Meanings that matter

Je viens de là

A powerful picture of life in the banlieue, told with some pride. Thought-provoking.

Je viens de là (Grand Corps Malade)

An A-Z of educational tools

Many thanks to friend and colleague José Picardo of Nottingham High school for Boys for permission to use this list. It will act as a reference point for a chapter I'm writing for a book on MFL and special needs.

A

• Acapela.tv is a fun site to create text-to-speech animations.
• Alice is a 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first programming experience.
• Animoto.com is a web application that produces professional quality videos from your pictures and music.
• Audacity is a programme that allows you to record sounds straight to your computer (you do need a microphone) and edit them afterwards. Very popular with languages teachers and podcasters.
• Audioboo is an audio-blogging site, you can send in updates through the web, phone or its own iPhone app. Perfect for blogging on the move, like on a school-trip, or sharing your class’s opinion about a topic.
• authorSTREAM allows you to publish and share your PowerPoint presentations. It also allows you to download published presentations as videos.
• Aviary is a suite of web applications which allow you to create, edit and manipulate images. They have also recently launched an audio editing tool called Myna (see below).

B

• BeFunky is a website that allows you to apply a variety of fun effects to your own photos or from photo sharing sites.
• Big Huge Labs is a collection of utilities and toys that allow you to edit and alter digital pictures. You can create puzzles, movie posters, magazine covers, mosaics, calendars, badges, billboards and many more besides.
• Bitstrips is a website that allows you to create comics and cartoons. There is a premium school version.
• Blabberize.com allows you to animate pictures to make the people, animals or objects in them appear as if they are talking. It only takes three simple steps.
• Blip.tv , a site that provides embed codes for mp4 video files (e.g. filmed with Flip cameras or Kodak Playfull video recorders) to allow exporting to blog/wiki
• Block Posters is a web application that allows you to make full size posters from pictures in your computer. Perfect for classroom displays.
• Blogger is a free blogging platform by Google.
• Box.net is an online file storage and collaboration solution. Share content with your colleagues or students.
• Bubbl.us is a web application for creating mind-maps either on your own or collaborating with others.
• Build your Wild Self is a website by the New York Zoos that allows children to create human / animal hybrids. It can be used to practise personal descriptions.
• Bundlr is a free tool for online curation: it allows you to clip, aggregaten and share web content easily.
• Buzzword is an online word processor by Adobe, and is perfect for writing reports, proposals, and anything else you need to access online or work on with others. It looks and behaves like your normal desktop word processor, but it operates inside a web browser, so there’s no installation required.

C

• Camstudio is a free desktop application that allows you to record your computer screen.
• Capzles is a free web application that allows you to combine your photos, videos, blog posts and mp3s into rich multimedia storylines.
• Cartoonster is a website aimed at children with tutorials on how to create animations. Perfect to introduce the concept and possibilities of animation to youngsters.
• Cellsea is ideal to quickly add effects to your pictures.
• Classtools.net allows you to create free educational games, activities and diagrams in a Flash! The games can then be hosted on your own blog, website or intranet. Also contains a random name generator function in the form of a fruit machine or typewriter, which is a great help when it comes to creating a no-hands-up culture.
• Comicbrush allows you to create and share a comic using any combination of your own drawings, photos and ready-to-use artwork.
• Commoncraft is a useful website which explains web products and services in plain English using short, unique and understandable videos in a format they call Paperworks.
• ContentGenerator.net provides free flash game makers. Premium content also available.
• Create a Graph allows pupils to do just that.
• Creative Commons Search allows you to sieve through massive repositories of media and resources which you are legally free to use and share.
• Custom Sign Generator is an image creator that allows you to create free logos, avatars, comics and many other bits and bobs that you might need for your blog or presentations.

