Covid19 has created so many challenges for everyone.
What’s been remarkable and so positive for us here at Primary Languages Network has been how much primary children have enjoyed learning languages at home!
Take a look below. Enjoy and celebrate the remarkable language learning journey shared by some of our network schools with us on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and What’s APP support groups.
We hope that the examples will inspire you to access and use these resources in June/July and possibly Autumn 2020 too.
March 2020 - School closure meant that we had to act fast to support our network schools.They required home learning for school websites. We created“ online home learning” linked to prior learning across stages 1-4 (years 3 to 6) in French, Spanish, and German, including native speaker core language videos, games to play at home, and knowledge organizers.
It’s been rewarding to see how teachers across the network used these resources to create challenges appropriate to their learners
Key Stage One colleagues wanted to join in too. (We love this fact by the way).
March onwards - #Languagehopscotch
An activity between PLN associate teachers’ children we tweeted just grew and grew. From our team’s children in their own back gardens…
to network schools finding it a great way to involve different age groups of key worker children and get outside! They made it their own!
It became a game to take home and share languages with the local community and chalk target language hopscotch grids on the pavement for passers by to try.
Schools and teachers across the country got involved.
And we received videos from children in other parts of the World too. We found this video from Italy really moving to be honest as it was right in the middle of Lockdown.
Throughout “Lockdown”
I am so fortunate to work with the PLN team. From home they’ve shared videos and photos of how they have been home teaching.
Every new idea that the team has generated has been shared on our Instagram account too.
April onwards
Free YouTube clips from C’est Emilie and Es Irene and there are more to come. Accessible on our YouTube channel for everyone to use. Emilie and Irene have been creating one short , simple video per week loosely linked to our SOWs and intended to inspire everyone. A huge thank you to both Emilie and Irene.
What fantastic responses from children too!
April onwards and “Keyworker” children
The teaching team is working in schools with keyworker children. The France and Spain Space Miles Explorer packs came in really useful.
April to May and onwards
The challenges in schools continue in the Summer term. Our first set of home learning booklets, one per stage of learner or year group in KS2 in French, Spanish, and German take prior knowledge of vocab, grammar, and phonology and add creative twists.
Our young learners have not disappointed us. They have brought the home learning booklets to life!
And for Summer 2
The LEAP packs (Language Explorer Activity Packs) address the challenges you are going to face with socially distanced bubbles and non-returners plus key worker children. They allow you to introduce some creative language learning into your Summer 2 and possibly Autumn term too. On the VLE for network schools in the “Student Home Learning 2 area with a simple “how to use” video guide the LEAP packs are thematic, staged, and differentiated with activity sheets and outdoor learning plus the target language resources for non-specialists to be able to deliver the lesson activities. We look forward to seeing your classes’/bubbles’ and home learners’ work.
June 20 - the first virtual conference.
Every year we hold a conference. In March this year we asked network school teachers would they like to hold a virtual conference. The answer was a resounding “Yes”!
Here we are at the end of May and it’s fantastic that we now have 700 plus delegates registered for our PLN “Reigniting Language Learning” conference throughout the month of June 20. Thank you to everyone.
Remarkable!
