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Empowering pupil voice through anti-racist storytelling and digital animation at Inverkip Primary and Nursery Class

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Empowering pupil voice through anti-racist storytelling and digital animation at Inverkip Primary and Nursery Class

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HMIe blog post on effective practice. Published 12/05/26

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Empowering pupil voice through anti-racist storytelling and digital animation at Inverkip Primary and Nursery Class

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School staff identified a need to extend pupil voice beyond class-based learning. They wanted to create more meaningful opportunities for learners to critically examine difficult histories and contemporary social issues.

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Closing the gap by valuing multilingualism

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Closing the gap by valuing multilingualism

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Post by Soofia Amin and the East London Research School.

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Closing the Gap by Valuing Multilingualism

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This blog is also available to read here. I recently visited a primary school where low writing outcomes for multilingual children had led leaders to search urgently for ways to “close the gap.

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Young anti-racist voices of Scotland anthology

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Young anti-racist voices of Scotland anthology

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Education Scotland is a Scottish Government executive agency responsible for supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education.

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Post from Julie, teacher of Spanish and Russian in kindergarten in USA.

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AS LANGUAGE TEACHERS, we know the goal is 90% in the target language, focusing on comprehensible input in context. For most of us, this, although sometimes challenging, is a goal we can attain when it comes to vocabulary and even grammar. Where it gets more difficult is in overlaying culture, making it comprehensible and accessible to our students. Here are some thoughts and experiences that have worked for me in my elementary Spanish classes (K-4), as well as with my adult students in Russian class- SIX QUESTIONS I ask myself when I am considering what to incorporate (or not!) into my classroom:

*IS IT RELEVANT?- Can my students make a connection and/or relate to what I am teaching? Does it have meaning for my students? When students are able to connect emotionally or intellectually to something, they are more likely to internalize and remember it. Teaching about wedding traditions to 8 year olds has little meaning for them as they are not connected to weddings in any fashion- however, teaching about how kiddos get to school each day taps into a daily occurrence in the lives of our students and has real meaning for them. With little ones, keeping it tangible and concrete makes it easier for kids to connect. Abstract ideas, political views, and perspectives are harder for them to relate to as they are not thinking on that level. AND, don't underestimate the power of comparing and contrasting! Kids naturally do this, and being able to make comparisons with their own lives gives them context for making sense of what they are learning.

*IS IT AGE APPROPRIATE?- Since I teach elementary level, my primary goal with culture is to share children's culture with my students; in other words, exposing them to how children in Spanish speaking countries (at the same age as my students) live. There are many fascinating aspects of adult culture that I would love to teach about, but, as I said above, they have little meaning for my students. When choosing aspects of culture to teach about, consider what constitutes the culture of the age group you are teaching- if it's middle or high school, pop culture is a good bet. If you feel you don't know enough about that particular age group in the target culture, ask native speaking friends, do a web search, think about what was important to you at that age (or what were big events in your life) and then search that out in the target culture.

A way of thinking of this, in my mind, is the immersion approach-in other words, like language immersion, immersing our students in culture, instead of just teaching about it, allows them to experience culture, and ultimately, hopefully, it becomes a part of their culture too, their story. (What an amazing thing, right?!)

*WILL IT INTEREST/MOTIVATE MY STUDENTS?- Tying into what I've already said above, ask yourself whether what you are considering will be of interest to your students. Just because you are fascinated by it, doesn't mean they will be. Big motivators such as food, celebrations, and music are always great choices, but there are tons of other areas to explore. I find non fiction information to be a big hit with my little kiddos, most specifically science and geography. My students love animals, so I am sure to include animals from Spanish speaking countries whenever I can!

*IS IT LINGUISTICALLY ACCESSIBLE?- Here's where the rubber really meets the road! Is what you want to incorporate linguistically accessible to your students? meaning, can you integrate it using comprehensible input? At the lower levels, are you able to break down the information into digestible chunks? Can you simplify it enough to make it comprehensible without losing the overall meaning? Picking and choosing what meets these criteria can be challenging- and sometimes you have to dump something because it just can't be integrated successfully without using lots of English to explain- and that's ok! Things I look for what considering this question:
-Is it tangible/concrete? This is especially important with little kiddos and/or novice learners. Authentic games are tangible, beliefs about where you go when you die- not so much. With novice learners of any level, keeping it tangible means you have less linguistic leg work to do in order to frame the context. Keep it simple with these learners!
-Do I have enough resources to talk about this? Most specifically, do I have pictures, videos, realia, etc? Having visuals or other representations is going to help greatly with what language/ vocabulary you need to use to get the idea across. If you don't have these resources, either go find them or look for something else to talk about. Sometimes it takes me years to get together what I want to effectively teach about a particular aspect of culture- there's nothing wrong with an overstuffed closet full of "one day I will get to that" items! :)
-If it's a song or poem or story, are there too many new words? If so, good-bye! Studies show students can only hold on to about 3-5 new words at a time, so anything above and beyond that is either a candidate for a lot of pre-teaching of the vocabulary before introducing it (which then begs the question- is this song/poem/story really the best choice?) or I look for something else. There's always something else......

*WILL IT LIVE ON AFTER THE LESSON/ THEME IS OVER?- I'm big on culture that has a long shelf life. I particularly like culture that is part of our everyday classes, not just facts or themes which my students learn about and then we never revisit. (not that this isn't important!) What are aspects of culture that come up over and over again or are easily incorporated into your daily flow? In my classroom, this entails a whole host of things: greetings and leave takings, idioms and expressions that make sense in a classroom setting, gestures, my 4th graders are organized into teams with country names, regular and constant map references, how we write the date on our paper, how the calendar is set up (Monday first), authentic songs, chants and games we use regularly, tooth traditions with Ratoncito Pérez, the Tooth Mouse, even our clean up song which signals our routine for putting materials away (and is authentic) and so on. In addition, I've set up my curriculum in a spiral format, meaning we revisit "old" themes and vocabulary often. This allows us to have 'blasts from the past' as I call them, singing previously learned songs, playing games from the year before, integrating former knowledge into new themes.

*WHAT ARE THE GOALS FOR MY STUDENTS?- It is always important for me as a teacher to know beforehand what my goals are for any instruction. Does what I am teaching meet a particular standard? What do I want them to get out of the information? or how do I want them to use it? Answering these questions helps me determine whether something is really a good fit for my classroom.

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AS LANGUAGE TEACHERS, we know the goal is 90% in the target language, focusing on comprehensible input in context. For most of us, this, although sometimes challenging, is a goal we can attain when it comes to vocabulary and even grammar. Where it gets more difficult is in overlaying culture, making it comprehensible and accessible to our students.

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Visit a village on an island made of shells | National Geographic

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Visit a village on an island made of shells | National Geographic

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Clip 2mins 39. In French with English language subtitles.

Fadiouth is a village on a Senegalese island constructed entirely of discarded clamshells. The village's streets are made of clamshells (there are no cars), and so are its buildings. Both Christians and Muslims live on the island, where their dead are buried in the same cemetery.

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Visit a Village on an Island Made of Shells | National Geographic

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Les contes d’ailleurs: Antilles et Caraïbes

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Les contes d’ailleurs: Antilles et Caraïbes

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Unit of work with resouces generously shared by Mme Moghtader, published 10/01/24

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Les Contes d’ailleurs: Antilles et Caraïbes

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Fables are stories that are central to our upbringing and our culture. When teaching the French language and literacy skills, I like to base lessons on content that isn’t Eurocentric as I want stud…

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P5b finished their amazing picture dictionary entries for the ERC Big Book of Wonderful Words. Pupils selected a language and were challenged to find a word beginning with a certain letter. We had Portuguese words beginning with N, Hausa words starting with I, and many more!

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P5b finished their amazing picture dictionary entries for the ERC Big Book of Wonderful Words. Pupils selected a language and were challenged to find a word beginning with a certain letter. We had Portuguese words beginning with N, Hausa words starting with I, and many more! https://t.co/iHXIu61Lrs

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P5b finished their amazing picture dictionary entries for the ERC Big Book of Wonderful Words. Pupils selected a language and were challenged to find a word beginning with a certain letter. We had Portuguese words beginning with N, Hausa words starting with I, and many more! pic.twitter.com/iHXIu61Lrs
— Giffnock PS (@giffnockprimary) February 8, 2023

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P5b finished their amazing picture dictionary entries for the ERC Big Book of Wonderful Words. Pupils selected a language and were challenged to find a word beginning with a certain letter. We had Portuguese words beginning with N, Hausa words starting with I, and many more! https://t.co/iHXIu61Lrs

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P5b finished their amazing picture dictionary entries for the ERC Big Book of Wonderful Words. Pupils selected a language and were challenged to find a word beginning with a certain letter. We had Portuguese words beginning with N, Hausa words starting with I, and many more! https://t.co/iHXIu61Lrs

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P5b finished their amazing picture dictionary entries for the ERC Big Book of Wonderful Words. Pupils selected a language and were challenged to find a word beginning with a certain letter. We had Portuguese words beginning with N, Hausa words starting with I, and many more!

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Black Oot Here. Dreams O'Us | Graphic Novel

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Black Oot Here. Dreams O'Us | Graphic Novel

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Follow 14-year-old Ola’s thoughts and dreams in this story about the experiences, history, and lives of Black people in Scotland.

This graphic novel is illustrated by Chris Manson and co-authored by Francesca Sobande and layla-roxanne hill. It is available in English, Scots (translated by Lesley Benzie) and Scottish Gaelic (translated by Naomi Gessesse).

How do we learn about the past while living in the present?

Who creates archives and how is history made?

What is it like to dream of Black Scottish history?

Why do our (hi)stories matter?

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This work was supported by funding from ESRC IAA and AHRC IAA grants from UKRI, provided through Cardiff University.

Francesca Sobande is a writer and reader in digital media studies (Cardiff University). She is co-author with layla-roxanne hill of Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland (Bloomsbury, 2022) and author of The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).

layla-roxanne hill is a curator and writer, living and healing in Scotland. She organises within and outwith the trade union movement. She is co-author with Francesca Sobande of Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland (Bloomsbury, 2022).

Chris Manson is a mixed Scottish Chinese illustrator and writer based near Glasgow. Originally from Hong Kong, he uses speculative fiction comics to tell stories about identity and the ways in which tradition both empowers us and restrains us. He is the artist for 'Black Oot Here: Dreams O Us', and has previously been published by Quindrie Press in the collection 'Tilt'.

Lesley Benzie is Scots translator o Black Oot Here: Dreams O Us. She scrieves in baith Scots an English an haes 2 poetry collections, Sewn Up an mair newlins Fessen/Reared (Seahorse. 2020). Aat year she also wan a Highly Commended in the Federation o Writers Scotland an Runner-up in McCash Scots Poetry competeetions. In 2021 she wis shortlisted in the Main an Scots categories o the Wigtown Poetry Prize. In 2022 she wis shortlisted for Scots Scriever o the Year in the Scots language Awards. She is a member o Wanderlust Weemen, a 3 poet collectiv.

Tha Naomi Gessesse na sgrìobhadair le Gàidhlig stèidhichte ann an Glaschu aig a bheil ùidh ann am film agus foghlam. Tha iad air a bhith ag obair thairis air grunn fhèisean film agus tha iad an dòchas tuilleadh rannsachaidh a dhèanamh.

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This work was supported by funding from ESRC IAA and AHRC IAA grants from UKRI, provided through Cardiff University. Francesca Sobande is a writer and reader in digital media studies (Cardiff University). She is co-author with layla-roxanne hill of Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland (Bloomsbury, 2022) and author of The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).

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Post by Ellie Chettle Cully on her blog My Primary Languages Classroom

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Back in 2012, when I was just a couple of years into my teaching career, I watched 'Andrew Marr's History of the World' on the BBC. The aim of the series was to tell the story of the entirety of human history, starting with the migration of early homo sapiens out of Africa and ending in the present day. What struck me the most about the series was an episode which featured a section on the Haitian Revolution of 1791. It saw enslaved Africans rise up against their French rulers, taking on the colonial might of not just France but also Britain and Spain. By 1804 independence from France had been won (although reparations would still be made to the former colonisers for the "theft" of slaveowner "property" until as recently as 1947), making Haiti the first republic led by black people and effectively signaling the beginning of the end for the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. I was immediately struck by one question. Why was it I that I had never even heard of the Haitian Revolution, in spite of its profound impact on world history? A little more research soon uncovered other revolts by enslaved Africans in the former British colonies of Jamaica, Grenada and Barbados. Again, I had never heard of them. Clearly, even after studying history to A-Level, and French, and Hispanic Studies as a degree, there were huge gaps is my understanding of the long and complex histories that major European powers had, and continue to have, with their former colonies.

Citadelle Laferrière in Haiti, part of the country's defense system against possible future French incursions following the Revolution.

The fact that the British education system is very selective when it comes to the history it shares with the young people it claims to educate has been well known by black and minority ethnic (BME) communities for decades. It is the very reason that many such communities have long histories of supplementary schools, which promote an alternative to the version of history taught within the mainstream classroom. For too long, our education system has failed to tackle the thorny issues surrounding colonialism: the violence inflicted on the oppressed peoples of colonised territories, its uncomfortable views on race and the impact it still has in Britain, and many other parts of the globe, today. The murder of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, seen around the world in the summer of 2020, have reignited debate about the way in which systemic racism, prejudice and lack of representation still affect the lives of minority ethnic groups living in a postcolonial world.

The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests should be making us think again about representation of BME groups within the school curriculum

Unfortunately, often tokenistic gestures of "diversity" or "multiculturalism" take the place of actual, concrete action to address the underlying issues that lead to lack of representation within the curriculum. The problem with the concept of "diversity" is that it is based on the idea that there is a neutral point from which "others" are "diverse" (with the dominant aspect of this "neutrality" being whiteness). The concept of decolonising the curriculum goes further than simply ensuring that there are more black and brown faces in text books and the resources we create. It asks us to move beyond what we think we know, to question things that we may have assumed were fact and to move away from a Eurocentric view of the world.

So what does a decolonised MFL curriculum actually look like? The honest answer is, I don't fully know because I have never seen one and I certainly don't have all the answers.

For me personally, one of the first steps has been to re-examine the curriculum offer for MFL in my school and consider how we could help children to explore French as a global language, not just one spoken in France. This has meant forging links with partner schools in different parts of the Francophone world, not just mainland France, and adjusting planning to create units of work which allow learners to explore the cultures of countries like Rwanda, Guadeloupe and Senegal. It has also meant liaising with SLT to set aside time for a designated Semaine de la Francophonie, during which pupils learn more about the history, art and culture of various Francophone nations, drawing on their history and geography skills, alongside language teaching, in a cross-curricular approach. An 'Art Week', during which each year group will learn about and recreate the art of a Francophone artist is another move away from more "obvious" European painters such as Monet and Matisse. Importantly though, these topics and themed weeks don't just stop at the idea of French being a globally-spoken language, but encourage pupils to explore why this might have come to be. How is it that so many countries, in so many different corners of the globe all have the same official language? Does everybody in these countries speak French or are other languages present in the everyday lives of the populations and why might this be? Naturally, such discussions will draw out challenging issues. Can we talk about Carnival in Guadeloupe without addressing the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, for example?

Guadeloupe is a beautiful island but we must also share with children troubling elements of its past

Whilst, as a primary practitioner, it can seem very difficult to address such topics with young pupils, I am in complete agreement with Lisa Panford and Melina Irvine 's comment in their recent ALL Language World presentation on decolonising the MFL curriculum, that we need to start our discussions on racism and colonialism as early as possible with primary pupils. This must, of course, be done in an age-appropriate way but it is essential if our children are to move through the education system with an awareness of the causes and current consequences of colonialism.

A decolonised curriculum also requires us to examine seemingly well-known aspects of history from a different perspective. Throughout my high-school history education, I learned about the First and Second World Wars solely through a European lens. I heard about battles in France and Belgium, dictators in Germany and Italy and analysed pictures of white Tommies in trenches. No mention was ever made of the contribution of troops from across the British Empire - as an example, over 1 million Indian soldiers served in World War One and around 2.5 million in World War Two - who fought for Britain and were, at the time, British citizens as a direct result of imperial expansion. The involvement of men from all corners of the globe, coming to fight for the "mother country" is, of course, the reason why we call them "World Wars" but this, to my knowledge, was never made explicit. When we commemorate l'armistice in MFL sessions, can we do so without reference to les tirailleurs sénégalais (West-African soldiers who fought for France) or the contribution of Malagasy troops?

Display of 'ID cards' commemorating soldiers from all over the world who fought and died for Britain and France in WW1, created by my Year 3 pupils.