D

• Dabbleboard is an online whiteboard that will help you visualize, explore and communicate ideas
• Delicious is a social book-marking site which allows you to access your book-marks from any computer. It also allows your colleagues and students to share your bookmarks.
• Diigo also allows you to access and share your bookmarks from anywhere. With Diigo you can also annotate and highlight websites, which is perfect if you want to share resources with your students after having added your own notes to it.
• Diipo connects teachers with students by making it easy to communicate with your class. Diipo also connects you with other educators and your class with other classes. Similar to Facebook and Twitter, Diipo is social networking for the classroom. See also Edmodo, below.
• Dipity is a web application that allows you to create embedable media-rich timelines. Great for research and history projects.
• DivShare is a service that allows you to upload, store, manage and then embed any file -including video files- into websites. Perfect for the teacher-blogger or a classroom blog.
• Doink.com is a website that allows you to create and share animations.
• Domo is a school friendly version of Go!Animate (below) in which all inappropriate content is filtered out. Domo allows you and your students to create animations that can be embedded onto blogs, wikis, etc.
• DotSUb is a website that allows you to upload videos and put subtitles on them. Perfect to share foreign language resources or to set translation projects to your students.
• Dropbox is software that enables file storage, back up, sharing and synchronisation online and across different computers. Premium service with a basic free account.
• Dropmocks allows you to create photo galleries really easily by dragging photos form your desktop or any folder in your computer and drop them into your browser to create and share photo galleries.

E

• Edmodo is a micro-blogging service (like Twitter) for teachers and students. Use it with your students to share information, set and collect assignments and much more.
• Edublogs.org based on WordPress.com, Edublogs is a hosted blogging platform designed for education.
• Embedit.in is a service that allows you to upload and embed documents into blogs or other websites quickly and easily. Perfect for a classroom blog or a teacher-blogger.
• eThink.org.uk is an online community supporting education by supplying free blog space.
• Evernote is a cross-platform note taking tool that allows you and/or your students to take notes. Text, pictures, voice memos and more are automatically synced across all your devices: save once, save everywhere.

F

• Facebook can be used to set up pages and provide your students with updates about your subject or department. Students don’t have to be your friends to enjoy the benefits of this facility. Your students are all on Facebook anyway, might as well make the most of it!
• Filezilla is a very useful desktop application that allows you upload content to your web pages or blogs using FTP (File Transfer protocol).
• Flickr is a web service for storing and sharing your digital photographs. It also contains a massive collection of Creative Commons photographs and pictures which can be used to illustrate presentations or for other creative tasks.
• Fotobabble enables you to create talking photos in a few clicks by adding a voice to customisable slide-shows.
• Freemind is a desktop application for creating mind-maps. Available for Linux, OSX and Windows.

G

• Gimp is an Open Source image manipulation program. A bit like Photoshop, only free! It tackles tasks such as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.
• GlassGiant is a website that allows you to make fun, custom pictures.
• Gliffy is an online application with which you can easily create professional-looking flowcharts, diagrams, floor plans and technical drawings.
• Glogster is a web application tha allows you to create online posters or glogs. Not strictly blogging, glogging is making media rich online posters that can be shared online or embedded into wikis.
• Go!Animate is a web application with which you can create animated comic strips and cartoons.
• Google, as well as the search engine, provides a comprehensive suite of web-based and desktop applications like Gogle Docs, Google Earth, Blogger, Google Mail and much, much more…
• Greenfoot allows you to make graphical representation of objects and simulations.

H

• Hot Potatoes is an application that allows you to create interactive exercises, such as quizzes, multiple choice questions and crosswords, which can be added to websites. Free for schools.

I

• ImageChef is a website that allows you to create custom images by combining text, symbols and photos. Great for classroom displays, starter activities or homework.
• Instapaper allows you to easily save web pages for reading later, when you have time, so you don’t just forget about them or skim through them. Very good research tool.
• iPadio allows you to broadcast from any phone to the Internet live, creating phlogs – live voice-blogs
• iSendr is an on demand file sharing and transfer system, facilitating the sending of large files between people.
• Isle of Tune allows users to create musical journeys using street layouts. Streetlights become instruments and passing cars play them! Great fun for budding composers of all ages.
• iTALC is a free and powerful didactical tool for teachers. It lets you view and control other computers in your network in several ways: overview, remote control, lock down stations, send messages to students etc (available only for Linux and Windows 2000/XP operating systems).
• iTunes whether you run a Mac or a PC, whether you have an iPod or not. This programme from Apple allows you to manage your music collection and converts CDs and other sound recordings to mp3. Can also be used for storing podcasts.

J

• Jamendo A European podsafe music site. Download royalty-free, Creative Commons music in all major european languages.
• Jamglue is a web based application for recording and mixing tracks. Like Audacity or Garageband but online.
• Jaycut is like having Movie Maker or iMovie in your browser. No software to install, all movie editing is done online.
• JClic is a desktop application that creates interactive exercises and multimedia educational activities (using Java) fro your website or VLE.
• Jigsaw Planet is a site that allows users to create their own jigsaw puzzles.
• Jing is a free desktop application that allows you to capture your desktop as you work. Excellent for creating video tutorials.

