese in this global examination.
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23 November 2012 (Institut français)
The Institut français in Edinburgh and the Alliance Française in Glasgow are the two official examination centres that give French learners the opportunity to obtain the official French diplomas awarded by the French Ministry of Education and are recognised internationally.
- The DELF, Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française(Level A1, A2, B1, B2)
- The DALF, Diplôme Approfondi en Langue Française, (C1, C2)
Anyone who is not of French nationality and who wishes to validate his skills in French may sit the examination. If not simply for your own personal benefit, the diplomas can be an asset to your CV as they are internationally recognized for both professional applications and university studies. If you wish to register for the examination before 15 December 2012 for the examination session in January 2013, please contact the Alliance française in Glasgow or the Institut Français in Edinburgh.
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8 November 2012 (SecEd)
A total of 10 education projects from across England and Wales were awarded this year’s European Language Label, which recognises innovative and effective practice in language teaching and learning. The awards were presented at a ceremony at the European Commission’s UK office in London earlier this term and included seven secondary-based projects. If you would like some ideas and inspiration, follow the link for more information on the winning projects.
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6 November 2012 (Linguascope)
Linguatrivia is an annual competition open to Year 7 students in England, Wales and the Channel Islands, S1 students in Scotland and Year 8 students in Northern Ireland. Its purpose is to stimulate interest in learning French and to identify and reward achievement on the part of students.
Students are entered into the competition by their French teacher, and have to sit a 30-minute national test.
Sponsored by Linguascope, the competition offers a range of fabulous prizes. Every participant will receive a certificate and a prize! For more information and to download an entry form, please visit the Linguatrivia website.
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2 November 2012 (Primary Languages Classroom Awards)
The Primary Languages Classroom Awards are a way of celebrating the teaching and learning of languages (including English) in UK primary schools, highlighting its positive impact on both the whole school and the local community and honouring teachers and schools that support language development in both English and the child’s home language. The awards are sponsored by the French and German Embassies, EMASUK, Little Bridge, Golden Daffodils, Little Linguist, Brilliant Marketing and Brilliant Publications, and are supported by the Association of Language Learning and many others.
Visit the website to find out more, see this year’s winners and download an application form.
Entries are now open and must be received by 31 Dec 2012 for inclusion in the 2013 awards.
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SCILT European Day of Languages 2012 Competition Winners
23 October 2012 (SCILT)
We are thrilled to announce the prize winners for our European Day of Languages 2012 competition.
With up to £500 worth of prizes to award in each of the three categories, our judges were particularly looking out for EDL celebrations that best showcased creativity and innovation, pupil voice and responsibility, interdisciplinary learning and partnership working. Entries involved game shows, fundraising events, construction challenges, treasure hunts, dances, film making and peer led language learning among other language and culturally focused experiences.
In the primary category, 1st prize went to Glasgow Academy Prep School’s ‘Ambassador’s Project’, 2nd prize was awarded to Battlefield Primary School ‘European Challenge Game Show’. The S1-S3 category was won by Jordanhill School’s ‘EDL Celebration’. After much deliberation, the judges awarded joint 1st prize in the S4-S6 category to All Saint’s Secondary’s ‘EDL IDL event’ and Madras College’s ‘Languages Need You!’.
Congratulations to all schools that took part, goodie bags and prizes will be with you all shortly.
Why not put European Day of Languages, 26th September 2013 in your diary now? SCILT’s annual EDL competition will run next year too, and you have to be in it to win it after all.