Our Learning is expanding! We’re not allowed to say why (or even how) just yet; that’s Top Secret until the New Year, but we’ve organised a bundle of new CPD events for 2013 which should appeal to a range of education and business professionals. We’ll still be continuing with our successful subject-based training, developing more Computing and Mathematics courses, and we’ve recently introduced a set of three Language based workshops, run by our trainer Mary Cooch. Mary’s specialism is French and German but the full day sessions will suit any language. She describes the planning behind them so:
When I was asked to go back to my roots and run some MFL courses, the first thing I thought of was: Moodle! Whenever I do VLE training, I always veer towards examples using Languages,so it just seemed right that we should offer a course focusing specifically on how MFL teachers and TAs can make the most of Moodle. Moodle has so many fantastic features that lend themselves beautifully to learning foreign languages, and I am looking forward to sharing these with other like-minded linguists.
So that’s how Allez-y with your VLE (course flyer here) was born.
Mary goes on. My second thought was : Games! Nobody except other languages teachers realise just how challenging a subject it it is to teach. Highly rewarding but very physically demanding. I used to play language games a lot with my KS3 and KS4 classes and when in 2005 I finally got a Smartboard, it opened up a whole new world of ICT based MFL games.
MFL Games for your IWB (flyer here) introduces teachers to free (yes, free!) games to motivate your classes and the learning won’t stop at the end of the day. Delegates will leave with a pack of games software and a log in to a Moodle site where they can network, swap games and ask any questions for a full 12 months after the workshop.
All good things come in threes, and Mary’s third event tackles listening and speaking skills by exploring different ways of using audio in the MFL classroom -and out of it! Pretty much every pupil now carries in their pocket the means to learn, practise and broadcast themselves anywhere and as teachers we need to harness that ability and direct it towards enhancing language skills. Not just pupils – if you fancy yourself as a podcasting linguist, download the Audio in MFL course flyer here and get in touch with us via our contact form. À bientôt - Bis Bald and Hasta Pronto!
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