K

• Kerpoof allows children to draw, tell stories and create cartoons and animations. Very popular website, now part of the Disney family of companies.
• KickYoutube is a web application that converts YouTube videos to any format. Simply type in the word kick after the www. in the YouTube url.
• Kompozer is an Open Source desktop HTML editor and web authoring application.

L

• Languages Online Australia free flash game makers from Department of Education of the State of Victoria, Australia. This website also contains a wealth of ready-made interactive language exercises.
• Lingro allows you to view any foreign language website through its own online browser, allowing you then to click on any word on the screen to find out its meaning in English or your chosen language. Not only that, it remembers which words you clicked and then tests you… a fantastic resource for language learners.
• Lingus.tv Beginner, intermediate and advanced level videos for the learner of Spanish. Comes with transcript, translations and grammar points.
• Lingt is a web application that allows you to create and edit language assignments incorporating voice, video, images, and text.
• Linoit allows you you create online noticeboards and, by creating a group, it becomes a really useful tool for students to collaborate. See also Wallwisher, below.

M

• Mahara is open source software that allows you to create electronic portfolios, weblogs, and social networking systems, among other things. It provides you with the tools to set up an online personal learning environment.
• Make Beliefs Comix allows you to create comic strips online.
• Masher is an online video editor that allows user to create videos using their own uploaded material or its own library of resources, including photos, videos and music.
• MediaWiki is a free piece of software that allows you to install and maintain an infinite number of wikis. Because it requires server-side installation, you may find it less complicated to get your school to install it for you.
• Mindomo is a web application for creating and sharing mind-maps.
• Mindmeister is another web application that allows you to create collaborative mind-maps.
• Minus allows you to create photo galleries really easily by dragging photos form your desktop or any folder in your computer and drop them into your browser to create and share photo galleries.
• Mouse Mischief is free educational software from Microsoft that allows your whole class to connect to your computer/interactive whiteboard using individual mice. It integrates into Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, letting you insert questions, polls, and drawing activity slides into your lessons. Students can actively participate in these lessons by using their own mice to click, circle, cross out, or draw answers on the screen.
• Museum Box provides the tools for you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical period by placing items in a virtual box.
• My Award Maker is a web service for creating your own awards to hand out to your students. Awards are printable, in .pdf format.
• Myna is an online audio recording and editing tool which is really impressive and intuitive. See also Aviary, above.
• Myplick is a free service that lets you share and embed presentations online. Formats supported are powerpoint, pdf, and openoffice odp. You can also add narration or sound effects to your presentation by uploading an audio file. You can then share your presentation with everyone or only share it within a small private group.

N

• Ning allows you to create your own public or, importantly for education, private social networks. Use it to communicate and share resources with your colleagues and students. Unfortunately, no longer free but still worth considering.

O

• OneTrueMedia.com produces slide shows from templates with your own photos and music which you can then post online.
• Online Photo Tool is a website that allows you to edit and save your images, screenshots and photos online.
• Open Office is an Open Source office suite complete with draw, database, spreadsheet, presentation and word-precessing tools, fully compatible with Microsoft. Perfect if you or your students need to install an office suite but can’t afford (or won’t pay) the licence fee.