As part of a decolonised curriculum I think it is also important to shine a light on the cultural achievements of former colonies, in spite of the oppressions of their colonial pasts. From Léopold Senghor's philosophy of négritude in Senegal, to the resident artists of Kigali's Inema Arts Centre and the Simón Bolívar orchestra of Venezuela, many groups in the global south have successfully reimagined culture for a postcolonial age and this is something that, as teachers, we must help our pupils to discover. In doing so, we enable learners to challenge their own misconceptions about life in countries which they may have - consciously or unconsciously - considered "poor", "backward", or "lacking in culture."

With this in mind, we must also be conscious of the images of people or places that we expose our pupils to, ensuring that we do not fall into the trap of presenting tired tropes, which do not represent the current reality of the country which they claim to depict. When we show children pictures or video clips of Côte d'Ivoire, do we show images of bustling Abidjan with its skyscrapers, alongside the beautiful beaches, rubber plantations and the national football team? The danger of a single narrative is well-documented but it is inevitable, especially when talking about places that we have never visited, that we may fall back onto unhelpful stereotypes ourselves. This is why creating links with partner schools can be so beneficial, not only for the pupils but for teachers too. I will often ask my colleagues in partner institutions questions about a particular unit of work and I hope in the future to be able to do more collaborative planning of units.

Decolonising in terms of MFL, or indeed any area of the curriculum, involves teachers and school leaders reflecting critically on what they think they already know, taking into consideration their own points of reference and bias and being prepared to admit that they do not have all the answers. Ultimately, it is a question of pluralising, creating greater equality and designing a curriculum in which all learners see themselves reflected. We should be aiming to create a curriculum which inspires all learners, enabling every pupil, no matter what their background or the colour of their skin, to achieve the best possible outcomes.
For more information around the subject of decolonising the curriculum and what it is like to grow up black and British, I have found the following really informative. Aisha Thomas's 2020 Ted Talk The Importance of Representation in Education Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala. Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch

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Decolonising the Primary MFL Curriculum.

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Moving beyond diversity Back in 2012, when I was just a couple of years into my teaching career, I watched 'Andrew Marr's History of the World' on the BBC. The aim of the series was to tell the story of the entirety of human history, starting with the migration of early homo sapiens out of...

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All different, all welcome

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Video Blog: How can schools work effectively with families of multilingual learners?

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Video Blog: How can schools work effectively with families of multilingual learners?

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Published by The Bell Foundation 31/01/26.

In this video blog, Soofia Amin, Specialist Lead in Education for EAL at Tapscott Learning Trust, shares thoughtful, practical approaches to welcoming families and helping them support their children's learning, including how schools can encourage reading at home when parents don’t have literacy in their home language.

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Schools play a vital role not only in educating children, but in building meaningful partnerships with the families who support them at home. For multilingual learners, this connection can be especially powerful - and especially complex.

In this video blog, Soofia Amin, Specialist Lead in Education for EAL at Tapscott Learning Trust , shares thoughtful, practical approaches to welcoming families and helping them support their children's learning, including how schools can encourage reading at home when parents don't have literacy in their home language.

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Video Blog: How can schools work effectively with families of multilingual learners?

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Schools play a vital role not only in educating children, but in building meaningful partnerships with the families who support them at home. For multilingual learners, this connection can be especially powerful - and especially complex.

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Published January 2026. Relevant to all texts of all genres in all the languages we teach and in all the languages our learners know and learn.

This resource was shaped by young people, teachers, academics, literacy leads and critical friends across Scotland and co-created with Dr Navan Govender,​ ​​​Lecturer in Applied Language and Literacy Studies at the Strathclyde Institute of Education​​, and Titilayo Farukuoye, writer and anti-racist educator.

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Not languages specific

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Lit in Colour | Supporting inclusive reading in schools

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It's vital that the books we read in our formative years reflect the rich diversity of the society we live in. That's why we at Penguin have joined forces with The Runnymede Trust to explore how to support schools to make the teaching and learning of English literature more inclusive.

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Canciones para nuestros bosques y animales salvajes. Música para la Naturaleza. Desde Colombia.

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"jacana jacana" "musica naturaleza" "musica para niños"

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Canciones para nuestros bosques y animales salvajes. Música para la Naturaleza

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Short clips in Spanish, many about aspects of pre-Columbian cultures in the Americas.

Tikitiklip es una colección de hermosas canciones animadas para niños. Los mejores videoclips donde se mezcla buena música con hermosas historias de gran contenido. Los más increíbles personajes animados al ritmo de movidas canciones.

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tikitiklip "videoclips con artesania" "artesania animada" "arte precolombino animado" "videoclips infantil" "artesania chilena" "musica para niños" "musica i...

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Tikitiklip es una colección de hermosas canciones animadas para niños. Los mejores videoclips donde se mezcla buena música con hermosas historias de gran contenido. Los más increíbles personajes animados al ritmo de movidas canciones. Todos los videos pertenecen a las series de TV Tikitiklip con Elenco Artesanal y Tikitiklip Precolombino.

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Free content from Rockalingua.

Downloadable workbook associated with the song.

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TOWARD PROFICIENCY - Building Bridges in Language Education

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Card Talk is just the beginning! - TOWARD PROFICIENCY

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Card Talk, a technique originally created by Ben Slavic, is a staple in many comprehension-based classrooms. In a nutshell, you distribute a notecard, ask students to write or draw about a specific topic, and then talk about this topic, using the cards and Personalized Questions and Answers (read my friend Ben Fisher’s post for a

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Anti-racism work at Newark PS, Inverclyde

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Anti-racism work at Newark PS, Inverclyde

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Link to the sketchnote above. Read the associated blog post here.

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Mirrors and Windows - Developing anti-racist education through books

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Mirrors and Windows - Developing anti-racist education through books

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Books have the power to shape the way children see themselves and the world. They can act as mirrors that reflect what we know about ourselves and the world we live in. They can also act as windows into worlds and experiences that are different to our own.

As educators, it’s important that the books we choose reflect the lives of all our children and the diverse and interconnected world we live in.

This ‘Mirrors and Windows’ guide encourages you to critically reflect on the resources in use in your school and nursery and provides practical guidance for auditing and using books in your setting.

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Mirrors & Windows: Developing anti-racist education through books – Highland One World

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Books have the power to shape the way children see themselves and the world. They can act as mirrors that reflect what we know about ourselves and the world we live in. They can also act as windows into worlds and experiences that are different to our own.

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Becoming a more confident and skilled anti-racist educator generally involves starting with educating yourself! These resources will support you to learn about the historical roots and contemporary manifestations of racial prejudice and discrimination. They also explore the influence of race and culture in our own personal and professional attitudes and behaviour.

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Anti-Racist Education Guide for Teachers – Highland One World

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Resources and support for anti-racist education practitioners across Scotland.

This website provides tools, workshops and ideas to support Early Years practitioners and educators in Scotland to build an anti-racist curriculum which responds positively to the diverse needs of individual learning where all cultures, religions, identities and languages are recognised and valued.

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For education practitioners in Scotland interested in embedding anti-racist education in their setting.

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Owls and Woodland Learning Scotland | Collected resources for learners of Gaelic about trees

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Owls and Woodland Learning Scotland | Collected resources for learners of Gaelic about trees

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Self-directed professional learning resource for individuals or groups.

Structured in three parts and based around a recorded conversation between two anti-racist teachers - Lauren White, PTC in Bathgate Academy and Arnault Kasa, Peel Primary and SCILT PDO Suzanne Ritchie. The resource features reflective questions and other associated materials aimed at supporting teachers of languages to take forward an anti-racist approach to their practice.

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Tap to see a two post thread in full from Karen Irwin, outlining an activity that could be undertaken by pupils using any language(s).

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Using #EveryoneCanCreate Get Closer to the Detail activity in a Forest School lesson. Take a close up photo of a spider web and explore the details, marking up the photo with adjectives to describe it. A great way to mix nature and language through iPad. #AppleEducationCommunity #EduSkyPrimary

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A' Adams' Bairns. An introductory self-learning tool on anti-racist praxis for teachers and educators

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A' Adams' Bairns. An introductory self-learning tool on anti-racist praxis for teachers and educators

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Resource from Scotdec and National Library Scotland, from a project funded by Erasmus + and the European Union.

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BBC Future | Let's Talk Language: The people cracking the world's toughest climate words

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BBC Future | Let's Talk Language: The people cracking the world's toughest climate words

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When it comes to solving climate change, every word counts. From the pitfalls of metaphors to the multiple meanings of the word "energy" – this is how translators at global climate negotiations navigate the language of global warming.

Tap the image to read the article in full. Published 11/11/24

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Translators play a crucial role at international climate negotiations (Credit: Serenity Strull/ Getty Images)

"I remember one morning we returned to our hotel at around 4:00am and slept for two hours. Then we were told that the final document was adopted so we had to rush back to the conference to translate the outcome documents," says Jianjun Chen, a Chinese language translator at the United Nations, based in Geneva.

He is recounting the frantic hours before negotiators reached a deal at the 24th Convention of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - or COP24 - in Katowice, Poland, in 2018. Chen, who has worked at the UN for 14 years and translated multiple documents from the UN climate talks into Mandarin, isn't fazed by the long hours or lack of sleep.

This year's UN climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, will be his 13th. As world leaders gather for COP29 in Baku, Chen and 25 other translators are preparing for a slew of new climate vocabulary to enter the discourse - words that will dictate the ways countries and campaigners approach climate action.

The final text is the result of negotiations, sometimes very intense negotiations. So you have to be very careful about the wording - Jianjun Chen

Chen also translated important documents when the landmark Paris Agreement was signed at the UN climate talks in 2015 (COP21), pledging to try to prevent global warming to well below 2C, with a stretch target of a 1.5C limit. ( Read more about why 1.5C is a critical threshold in this story by Martha Henriques). "I was called to start working in the middle of the night at 2 or 3am. Since there was always a tight deadline, we didn't have the luxury to fall asleep," he recalls.

"The final text is the result of negotiations, sometimes very intense negotiations. So you have to be very careful about the wording. It probably just looks very ordinary, but the member states spent days and nights to reach an agreement on this final wording."

The work is strenuous for negotiators and translators alike. "I've heard some of the delegates actually sleep in the conference room," Chen says.

Translating page after page of climate policy under immense time pressure is not an easy task. "A lot of these reports that we translate on climate change are written by scientists," says Chen. They contain complex technical terms such as "carbon neutrality" and "loss and damage", which require knowledge of the basic meanings of the individual terms, as well as the environmental context.

"The challenge for us as translators when it comes to these types of documents is that we need a lot of technical expertise," says Chen.

At COP28 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year, negotiations almost collapsed as almost 200 countries argued over how to include fossil fuels in a UN climate pledge for the first time.

The phrase "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems" appears in the UAE Consensus, the final agreement which Chen and his colleagues translated. The 21-page document took aim at fossil fuels and their role in exacerbating climate change. The UAE Consensus signaled a landmark commitment toward reducing the world's reliance on coal, oil and gas, though to what degree and how quickly remained unclear. Politicians at the conference praised the "historic achievement", but many climate activists and scientists criticised the language for being too weak.

For translators like Chen, the goal is to keep translations as close to the connotation and intent of the original language, regardless of the climate politics. But translating the text still poses some serious challenges. "In Chinese, the phrase 'transitioning away from something' is difficult to describe without specifying what the object transitions toward," Chen says.

Translating page after page of climate policy under immense time pressure is not an easy task (Credit: Serenity Strull/ Getty Images)

Chinese media outlets had translated the phrase into Chinese in several ways: "getting rid of fossil fuels", "eliminating", or "abandoning", says Chen, which he and his colleagues decided felt "too strong".

"After several rounds of discussions with my colleagues, I settled on something along the lines of 'realising a transition in energy systems by gradually distancing ourselves from fossil fuels' [in Mandarin] which I believe was closer to the original tone," Chen says.

In other places in the world, translators may have to be more creative, especially when a word or phrase has no direct equivalent in the target language - sometimes termed "untranslatable" words or phrases. (Read more about how certain "untranslatable" terms affect our emotions.)

A " just transition" is term that refers to how countries can shift to a greener economy in a fair and inclusive way for everyone. Even in English it can have a second meaning - without context it could simply be a request to get on with things. But in other languages it can be even more complex.

The concept of the phrase is complex and has no direct equivalent in Bengali, says Ahamed. The linguist and he settled on the phrase kalo theke aalo, which together means "from darkness to hope". The phrase, while not an exact translation, contains the word kalo, which in West Bengal communities is already associated with coal, and thus captures a shared cultural understanding of the meaning, Ahamed says.

"It is easy to understand as the equivalent English is too complex and very technical - not for the lay person," he says. Since then, Ahamed says some members of the community have reached out to him regarding further research.

Another language issue that comes up at climate talks is the problem of figures of speech, or what is called framing, says Arran Stibbe, a professor in ecological linguistics at the University of Gloucestershire in the UK. Stibbe is also founder of the International Ecolinguistics Association, a network of researchers who examine the role of language in the environment and the lives of humans.

There are different kinds of framing that affect the way people contextualise broad issues like climate change. For example, framing climate change as a global security threat creates a sense of immediacy and pressure to act, Stibbe says.

A normal expression in one language can sound like a really strong metaphor in another language - Arran Stibbe

In the context of climate change, metaphoric framing can sometimes be misleading, says Stibbe. For example, climate change is sometimes likened to a time bomb, which he says is problematic because when a bomb goes off, the destruction is immutable and final, but climate change is a gradual change. Using this framing could suggest that climate action is a waste of time. "The [term] time bomb could make people give up. It's like, 'well, we're not going to be able to diffuse it, so it's going to happen, let's party,'" says Stibbe. "[But climate change] is not an all-or-nothing kind of situation."

Then there are dead metaphors. These are figures of speech that have lost the power of their original meaning through repeated popular usage, and they are a particular challenge for translation across cultures, says Stibbe. For most English speakers, killing time doesn't elicit the image of stabbing time with a knife - it simply means to let time expire. However, this kind of metaphor can undergo a change in what Stibbe calls "activation levels" when translated directly. What is "really a normal expression in one language can sound like a really strong metaphor in another language".

He has also heard climate change being described as "a rollercoaster which we may not survive". He chuckles at this comparison because rollercoasters are "typically not deadly".

"The other problem with the roller coaster one is that [it implies] we're going up and we're going down, but we don't actually have any control," says Stibbe, whereas the choices that governments and societies make can still sway the progression or de-escalation of the climate crisis.

Effective climate change discourse involves "being aware of the kind of frames that are being used, being aware of the problems that these frames have and being aware of a whole set of alternative ways of framing climate change", Stibbe says.

Translators must carefully navigate the political waters at UN climate talks (Credit: Serenity Strull/ Getty Images)

When Chen encounters metaphors, he tries to maintain them in the translation. In most cases, he will be able to translate metaphors literally, like "carbon footprint" ( 碳足迹, tàn zújì), but "if for some reason we cannot recreate the metaphors in Chinese, we will try to convey the meaning instead of the form". For example, the phrase "tipping point" is translated into Chinese as "critical point" ( 临界点, línjiè diǎn). But Chen says metaphors are fortunately not common occurrences in UN documents.

Beyond the crucial work in overcoming language barriers, there are other benefits to working closely with a translator, says David King, the UK's former climate envoy who led the country's negotiations during the Paris Agreement. Communication via a translator tends to be more thought-through, King explains.

"Yes, it takes a bit of getting used to," he says. "But to be honest, I love it, because it means that I speak sentence by sentence. And then, in the gap when it's being translated, I'm thinking of the next sentence. So instead of just rattling things off, I think your presentation is much clearer because of the need to provide that time for translation."

One of the biggest discussions at the UN climate talks every year is who is responsible for climate change and where the burden should lie in taking action to combat it and protect those most affected by mounting climate threats. This is considered an integral part of achieving climate justice.

Loss and damage, which focuses on whether wealthier countries should pay developing countries for the climate change damage they have caused, is a particularly thorny subject. Following decades of opposition from wealthy nations, a loss and damage fund was announced at COP27 in 2022. How much countries should pay into this fund will be discussed in Baku in November 2024 as part of climate finance negotiations.

Translators must carefully navigate the political waters at UN climate talks. Since there are major financial implications if countries are held liable for the climate harm they have caused, "we need to be cautious and strive to understand where the political sensitivities are", says Chen. ( Find out more about in this story by Isabelle Gerretsen).

Climate justice also involves including indigenous groups and poor countries, who tend to have been disproportionately impacted by climate change, in negotiations.

Climate justice demands effective communication - Lisa Hayward

International organisations like the UNFCCC, the UN organisation responsible for the annual climate talks, have made efforts to include and recognise indigenous peoples and their knowledge systems. Yet, spaces for climate discourse can still harbour remnants of what Stibbe highlights as epistemic colonialism, where Western worldviews and ways of thinking are imposed on indigenous cultures. This can manifest in green colonialism, where discussions on environmental policies can outright disregard the rights of indigenous peoples. Framing issues with minority populations in mind can be beneficial in creating a more holistic climate discourse.

