Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training opportunities

This page lists educational and cultural organisations offering CPD training for primary languages teachers, advisers and support staff. Local Authorities can provide details about available local in-service training programmes. The CILT website includes further information about language courses for adults.

CILT, the National Centre for Languages | Training and Development Agency for Schools | British Council | Association for Language Learning | Cultural institutes | Specialist Schools and Academies Trust | Postgraduate and open courses

CILT offers a programme of language training events for the primary sector, including the annual CILT Primary Languages Show, Comenius Network events and NACELL Regional Support Groups. See the CILT CPD courses and events page for more details. CILT is also running a KS2 Training the Trainers programme on behalf of the DCSF.

The TDA provides information on training to become a teacher, training to become a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) and Postgraduate professional development (PPD) for all teachers with qualified teacher status, including newly qualified teachers (NQTs).

British Council professional opportunities for UK teachers include in-service training in Europe, school partnership programmes, overseas study visits, Teachers’ International Professional Development (TIPD) and International placements for headteachers (IPH)

The ALL represents teachers of all languages in the UK. It organises the annual Language World Conference and local ALL branches also offer training events across the UK.

The SSAT offers a range of events and conferences, CPD opportunities and networks for CPD, Arabic Network, Chinese, Community Languages and Russian.

The Association for Language Learning (ALL) website provides a list of associations and organisations for many languages.

Chinese: London Confucius Institute, Confucius Institute - University of Manchester Sheffield Confucius Institute

French: Institut Français, Alliance Française - London, Alliance Française - around the UK

German: Goethe Institut - Glasgow, Goethe Institut - London, Goethe Institut - Manchester, UK-German Connection

Italian: Italian Cultural Institute

Japanese: Japan Foundation London Language Centre, Japan 21

Portuguese: Canning House

Spanish: Consejería de Educación, Instituto Cervantes - Manchester and Leeds, Instituto Cervantes - London

Listed below are a selection of postgraduate level courses related to language education and teaching. Additional courses can be found via the FindAMasters website.

MA in Education: Culture, Language and Identity - Goldsmiths College, University of London
The MA aims to enhance the understanding of the impact of culture, language and identity on education, as well as help practioners to develop inclusive and alternative approaches to teaching and learning.

MA in MFL Education - Kings College, University of London
The MA will be of particular interest to teachers of languages of modern foreign languages in a variety of contexts. The programme addresses a wide range of developments in learning, teaching and research in MFL, focusing on both theoretical issues and practical applications for the classroom. There is also a comparative focus on the different cultural contexts of language learning.

Modern Foreign Languages in the Primary Classroom PgCert/PgDip/MA - Kingston University
You will explore how to teach modern foreign languages to different types of learners and how to record and assess your students’ work. You will learn various teaching techniques, such as using songs, rhymes and poems and games. You will cover questioning techniques and the use of ICT when teaching modern foreign languages. In addition you will learn how to present and practise vocabulary, and how to teach grammar effectively.

Certificate in Teaching Foreign Languages (CTFL) - University of Warwick Language Centre
Although primarily directed at adult language teaching, the certificate may be of value to those planning to offer a foreign language teaching in primary schools.

Teaching Modern Foreign Languages PGCert - University of Worcester
The course sets out to develop teachers' subject-specific methodology and teachers' own linguistic knowledge and competence in French. It also raises teachers' awareness of how to integrate the foreign language into other subjects and how a cultural dimension can enrich teaching and learning in the primary classroom. The majority of teaching activities will be presented in French, although applicants who wish to teach other modern languages will find that the methodology is transferable. Reference will also be made to Spanish and German.

Teaching MFL in the primary school, an introduction - York St John University
This course is aimed at anyone with an interest in this area, whether primary or secondary teachers, TAs, FLAs, parents, governors etc. At the end of the course you will have gained a good understanding of the issues and methodology involved and you will be familiar with the KS2 Framework for MFL as well as support systems locally and nationally. This course does not involve linguistic competence, and no particular language is required.