Ballard LangBlog

Catherine Tate - translator extraordinaire!

http://www.zondle.com/memberPages/RS_play.aspx

A brilliant site for playing language games to help you practise vocabulary and grammar

http://www.zondle.com/memberPages/RS_play.aspx.

European Language Olympics!!!!!

Ballard's pupils have made an encouraging start to the ELOs - as I type, Ballard lies 42nd overall out of all the schools who have so far entered the competition. 

Now we need to build on this, and get EVERY student involved! Don't forget the prizes on offer...although the main reward is expanding your vocabulary and maximising your ability!

Keep ELOing, and keep checking your ranking and the school's one on the Scoreboard:

http://www.europeanlanguageolympics.com/site/home.html

PS Ballard now up to 41st...!

World War I Battlefields trip to France and Belgium

I have created a link to my photos from the trip - have a look. A very moving, very worthwhile 3 days...none of us will ever forget it.

WWI Battlefields Trip 2010 - photos

Extra Host students - blank pairing form

Please download the attached form, and fill it in electronically. Then email to Mrs Bellars (I am away til the weekend with the Battlefields Trip) - [email protected]

Thanks a lot for stepping in to help out! I am sure you will get a lot out of it!

Download Student profile form (blank)

Harry and Paul - Football Manager (Genius!)

a more considered response

Having had a couple of weeks of term to re-focus on the actual TEACHING and LEARNING aspect of the job (as opposed to tweeting about "it", listening to Radio 4 programmes about "it", occasionally preparing materials to help do "it", and so on...)...

...I am returning to the whole issue of "where are we at?", in terms of the status of languages and MFL T&L in the UK.

Apologies in advance:

1. If I repeat anything that has already been re-hashed (and #hashtagged!) time and time again over the last few weeks
2. If I get a bit ranty and soapboxy - but this whole "thing" gets me quite hot under the collar
3. I am NOT a regular reader of government websites; I don't spend a lot of time online at CILT or other such sites; I rely upon my Twitter PLN for keeping me up-to-date with news and views on MFL matters...
4. But my thoughts are my own, and do not represent Ballard School or the Ballard MFL Department
5. If I ramble a bit - I do tend to go off on tangents a tad!

In a sense, getting back to doing the job has taken my mind off the whole debate going on in the Twittersphere and beyond, as when I am into term-time, I do get consumed by it all and can sometimes let it take over my life a bit!

But with the regular flow of tweets from the MFL Twitterati reminding us of the ongoing debate, I want to add my four penn'orth (or however you spell that!).

I start from the standpoint that learning languages other than your "mother" tongue is a right, a way to open your mind to a wider experience...and potentially great fun. I do not deny that there is an inherent challenge to the process - but have always enjoyed a challenge.

I can accept the fact that many people decide (sometimes without giving themselves a chance) that this challenge is beyond them.

As far as I am concerned, breaking down this preconception is a battle on three fronts: firstly, in the domain I can personally influence (in my classroom and school); secondly, as a member of my profession, in terms of trying, together with other like-minded professionals, the national attitude and perception; thirdly, to try and convince The Powers That Be of the best way to allow the first and second to take place - again, in conjunction with my fellow professionals.

The first "battle" is actually proving to be less arduous as years go by. The advent of improved technology, together with experience gathered in 16 years of teaching and a steadily-widening network of madmen and -women with whom I seem to share a wavelength - all these have contributed to my lessons becoming less and less predictable, more and more effective, and hopefully later this year, better and better when judged by external assessors...;)

Right - that will have to be it for now: cousins arriving with multiple young in tow, and the chilli won't cook itself! Will have to come back to this another time...

But just to be going on with, here is something I came across while catching up with my Twitterfeed a day or two ago. Although ostensibly relating to the USA, it sounds like the typical UK scenario to me...

"A man behind him in line asked loud enough for all of us to hear, “Do you know what it is called when someone speaks three languages? Trilingual. When someone speaks two languages? Bilingual. Do you know what we call someone around here who only knows one language?” The man squirmed and indicated no. “We call that person a dumb Gringo.”"

Michael Swickard, Ph.D

full article: Monolingualism is for dumb gringos

600 saws... French tongue-twister

 

Mr Bellars' new class-group wiki

http://ballardbellars.wikispaces.com/

10 jobs you didn't know you could do with a foreign language

http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=37442