Indigenous and minority communities have important insights into the positive and negative impacts of climate change solutions, says Lisa Hayward, community engagement manager at the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. But in order to make those assessments, they often need information from academic and government sources to inform their decisions, which must be translated correctly, she adds.

And in some cases, this a lack of adequate translations can lead to miscommunication and confusion when relaying critical climate information, which in turn cause harm to members of linguistic minority communities.

Such practices are not in line with climate justice, says Hayward. "Climate justice demands effective communication."

As Chen prepares to translate for COP29, his mission remains the same as when he started translating at UN climate talks in 2012.

"Translation becomes our universal language, bridging understanding and fostering collaboration, ensuring that every voice resonates in this vital dialogue," he says.

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The people cracking the world's toughest climate words

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The work of translators is often overlooked when world's leaders and negotiators meet to discuss climate action. Their sometimes gruelling work helps keep the talks flowing.

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Cultural relations in schools: evolving practice in a globalised world

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Cultural relations in schools: evolving practice in a globalised world

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Publication from British Council in November 2024

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Creative Translation Resources | Stephen Spender Trust

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Creative Translation Resources | Stephen Spender Trust

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Our creative translation resources have been designed by our team of trained translators. We provide ready-made activities that can be integrated into your lessons, a database of authentic texts to use when designing your own exercises, and resources to support your engagement with the Stephen Spender Prize. Our class projects offer ways to engage with creative translation on a longer-term basis. Each activity includes a set of easy-to-follow instructions and all the materials required to complete the tasks, which ensures they are accessible to teachers, facilitators, and pupils.

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Our creative translation resources have been designed by our team of trained translators. We provide ready-made activities that can be integrated into your lessons, a database of authentic texts to use when designing your own exercises, and resources to support...

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Explore the image on the National Gallery website.

Scroll down the page to watch the video to find out more about Mademoiselle La La, the subject of this Degas painting.

You may also be interested in the Presenting Miss La La book from the Collins Big Lion series.

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The Cirque Fernando was built in 1875 near the Place Pigalle in Paris, close to where Degas lived. He saw Miss La La perform there several times. Born Anna Albertine Olga Brown (1858-1945), she was a mixed-race circus performer famous for her feats of strength. Olga is especially known as the inventor of the 'Iron Jaw' act, where she holds herself up by clenching a leather mouthpiece between her teeth.

In the painting, she is seen during one of her famous Iron Jaw performances. She is suspended from the ceiling as she is hoisted up to the roof by a rope. In one of her other acts she even carried a firing cannon, while dangling upside down from a trapeze. Degas places us among the audience, looking up at the spectacle above.

Painting an acrobat allowed Degas to combine his interest in modern life with his fascination for complicated poses. He made several preparatory studies for Miss La La's portrait, paying particular attention to the complex construction of the roof, which covers most of the canvas. After it was finished, the painting was shown at the Fourth Impressionist Exhibition in Paris in 1879.

Hanging from the ceiling by her teeth, is trapeze artist and aerialist Miss La La. She performed at the Cirque Fernando, which was built in 1875 near the Place Pigalle in Paris, not far from Degas's studio. Miss La La was born Anna Albertine Olga Brown (1858-1945) to an African-American father and a white mother, in Kupfermühle, Prussia (current Poland). She began performing at age nine and travelled with different companies and acts throughout Europe. From 1879, she began using her stage name Miss La La and became well-known for her famous 'Iron Jaw' act. The performance, in which she was lifted to the roof of the circus, hanging by her teeth, gained much admiration for her incredible feats of strength. Together with her circus-partner Theophila Szterker (1864-1888), professionally known as Kaira la Blanche, Miss La La performed as the acrobatic duo 'Olga and Kaira', holding up Kaira from a trapeze between her teeth.

In his only circus painting, Degas shows Miss La La in the middle of her signature Iron Jaw act. She is depicted while clenching a leather mouthpiece, which was made specifically for her act. The painting shows her hoisted up into the air by a pulley, extending her arms in opposite directions, as if mid-flight. Her purple-coloured leotard is decorated with golden adornments and a white fringe, which contrasts with her brown skin and tights. The upwards view of Miss La La conceals her face and expression, seemingly hiding her identity from the audience.

Degas made several preparatory studies for the painting, sketching Miss La La in different positions and outfits. His studies show a few adjustments to Miss La La's pose, experimenting with the placement of her limbs. Still, it was mainly the background with which Degas struggled most. He had trouble finding the correct way to depict the perspective of the high sealing, as well as the architectural lines of the arcades, windows and roof trusses. According to his friend, British artist Walter Sickert, Degas needed the help of an architecturally skilled draftsman to assist him with sketching the ceiling. Miss La La is placed in the upper left corner of the composition, so it is the structure of the roof itself - the paired windows, beams, girders and gild decoration - that mostly fills the painting. Her pose is clearly integrated within the structure: the lines of her arms and lower legs form a parallel with the diagonal lines of the angled green girders, just as her thighs echo the vertical supports.

Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando differs from other 19th-century paintings of circuses. In most works, the composition is focused on either the circus ring or the audience. Degas's composition, however, is aimed upwards, towards the ceiling of the building. The post-impressionist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, one of Degas's contemporaries, made numerous depictions of circuses, in which he almost exclusively focused on the circus ring. His compositions are often seen from above, as if looking down from one of the top seats. To emphasize the performances, Toulouse-Lautrec eliminated the audience in most of his works and left the bleachers empty. Georges Seurat, another post-impressionist, depicted various circus members in his work Les Cirque (1890-1), including a female performer on a white horse, some tumbling clowns and a neatly coiffed ringmaster.

In painting a highly foreshortened figure suspended in space and seen from below, Degas may have been seeking to emulate the expansive ceiling paintings by Italian Baroque and Rococo artists such as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. Degas would have known these works from his early years in Italy in the 1860's and visiting again in 1873, a few years before he painted Miss La La. Our view of the skilled trapeze artist directly reproduces a viewpoint often used by Tiepolo, such as in his An Allegory with Venus and Time (ca. 1754-8), also found in the National Gallery collection. The upwards view of the goddess Venus and Time, mirrors the angle in which Miss La La is depicted. By ascending her to an orange-green ceilinged heaven, Degas compares Miss La La's godlike strength to the Venus in Tiepolo's allegory.

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Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando

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Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, 1879. Read about this painting, learn the key facts and zoom in to discover more.

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Stories that connect us

Bring connection, understanding and belonging into every classroom with awe-inspiring storyworlds created by our Oscar-winning team.

Subscription required.

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Storyworlds are at the heart of Lyfta. A storyworld is an immersive learning environment where students interact with 360° spaces and soundscapes, explore curriculum-aligned rich media articles and watch high-quality short documentary films. Each storyworld features an inspiring real human story, carefully selected to spark curiosity, empathy and compassion and open up conversations on important topics.

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We use the latest in interactive and immersive technology, along with pioneering pedagogy to help teachers to create memorable lessons and assemblies with inspiring human stories that nurture empathy, resilience, global awareness & critical thinking.

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A webinar series (tap the image to access) and the NLT Virtual School library with excerpts from books, about authors and teaching materials.

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Free Diverse Libraries annual webinar series

Our Diverse Libraries webinar series is open to all library staff and teachers based in primary or secondary schools, public or community libraries across the UK.

Webinar benefits

Participating in these webinars will give you the opportunity to:

Deepen your understanding of diversifying reading materials and widening access in reading spaces

Explore barriers which might be preventing your library collection from being fully inclusive

Be inspired to create a more inclusive reading experience for all children and young people in a library setting, both at school and in the community

Hear best practice examples from a range of experts working in the field

Connect with other library staff and teachers from across the country, who are also passionate about this issue

Diverse Libraries webinars 2023-2024

Our new series of Diverse Libraries webinars for 2023-24 launched in November. Further webinars are planned for March and June.
The first webinar focused on providing inclusive reading spaces for, and authentic representations of, children, young people and families of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritage, featuring expert speakers:

Richard O'Neill: sixth-generation master storyteller and author from the Romany tradition.

Gemma Bagnall: teacher, SENco and subject lead, passionate about diversity and inclusion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities through literature.

Watch recordings from the 2023/24 webinar series

Diverse Libraries webinars 2022-2023

Last year, our webinar series focused on neurodiversity and covered the following topics:

Webinar one: Representations of neurodiversity in children's reading

Webinar two: Every reader counts: developing inclusive reading provision and practice

Webinar three - Patrick Ness: Handling difficult conversations around representation in children's literature

Watch recordings from the 2022/23 webinar series

Diverse Libraries Webinars 2021-2022

Two years ago, our webinar series focused on representation of ethnicity and heritage and covered the following topics:

Webinar one: Bringing Diversity to Your Library Collection

Webinar two: Dealing with difficult texts and promoting anti-racism

Webinar three: Diversity Beyond the Bookshelf - Engaging library and school communities

Watch recordings from the 2021/22 webinar series

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Diverse Libraries: webinar series | National Literacy Trust

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Join our webinar series to develop your knowledge to ensure your library collection and reading experience is as diverse and inclusive as possible.

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Multilingual storytelling or shared reading

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Multilingual storytelling or shared reading

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Every time we share a story with children, we have a fantastic opportunity to enable children to build on their language awareness, learn from each other, and enhance their linguistic repertoire. The principles for this are straightforward. For each story:

Identify key vocabulary relevant for understanding the story (key characters, key items, key actions)

Work with children as experts

Consider cultural markers and ask for alternative suggestions

Share your own wonder as you all compare and learn

Watch a recording of Prof Sabine Little model shared reading.

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Every time we share a story with children, we have a fantastic opportunity to enable children to build on their language awareness, learn from each other, and enhance their linguistic repertoire. The principles for this are straightforward. For each story:

Identify key vocabulary relevant for understanding the story (key characters, key items, key actions)

Work with children as experts

Consider cultural markers and ask for alternative suggestions

Share your own wonder as you all compare and learn

You can do as much or as little of these as you want, or feel comfortable with. The example below, recorded to be played in classrooms and stopped by teachers as appropriate, focuses on key vocabulary:

Cultural markers are what helps stories make sense in a particular context. For example, in Little Red Riding Hood, Little Red Riding Hood goes through a forest, carries cake and wine, and meets a wolf - not all these are necessarily part of a child's funds of knowledge, i.e. they might be unfamiliar. Children might enjoy 'localising' a particular tale, and this is also a chance to bust some myths and avoid stereotyping, enabling children to talk to each other about geography, cultural experiences, food, etc.

We would love to include some videos of multilingual storytelling happening in your classroom - please do get in touch if you can help. If you are in Sheffield, and you think you might be able to accommodate a visit where we might tell a story and film it, with children's interaction, please do get in touch, too!

Have you used this activity?

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Multilingual storytelling or shared reading

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Every time we share a story with children, we have a fantastic opportunity to enable children to build on their language awareness, learn from each other, and enhance their linguistic repertoire. The principles for this are straightforward.

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Click on the image to see the full tweet, including a clip from BBC Reporting Scotland.

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Our Social Enterprise Project has been getting some media attention! 📺 have a look at this @BBCScotlandNews report on our culturally responsive book project ‘We Can Be Heroes 🦸‍♂️’. We are so proud of our community and everyone involved💜 @NicolaSturgeon @Doug_GCC @EducationScot

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Our Social Enterprise Project has been getting some media attention! 📺 have a look at this @BBCScotlandNews report on our culturally responsive book project ‘We Can Be Heroes 🦸‍♂️’. We are so proud of our community and everyone involved💜 @NicolaSturgeon @Doug_GCC @EducationScot https://t.co/ej3WlWy4ol

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Our Social Enterprise Project has been getting some media attention! 📺 have a look at this @BBCScotlandNews report on our culturally responsive book project ‘We Can Be Heroes 🦸‍♂️’. We are so proud of our community and everyone involved💜 @NicolaSturgeon @Doug_GCC @EducationScot pic.twitter.com/ej3WlWy4ol
— St Albert's Primary (@StAlbertsG41) February 17, 2022

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Our Social Enterprise Project has been getting some media attention! 📺 have a look at this @BBCScotlandNews report on our culturally responsive book project ‘We Can Be Heroes 🦸‍♂️’. We are so proud of our community and everyone involved💜 @NicolaSturgeon @Doug_GCC @EducationScot https://t.co/ej3WlWy4ol

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Our Social Enterprise Project has been getting some media attention! 📺 have a look at this @BBCScotlandNews report on our culturally responsive book project ‘We Can Be Heroes 🦸‍♂️’. We are so proud of our community and everyone involved💜 @NicolaSturgeon @Doug_GCC @EducationScot https://t.co/ej3WlWy4ol

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Our Social Enterprise Project has been getting some media attention! 📺 have a look at this @BBCScotlandNews report on our culturally responsive book project ‘We Can Be Heroes 🦸‍♂️’. We are so proud of our community and everyone involved💜 @NicolaSturgeon @Doug_GCC @EducationScot

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Tap to access an interactive matching game based on the Homme de couleur picturebook by Jérôme Ruillier.

The picturebook was inspired by the poem Qui est vraiment l’homme de couleur? by Léopold Sédar Senghor, poet and the first president of an independent Sénégal. Hear him recite his poem and print your own copy here.

Read this blog post to find out more about how the Homme de Couleur picturebook was used with young learners of French in the north east of England. Depending on the prior knowledge of the children, this digital activity could be done before or after engaging with the story, in pairs, by individuals or as a whole class.

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Amparo Calpe pour APFV Association de Professeurs de Français de Valencia (Espagne)

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Associez l'image au texte correspondant

Retrouvez cette activité sur

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Nattalingo blog | French picture books with BAME characters

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Nattalingo blog | French picture books with BAME characters

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French picture books with BAME characters in them - Nattalingo

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Ruth Magee, in the supportive Facebook group “Languages in Primary Schools”, challenged me to put a blog together about books by BAME authors or featuring BAME characters, for use in the primary French classroom. This is as far as I have got so far… I am ashamed to say that, when I checked, the only […]

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Global Storybooks is a free multilingual literacy resource for children and youth worldwide

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The Global Storybooks Portal is designed specifically for teachers, parents, and community members around the world. It makes 40 selected stories from the African Storybook available in major national, immigrant and refugee languages of individual countries, regions, and groups.

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This teaching resource is produced by the Sir Walter Scott Centre at the University of Aberdeen. It is aimed at CfE Third level. Could you use or adapt it for the pupils in your class? Could you use the approaches with other texts to allow for different intercultural comparisons?

Do we understand places through their representation in media? How did Scott represent the connection between people and place in his work? And how does this compare to writers from other places? This unit, which should take three or four lessons, compares an extract from a Chinese short story to an extract from one of Scott's poems. The pupils will develop their reading comprehension skills, their ability to see different points of view, and their understanding of a place of their choosing.

A comprehensive collection of teaching materials for CfE Second and Third level based on or inspired by the work of Walter Scott are freely available here.

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This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant Number AH/V011111/1.

It is part of The Edinburgh Edition of Walter Scott's Poetry: Engaging New Audiences. It was developed by Dr Anna Fancett as part of the Walter Scott Research Centre at the University of Aberdeen with the support of Abbotsford, Scott's home in the Scottish Borders and The Association for Scottish Literature.

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This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant Number AH/V011111/1. It is part of The Edinburgh Edition of Walter Scott's Poetry: Engaging New Audiences. It was developed by Dr Anna Fancett as part of the Walter Scott Research Centre at the University of Aberdeen with the support of Abbotsford, Scott's home in the Scottish Borders and The Association for Scottish Literature.

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Balam & Lluvia's House | CLPE teaching materials

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Balam & Lluvia's House | CLPE teaching materials

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This distinctive book tells stories of family life from a child’s eye view, set in and around the home of siblings Balam and Lluvia. The picturebook format and vignettes of homelife call to mind the work of Shirley Hughes, with an entirely fresh and authentic feel. We are drawn into Balam and Lluvia’s world through the familiar slice-of-life narratives contained within the poems, the evocative artwork, and the sensory poetic language of Schimel’s translation. A quiet and relatable book, which also offers a window into Latin American culture.

Videos available of author Julio Serrano Echeverría reading excerpts from the book in Spanish, and translator Lawrence Schimel reading the same excerpts in English.

Sign up for a free CLPE membership to unlock the complete teaching resource.

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This distinctive book tells stories of family life from a child’s eye view, set in and around the home of siblings Balam and Lluvia. The picturebook format an…

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Mariana Llanos | Qoritika and the three Alpacas

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Mariana Llanos | Qoritika and the three Alpacas

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Story by: Mariana Llanos

Music by: Andrés Parodi

Narrated by: Ynairaly Simo

Songs Performed by: Alana Chirinos

The story about Qoritika is told in English.  Which Spanish words do you recognise from the story?

If you could speak to Qoritika, what question would you ask about her daily life or about the country of Peru?