P

• Paint.NET is a very good Open Source image and photo editing desktop application for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.
• PBWorks (previously known as PBWiki) allows you to create wikis for your classes. Its education edition focuses on safety and collaboration.
• PDFCreator is a desktop application that turns anything in your computer (Windows only, I think) into a PDF file, be it word documents, PowerPoint presentations, web pages… anything. Very good if you want to create hand-outs or lesson notes quickly and easily.
• Pen.io describes itself as simple online publishing. This website allows users to quickly create, publish and share text based web pages. Here are a few ideas about this tool could be used.
• Phixr is an online photo editor.
• PhotoPeach is a slide show maker simple enough for young children to use independently. It easily allows you to add text to slides for added impact.
• Photo Story 3 is a Windows desktop application that makes film clips of your photo slide shows to which you can add commentary, soundtrack and transition effects.
• PhotoSynth is a free Microsoft web application that allows you to take a bunch of photos of the same scene or object and automatically stitch them all together into one big interactive 3D viewing experience that you can share with anyone on the web (currently Windows only).
• Photovisi is a web application that turns your pictures into a collage which you can then download free (high quality paid versions are also available). Great to illustrate story telling or just for decoration!
• PicLits is a creative writing site that matches images with carefully selected keywords, creating a final product that captures the essence, story, and meaning of the picture.
• Picnik.com is a powerful and easy to use photo editing web application. Think Photoshop on-line and without the hefty price tag.
• Picture2Life is a web service that allows you to edit, collage and animate pictures online.
• Pimpampum is a collection of web applications that allow you to work with Flickr photographs and turn them into books, comics and more…
• Piratepad allows you to collaborate online. See also Titanpad, below.
• Pixer is another online photo editor.
• Pixorial allows you to upload, edit and organise video files.
• Pixton is an online comic creator with an education section, allowing the creation of safe sharing environments.
• plannerLIVE is a tool that allows teachers to set homework and and students to submit it, all online (UK only).
• Podomatic is a podcast publishing service. Upload your audio or video files and they do the rest! Free for the first 500MB
• Poisson Rouge hosts a wealth of flash-based activities to help you revise, teach and learn about all sorts of subjects, from Music and Biology to Mandarin Chinese!
• Polldaddy is a web service that enables you to create online surveys and polls.
• Popplet is an innovative take on mind mapping. Easily add pictures, text and videos to help you explore ideas in a visual way.
• Posterous is perhaps the simplest easiest and most intuitive of all blogging platforms. I use Posterous to keep live blogs of school trips and residential visits because I can simply email updates and Posterous does all the rest!
• Prealoader is a web based photo editor that claims to be the best way to upload and optimize photos to Flickr.
• Prezi is a web application that allows you to create stunning visual presentations. Think PowerPoint meets mind map.

Q

• Quizlet allows you to create and share flaschcards. Great to help your students revise material or for you to create resources for the Interactive Whiteboard.

R

• Random Activity Generator allows you to generate a creative classroom activity, homework or task instantly.
• RealPlayer 11 is a desktop media player that also allows you to download .flv video content. In practical terms this means that you can download video from YouTube, TeacherTube or any other such video sharing site at the click of a button for later viewing off-line. Perfect if your school network blocks or filters video sharing sites.

S

• Save Skelly is a flash game generator that allows you to create interactive assessments which can be uploaded to a website or stored in your computer as a .swf file. Great for Interactive Whiteboards.
• Seeqpod allows you search music and other media and then produce customised, embeddable music players from your selections.
• Seesmic is a video blogging service which allows its users to post and share video updates. Similar to 12 Seconds (above).
• Sclipo If you have something to teach the rest of us, you post it here. Alternatively, go and learn something new.
• Scratch is a programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art — and share your creations on the web.
• Screenr is a screencast tool for Twitter that allows you to easily record your screen and share it with your followers.
• Screentoaster is an online screen recorder that allows you to capture and share what goes on in your computer screen. Perfect to record how to videos or record presentations as they unfold.
• Scribd is a document sharing service that allows you to store and share almost any document format for easy viewing online. It also offers the possibility of embedding a document viewer into your website, blog or wiki. Very handy to share resources with staff and students.
• Scribus is an Open Source desktop publishing application that allows you to create professional documents and page lay-outs and then exports them into PDF format. Perfect for newsletters and worksheets.
• ShareTabs is a simple and efficient way to share links with pupils/students or colleagues. Send one single personalised url containing all your links conveniently displayed in tabs.
• SimplyBox allows you to capture and share the web with groups of students. Students can also use simply box to reasearch and store the information they find on a given topic.
• SketchUp is a desktop application from Google that allows teachers or students to create and share stunning 3D models easily and intuitively.
• Slatebox allows you to create collaborative mind-map style idea visualisations. Perfect for embedding into a website or view on the interactive whiteboard.
• Slideshare allows you to upload and share your PowerPoint presentations. Presentations can then be embedded into blogs or wikis.
• SmashMash.tv is a web application that animates pictures and photographs, but it does require you to download and install a plug-in and is more complicated to work than Blabberize, for example.
• Smilebox is a website where you can create e-cards, scrapbooks, slideshows and photo albums from digital photographs.
• Snipshot is a web based picture editing application.
• Songbird is a free and open-source customizable music player. Think of it as an open source iTunes.
• Spicynodes allows you and your students to create visualisations, mindmaps or organizational chart which can then be embedded into websites, blogs and wikis.
• SplashCast is a web based service that allows you to create and edit video channels.
• Stixy allows you to share and collaborate on flexible, web-based bulletin boards. Users can create tasks, appointments, files, photos, notes, and bookmarks which can then be then be shared with friends, students and colleagues.
• Storybird helps you or your pupils to create short, visual, digital stories which can then be shared and embedded into blogs and wikis.
• Stripgenerator is a simple, yet effective and intuitive cartoon strip generator.
• Stupeflix.com is a web service that allows you to create videos by combining image and audio. A very easy way to get into video podcasting.
• Sumo Paint is a professional image editing and painting software in your browser.
• Survey Monkey is a web service that enables you to create online surveys and polls.
• Switchzoo allows users to create new animals by switching their parts. The site features animal games, music performed using animal voices, a reference section about all of the animals in Switch Zoo, lesson plans, and poetry, stories and artwork created by students and visitors.
• Sync.in is a web based word processor for people to collaborate in real-time

