Resources for Language Teachers

[Graham Davies]

Resources for Language Teachers

Lingu@NET: http://www.linguanet.org.uk

Lingu@NET is managed by CILT, the National Centre for Languages (http://www.cilt.org.uk) and aims to be a virtual resources centre to support the teaching of modern foreign languages. The Lingu@NET Forum - a discussion list for language teachers and researchers - is located at: http://www.mailbase.org.uk/lists/linguanet-forum

This is an extremely lively discussion list and well worth looking at. Curriculum issues and ICT are frequent hot topics.

Lingu@NET Europa: http://www.linguanet-europa.org

A multilingual project which developed out of Lingu@NET. A substantial online catalogue of language learning resources is being built up here. This project is currently undergoing expansion to incorporate an interface in a number of new languages and addressing in particular the needs of adult learners.

My Favourite Websites

My personal annotated list of Favourite Websites relating to Modern Foreign Languages can be found at: http://www.camsoftpartners.co.uk/websites.htm

[Graham Davies]

Dear Colleagues,

Forwarded from Claire Dugard, CILT, the National Centre for Languages:

You may be interested to hear about three new services from Becta, to

which CILT, the National Centre for Languages and the Association for

Language Learning are lending their expertise in the area of ICT in

language teaching and learning. For those of you who may not be aware,

Becta is the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency,

'the Government's key partner in the strategic development and delivery

of its ICT and e-learning strategy for the schools and the learning and

skills sectors.'

All three services relate to both primary and secondary phases and are

completely free of charge:

1. Ask an Expert: Spotlight on MFL, starting January 10th 2005

The ICT Advice site's Ask an Expert slot will focus on MFL from next

week until 4 February on the theme of 'Exploiting ICT-based authentic

materials.' From 10 January, you will find introductory ideas, in-depth

background information and website links related to the theme, with the

opportunity to pose questions to the panel of experts via web-based

form. We will send out a reminder during the live period, but in the

meantime you can visit the Archives in the Ask an Expert area of the

Becta ICT Advice website at

http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?sect...ure_theme&theme

=80 to get a flavour of previous spotlights on other curriculum

subjects.

2. ICT Advice e-magazines

Becta's new 'ICT in Primary' and 'ICT in Secondary' e-magazines are

available for viewing online at

http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?sect...e=nwslttr_index

or printing out. The Primary publication has articles across the

curriculum and the Secondary version has a dedicated section for MFL at

http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?sect...nwslttr_index&i

cttypeid=2&icteditionid=3&ictsectionid=5&ictsubsectionid=15.

3. Ask an Expert: ICT across the curriculum

This is an Ask a Question service, whereby teachers of any subject in

any phase can ask a question about ICT in their subject and receive a

response from a panel of experts (which will be provided by CILT and ALL

in the case of MFL!) Go to

http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section=ae&theme=73 to send in

your query by web-based form. You can use this service at any time of

the year in the context of any ICT focus.

Best wishes,

Claire Dugard

Language Teaching Adviser

CILT, the National Centre for Languages

20 Bedfordbury

London WC2N 4LB

E-mail: claire.dugard@cilt.org.uk

Tel: (020) 7379 5101 ext 264

Fax: (020) 7379 5082

http://www.cilt.org.uk

Important - Any opinions expressed in this e-mail are those of the individual and not necessarily those of CILT, the National Centre for Languages

[Graham Davies]

CILT and the Association for Language Learning (ALL) have launched a new website called Languages ICT at:

http://www.languages-ict.org

There is also an associated discussion list, targeting mainly teachers in schools.

I think I may have already mentioned a document that I have been working on in collaboration with Paul Bands, Roger Frisby and Elizabeth Walton (edited by Terry Cooper and Claire Dugard, CILT):

It will shortly appear in the "Guidance for Networks" slot at the above site and will be entitled:

"Setting up effective digital language laboratories and multimedia ICT suites for Modern Foreign Languages".

The document offers advice to heads of languages departments, to senior management and to ICT managers, covering hardware, software, training and copyright issues. Watch the above space!

The information provided at the above site seems to indicate that there is more activity in CALL in the schools sector in the UK these days than in the universities sector. Who is driving CALL in the UK higher education sector now that the CTI Centre for Modern Languages at the University of Hull has closed?

I have recently been looking at the list of postgraduate courses in CALL at the EUROCALL site:

http://www.eurocall-languages.org/resources/courses.htm

Many links appear to have died. The list of links that I have at my personal site has also shrunk:

http://www.camsoftpartners.co.uk/courses.htm