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Qoritika and the Three Alpacas | Mariana Llanos

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Audio story part of the Tiny Tales from Pampers Podcast. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms. Story by Mariana Llanos, music by Andres Parodi, Narrated by Ynairaly Simo. A tale set in Cusco, Peru.

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Downloadable Spanish language picturebook that tells the story of Totó La Momposina a singer, dancer and performer in Colombia.

Totó La Momposina’s entire life has been dedicated to representing the music of Colombia’s Caribbean coastline. As a singer, dancer and teacher she embodies that fertile place where Colombia’s African, Indigenous Indian and Spanish cultures mingle to create a unique musical tradition. Totó is not only its greatest interpreter, but also a restless innovator.

Here a clip of a performance here and for more check out this playlist on YouTube.

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Spanish language version of the picturebook 'My Special Hair' by Candice Dingwall, translated by Cristina Godinez.

Read along of the English language version of the story here.

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Alexandra Alessandri | free teaching materials

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Alexandra Alessandri | free teaching materials

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Free to download teaching materials by Colombian-American author Alexandra Alessandri and read-along videos, related to the following books:

Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela! (pictureboook)

Isabel and Her Colores Go to School (picturebook)

The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía (chapter novel)

Colombian cultural settings. Written mostly in English with a sprinkling of Spanish vocabulary.

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Check out the following the following free resources which can be used in schools, libraries, and homes! I'll be adding more as they become available.

Resources for Books for kids ages 4-8:

Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela!

I created this free downloadable guide for use with the book. It includes reading questions and extension activities, as well as a recipe for Colombian buñuelos, an Año Viejo craft, and a word search!

TeachingBooks' page for Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela! includes original resources, about the authors section, author interviews, and more!

Also, check out this fun read aloud from Kid Time Story Time!

Isabel and Her Colores Go to School

Sleeping Bear Press created this free downloadable guide for use with the book. It includes discussion guide, new student notes, feelings map, and more. They also created a fun bookmark activity for kids to color that's easy to download and print!

TeachingBooks' page for Isabel and Her Colores Go to School includes original resources, about the authors section, author interviews, and more!

Also check out this free downloadable resource from Mundo de Pepita for elementary Spanish teachers!
Isabel's book trailer, created by my son: Fun read-aloud from Tu ē Yo Reading Adventures:
Books for kids ages 8-12

The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía

Simon & Schuster has provided a wonderful reading group guide, written by Cynthia Medrano, Librarian at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and committee member of Rise: A Feminist Book Project.

Teaching Books also has great resources for The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía, including Meet the Author, Story Map Lesson, Cultural Representation Reflection, Fairy Tales/Folklore Lesson, and more. There's also a Meet the Author recording, a guest blog post I did, and an audio on how to pronounce my name.

Check out SimonKids' Read & Learn series some background information about the book as well as a reading from the first chapter!

Craft Videos

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Check out the following the following free resources which can be used in schools, libraries, and homes! I'll be adding more as they become available. Resources for Books for kids ages 4-8: Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela! I created this free downloadable guide for use with the book.

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A Spanish/English bilingual anthology of poems written by the indigenous Maya poet Humberto Ak’abal. They evoke his childhood in and around the Maya K’iche’ village of Momostenango, Guatemala, and also describe his own role as a poet of the place.

Humberto wrote all his poems in Kʼicheʼ, the language of the Maya community in which he was born and lived first.  Then he translated them into Spanish.  Why do you think Humberto chose to do this?

Judging purely from the image by Amelia Lau Carling on the front cover of the anthology, what do you think his poems might be about?  In what ways might the poems be interesting to you or relevant to your life?

Find out more about  Humberto Ak’abal's life here.

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Aquí era el paraiso=Here Was Paradise introduces the poetry of Humberto Ak'abal (1952-2019), who is recognized as one of the greatest Indigenous poets of the Americas. In the introduction, Patricia Aldana, who selected the poems in this beautifully-designed anthology, explains why Ak'abal chose to write his poems in K'iche', the native Mayan language of Guatemala, then translated them into Spanish, and, later, into English. Although Ak'abal wrote for an adult audience, the topics and simplicity ...more

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Aquí era el paraiso=Here Was Paradise introduces the poetry of Humberto Ak'abal (1952-2019), who is recognized as one of the greatest Indigenous poets of the Americas. In the introduction, Patricia Aldana, who selected the poems in this beautifully-designed anthology, explains why Ak'abal chose to write his poems in K'iche', the native Mayan language of Guatemala, then translated them into Spanish, and, later, into English.

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Shellycoat | English, Scots & Arabic involving pupils from 3 schools in Argyll & Bute

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Shellycoat | English, Scots & Arabic involving pupils from 3 schools in Argyll & Bute

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Children from three primary schools in Argyll & Bute read and illustrated the story of Shellycoat written in Scots by Susan Rennie.  They added a mix of Scots and English captions to their illustrations.

They wanted to share the story with children at schools in Palestine so they asked a Arabic speaker based in the UK to record the story in Arabic.

Tap to watch the clip for the finished result that was shared internationally as part of the Bethlehem Cultural Festival 2021.

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Shellycoat -  a story in Scots, English and Arabic

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Shellycoat is a story in Scots, English and Arabic written by Susan Rennie, told in Arabic by Rym Akhonzada and illustrated by chlldren from across schools in Scotland.  This film was made through a collaborative project between SCILT, Scotland's National Centre for Languages and the Bethlehem Cultural Festival 2021. With thanks to BBC Learn for permission to use the story. Thanks also to staff and pupils from Dalintober Primary School, Innellan Primary School, Rosneath Primary School and Toward Primary School and to the Qatar Foundation International.

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Richard O'Neill is a master storyteller brought up in the nomadic storytelling tradition of the Gypsy Romany Traveller (GRT) community. A traditional wood carver too, Richard makes all of his own resources and props for his original stories, including the much loved Pegz and Truglies, Tree Buddies and Wood Bot ©.

Richard has written several books, co-authoring some with Michelle Russell. Titles include:

A Romani Story.  A Different Kind of Freedom

The Lost Homework

Polonius the Pit Pny

Rag and Bone Bear

The Can Caravan

Halle had a hammer

Parade of Pipers

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These are just a selection of Richard's books and those he co-authors with Michelle Russell We'd always prefer you to buy them from your local bookshop if you can.

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Programme from Education Scotland Professional Learning & Leadership. Not languages specific.

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A digital toolkit from FVWL collaborative to support your anti-racism journey

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A digital toolkit from FVWL collaborative to support your anti-racism journey

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Scottish based website with podcast, blog posts teaching materials and much more. Not languages specific.

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A platform for anti-racist education with a Scottish perspective. A learning tool for raising racial consciousness. A safe space for engaging in critical reflections and discussions on race and education.

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Published by the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, Introduction to Anti-Racist Curriculum Development is a guide for teachers, aimed at supporting better practice in Scotland's schools.

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Introduction to Anti-Racist Curriculum Development is a guide for teachers, aimed at supporting better practice in Scotland's schools.

All teachers in Scotland should feel confident in building a curriculum that meets the needs of a diverse range of learners and improves relationships between children and young people. This can feel like a challenge when divisive influences, bias and stereotypes are present in our society. Anti-racist approaches can help to mitigate against these influences, creating a better environment for learning.

The guide outlines why anti-racist approaches are important in curriculum development, and explores the barriers that have hampered race equality in education. It then goes on to explore three key components for developing anti-racist approaches to curriculum development:

* Decolonising the curriculum
* Building intercultural competence
* Reducing racism, prejudice and discrimination

It also includes a self-reflection template to help teachers to consider their work from an anti-racist perspective. A customisable Word version of the template can be downloaded .

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Anti-racist curriculum development - CRER

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Introduction to Anti-Racist Curriculum Development is a guide for teachers, aimed at supporting better practice in Scotland's schools. All teachers in Scotland should feel confident in building a curriculum that meets the needs of a diverse range of learners and improves relationships between children and young people.

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Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework | Education Scotland

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Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework | Education Scotland

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The framework supports anyone working with  children and young people in an educational context. It can also support those who work with adult learners, parents, carers, families and in community learning contexts.

This professional learning framework:

simplifies the professional learning landscape for inclusion, wellbeing and equalities

supports capacity building and a common understanding, language and skills for all educators

provides up to date information which can be adapted to suit the local context

support individual educators to plan their own professional learning

The framework focusses on four interconnected and interdependent themes are: Inclusion; Rights and equalities; Relationships; Wellbeing and Care.

The framework supports the staged levels of intervention. It enhances universal and targeted approaches to supporting all children and young people.

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Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework

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Education Scotland is a Scottish Government executive agency responsible for supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education.

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Decolonising education and how to decolonise an MFL lesson

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Decolonising education and how to decolonise an MFL lesson

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Decolonising education and how to decolonise an MFL lesson

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Article by Maud Waret, teacher of French, Spanish and history at a secondary school in London. Published May 2023.

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What is it we are trying to achieve in our daily lives?

What are the objectives we want to achieve in the way we educate our children?

Which undercurrent are we promoting when we choose to study one aspect of history, literature or languages rather than another one?

What sort of society do we want our children to grow up into?

Begin with a lesson starter or a 'Do now' by selecting a contemporary picture from a news website. You can ask your students to practise for the GCSE MFL picture description task using the PALMM acronym to describe the picture, but you can also allow them to exercise critical thinking by asking them to give their opinion on the picture and making them question the status quo.

For instance, in this picture in Odessa in 2022, the French Republican motto is clearly visible as graffiti on the wall. Ask your students why they believe Ukrainians use it when facing the Russian army.

Using maps is also essential to counterbalance the western bias in cartography. For instance, the Mercator map is biased in the way it represents the shape of continents, but we also create a biased map when we put the UK at its centre. Showing a world map with New Zealand at the centre is a good way to demonstrate our reductive world view. Ask students if they can still identify and name the countries and challenge them to consider why most maps are centred on Britain.

To see an example of a decolonised MFL resource, download Maud Waret's A-level French reading comprehension La Tour Eiffel, le symbole de la France .
Bibliography
Bhopal, K. (2018, April 6). White privilege. Policy Press.

Givens, T. E. (2022, January 25). The Roots of Racism. Policy Press.

A. (2023, April 13). Hidden Repression: How the IMF and World Bank Sell Exploitation as Development. Bitcoin Magazine Books.

Jivraj, S., & Simpson, L. (2015, May 13). Ethnic Identity and Inequalities in Britain. Policy Press.

Thuram, L. (2021, October 29). White Thinking. Legend Press Ltd.

Wesseling, H. (1987, July). Towards a History of Decolonization. Itinerario, 11(2), 95-106. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0165115300015473

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Decolonising education and how to decolonise an MFL lesson

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Teacher expert Maud Waret introduces the principles of decolonising education and offers suggestions for how to decolonise a languages lesson.

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ALL Decolonising the Primary MFL curriculum special interest group

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ALL Decolonising the Primary MFL curriculum special interest group

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Watch the first 40 minutes of the recording of the launch of the Decolonising the Primary MFL curriculum SIG by Association for Language Learning (ALL) in June 2023.

An introduction and starting point with rationale and resources for primary languages teaching from Darnelle Constant-Shepherd, Amy Lennon, Ellie Chettle-Cully and Suzi Bewell.

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ALL Decolonising the Primary MFL curriculum SIG Launch Meeting

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Toward an Anti-racist World Language Classroom

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Toward an Anti-racist World Language Classroom

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Seltzer. K. and Wassell, B. (2022) Toward an Anti-Racist World Language Classroom: A Translanguaging Approach. The Language Educator, Winter 2022.

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The impact of school linking on the formation of cultural stereotypes - Global School Alliance

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The impact of school linking on the formation of cultural stereotypes

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The impact of school linking on the formation of cultural stereotypes

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Forming cultural stereotypes

Stereotypes are mental pictures that we hold about the people of a certain cultural group; these are unconscious and instinctive views: individual differences are not accounted for. These stereotypes can be so ingrained that any knowledge that is not consistent with the stereotype will be disregarded.

There is considerable variability reported when it comes to the age at which children start understanding and constructing stereotypes. It is thought that children as young as 3-4 years of age, can sort people by race and start to have some basic preconceived notions of different races and cultures. To begin with, in very young children, these concepts are formed around the 'natural, visible characteristics such as skin colour, facial features, body structure, or clothing.' It is believed that negative stereotypes can already be formed by the age of five or six, and continue to develop into strong beliefs by the time the child reaches age ten or eleven. From about the age of 5 they learn about their own country, then their knowledge about other countries develops a couple of years later. Geographical knowledge about their own and other countries then expands significantly through middle childhood and into adolescence, although this can be affected by the child's social class, gender, location, and ethnicity. It has been suggested before the age of 8 children have positive feelings for distant and exotic countries which are picturesque and on the other hand, they express random dislikes of countries based on limited and indiscriminately acquired pieces of information. However, from about the age of 8, children's views about other countries were mostly based on typical physical features: sun, snow, skyscrapers, etc. It has been shown that children start to have negative stereotypes before they even have any real knowledge of the country's culture and its inhabitants. With the stereotypes forming due to what learnt about other countries and their inhabitants from their parents, direct contact with 'foreigners', television, movies and obviously what they are taught in schools.

School partnerships and cultural stereotypes

The role of schools and teachers is important in the formation of stereotypes, as they provide children with the skills to question negative stereotypes. It has been shown that it is essential that children in the early years are introduced to global learning, as during these precious years, children are constantly questioning who they are and their place in the wider world. It is vital that as soon as children start to become conscious of cultural differences (and before they are exposed to negative stereotypes) we should be appropriately educating them on the importance of cultural diversity. However, what we must be careful when teaching about other cultures and linking with other countries is that we do not just concentrate on poverty, which in turn reinforces stereotypes. If school linking is not properly embedded in the curriculum it can emphasise stereotypes. There is a danger that, through taking part in school linking programmes, teachers can focus on what things are different compared to the UK, rather than focusing on challenging the view that the 'South' is poverty-stricken and in need of our help. However, when school linking is taught properly pupils gain a much wider knowledge of the country studied with an increased knowledge of the cultural and historical aspects of a country and much less reliance on the natural environment. When the children are direct contact with the inhabitants of the country it helps children to understand and comprehend their 'customs, values, and views, it can provide an 'insider perspective'.

School Linking with the Middle East - Combatting Stereotypes

Since 2012 my small primary school in the middle of rural Lincolnshire has had a school partnership with a large state-run school in the centre of urban Beirut. Right from its inception, our partnership was built on being mutually beneficial and has become an important part of the ethos of both schools and something the pupils are incredibly proud of. However, what was also very apparent was that the children and parents had very little knowledge of the Middle East before they engage in the partnership, and the ideas they do have are very stereotypical and clichéd.

It has been shown that people in Britain have little knowledge of the Arab world, with research by Mohammad (2020) showing that 81% of Britons know little or nothing about this area of the world. As stated before, the media can have a great influence on the formation of stereotypes. This is particularly true for Middle Eastern countries because Hollywood tends to portray Middle Eastern men as either 'terrorists or billionaires' and women as 'belly dancers' or in need of being rescued. One only has to look at the Oxford Reading Tree book, The Blue Eye, to see how children are introduced to negative images of the Middle East from an early age. In the book, beneath an illustration of a busy Arabian marketplace, full of people wearing turbans and niqabs (see figure 1), one of the children says 'The people don't seem very friendly'. It is images and ideas like this that are introducing children from a very young age to negative ideas about the Middle East.

Impact of School Linking on Stereotypical Images of the Middle East

Before the children embarked on our school linking project we asked, 'What are pupils' and parents' initial views, perceptions and stereotypes of The Middle East and also of Lebanon and Beirut?' The pupils were asked 'If you visited the Middle East, what would you see?', and then asked to draw a picture of what they imagined this area of the world would be like. This was then followed by a series of small-scale projects with our partner school in Beirut, including video calls with the children at the end of each project to discuss findings; these were then shared with the parents. Following this, I returned to the original data collection methods in order to measure impact.

Many of the images the children drew in the initial activity could be identified as stereotypical. Preliminary findings from the drawing activity 'If you visited the Middle East, what would you see?' showed that the children had a very narrow view of the Middle East. The children's ideas focused highly on the natural environment, people and society, and culture and history. Also, as was evident in the children's drawings, they concentrated very closely on very clichéd views of the Middle East; that the whole area is very hot, dry, flat, and desert like.