T

• TagGalaxy is a web application that allows you to search Flickr tags and displays the results in a stunning visual way. Perfect to introduce topics on the IWB or to get discussions going.
• Tagul is similar to Wordle. Both create customisable word or tag clouds, the difference is that Tagul’s clouds are embeddable into other websites such as blogs or wikis.
• Tagxedo is another app following Wordle’s footsteps. Tagxedo, however, allows for greater customisation of the final images, including a large variety of colour schemes and the ability to change the shape of the cloud. Word clouds can then be saved as .jpeg or .png image files.
• TeacherTube. Name says it all: like YouTube but for educational purposes.
• Textorizer allows you to turn a logo (web app) or a picture (free desktop app) into text by substituting colours with the text you supply.
• Timeglider is an web application that allows you to create visual time lines of events. Perfect for History, but useful for any subject exploring a sequence of events.
• Timetoast also allows you to create interactive time lines, which can be shared anywhere on the web.
• Tinychat allows you to create private video conferences. You can have up to twelve people in a room with HQ video, protected by passwords and moderators, share your desktop with them, and your conferences can be recorded and embedded on your website.
• Titanpad is based on Etherpad and does exactly the same thing. It allows multiple users to collaborate on a document simultaneously.
• TED is a collection of inspired talks from the world’s greatest thinkers and doers.
• Toondoo is a web application that allows you to create your own comic characters and comic strips.
• Tubechop allows you to cut and edit YouTube videos so that you can concentrate on the interesting bits or remove offending scenes.
• Tumblr is a simplified blogging platform that allows you to post text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos, from your browser, phone, desktop or email. See Posterous, above.
• Tutpup has lots of fun games to reinforce numeracy and literacy (spelling only currently)
• Twiducate is a Twitter-like (see below) micro-blogging service for schools.
• Twitter is a micro-blogging service. Sign up and join the ever growing network of teachers and educators sharing their experiences and practice (I’m @josepicardo on Twitter, follow me to get started and then see whom I follow and who follows me).
• TypeIt.org is a website that allows you type in text requiring foreign accented characters in a variety of languages, even if you don’t have a specialist keyboard. You can edit your text in the box and then copy it to your document, e-mail message, etc.
• TypeWith.me is another Etherpad clone. It allows users to collaborate on a single document simultaneously. See Titanpad above.

U

• Ubuntu is an Open Source, Linux-based operating system. It contains all the applications you need – a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.
• Udemy allows you to create online courses. You can upload presentations, videos, host live classroom sessions and write blog posts. And it’s free./li>

V

• VectorMagic converts images to vector images, this basically means that it allows you to scale an image without making blurry or pixelated, retaining its crispness.
• Vimeo is a simple and elegant video sharing service, perhaps my favourite.
• Vocaroo is a web service for sending voice messages across the internet.
• Voicethread is a web application that allows you to collaborate online by sharing media and comments. The perfect tool for whole class projects.
• Voki.com is a web application that produces animated characters to which you can add your voice (or anybody else’s).
• Voxopop is essentially a message board/forum system that uses voice recordings instead of text. You can set up a private talkgroup that will be hidden from the public – ideal for classrooms!
• Vuvox enables you to create personal, collaborative slideshows or presentations using your own digital media – including video, photos, music and text.

