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 Coordinator: Rosalind Venables, Herefordshire LA, Herefordshire Teachers’ Centre, Blackfriars Street, Hereford HR4 9ZR
Tel: 01432 260815
Email: rvenables@herefordshire.gov.uk
Regular sessions are held at Herefordshire
Teachers’ and Conference Centre.
West Midlands Regional Consultative Group
is a networking and discussion group hosted by West
Midlands Regional Support Groups.
Regional
Support Group sessions
Session
1: Tuesday 3 October 2006
Title: Ideas for 2006-7
Venue: Herefordshire Teachers’ and Conference Centre
- Welcome
- Group activity: “What challenges me” & “What excites me” re Primary MFL teaching.
- French Week at St. Weonard’s Primary (Elaine Crothers)
- Le Club Français (Publisher presentation)
- What’s going on in PMFL (Rosalind Venables): the new ELLSG group evolving from the PMFL Network; a look at Tout le Monde and E-intellego (on-line PMFL teaching courses purchased by the LA); introduction to CILT; INSET this term; intro to PMFL Resources on Herefordshire website
- Looking at the NACELL website
- Herefordshire
Children's Services Education Resources website - Curriculum Resources.
Session
2: Thursday 7 December 2006
Title: Ideas for Christmas
Venue: Herefordshire Teachers’ and Conference Centre
- Welcome (Coffee and cakes / pastries from Germany, France, Italy and Spain)
- Presentation from Carolyn Cattell of La Jolie Ronde on activities for Xmas and their course books.
- Xmas activities: a carousel of activities for course participants to enjoy.
- Xmas activities downloadable from the Herefordshire LA website.
Session
3: Monday 29 January 2007
Title: Creating and using stories
Speaker(s): Helen Leigh, (PMFL Consultant, Worcestershire); Gwyn Godfrey, Head of MFL at Kingstone High School (an SLC); Rosalind Venabes (PMFL Consultant, Herefordshire)
Venue: Herefordshire Teachers’ and Conference Centre
- Gwyn Godfrey talked about the role of the Specialist Language College in supporting primary schools with their delivery of PMFL.
- Rosalind Venables gave guidance on writing a PMFL Policy. The handout contained hyperlinks to websites with national policy guidelines. This should help teachers write their policies. For an electronic copy email Rosalind: rvenables@herefordshire.gov.uk
- Helen Leigh gave a presentation on using stories in PMFL. For a copy of her presentation email her on hleigh@worcestershire.gov.uk
- AOB: news on courses running this term: ICT in PMFL (March 1st); Primary MFL Training Course: March 29th and April 18th; Teachers Talking French March 14th.
- Language Training Course: Spanish for primary classteachers (10 Tuesdays this term at Lord Scudamore School)
Session
4: Monday 19 March 2007
Title: Sharing Resources
Speakers: Rosalind Venables - PMFL Consultant; Jane Massey - LCP Publications
Venue: Herefordshire
Teachers’ and Conference Centre
Time: 4.30 – 6pm Refreshments from 4pm
Teachers Talking French -
Rosalind Venables has bought 60 copies of this resource which comprises of 6 CDs. It teaches French teachers what they need to know in terms of classroom instructions and interactions. This will enable teachers to use French in their classrooms and increase their use of the target language. The course is written specifically for primary class teachers. Teachers should enrol on the course “Teachers Talking French” run by Rosalind next term. This comprises of 3 half day sessions spread across the term. Each session will serve as a tutorial session to support and monitor progress for learners.
Useful websites (hands-on session) -
Rosalind Venables introduced participants to a range of free websites to support the teaching of PMFL in the classroom. Teachers were also shown websites which provide guidance for teachers.
Publisher presentation (Language Centre Publications, Primary Resource File) -
This was a very informative session. The Primary Resource File represents good value for money and includes lesson plans, flashcards, assessment, teachers’ notes, worksheets, interactive exercises for the whiteboard. Stage 2 will be published in the near future. We secured a discount for all schools in the county. Teachers should contact Jane Massey direct.
Session
5: Thursday 17 May 2007
Title: Introduction to the Primary Languages Zone
Speakers: Helen Groothues - CILT; Rosalind Venables - PMFL Consultant
Venue: Herefordshire Teachers’ and Conference Centre
Time: 4.30 – 6pm Refreshments from 4pm
The Primary Languages Zone -
Helen did a very lively and engaging presentation of the Primary Languages Zone and included some practical activities which were taken from film on the website. Teachers were able to spend 20 minutes or so gaining hands-on experience, as we were in the ICT suite.
Teachers Talking French -
Rosalind Venables again spoke about this resource briefly which she had mentioned at the previous meeting.
Herefordshire PMFL website -
Rosalind introduced participants to this website which has been created for MFL teachers (secondary and primary) in the county. A team of teachers are producing resources which can be downloaded from the website: www.herefordlearning.org.uk Many of the resources are written using ActivPrimary software. All primary classrooms in the county have Activ boards. The website is being updated all the time. (At the moment we are having difficulty uploading large files which include sound.) Many thanks to all those teachers who have given up their time making these resources. Anyone else who has a resource they would like to share should send it to rvenables@herefordshire.gov.uk
Session
6: Thursday 21 June 2007
Title: Planning for mixed age teaching
Speaker(s): Val Thornber (Beelingua Publications); Diane Dunsdon (RM); Rosalind Venables - PMFL Consultant
Venue: Herefordshire Teachers’ and Conference Centre
Time: 4.30 – 6pm Refreshments from 4pm
Little Tales of the Unexpected -
Val Thornber did a short presentation of this resource which was well received. The tales, which are all animated, are used as a basis for teaching either French or Spanish. Activities which accompany the stories and flashcards are structured around the vocabulary introduced in the tales. The stories also integrate nicely with the primary curriculum. Val agreed to a discount if a number of teachers wish to purchase the resource, (which represents good value anyway.
Sonica Spanish -
Diane Dunsdon did a short introduction to this resource which is CD based and can be uploaded onto schools’ intranets. There is a need for a Spanish course along the lines of Tout le Monde, (which all schools in the county have now.) Approximately 10 of the 83 primary schools are teaching Spanish and more will be doing so from September now that a group of teachers have received Spanish language training.
Planning for Mixed Age Classes -
Rosalind Venables presented a proposal for solving the problem of mixed age teaching. This is based on a presentation done by Joan Dickie at the Primary Languages Show in March. The suggestion is based on language content from 12 folders of work and a common core of language content and skills, which are returned to and explored in a different way in the 2nd year of language learning. Copies of the Powerpoint can be obtained from Rosalind at rvenables@herefordshire.gov.uk
The European Day of Languages -
Rosalind Venables presented a number of different ideas for celebrating this day on September 26th. (Copies of the Powerpoint avalable from Rosalind)
AOB (The QCA French Scheme of work) -
Rosalind gave out copies of the overview of the scheme and we looked at the website from where teachers can download the units. The published document with units 1-12 can be obtained free if staff order before the end of June. Units 13-24 can also be downloaded but they are currently only provisional. The German and Spanish units will be published later in the summer. http://www.qca.org.uk/13505_18671.html
NACELL Regional Support Groups are funded
by the DfES and co-ordinated by CILT, the National Centre for Languages
in support of the National Languages Strategy.
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