Within the childrens' drawings there was a substantial reference to: inequality and images of poverty; lack of money; and war and the impact it has had on the area. The children seemed to concentrate very closely on things that were different and not things that were similar. What also became very apparent was that the children had very little actual knowledge of this area beyond Egypt, with the pyramids being the only actual physical structure they could name. This, however, should not come as a surprise, because within the English national curriculum one of the only references to this part of the world is an in-depth study of the Ancient Egyptians. The children also had a very limited knowledge of the people of the Middle East with them considering the only people who lived there to be Muslims, with many comments about seeing people with headscarves on television when watching the news. The ideas from the parental questionnaires again showed a very limited understanding of the Middle East, and what they did think they knew concentrated substantially on conflict and the political situation in the area, both presently and in the past. When questioned about Lebanon and Beirut itself, nearly all of the respondents mentioned the civil war and the damage this has had on the country. Even though the war ended nearly 30 years ago, it is still engrained in adults' memories.

The drawings collected after pupils had taken part in interventions, and discussed their views with their peers in Lebanon, challenged the stereotypical views seen during their initial drawings. They demonstrated a much wider interpretation of the Middle East, with obviously a greater focus on Lebanon. In the repeat drawings there is a rise in the number of comments about the natural environment focused on the weather. The children were all fascinated to learn that the Middle East is not just hot and dry as they thought in their initial drawings, but in fact during the winter seasons some areas, Lebanon being one of them, actually experience snow and very cold weather. Another interesting development in the children's perceptions is the movement away from all people in the Middle East being Muslim; within their drawings the children now included churches to represent that Christians also live in this area. The children were surprised to learn this and lots of them commented that when they have seen images of the Middle East, they have seen people in the hijab or images of mosques, but never a church. The children showed a greater awareness of the built environment, with children drawing apartment blocks like they had seen during a project and video call with Lebanon, and unlike the first session there was no depiction in the drawings of people living in tents. Another interesting observation that could be made from comparing the two sets of drawings is that in the first set of drawings the children very much commented on the differences they perceived between the two areas, and only included things they thought were significantly different. However, in the second set of drawings, the children also considered the things that were the same; for example, fast food restaurants and traffic. One of the most important aspects of the project was that the children appeared to realise that not everyone in Lebanon and the Middle East lived life in the stereotypical way that they have been shown in the media and films.

Following the project, the parents' perceptions of the Middle East were much less focused on the conflicts of the past. The parents on the whole were more positive about the Middle East and less focused on the troubles the area has/is facing.

Ways forward

This has been a very informative piece of research for our school and our school community, and has wider implications for how other schools approach global learning. It has become apparent that schools need to be careful with the images of the world and language they use with their children, as stereotypical views of an area are learnt very early in a child's life. Throughout this project it has been shown that negative descriptions of the Middle East are apparent in our everyday lives - in the television we watch, and in the books that we read. We, as educators, need to ensure that we are challenging these views and giving the children balanced perspectives of the world around them. Although this study has focused on the Middle East, I feel the results and findings could be easily transferrable to other areas of the world and that the resources we use in school when teaching about contrasting localities should not just focus on the differences, but also on the similarities, as this will help to combat the formation of stereotypical views. When embarking on a school partnership, it is important to include what the country can offer us, as well as what we may offer them, as this will ensure that the children, and parents, realise we can learn from each other - that the partnership is reciprocal, as well as help us to move away from the 'charitable' notion that we are 'helping' them, and dispelling the negative stereotype that they are a country in need of our help. Another important thing to consider before starting to teach about another country is to make sure that you allow sufficient opportunity to explore students' prior understanding so you can deal with any misconceptions or stereotypes and allow time for the children to enquire and reflect on their beliefs.

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The impact of school linking on the formation of cultural stereotypes - Global School Alliance

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Stereotypes are mental pictures that we hold about the people of a certain cultural group; these are unconscious and instinctive views: individual differences are not accounted for. These stereotypes can be so ingrained that any knowledge that is not consistent with the stereotype will be disregarded.

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Learning and assessment resource from Education Scotland to improve practice

The case studies and videos will show you how other centres have embedded a range of international experiences.

Reflective Questions

Do you know how to contact international teachers and learners to support your own practice and open up new learning opportunities?

Are you aware of the research that shows how international engagement can support excellence and equity ?

Do you know about the support available for building international links to support your learners and your own professional development?

Would you be confident in encouraging learners to work together online and share their resources with international partners working on similar learning tasks and activities?

Have you thought about embedding an international education activity across the curriculum for all of your centre's learners?

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Education Scotland is a Scottish Government executive agency responsible for supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education.

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Using international projects and partnerships to bring language learning to life

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Using international projects and partnerships to bring language learning to life

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Blog post by Mme Chettle Cully, a teacher working in a primary school in England.

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When I was about six, I was given an illustrated children's atlas full of colourful maps and amazing pictures of people and places in far-flung corners of the globe. Sadly, I don't remember who gave it to me, but I do know that it became one of my most treasured possessions. I vividly recall sitting on the bed, in the room that I shared with my younger sister, poring over the images: two children in traditional Indonesian dress, a vast prairie in North America, a bustling market in India. I suppose, if I was to pinpoint it, that was the moment that my eyes were really opened to the vastness of the world outside of my own experience. After all, up until that point in my life the longest journey I'd ever made was our annual summer trip from the Midlands to the (mostly) sunny Suffolk coast. That atlas was the first of many other books, over the years, to became a passport to other landscapes, climates, languages and experiences and filled me with a longing to travel and explore all that the world had to offer. It's a feeling that's never left and it's why I still have that atlas, thirty years later, even though it is incredibly dog-eared and so out-of-date it includes a map Yugoslavia.

Maps are a way to explore the world without even leaving your classroom.

It's this joy of discovering more about the world, its cultures and its languages that, as Languages and International Dimension Lead at my inner-city primary school, I want to encourage and develop in the children that I teach. I consider myself incredibly lucky to work in a school of great variety and diversity, which is full of children with very different experiences of the world. Some pupils were born in the UK and have not yet had the opportunity to travel abroad, whilst others come from further afield and may have lived in several different countries (and learned to speak multiple languages) before arriving with us. But the one unifying characteristic that I have found amongst all of these children is their fascination with the cultures and traditions of other countries. This is evident in language lessons; during our celebrations of various aspects of Francophone culture; and on our themed days dedicated to the languages and cultures represented within our own school community, most notably European Day of Languages.

When I first began teaching primary French, about four years ago, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could incorporate elements of culture into my scheme of work to really enthuse pupils, give context to language-learning and bring it to life for pupils. We celebrated la fête des rois and le 14 juillet; sang songs in French at Christmas; and learned all about the tradition of le poisson d'avril. However, by the end of this first year, I was beginning to feel very strongly that in order for the pupils to forge a real connection to the curriculum content, we really needed to find a partner school in France. I was also very aware that we were spending a lot of time talking about la Métropole, with only very minimal references to the roughly 200 million French-speakers who live in other Francophone nations. And so began the process of connecting with teachers and students in many parts of la francophonie and developing projects to grow and build on children's understanding of life in the French-speaking world.

Do we need to extend our thinking beyond French traditions to include those of the Francophone world?

At the time, e-Twinning was an incredible resource for creating links with schools all over Europe (and beyond) and this was how we made the initial contact with our now well-established partner schools in Guadeloupe and in the Maine-et-Loire department in France. Like so many educators in the UK, I was heartbroken to hear that the Erasmus programme, and with it e-Twinning, would not form part of the UK's Brexit deal and would become inaccessible to British teachers on the 1st January 2021. I had used e-Twinning for a variety of projects, not just with our French partner schools but also for more general collaborations, such as a Year 2 Christmas tree decoration exchange with over 14 different schools around Europe. Apart from the amazing capacity to connect easily with teachers and work together on any number of projects through the e-Twinning platform, the loss of Erasmus also meant the loss of funding for teacher and pupil mobility, which had previously allowed practitioners to visit and learn from colleagues around Europe and for pupils themselves to also visit their partner schools (not to mention great e-Twinning conferences like the one that I was lucky enough to attend in Bratislava in 2019). The government's new Turing Scheme, currently open for applications until the 7th May 2021, promises to fill the void left by Erasmus and provide "international opportunities in education and training across the world." Currently running for one academic year only, it's a great time for schools who already have partners abroad to apply for funding for pupil visits, although it will only cover the cost of outward travel. Let's hope that it is a success and continues to run after next academic year.

The Turing Scheme will allow pupils to visit their friends in partner schools around the world

The British Council's Connecting Classrooms programme in another fantastic way to forge links with countries in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. Our school's link with our partners in Rwanda was created this way and the team at the British Council are incredibly supportive in helping you get started and develop your partnership. Connecting Classrooms provide a whole range of free, online Global Learning Resources, which allow pupils to work alongside their peers in the partner school to examine aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals through a variety of projects. This is really helpful for teachers who want to develop their pupils' global understanding but don't perhaps have the time to create whole units of work themselves. Of course, you could also plan a project independently but, for me personally, the Zero Hunger Project that we are currently working on in Year 5, alongside our friends in Rwanda, has been working really well, with some minor adjustments. Once a partnership has been established though Connecting Classrooms, then schools may apply for funding to carry out teacher exchanges, either individually or as a 'cluster group' of several schools, depending on the number of teachers involved.

Connecting Classrooms can link schools in the UK with those in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Middle East

The British Council also offer a really great Schools Partner Finder where teachers from anywhere in the world can register, search for partners and create links with schools all over the globe. Through this tool our school has found, and is currently working with, schools in Djibouti and Chad on two very simple projects based on the beautiful picture book Under the Same Sky, which gets pupils thinking about the similarities that connect them to children who live many thousands of miles away in completely different countries.

Of course, we should never forget the power of personal connections. I have made links with schools abroad through people that I've met at weddings, conferences and through online groups. Most recently, I was contacted by a wonderful colleague in the Languages in Primary Schools Facebook Group who was able to put me in touch with a partner in Senegal so that my Year 6, who are currently working through a unit based on the country, could find out more about the lives of children of their age living in Dakar. Incidentally, for those interested in finding out more about school life in Senegal, live school tours are also available through heygo.com and come highly recommended. When trying to find prospective partners, it's also important not to forget to consider any parents or staff members who may have contacts in schools abroad and could help to facilitate partnerships. Sometimes it's that personal link which helps to create and strengthen the collaboration between two schools.

And don't forget, any links, projects and exchanges between your school and a partner school in another country may qualify you for the British Council's International School Award, which recognises a school's efforts in bringing an international dimension into their curriculum and embedding it within the wider culture of the school.

How do you celebrate the rich culture of the French, Spanish or German-speaking worlds? Do you have partners in other countries and if so, how did you find them? As always, it's great to hear your thoughts and experiences.

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Using international projects and partnerships to bring MFL learning to life When I was about six, I was given an illustrated children's atlas full of colourful maps and amazing pictures of people and places in far-flung corners of the globe. Sadly, I don't remember who gave it to me, but I do know that it...

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Watch teachers from Williamston Primary in West Lothian and Penicuik High School in Midlothian explain how the British Council's Connecting Classrooms professional development training and Professional Partnerships have enhanced their practice and the learning and development of pupils in their schools.

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Connecting Classrooms in Scotland (longer version)

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Teachers from Williamston Primary and Penicuik High School explain how Connecting Classrooms professional development training and Professional Partnerships have enhanced their practice and the learning and development of pupils in their schools. 

Find out more: https://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/about-programmes/connecting-classrooms

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UN Guidelines for gender-inclusive language in English

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UN Guidelines for gender-inclusive language in English

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Read the guidance from the United Nations.

If we are working towards this for English, are we also working towards this for the other languages we teach?
What about for the home languages of the children in our care?

Are we supporting children to be able to talk authentically about themselves or respectfully about family members, friends or celebrities in their home language/s too?

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1.1 Forms of address

When referring to or addressing specific individuals, use forms of address and pronouns that are consistent with their gender identity.

For United Nations staff members, you may check the intranet or the organizational or staff directory. If the staff member appears as "Ms.", that is the form of address that should be used for her, and female pronouns are appropriate. Alternatively, and if the situation permits, you may ask the persons you are addressing or writing about what pronoun and form of address should be used for them.

Note for United Nations staff members who draft texts to be translated: If you are the author of a text that is going to be translated, and your text is referring to a specific person, please let translators know what the gender of that person is so they can use appropriate language in their translations. This is crucial for languages such as Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish.

There should also be consistency in the way women and men are referred to: if one of them is addressed by their name, last name, courtesy title, or profession, the other one should be as well.

"Professor Smith (surname and title for a man) and Madeline (first name for a woman) will attend the luncheon."

"Professor Smith and Professor Jones will attend the luncheon (surname and title for both)."

Ms. or Mrs.?

Care should be taken to use the form of address preferred by each individual. However, when that preference is not known, precedence is given to Ms. over Mrs., as the former is more inclusive and can refer to any woman, regardless of marital status

1.2 Avoid gender-biased expressions or expressions that reinforce gender stereotypes

Discriminatory examples:

"She throws/runs/fights like a girl."

"In a manly way."

"Oh, that's women's work."

"Thank you to the ladies for making the room more beautiful."

"Men just don't understand."

"Guests are cordially invited to attend with their wives."

"Guests are cordially invited to attend with their partners."

"Fathers babysit their children."

"Fathers care for their children."

How do I know if I am using discriminatory language?

Reverse the gender: Would reversing the designation or the term from masculine to feminine or vice versa change the meaning or emphasis of the sentence? Would it make the sentence sound odd?

"Women should not seek out leadership positions."

"Men cannot do two things at the same time."

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1.1 Forms of address When referring to or addressing specific individuals, use forms of address and pronouns that are consistent with their gender identity. For United Nations staff members, you may check the intranet or the organizational or staff directory.

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Grade 6 students in French class drafting a story about the daily routine of their invented character. Their character is called Charlie. They are non-binary. They use French gender neutral pronouns. #deij ❤️

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Grade 6 students in French class drafting a story about the daily routine of their invented character. Their character is called Charlie. They are non-binary. They use French gender neutral pronouns. #deij ❤️ https://t.co/Xrcgn8jdw1

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Grade 6 students in French class drafting a story about the daily routine of their invented character. Their character is called Charlie. They are non-binary. They use French gender neutral pronouns. #deij ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Xrcgn8jdw1
— Claire Cuthbert (@ClaireCuthbert4) May 17, 2023

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Grade 6 students in French class drafting a story about the daily routine of their invented character. Their character is called Charlie. They are non-binary. They use French gender neutral pronouns. #deij ❤️ https://t.co/Xrcgn8jdw1

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Grade 6 students in French class drafting a story about the daily routine of their invented character. Their character is called Charlie. They are non-binary. They use French gender neutral pronouns. #deij ❤️ https://t.co/Xrcgn8jdw1

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Grade 6 students in French class drafting a story about the daily routine of their invented character. Their character is called Charlie. They are non-binary. They use French gender neutral pronouns. #deij ❤️

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La personnalité

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La personnalite - gender neutral language

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Creating imaginary characters with our Novice students offers a wonderful opportunity to experience inclusive language for the first time. They kept asking “is it a boy or a girl?” And my natural response was “we don’t have to choose”. #langchat

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Creating imaginary characters with our Novice students offers a wonderful opportunity to experience inclusive language for the first time. They kept asking “is it a boy or a girl?” And my natural response was “we don’t have to choose”. #langchat https://t.co/aIHO2LRdQf

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Creating imaginary characters with our Novice students offers a wonderful opportunity to experience inclusive language for the first time. They kept asking “is it a boy or a girl?” And my natural response was “we don’t have to choose”. #langchat pic.twitter.com/aIHO2LRdQf
— Cécile Lainé (she/her) (@CecileLaine) November 25, 2021

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Creating imaginary characters with our Novice students offers a wonderful opportunity to experience inclusive language for the first time. They kept asking “is it a boy or a girl?” And my natural response was “we don’t have to choose”. #langchat https://t.co/aIHO2LRdQf

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Creating imaginary characters with our Novice students offers a wonderful opportunity to experience inclusive language for the first time. They kept asking “is it a boy or a girl?” And my natural response was “we don’t have to choose”. #langchat https://t.co/aIHO2LRdQf

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Creating imaginary characters with our Novice students offers a wonderful opportunity to experience inclusive language for the first time. They kept asking “is it a boy or a girl?” And my natural response was “we don’t have to choose”. #langchat

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Small changes with my students. Going from:
Hola a todos > Hola mi gente Tú/él/ella >tú/vos/ella/elles/él
Bueno(a) > Bueno(a)(e)
Los chicos y chicas > Los chamaques/los pibes/los peques/la banda/la raza.
“No quiero grandes cosas en la vida, sino pequeñas cosas que hagan mi vida mejor”

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Small changes with my Ss. Going from:
Hola a todos➡️Hola mi gente
Tú/él/ella➡️tú/vos/ella/elles/él 
Bueno(a)➡️Bueno(a)(e)
Los chicos y chicas➡️Los chamaques/los pibes/los peques/la banda/la raza.
“No quiero grandes cosas en la vida, sino pequeñas cosas que hagan mi vida mejor”

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Small changes with my Ss. Going from:
Hola a todos➡️Hola mi gente
Tú/él/ella➡️tú/vos/ella/elles/él 
Bueno(a)➡️Bueno(a)(e)
Los chicos y chicas➡️Los chamaques/los pibes/los peques/la banda/la raza.
“No quiero grandes cosas en la vida, sino pequeñas cosas que hagan mi vida mejor”

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Small changes with my Ss. Going from:
Hola a todos➡️Hola mi gente
Tú/él/ella➡️tú/vos/ella/elles/él
Bueno(a)➡️Bueno(a)(e)
Los chicos y chicas➡️Los chamaques/los pibes/los peques/la banda/la raza.
“No quiero grandes cosas en la vida, sino pequeñas cosas que hagan mi vida mejor”
— Abelardo Almazán-Vázquez (@AbelardoAlmazan) February 28, 2020

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Small changes with my Ss. Going from:
Hola a todos➡️Hola mi gente
Tú/él/ella➡️tú/vos/ella/elles/él 
Bueno(a)➡️Bueno(a)(e)
Los chicos y chicas➡️Los chamaques/los pibes/los peques/la banda/la raza.
“No quiero grandes cosas en la vida, sino pequeñas cosas que hagan mi vida mejor”

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Small changes with my Ss. Going from:
Hola a todos➡️Hola mi gente
Tú/él/ella➡️tú/vos/ella/elles/él 
Bueno(a)➡️Bueno(a)(e)
Los chicos y chicas➡️Los chamaques/los pibes/los peques/la banda/la raza.
“No quiero grandes cosas en la vida, sino pequeñas cosas que hagan mi vida mejor”

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Small changes with my Ss. Going from:
Hola a todos➡️Hola mi gente
Tú/él/ella➡️tú/vos/ella/elles/él 
Bueno(a)➡️Bueno(a)(e)
Los chicos y chicas➡️Los chamaques/los pibes/los peques/la banda/la raza.
“No quiero grandes cosas en la vida, sino pequeñas cosas que hagan mi vida mejor”

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Gender just approaches to languages education.  Collection of free resources about gender just language teaching. Some general, others specifically for French.