W

• Wallwisher is an online notice board maker where either just you or a group of people can post messages. Ideal for a personal to-do list or group discussion and collaboration on a given topic.
• Wetpaint allows you can create websites that mix all the best features of wikis, blogs, forums and social networks into a rich, user-generated space.
• Wikispaces provide wikis free of charge to educators. Its simplicity and the ability to easily set up multiple accounts are its greatest strengths.
• WiZiQ is a free web-based platform for anyone and everyone who wants to teach and learn live, online. Teachers and students can use WiZiQ’s virtual classroom, create and share online educational content and tests, and connect with people who have similar subject interests.
• Wordle allows users to create customisable word clouds from any given texts or web address and it’s an excellent tool for text analysis. See also Tagul, above.
• WordPress.com is a hosted blogging platform and content management system. As it hosted, you don’t need to find your own web space, WordPress supplies it for you.
• WordPress.org is a self-hosted version of the above. It’s highly customisable but you need your own web space and basic knowledge of html coding.

X

• Xmind is an Open Source mind mapping desktop application.
• Xtranormal is a web application that allows you to produce short films with virtual characters and a text to speech facility.

Y

• Yacapaca allows you to create quizzes, test, surveys and e-portfolios. It’s an online Virtual learning Environment.
• Yammer allows you to create your own, private social network.
• Youconvertit.com allows you to covert file formats to any other file format, download videos from sites such as YouTube and make unit conversions as well!
• YouTube EDU is a huge collection of educational videos supplied by college and universities.

Z

• Zamzar Convert file format to any other file format and download YouTube videos.
• Zimmer Twins is a fun website that allows children to create animated cartoons. The resulting movie can be saved on the site, although, sadly, it cannot be embedded elsewhere.
• Zoho is a comprehensive suite of web based applications that allow you to create, share and store your files online. It has a word processor, a spreadsheet maker, a presentation tool, a wiki editor, an e-mail client and much more…
• Zoho Challenge, part of Zoho, above, allows you to create online tests and quizzes in minutes
• Zondle a game website which creates games based on language typed in by the teacher or pupils wide range of games.
• ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that is designed to let anyone easily create their own customized 3D pop-up books.

J'attendrai le suivant

This is an inriguing short that turns out to be quite a difficult watch. How could it be exploited linguistically with a Y12 or Y13 group? A réfléchir...

J'attendrai le suivant

Juanes - A Dios le pido

Gove wants languages for all from age 5

So, he's finally come out and said something positive about primary languages. Well two cheers, Michael, because I simply won't believe it until I see it. I don't think you understand the level of damage you caused when you binned the Rose Review wholesale. This decision created uncertainty, and in that climate schools that were conscripts rather than volunteers had an excuse to slide languages down the list of priorities. I also don't think you appreciate the level of funding and support that will be necessary just to put us back where we were 18 months ago.

Furthermore, I don't think you understand that as a result of the effects of some of your other policies and those of your colleague George Osborne, a whole cadre of highly gifted and totally dedicated practitioners have lost their jobs, so the personnel required to encourage, support, advise and yes, in some cases cajole schools are no longer there.

This is further compounded by your inability to acknowledge that the success of the primary languages initiative thus far is due in no small part to the serious level of investment made by the previous administration through the Primary Strategy. This took us from 22% of schools offering languages in 2002 to 94% in 2009.  We know there were problems of quality and consistency, and there were issues to resolve such as progression, assessment and transition. Had Rose, or at least the languages element of it, become statutory this year, we would be well on the way. We had a plan and a timescale, and you trashed them in 2010 with your summary execution of Rose. Talk about babies and bathwater. It wasn't broken - why did you have to "fix" it?

If you are indeed serious about this, be aware that it won't happen without significant levels of funding to support linguistic upskilling, pedagogical training, ITT development and appropriate resourcing in schools. In the current climate, I am less than sanguine about that.

NALA response to 14-16 qualifications consultation

You may have missed this - it closed yesterday. The National Association of Language Advisers (NALA)  put together a submission for the consultation, the text of which appears below. ALL have made a similar submission, and I'm aware that colleagues have posted on the Linguanet forum. Let me know if you have any thoughts.

