Worcestershire Regional Support Group

Coordinator: Alison Clarke, Institute of Education, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester WR2 6AJ
Tel: 01905 855 056
Email: a.clarke@worc.ac.uk

Date: 21/10/2008
Title: Primary Languages Resources Fair
Venue: The Chase Technology and Language College (Drama studio), Geraldine Road,
Time: 4.00 - 6.00
Speaker: Various publishers and suppliers

This resources fair was planned in association with the Chase High School/Language College to provide teachers in the Malvern area and south of the county with an overview of commercial and CILT resources currently available. I am grateful to our exhibitors, some of whom travelled a good distance to be with us, and who represented a diversity of resources from well-established, IT based courses, through book distributors to puppets, wall hangings, calendars etc. There were also several pieces of new software which we were able to see at first hand. Teachers who attended found the fair enjoyable and useful. A lucky few won excellent raffle prizes generously donated by our exhibitors.

Date: 12/11/2008
Title: Winter festivals for early language learning
Venue: Room MBG132, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester WR2 6AJ
Time: 4.00 - 6.00
Speaker: Jan Lewandowski

Alison kicked off the session with a brief presentation and some pair activity on poems and finger rhymes linked to the KS2 Framework and to the evening's seasonal theme. There was a warm welcome back for Jan, following her festivals session last year. Supported by her excellent and encyclopaedic handout (keep in a safe place for future years!) Jan took us through a gamut of songs, games, rhymes and creative but straightforward, practical activities. The emphasis was on ease of preparation for the teacher, though always with language building opportunities in mind. She focussed mainly on French, as the language taught by most people in the room, though offered plenty of websites and cultural insights for Spanish, Italian, German and Polish. The evening culminated in a hilarious performance by the group of 'Tchic et tchac'- a rhyme for aspiring skiers, and with prizes all round. Feedback from the group was 'excellent'.

Date: 22/01/2009
Title: The Magic of Languages
Venue: Room 1.159, education building, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester WR2 6AJ
Time: 4.00 - 6.00
Speaker: Joe Brown, CILT Language Teaching adviser

Date: 19/03/2009
Title: Supporting learning for primary languages through ICT - updates and hands-on
Venue: Hanley Castle Language College, Church End, Hanley Castle, Worcs. WR8 0BL
Time: 3.30 - 6.00
Speaker: Jacqui Tilt, head of languages, Hanley Castle Language College and PML AST

Date: 14/05/2009
Title: Putting the Big Picture together - a cross-curricular approach to language learning through art and music
Venue: Room 197, education building, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester WR2 6AJ
Time: 4.00 - 6.00
Speaker: Alison Clarke (Worcestershire RSG Co-ordinator)

Date: 01/07/2009
Title: Planning for a smooth languages changeover from primary to secondary - a transition project with local schools and trainee teachers at the University of Worcester
Venue: MB1.151, first floor, education building, University of Worcester
Time: 4.00 - 6.00
Speaker: Heather Crabtree and Isabelle Schäfer, University of Worcester

NACELL Regional Support Groups are funded by the DCFS and co-ordinated by CILT, the National Centre for Languages in support of the National Languages Strategy.