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Resources for Educators - Kris Aric Knisely, Ph.D.

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Teaching in ways that are trans-affirming and gender-just does not require exhaustive knowledge, but it does require an unequivocal investment in trans people and in trans knowledges. Resources across this site can help you begin or continue your journey toward increasingly affirming and ethical pedagogies.

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Interactive article. Written by Minami Funakoshi. Illustrated by Samuel Granados. Published by Reuters 25/01/22

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Minami Funakoshi
Illustrated by Samuel Granados

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The movement to recognize a spectrum of genders is changing languages around the world.

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In this online magazine article, Arnault Kasa, from Peel Primary School in West Lothian, explains how a well-planned cultural awareness day can engage learners, mobilise the community and create a sustainable culture of respect and dignity.

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Arnault Kasa, from Peele primary school in West Lothian, explains how a well-planned cultural awareness day can engage learners, mobilise the community and create a sustainable culture of respect and dignity.

Arnult Kasa (right)

We hosted a cultural awareness day at Peele primary with the following aims: to encourage learners to reflect on their identity and to display the work collated by all classes to parents and the school community. As part of my anti-racist education work, I believe that it is important to celebrate and represent different voices, especially those which sometimes slip through the cracks. The wealth of cultures and languages that exist in our community is huge; the event was a way to recognise that we are proud to be part of such a diverse community.

"The wealth of cultures and languages that exist in our community is huge; the event was a way to recognise that we are proud to be part of such a diverse community."

Why we did it

From a very young age, I have been passionate about learning about different cultures and languages. Being in this privileged position as a teacher, allows me to come up with ideas and implement them in a sustainable manner. I was given the opportunity to organise the cultural awareness fair for my school this year. I reflected on the wealth of cultures and diversity that we are surrounded by in our community and wanted to organise an event that allowed everyone to participate and contribute.
As I sat down to organise this event, my aim was to ensure that this would not be just a one-off box ticking exercise. I wanted to create a sustainable culture within the school where everyone is seen, valued and respected for their authentic self.

What we did

The event in itself was the culmination of fantastic learning from across the school showcased in a display of work from P1 to P7. The learners in P1 and P2 focused on drawing flags using a pictograph, these flags represented the origins of the different learners in the school. In addition to that, learners in P2 created QR codes welcoming parents in different languages. Further, up the school in P4/5, learners created diversity quilts, which focused on their identity, and the various things, which make them who they are. In P6, learners analysed the school lunch menu and wrote a letter to West Lothian council with some recommendations on how they could make the menu more diverse to reflect our community. Finally, in P7, learners researched historical figures, wrote poems about diversity and reflected on how the protected characteristics could affect their future aspirations.
All learners prepared their tasks respectively with their peers and these activities were varied and diverse just as our school setting. Learners and staff members came dressed up in traditional clothing, the school beamed with a sense of pride and belonging on that day. Pride, not only for belonging to our roots, but for being part of a school that values, respects and sees everyone.

"My aim was to ensure that this would not be just a one-off box ticking exercise."

The impact

Most parents and learners attended the fair after school and enjoyed seeing their children's work. This was also an opportunity for them to leave some feedback on what is going well and what more the school could do going forward. One of the parents said, "Being exposed to different cultures has made my son a better person". I believe that the impact the event has had on our school community is more than I can express. Seeing learners, parents and staff members being empowered to share a part of themselves is invaluable.

Next steps

The most sustainable way to evolve the work that I have started doing in the community is to create an environment where the people in the community can take up more of an active role in sharing their stories and skills with everyone. The school is the heartbeat of our community, creating that culture where everyone feels valued and seen is a step forward towards building a bond that nobody can break.

"The most sustainable way to evolve the work that I have started doing in the community is to create an environment where the people in the community can take up more of an active role in sharing their stories and skills with everyone."

As an alumni of Education Scotland's Building Racial Literacy course, I have a duty to keep encouraging my learners, parents and colleagues to be anti-racist. Going forward, I am hoping to create a whole school anti-racist pledge with my learners and formally share the work that I am doing with the school community. After completing the Building Racial Literacy Programme, I created an action plan, which I am progressively implementing, and engaging my school in events such as the cultural awareness fair was one of them.

My thought process is one that believes we must continue to make progress and that can only happen by taking action and being part of the solution to the problems that we face in our society.

Find out more about the Building Racial Literacy Programme and Anti-Racist Education in Scotland

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Cultural Awareness Celebration - Stride - online magazine for global citizenship in schools

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Arnault Kasa, from Peele primary school in West Lothian, explains how a well-planned cultural awareness day can engage learners, mobilise the community and create a sustainable culture of respect and dignity.

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Cultural appreciation or cultural appropriation?

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Cultural appreciation or cultural appropriation?

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Blogpost on the Learning for Justice website.  Written by Susan Coryat and Colleen Clemens.  Published 22/03/18.

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Over the past 20 years, between the two of us, we have accompanied over a thousand students on their senior trip to Disney World. So much is great about the opportunity to go to Orlando and connect with students in a relaxed atmosphere. But the role of a chaperone should include more than reminding kids to put on sunscreen: When taking students to areas that attempt to represent other cultures, we as teachers must engage them in dialogue about the representations of gender, race and ethnicity they encounter in these spaces.

A place like Epcot Center creates worlds as spectacles for entertainment while simultaneously posing as an educational experience, representing authenticity through curated settings and carefully selected personnel. Trips to such places, where a variety of cultures are represented, offer an opportunity for teachers to ask students to consider their role in creating meaning there. It's our responsibility as educators to give students language they can use to consider and discuss these spaces while still enjoying what they offer.

One conversation that chaperones can initiate is about the differences between appreciation and appropriation. Oxford Dictionaries defines cultural appropriation as "the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society." They define appreciation as "recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something." The items available for purchase in Epcot Center present an opportunity to consider the difference between these two concepts.

On one trip, when Susan was with students in the Germany section of Epcot, she pointed out the appreciation evident in the shops and kiosks and in Epcot's famous international internship program. When Colleen went to the China section, however, she noticed that many students had purchased conical hats, sometimes called "farmers' hats" or more offensive names, and were wearing them in amusement, toeing the line of what may have seemed like appreciation but accidentally crossing into appropriation.

Historically, these hats were worn by workers to protect them from the sun; people wore them for practical and material reasons. An appreciation of these hats would require students to understand the historical context of the working people and class structures of multiple geographies and time periods. If such context is missing, if the wearer is using the hat for their own amusement, then we might rightly call out appropriation.

To help students understand the line between these two concepts, teachers might simply ask students before the trip, "What is the difference between appropriation and appreciation?" Ideally, this conversation wouldn't be new to students: they would have discussed it within classrooms and co-curriculars well before the trip. This may not be the case, however, so chaperones should be prepared to directly engage students in conversations on the bus, on the plane, while standing in line for the seventh hour for the "African" safari or during the group dinner that night.

"Did you notice when women showed up on the Spaceship Earth ride?" (Answer: when they ran switchboards in the 20th century!) "Did you notice that the safari talked about 'African animals' but didn't talk about the countries in Africa?" (See Colleen's piece about helping students avoid generalizing about Africa.) "Did you notice a difference between the stuff sold in Norway and in Mexico?" Questions like these can direct students to critique their own experiences without accusing them of an offense.

A simple and brief conversation can clarify appropriation and appreciation and can model for students how to actively engage in their own experience and their own learning-while still having fun on their trip. When they become mindful of the ways they move through these culturally enriching spaces, they can learn lessons that far surpass the original intention of the trip.
Coryat teaches English at Perkiomen Valley High School in Pennsylvania. Clemens is associate professor of non-Western literatures and director of women's and gender studies at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.

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Appreciation and Appropriation Outside the Classroom

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Over the past 20 years, between the two of us, we have accompanied over a thousand students on their senior trip to Disney World. So much is great about the opportunity to go to Orlando and connect with students in a relaxed atmosphere.

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QFI explain: Language and culture are intertwined, which makes non-verbal communication a key aspect in language learning. Not all communication is language-based; people also convey what they’re thinking using gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions. Understanding differences in non-verbal communication is a vital part of building cross-cultural relationships. In the Arab world. Click on the image in this post to access the QFI website and download a poster of the full infographic.

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Infographic: Non-Verbal Communication in the Arab World

Language and culture are intertwined, which makes non-verbal communication a key aspect in language learning. Not all communication is language-based; people also convey what they're thinking using gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions. Understanding differences in non-verbal communication is a vital part of building cross-cultural relationships. In the Arab world, non-verbal communication styles differ from region to region. Here are six commonly-used gestures that you may see in the Arab world. Think about the non-verbal communication you use in your life. How do these gestures compare?
Download PDF

This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site.

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Infographic: Non-Verbal Communication in the Arab World - Qatar Foundation International

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Language and culture are intertwined, which makes non-verbal communication a key aspect in language learning. Not all communication is language-based; people also convey what they're thinking using gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions. Understanding differences in non-verbal communication is a vital part of building cross-cultural relationships.

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Blog post with links to downloadable slides, reading and book recommendations shared by Sarah Moghtader @WldLangToolbox, a teacher of French working in the US.

Resource needs adapting for use with primary pupils. As well as music and dance traditions of the Demoratice Republic of Congo, Sarah says that the resource also honours a part 'of the world where French is spoken while talking openly about the role of French colonization.'

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Summer learning: Movement and Decolonizing the curriculum

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For me this summer was a time to travel, reflect and attend some excellent PD. The two pieces I have been thinking about are how to work movement more into my teaching and how to address topics that honor the different parts of the world where French is spoken while talking openly about the role...

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Francophonie Playlist: Alliance Française de Manchester

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Francophonie Playlist: Alliance Française de Manchester

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Dance and sing to our favourite songs from the French-speaking world. From France to RDC, via Quebec and Belgium, discover iconic francophone music. Press below to play!

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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A calendar of 30 music-based challenges created through partnership work between Hackney Music Service, Bernadette Clinton – Spanish Consultant for Hackney Education, her team of Spanish teachers, and Raquel Tola Rego – Spanish Teacher at Parkwood Primary School. Fully hyperlinked and free to download.

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This month we are excited to announce our HMS 30 days of Spanish calendar!
We invite young people, families and more to continue the celebration of music-making and language learning across Hackney and beyond by taking part in our 30 days of Spanish calendar!

There are a wide range of activities for you to join; singalongs, sound scaping and more including a great range of activities from our partners.
Download the interactive HMS30daysofSpanish2021 and click the relevant box to access different resources.
Here is a Spanish dictionary you can use to look up words: spanishdict.com/translation
Record, share and tag us in your challenges via Instagram & Twitter! #hms30days Away you go!
These challenges have been created through partnership work between Hackney Music Service, Bernadette Clinton - Spanish Consultant for Hackney Education and her team of Spanish teachers, and Raquel Tola Rego - Spanish Teacher at Parkwood Primary School. Huge thanks to all involved!
And with special extra thanks to all the teachers and partners who have provided us with individual challenges:
Pilar Gonzalez Gomez and her pupils at Mossbourne Riverside Academy

Adolfo Arribas Alvaro and his pupils at Sebright Primary School

Carmen Casado at Colegio Virgen de la Salud - Parkwood's partner school in Spain

Christina Orts for creating the Saxophone Challenge especially for Parkwood, and to Parkwood for sharing it!

Marta Gil from Zamora in Spain and a friend of Parkwood!

Ann Wright, the VOCES8 Foundation, and the Apollo5 Singers

Two of the Cuban artists featured in these challenges are Hackney Music Service tutors, currently working across a number of primary and secondary schools in the borough as well as supporting / coaching ensembles and special projects - thank you for all your hard work Omar Puente and Hammadi Rencurrell Valdes!
Gracias a todos!

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This month we are excited to announce our HMS 30 days of Spanish calendar! We invite young people, families and more to continue the celebration of music-making and language learning across Hackney and beyond by taking part in our 30 days of Spanish calendar!

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From National Youth Choir of Scotland.  A South American song in simple Spanish with actions, suitable for ages 9 and up. It means ‘a little singing, a little dancing, a little le-lo-la like a canary’.

You’ll find the songsheet with more information at https://www.nycos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Un-poquito.pdf

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Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find 3 collections of recordings to help you learn songs in BSL, Gaelic and Scots, with associated teaching materials from National Youth Choir Of Scotland education team.

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Learn

NYCOS has developed a series of video resources that parents and children can use at home to develop musicianship skills while having fun. These musical games and activities can be adapted by specialist and non-specialist teachers to just use the clapping and body percussion elements.

Our resources, which are suitable for all ages, are based on the educational principles and teachings of Zoltán Kodály.

NYCOS Shop

NYCOS publishes a range of songbooks, musicianship books, CDs and educational resources.

VISIT SHOP

British Sign Language

Paul Whittaker OBE signs songs suitable for ages 5-8.

View Videos

Gaelic

These videos were delivered in partnership with Fèisean nan Gàidheal.

View Videos

Scots

A collection of Scots songs and rhymes suitable for pre-fives and ages 5-8.

View Videos

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NYCOS has developed a series of video resources that parents and children can use at home or can be adapted by specialist and non-specialist teachers to just use the clapping and body percussion elements.

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#IAMNotACostume campaign against cultural appropriation and harmful stereotypes perpetuated in costumes was highlighted in a recent tweet by Kimiko Shabata aka @ESL_fairy. Link in the tweet is broken but the message stands.

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“My culture is not a costume.” Posters from https://t.co/PezLDr8AIS

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“We’re a Culture Not a Costume” Campaign 2012 “We’re a Culture Not a Costume” Campaign 2011 “We’re a Culture Not a Costume” Campaign

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“My culture is not a costume.” Posters from https://t.co/PezLDr8AIS https://t.co/u6VFQtPeMe

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“My culture is not a costume.” Posters from https://t.co/PezLDr8AIS pic.twitter.com/u6VFQtPeMe
— Kimiko Shibata 🇨🇦 🦄 (@ESL_fairy) October 16, 2022

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“My culture is not a costume.” Posters from https://t.co/PezLDr8AIS https://t.co/u6VFQtPeMe

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“We’re a Culture Not a Costume” Campaign 2012 “We’re a Culture Not a Costume” Campaign 2011 “We’re a Culture Not a Costume” Campaign

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“My culture is not a costume.” Posters from https://t.co/PezLDr8AIS https://t.co/u6VFQtPeMe

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“My culture is not a costume.” Posters from https://t.co/PezLDr8AIS

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“We’re a Culture Not a Costume” Campaign 2012 “We’re a Culture Not a Costume” Campaign 2011 “We’re a Culture Not a Costume” Campaign

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Oct 2024 newsletter from Elena Arévalo Melville

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Oct 2024 newsletter from Elena Arévalo Melville

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Elena Arevalo Melville is an author and illustrator of children's books. Born in Guatamala, now based in UK.