"We agree with Professor Wolf’s assessment that it is more than ever vital that pupils acquire a wide set of skills during their time in education. However, whereas we can appreciate the thinking behind these proposals, they are problematic when applied to languages in the present situation, particularly as we understand the Government regards languages as essential to allowing our students to become European and global citizens.

Many popular MFL qualifications will be excluded from performance tables meaning that schools are unlikely to continue to use them and pupils who are currently able to access a language and have that language learning rewarded, will no longer have the opportunity to do so. Another problem for languages is the proposed requirement for "clear synoptic elements", given that language qualifications, including GCSE, assess each skill area separately.

The Language Trends Survey 2010 has shown that accreditation, alternative to GCSE has been used in schools particularly since languages ceased to be compulsory in 2004. The percentage of schools offering alternatives to GCSE and A Level in the maintained sector rose from 22% in 2006 to 45% in 2010 and from 8% to 24% in the independent sector.  

Evidence shows that alternative accreditation is not being used merely as a way of improving performance tables, but to boost actual performance and motivation, particularly for male students who are often not motivated by languages.  It offers learners who prefer a more practical approach to learning the opportunity to achieve and enjoy language learning.

Teachers tell us that alternative qualifications make language learning more attractive to weaker pupils, and are helping pupils to succeed where they might not have done at GCSE. This is largely because of the focus on practical skills, the relevance to the world of work as well as the pupil’s own interests, and the assessment methods which put pupils in charge of their own progress.

Assessment systems for languages, whether studied via a vocational or an academic route, should share a common spine or point of reference which is understood by employers, HE and teachers across different sectors of education. The Languages Ladder, and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, to which it refers, provide a useful basis for this. 

There is sometimes an assumption that alternatives to GCSE are not rigorous and only teach pupils to produce phrasebook language.  Whilst this can occur with any qualification if taught badly, including GCSE, it is a mistaken perception that alternative accreditations have no rigour.  Vocational language qualifications such as NVQ languages and ABC awards are based on National Occupational Standards (NOS), and have been specifically developed to meet the needs of employers. The assessment criteria include distinct grammatical and linguistic features which have to be met.  For example, at Level 2 in both speaking and writing, pupils have to be assessed on being able to use past, present and future tenses, issue instructions, ask for permission, express feelings and opinions, use connectors and express negative as well as positive forms.  Evidence produced by pupils has to be both internally as well as externally verified by the Awarding Bodies.  Pupils must achieve in all four skills to gain a Level 2 qualification and for the qualification to be counted in performance tables.  Asset language qualifications are set and assessed externally by the Awarding Body. Under the current proposals these may not count as they are not "GCSE sized" .

MFL is unusual in having so many smaller, bite-size qualifications which were developed specifically to encourage schools to include MFL in pupils' KS4 curriculum, even if they do not take a full GCSE size qualification and this may be particularly harmful for second foreign languages.

Finally there is the issue of less widely taught languages for which there may not be a GCSE, although there are Asset Languages qualifications available in these languages (e.g. Hindi, Somali, Tamil).

We feel strongly that as wide a range of languages as possible should be available, i.e. wider than the current range of GCSE MFL qualifications. Past experience has shown that awarding organisations will not voluntarily develop GCSEs in additional languages and hence the development of Asset Languages. It would be wrong to exclude the alternative qualifications developed to meet this minority demand.

All the work done in the last 6 to 8 years to broaden curriculum offer and encourage more pupils into language learning already risks being undone completely by the EBacc and its narrow adherence to a "one-size-fits-all" qualification structure. In our experience, if the qualification doesn’t count for the league tables, it won't be on the curriculum thus denying large numbers of pupils a coherent, progressive and worthwhile language learning experience, albeit in a different format to GCSE. We need a system that encourages high quality vocational qualifications – and we need them to be recognised in all performance measures.

We agree with Tim Oates’ statement that “assessment processes of greater validity and which have beneficial wash back into learning are essential if assessment is to drive learning in a beneficial manner”.

Star Wars Crawl Creator

Oh, the magic of Twitter! Following up a tweet from @rubiales62, which led me to http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/%2ARecently+Added, I scrolled through the wiki and found this:

http://www.starwars.com/games/playnow/crawl_creator/

It allows students to input 41 lines of text which then appear on screen in the classic "Star Wars Crawl" mode, to the accompaniment of the theme music! How cool is that! What a neat way to practise some key language in preparation for controlled assessment! Go on - have a play - you know you want to!

Star Wars Crawl Creator