Linking to this newsletter, Elena (@sketch_booking) posted on X on 30/10/24:

#DíaDeLosMuertos #DayOfTheDead
As a Latinx author I love shedding a light on this very special tradition, how we adapt traditions as migrants and why we remember our dead as a family.
https://t.co/7UGYZjMS68 #TEACHers #ukedchat #teachersofx #kidlit
#teachersoftwitter

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We have been finding out all about Maya Angelou and discovering what it means to #BeARainbowInSomeoneElsesCloud This is also one of our school values #BlackHistoryMonth2024 @rhosyfedwen #Cynefin #NoOutsiders

Visit the No Outsiders website.

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We have been finding out all about Maya Angelou and discovering what it means to #BeARainbowInSomeoneElsesCloud This is also one of our school values 💙 #BlackHistoryMonth2024 @rhosyfedwen #Cynefin #NoOutsiders pic.twitter.com/Lw4KLSZxHg
— Mrs Farr & Dosbarth Melyn (@RyfMelyn21) October 23, 2024

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Tap the image to see the post in full on X

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Our #NoOutsiders text is ‘My Hair’ by Hannah Lee. We talked about different kinds of beautiful and wonderful hairstyles that we all have. It is amazing being different. We can celebrate our differences and know that we all belong @rhosyfedwen @NoOutsidersUK @moffat_andrew

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Our #NoOutsiders text is ‘My Hair’ by Hannah Lee. We talked about different kinds of beautiful and wonderful hairstyles that we all have. It is amazing being different. We can celebrate our differences and know that we all belong @rhosyfedwen @NoOutsidersUK @moffat_andrew 🌈💛 pic.twitter.com/6JtnDGX6LT
— Mrs Farr & Dosbarth Melyn (@RyfMelyn21) October 23, 2024

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P7 at Bonnybridge Primary in Falkirk and their teacher Hannah Lawless did some work around the feature film 'Coco' as part of their exploration of Mexican life and culture.

Tap to see the full tweet, including 4 photographs of children's work.

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We have been exploring Disney’s ‘Coco’ as part of our Mexico Topic. We have been working very hard to develop our Spanish vocabulary, focusing on adjectives and constructing sentences. Today we completed beautiful visualisers of some of the main characters. 👏🏽 @falkirk1plus2

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We have been exploring Disney’s ‘Coco’ as part of our Mexico Topic. We have been working very hard to develop our Spanish vocabulary, focusing on adjectives and constructing sentences. Today we completed beautiful visualisers of some of the main characters. 👏🏽 @falkirk1plus2 https://t.co/X3xxP07RiF

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We have been exploring Disney’s ‘Coco’ as part of our Mexico Topic. We have been working very hard to develop our Spanish vocabulary, focusing on adjectives and constructing sentences. Today we completed beautiful visualisers of some of the main characters. 👏🏽 @falkirk1plus2 pic.twitter.com/X3xxP07RiF
— Miss Lawless (@BPSPrimary1L) December 16, 2021

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We have been exploring Disney’s ‘Coco’ as part of our Mexico Topic. We have been working very hard to develop our Spanish vocabulary, focusing on adjectives and constructing sentences. Today we completed beautiful visualisers of some of the main characters. 👏🏽 @falkirk1plus2 https://t.co/X3xxP07RiF

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We have been exploring Disney’s ‘Coco’ as part of our Mexico Topic. We have been working very hard to develop our Spanish vocabulary, focusing on adjectives and constructing sentences. Today we completed beautiful visualisers of some of the main characters. 👏🏽 @falkirk1plus2 https://t.co/X3xxP07RiF

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We have been exploring Disney’s ‘Coco’ as part of our Mexico Topic. We have been working very hard to develop our Spanish vocabulary, focusing on adjectives and constructing sentences. Today we completed beautiful visualisers of some of the main characters. 👏🏽 @falkirk1plus2

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Reading about an aspect of Mexican culture in English led to an opportunity to practise writing skills in Spanish for P7L at Bonnybridge. Click on the image to see the full tweet, including 4 photgraphs of children's work.

PS. Did you know that there are indigenous women in Peru (las cholitas) and drag queens (los exóticos) who take part in lucha libre too?

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Whilst exploring Mexican culture, we learned all about ‘Lucha Libre’. 🇲🇽💪🏼We loved learning about Mexican Wrestling and designed our own ‘luchador’. Afterwards, we developed our Spanish vocab by learning some adjectives to describe our wrestler. 👏🏽@BPSMissStanners @falkirk1plus2

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Whilst exploring Mexican culture, we learned all about ‘Lucha Libre’. 🇲🇽💪🏼We loved learning about Mexican Wrestling and designed our own ‘luchador’. Afterwards, we developed our Spanish vocab by learning some adjectives to describe our wrestler. 👏🏽@BPSMissStanners @falkirk1plus2 https://t.co/de90Z3W8qm

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Whilst exploring Mexican culture, we learned all about ‘Lucha Libre’. 🇲🇽💪🏼We loved learning about Mexican Wrestling and designed our own ‘luchador’. Afterwards, we developed our Spanish vocab by learning some adjectives to describe our wrestler. 👏🏽@BPSMissStanners @falkirk1plus2 pic.twitter.com/de90Z3W8qm
— Miss Lawless (@BPSPrimary1L) March 4, 2021

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Whilst exploring Mexican culture, we learned all about ‘Lucha Libre’. 🇲🇽💪🏼We loved learning about Mexican Wrestling and designed our own ‘luchador’. Afterwards, we developed our Spanish vocab by learning some adjectives to describe our wrestler. 👏🏽@BPSMissStanners @falkirk1plus2 https://t.co/de90Z3W8qm

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Whilst exploring Mexican culture, we learned all about ‘Lucha Libre’. 🇲🇽💪🏼We loved learning about Mexican Wrestling and designed our own ‘luchador’. Afterwards, we developed our Spanish vocab by learning some adjectives to describe our wrestler. 👏🏽@BPSMissStanners @falkirk1plus2 https://t.co/de90Z3W8qm

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Whilst exploring Mexican culture, we learned all about ‘Lucha Libre’. 🇲🇽💪🏼We loved learning about Mexican Wrestling and designed our own ‘luchador’. Afterwards, we developed our Spanish vocab by learning some adjectives to describe our wrestler. 👏🏽@BPSMissStanners @falkirk1plus2

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First display: done. Decolonising thoughts with upside down world map, Pangea and current borders, Humana’s project with Angelica Dass’s photos about skin tones. And Roman numbers.

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First display: done. Decolonising thoughts with upside down world map, Pangea and current borders, Humana’s project with Angelica Dass’s photos about skin tones. And Roman numbers. https://t.co/TC82O4HmYG

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First display: done. Decolonising thoughts with upside down world map, Pangea and current borders, Humana’s project with Angelica Dass’s photos about skin tones. And Roman numbers. pic.twitter.com/TC82O4HmYG
— profprof (@profprofMFL) July 17, 2023

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First display: done. Decolonising thoughts with upside down world map, Pangea and current borders, Humana’s project with Angelica Dass’s photos about skin tones. And Roman numbers. https://t.co/TC82O4HmYG

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First display: done. Decolonising thoughts with upside down world map, Pangea and current borders, Humana’s project with Angelica Dass’s photos about skin tones. And Roman numbers. https://t.co/TC82O4HmYG

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First display: done. Decolonising thoughts with upside down world map, Pangea and current borders, Humana’s project with Angelica Dass’s photos about skin tones. And Roman numbers.

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Display 2: la République d’Haiti, depuis la révolte deToussaint l’Ouverture à nos jours. #decolonise displays

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Display 2: la République d’Haiti, depuis la révolte deToussaint l’Ouverture à nos jours. #decolonise displays https://t.co/s3q7ttTnzk

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Display 2: la République d’Haiti, depuis la révolte deToussaint l’Ouverture à nos jours. #decolonise displays pic.twitter.com/s3q7ttTnzk
— profprof (@profprofMFL) July 17, 2023

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Display 2: la République d’Haiti, depuis la révolte deToussaint l’Ouverture à nos jours. #decolonise displays https://t.co/s3q7ttTnzk

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Display 2: la République d’Haiti, depuis la révolte deToussaint l’Ouverture à nos jours. #decolonise displays https://t.co/s3q7ttTnzk

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Display 2: la République d’Haiti, depuis la révolte deToussaint l’Ouverture à nos jours. #decolonise displays

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S1 French worked together to identify appropriate terms to have discussions about race as part of #BlackHistoryMonth with @BAcadSocialSubj. They were able to match the definition to the correct term and then discussed the definitions in detail! #EdScotBRL @BathAcadNews

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S1 French worked together to identify appropriate terms to have discussions about race as part of #BlackHistoryMonth with @BAcadSocialSubj. They were able to match the definition to the correct term and then discussed the definitions in detail! #EdScotBRL @BathAcadNews https://t.co/XiXKWiU2FH

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S1 French worked together to identify appropriate terms to have discussions about race as part of #BlackHistoryMonth with @BAcadSocialSubj. They were able to match the definition to the correct term and then discussed the definitions in detail! #EdScotBRL @BathAcadNews pic.twitter.com/XiXKWiU2FH
— Bathgate Academy ML (@BathAcadML) October 26, 2022

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S1 French worked together to identify appropriate terms to have discussions about race as part of #BlackHistoryMonth with @BAcadSocialSubj. They were able to match the definition to the correct term and then discussed the definitions in detail! #EdScotBRL @BathAcadNews https://t.co/XiXKWiU2FH

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S1 French worked together to identify appropriate terms to have discussions about race as part of #BlackHistoryMonth with @BAcadSocialSubj. They were able to match the definition to the correct term and then discussed the definitions in detail! #EdScotBRL @BathAcadNews https://t.co/XiXKWiU2FH

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S1 French worked together to identify appropriate terms to have discussions about race as part of #BlackHistoryMonth with @BAcadSocialSubj. They were able to match the definition to the correct term and then discussed the definitions in detail! #EdScotBRL @BathAcadNews

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Sharing the map given to attendees at the Lilian Thuram book launch, hosted by SCILT in May 2022.

Download your own copy of the map here.

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L’Afrique au centre. Changeons nos imaginaires. Thanks @scottishcilt for tonight’s event 🙏🏽

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L’Afrique au centre. Changeons nos imaginaires. Thanks @scottishcilt for tonight’s event 🙏🏽 https://t.co/E6Z2ci3dFw

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L’Afrique au centre. Changeons nos imaginaires. Thanks @scottishcilt for tonight’s event 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/E6Z2ci3dFw
— Smithy ML (@SmithyML1) May 18, 2022

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L’Afrique au centre. Changeons nos imaginaires. Thanks @scottishcilt for tonight’s event 🙏🏽 https://t.co/E6Z2ci3dFw

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L’Afrique au centre. Changeons nos imaginaires. Thanks @scottishcilt for tonight’s event 🙏🏽 https://t.co/E6Z2ci3dFw

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L’Afrique au centre. Changeons nos imaginaires. Thanks @scottishcilt for tonight’s event 🙏🏽

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Tap to see the tweet from Smithycroft Secondary School in full, including four photographs which exemplify a simple way of moving away from a Eurocentric default.

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We always use the Euro when taking about prices in French and Spanish lessons. Time to mix it up a bit and look further afield!!! #africa #decolonisethecurriculum

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We always use the Euro when taking about prices in French and Spanish lessons. Time to mix it up a bit and look further afield!!! #africa #decolonisethecurriculum https://t.co/SxMCrYQC3h

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We always use the Euro when taking about prices in French and Spanish lessons. Time to mix it up a bit and look further afield!!! #africa #decolonisethecurriculum pic.twitter.com/SxMCrYQC3h
— Smithy ML (@SmithyML1) October 10, 2022

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We always use the Euro when taking about prices in French and Spanish lessons. Time to mix it up a bit and look further afield!!! #africa #decolonisethecurriculum https://t.co/SxMCrYQC3h

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We always use the Euro when taking about prices in French and Spanish lessons. Time to mix it up a bit and look further afield!!! #africa #decolonisethecurriculum https://t.co/SxMCrYQC3h

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We always use the Euro when taking about prices in French and Spanish lessons. Time to mix it up a bit and look further afield!!! #africa #decolonisethecurriculum

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Cass Ezeiji is a singer, presenter and linguist from Glasgow, Scotland.

Tap on the image to find out more about Cass's work.

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Cass Ezeji's work encompasses education, Gaelic media & the arts. She is a singer and performer of critically-acclaimed bands Laps and Golden Teacher.

Her research engages with Black Scottish History, including Scotland's role in colonialism, its subsequent erasure from the national psyche, and its retelling through the prism of hero/victim. Through her essays and prose, she seeks to reinsert black and mixed-race narratives into the Scottish context and call for accountability.

In her documentary Afro-Gàidheal with Mactv, she seeks to fill the historical voids that omit the experiences of black and other non-white Gaels. This work aims to expand and enhance the ways in which we think about the Gaelic language and culture whilst amplifying marginalised voices.

Her work is informed by her Nigerian, Irish & Scottish heritage, as well as growing up in a Glasgow tenement with her mother. Through reflections on identity and loss, much of her writing examines her childhood spent with the girls, women, and single mothers around her. These women continue to inspire her in all aspects of life.

She holds a BA honors in French & Spanish from Strathclyde University (2022)

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Cass Ezeji's work encompasses education, Gaelic media & the arts. She is a singer and performer of critically-acclaimed bands Laps and Golden Teacher. Her research engages with Black Scottish History, including Scotland's role in colonialism, its subsequent erasure from the national psyche, and its retelling through the prism of hero/victim.

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Reminder to teach the words for the types and styles of hair your students need to talk/write about themselves, their friends and family members. Also consider the vocabulary that they need to talk/write about the types of clothing that they, their family members and their friends wear at home e.g. not school uniform.

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“Quand j'ai ouvert la boîte, je l'ai prise dans les bras, j'en ai pleuré” : parce que les poupées vendues dans les magasins ne “ressemblent en rien aux petites filles noires”, Rokhaya a créé sa propre marque.

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“Quand j'ai ouvert la boîte, je l'ai prise dans les bras, j'en ai pleuré” : parce que les poupées vendues dans les magasins ne “ressemblent en rien aux petites filles noires”, Rokhaya a créé sa propre marque. https://t.co/YaXvf15PBw

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Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.

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“Quand j'ai ouvert la boîte, je l'ai prise dans les bras, j'en ai pleuré” : parce que les poupées vendues dans les magasins ne “ressemblent en rien aux petites filles noires”, Rokhaya a créé sa propre marque. pic.twitter.com/YaXvf15PBw
— AJ+ français (@ajplusfrancais) January 18, 2022

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“Quand j'ai ouvert la boîte, je l'ai prise dans les bras, j'en ai pleuré” : parce que les poupées vendues dans les magasins ne “ressemblent en rien aux petites filles noires”, Rokhaya a créé sa propre marque. https://t.co/YaXvf15PBw

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“Quand j'ai ouvert la boîte, je l'ai prise dans les bras, j'en ai pleuré” : parce que les poupées vendues dans les magasins ne “ressemblent en rien aux petites filles noires”, Rokhaya a créé sa propre marque. https://t.co/YaXvf15PBw

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“Quand j'ai ouvert la boîte, je l'ai prise dans les bras, j'en ai pleuré” : parce que les poupées vendues dans les magasins ne “ressemblent en rien aux petites filles noires”, Rokhaya a créé sa propre marque.

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Special dates in the French-speaking world YouTube playlist of 38 films, c.5 mins each. Including many from different countries in la Francophonie.

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This resource for KS2/KS3 (upper primary, early secondary) explores life, culture and language in Mali, an African country where French is widely spoken.
Do your children know why French, a European language, is spoken in Mali and many other African countries?
What other languages are also used in Mali?

Available to purchase from the Global Centre Devon.

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Take Mali is an innovative, cross-curricular resource, packed with fun and easy to use audio-visual activities for KS2/3

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Produced as part of Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up exhibition (June - Nov 2018).
Blog post in which Mexican textile specialist Chloë Sayer takes a closer look at indigenous clothing from the V&A's collection and some distinctive examples worn by Frida Kahlo.

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Mexican textile specialist Chloë Sayer takes a closer look at indigenous clothing from the V&A’s collection, and distinctive examples worn by Frida Kahlo.

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A celebration of humans, food and cultures! Short films & vlog posts from Mexico, Galicia in Spain, Italy, Lebanon and Wales.

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We are The Recipe Hunters! We travel the world, volunteer on farms, and search for people who cook traditional recipes and maintain their culinary heritage. We share those recipes and artisan food processes through photography, writing, and short films. For the full recipes or for more information about us, visit www.therecipehunters.com We are the multimedia branch of the Culinary Heritage Co., a 501c3 non-profit with a mission to bring people together through food! For details of the recipes or for more information about us visit www.therecipehunters.com We hope you enjoy our channel and encourage any feedback!

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Exploring the World Through Contemporary Arab Arts

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Exploring the World Through Contemporary Arab Arts

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Resource from Global Learning London.  Free to download.

The GLL website says: Our new resource, Exploring the Curriculum through Contemporary Arab Arts is now out. This resource, created with The Arab British Centre, celebrates the contemporary cultural production of Arab artists in all its diversity.

It references the works of today’s cultural producers to challenge the assumption that the peak of cultural production has been and gone. For many Arab artists, a vibrant, productive scene is alive and well. If not in the day-to-day, it lives in their hearts and their imaginations, and it translates into their strikingly beautiful, highly critical, tremendously relevant works.

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Exploring the Curriculum through Contemporary Arab Arts

Our new resource, Exploring the National Curriculum through Contemporary Arab Arts is now out. This resource, created with The Arab British Centre, celebrates the contemporary cultural production of Arab artists in all its diversity.

It references the works of today's cultural producers to challenge the assumption that the peak of cultural production has been and gone. For many Arab artists, a vibrant, productive scene is alive and well. If not in the day-to-day, it lives in their hearts and their imaginations, and it translates into their strikingly beautiful, highly critical, tremendously relevant works.

You can download it here.

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exploring the national curriculum through contemporary arab arts is now out. this resource

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Exploring the Curriculum through Contemporary Arab Arts | Global Learning London

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Our new resource, Exploring the National Curriculum through Contemporary Arab Arts is now out. This resource, created with The Arab British Centre, celebrates the contemporary cultural production of Arab artists in all its diversity. It references the works of today's cultural producers to challenge the assumption that the peak of cultural production has been and gone.

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Tapestry | A Beginner's Guide to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller inclusion

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Tapestry | A Beginner's Guide to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller inclusion

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The free document ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inclusion’ has been written by Gemma Lees to help childminders, nurseries and schools engage in important conversations about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inclusion.

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Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inclusion

The free document 'A Beginner's Guide to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inclusion' has been written by Gemma Lees to help childminders, nurseries and schools engage in important conversations about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inclusion.

Gemma Lees is a Romany Gypsy, disabled and neurodiverse fine artist, poet, actor, facilitator, journalist and theatre-maker from Bury, Lancashire. In 2023 she has worked with The Turnpike Gallery, Told By An Idiot, The Vegetarian Society magazine, Naked Productions, BEAM2023, Graeae Theatre Company, Haphazard Festival, BBC Radio Manchester, The Lowry Cultural Comedy Tours, Theatre Deli and CRIPtic. She is a core team member of Girl Gang Manchester and creator and facilitator of their monthly writer's group, 'Write Here, Right Now'. Her poetry chapbook, '1000 Years' will be published by Bent Key in February 2025, she's in the DANC/ Triple C focus group for 'People Who Experience Racism' and she's on both the Arts and Homelessness International Associate Leadership and Traveller's Times TT Vision programmes.

Download 'A Beginner's Guide to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inclusion'

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A Beginner's Guide to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inclusion

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The free document 'A Beginner's Guide to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inclusion' has been written by Gemma Lees to help childminders, nurseries and schools engage in important conversations about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inclusion.

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Inclusive practice in action - Working with the travelling Showman community

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Inclusive practice in action - Working with the travelling Showman community

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Inclusive practice in action - Working with the travelling Showmen community

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Education Scotland is a Scottish Government executive agency responsible for supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education.

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 Cécile Lainé | What do I have in common with a francophone person?

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 Cécile Lainé | What do I have in common with a francophone person?

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A multi-week cultural unit for Novice learners shared by Cécile Lainé, teacher of French in Canada

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For the past 3 years, I have been teaching Novice learners exclusively and I have been striving to develop their intercultural competency while continuing to invite even more francophone people from the global majority and historically resilient communities in my Novice curriculum. Making space and sharing the space.

A few weeks ago, I shared an overview of my "What do I have in common with a francophone person?" cultural unit with CI for French teachers on FB. The response and interest from teachers was amazing! So, I spent several weekends organizing and formatting my materials in order to share them with you. I am thrilled to be sharing this multi-week cultural unit with you at no cost. If you like what you find and would like to make a donation, my paypal is cecileflaine@gmail.com and my Venmo is @Cecile-Laine.

Important note: I typically start this unit in October and finish it at the end of January. When I said "making space", I meant it. Also, I teach Middle School students for 65 minutes 3-4 times a week, so that is what is reflected in my lesson plans. You know your students best, feel free to adapt.

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS

French is spoken across the world due to France's history of colonization.

A Francophone person often speaks multiple languages and has multiple cultural heritages.

Francophone cultures are extremely rich and diverse. While I know it will take me years to develop a deep understanding, appreciation, and empathy for these cultures, I am excited to start developing an understanding and appreciation via exchanging with an e-pal, and gaining some knowledge about the contributions of a variety of Francophone people.

CAN-DO STATEMENTS

Interpretive Reading and Listening
I can identify the topic and some isolated facts from simple sentences in informational "texts" (listen, view, and read) describing francophone people.
I can understand familiar questions and statements from simple sentences in conversations about myself and others.

Interpersonal/Presentational
I can request and provide information to my French e-pal by asking and answering a few simple questions on very familiar and everyday topics, using a mixture of practiced or memorized words, phrases, and simple sentences. (Not included in the materials)

Intercultural competency
I can identify a few contributions by famous Francophones (products).
I can identify a few francophone cultural celebrations (practices).
I can locate francophone countries on a world map and answer a few questions about these countries.

L4J social justice
I can respectfully describe ways that Francophone people are similar to and different from each other and from me, using novice language.

TOPICS

1. Special francophone persons

2. Le Monde francophone

3. Fet Gede

4. Bilal Hassani

5. New Year's resolutions

6. Angelique Kidjo

7. Léopold Sédar Senghor

8. Culminating project: Black History Month exhibit

LESSON PLANS AND MATERIALS

Click here to gain access to the fully-organized unit folder.

I have been updating this unit for many years now and will continue to do so. The (un)learning is never done. If you find errors or have ideas to continue improving this unit, please get in touch with me or leave a comment.

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What do I have in common with a francophone person? A multi-week cultural unit for Novice learners

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For the past 3 years, I have been teaching Novice learners exclusively and I have been striving to develop their intercultural competency while continuing to invite even more francophone people from the global majority and historically resilient communities in my Novice curriculum. Making space and sharing the space.

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Post by Ellie Chettle Cully on her My Primary Languages Classroom blog.

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When I first started working as my school's specialist languages teacher, with responsibility for teaching across all eight Key Stage Two classes, one of my main aims was to take French from being a "stand-alone" subject to one which was much more cross-curricular. Weaving language-learning into the curriculum alongside other subjects felt important in terms of raising the profile of French in our school, but also as a tool to enable pupils to make links to other subject areas and recognise that learning another language has real-world relevance. The process hasn't been without its challenges and has, of course, taken time but I have been very lucky to have lots of support from my Head, SLT and our great team of class teachers to make these plans a reality.

I've always felt that a project combining both French and Art would make for some excellent cross-curricular learning. After all, France is the country that gave birth to the impressionist movement and artists from around the world have flocked there for centuries to paint its landscapes. Francophone Art Week, which was inspired by a post from Sarah Bruce in the Languages in Primary Schools (LiPS) Facebook group from way back in 2015, is an opportunity for our pupils to explore the varied cultures of the French-speaking world through its art and artists. During the week, each year group from Reception to Year 6, learns about the work of an artist from a Francophone nation and uses them as inspiration for their own compositions.

In terms of decolonising the curriculum, I believe that it is essential that we ensure pupils are exposed to lesser-known artists from countries other than France. So, while Key Stage One focus on the likes of Claude Monet and Henri Rousseau, Key Stage Two use their partnerships with Francophone countries as a springboard for the study of artists from Guadeloupe, Reunion Island, Rwanda and Senegal. This is a great opportunity for pupils to learn more about their focus countries early on in the school year.

Now an annual event in our school's calendar, Francophone Art Week is a collaborative planning effort alongside our wonderful Art Lead. It involves every class in the school going "off-timetable" for four afternoons, something which I am very lucky to have support from SLT to do. Each class spends time learning about the artist that they are studying and becoming familiar with their backgrounds and work, as well as practising the techniques used within one - or a range - of their pieces. These techniques link directly to the Art objectives in our school's progression documents for each year group. Then, it is time for the pupils to create their own artwork, inspired by the techniques and colours of their focus artist. The children finish the process by evaluating their compositions. French lessons, which happen in Key Stage Two only, also reflect the focus of the week but are directly linked to the pupils' progression in the target language.
Reception - Sonia Delaunay (born in modern-day Ukraine but lived most of her life in France):
With its bold colours and opportunities to talk about a variety of shapes, Sonia Delaunay's work is perfectly suited to Reception. Pupils experiment with mark making and printing in paint with a variety of 2D shapes in the three primary colours. They also practise safely using scissors to cut out shapes and choose how to position and stick them onto the page. The results look fabulous when displayed and generate excellent conversations around shape names, which links well to maths too.

Year 1 - Henri Rousseau (France):

Henri Rousseau's fabulous jungle paintings are the inspiration for Year 1, who use pallets to mix the various tones for their leafy backgrounds and then paint their designs in poster paint on cartridge paper. They then experiment with finer paint brushes to create zig-zags, swirls, stripes and dots, which they use when creating their own hand-print jungle animals to add to the scene.

Year 2 - Claude Monet (France):
Claude Monet's beautiful watercolour lily works are re-imagined by Year 2, who work on colour mixing to make finer variations in secondary colours. Pupils then practise a range of brush-strokes to create different effects, which they then put to use in their own work.

Year 3 - Anaïs Verspan (Guadeloupe):
Working in acrylic paint can be challenging, but the contrasting colours against the black backgrounds of these works on miniature canvases look stunning. The children start off by exploring the use of colour within Anaïs Verspan's art and work with a colour wheel to choose a range of contrasting shades for use in their own pieces. They experiment with a variety of combinations before painting their black backgrounds and adding the coloured paints.

We have also been lucky enough to have the artist herself join us via Zoom so the children can ask her questions about her artwork and inspiration.

In French, children learn some simple colour names through games such as Jaques a dit (Simon Says) and Montrez-moi (Show Me). The flashcards I made can be downloaded here and printed using the 'multiple copies to a page' option to create the mini cards for the game. They also join in with this lovely rainbow song, using coloured scarves to physically respond to the colour names as they hear them. Then, I challenge them to talk about the colours they can see in the art works themselves, either by pointing and naming the colour with a single word or, if they want to extend themselves, by using the sentence starter "Je vois la couleur...". This is a great introduction to colour adjectives, which we come back to and explore through our phonics as part of a later unit of work in Year 3. The slides I created for the session can be accessed here.

For the final exhibition for the school community, which happens the following week, I film some of the children talking about the colours they can see in the different paintings and create QR codes to stick up with their art work. These can then be scanned by carers using their smartphones to see and hear examples of pupils speaking in French.

Year 4 - Kid Kreol and Boogie (Reunion Island) :

Year 4 pupils focus on the work of two amazing street artists from Reunion Island: Kid Kreol and Boogie. After exploring the inspiration that the artists draw from the nature and topography of this amazing island, the children sketch a range of tropical leaves found in Reunion's rainforests. They then consider ways to turn their sketches into the more styalised street art form, with bold lines and less detail, and use these techniques to create their own individual jungle collages.

In their French lesson, pupils work to translate a poem about Reunion Island from the fantastic book 101 poésies et comptines tout autour du monde by Corinne Albaut. This one was flagged up to me in a webinar by the fabulous Suzi Bewell and I highly recommend it for simple poems about loads of different countries, both Francophone and non-Francophone. We discuss how we might use cognates to begin to understand the poem, along with words that we already recognise from our previous learning. Then, we use dictionaries to work out the meaning of small sections of the poem before creating a whole-class translation of the entire thing. We didn't have time this year, but this is a great poem to learn by heart and perform too. You can break it down into chunks and give individual groups different sections to make it more accessible. The slides I made for the session can be found here.
Year 5 - Kenneth Nkusi (Rwanda):
The acrylic works of Kenneth Nkusi of the Inema Arts Centre, Kigali, are the inspiration for Year 5, who begin by examining the contrasting colours of the artist's work and his depictions of forests and trees. Pupils use colour wheels to experiment with contrasting colour combinations for their own works and also practise the different brush strokes used within Nkusi's original pieces. Then, they choose their background colour and paint in their tree trunks and leaves.

In French, pupils have recently revisited the use of the definite article in the singular and have been introduced to the plural form les, so this week is a great opportunity to put their learning into practice. Firstly, we watch a couple of clips to immerse the children in the sights and sounds of Rwanda. As they watch, pupils write down all the nouns that they see - gorilla, lake, volcano, etc. - in English. After feeding back and generating a shared list as a class, pupils choose a range of these nouns to translate into French, selecting the correct definite article. Pupils use bilingual dictionaries, or glossaries for those who find the dictionary tricky to use, to create a list poem of nouns associated with Rwanda. Those who feel confident, can create a list poem made up of plural nouns, as in the example below. The slides for the session are here.

Year 6 - Souleymane Keita (Senegal):
Described as the father of contemporary Senegalese art, Souleymane Keita's ink masterpiece, 'The Door to Nowhere', is the focus for Year 6's learning. The children begin by learning about Keita and how his works were inspired by his birthplace: the Island of Gorée, off the coast of Dakar. Pupils explore Keita's use of different tones of ink to create a sense of depth - lighter tones to make things appear further away and darker ones to bring objects closer to the viewer. After experimenting with ink washes and the use of rollers, pupils create their own monochrome pieces for display.

Following on from their previous unit of work - Je suis moi - in which pupils revise vocabulary to talk about their name; where they live; their age and birthday; and learn how to share information about their nationality; hair and eye colour; and the languages that they speak, I get the children to write a short autobiography of Souleymane Keita, in French, using bilingual dictionaries to add information about his job. The slides for this lesson are available here.

On the Wednesday of Francophone Art Week, we always have a whole-school assembly, the slides for which are available here, to talk about the artists that the children have encountered and discuss what they have learned so far. We then round the whole thing off the following week with an after-school exhibition. Sharing all of the pupils' creations with our school community and seeing how proud they, and their carers, are of the hard work that went into creating them is an incredible end to a fantastic week!
How do you incorporate cross-curricular learning into the languages offer at your school? If you want to know more about how we planned and organised our Francophone Art Week, feel free to get in touch.

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Exploring the art and artists of the French-speaking world When I first started working as my school's specialist languages teacher, with responsibility for teaching across all eight Key Stage Two classes, one of my main aims was to take French from being a "stand-alone" subject to one which was much more cross-curricular.

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Post by Ellie Chettle Cully on her My Primary Languages Classroom blog.

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Did you know that there are roughly 300 million French-speakers worldwide, making French the sixth most-spoken language in the world? Interestingly, due to rapid population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, French is now the fastest growing language on the continent. In fact, Africa is now home to roughly two thirds of the global French-speaking population.

So, with this in mind, and La Semaine de la langue française et de la francophonie fast approaching - 13th - 21st March 2021, in case you were wondering - what better time to share ideas and inspiration for a unit of work on one of Africa's most vibrant and exciting French-speaking nations: Senegal.

Over the past few years, I have been working to create a more globalised curriculum for the children that I teach, celebrating Francophone culture through curriculum weeks, themed days and links with schools from around the French-speaking world, including Guadeloupe, Rwanda and Djibouti (more on how to do this in a future post). This academic year, however, I have made it a target to start adapting my scheme of work to create units which marry together the linguistic and grammatical structures that children need to make the required progress in Key Stage Two with cultural elements, enabling them to discover more about the French-speaking world in a meaningful way. It was watching the fantastic BBC documentary 'African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power', fronted by Afua Hirsch, over the summer that inspired me to create this unit of work on Senegal for my Year 6 classes.
Introducing Senegal:
Senegal is continental Africa's westernmost country. It's about 1.5 times the size of England and has a population of around 16 million. Senegal gained its independence from France in 1960 but remains part of 'la Francophonie'. While French is still the official language of Senegal, most people speak Wolof (the Wolof people being the largest ethic group within the country) and many people speak French as a second language, or not at all. In a six-week unit, it is never going to be possible to teach children everything about the focus country. Instead, my aim has been to devise a set of lessons, driven by the subject content of the Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage Two, which would also spark children's interest in Senegal, hopefully inspiring them to go away and spend time researching the country independently.

For my Year 6, this is a really good revision unit, perfect for the the half term following an extended period of remote learning, which touches on elements covered in previous topics or year groups: the definite and partitive articles; adjective/noun order and agreement; musical instruments; and clothes.

My suggestion for the first in this series of lessons, gives children the opportunity to get a bit of a taste Senegalese culture through a couple of short video montages.

Inspired by an idea shared by Suzi Bewell in her Keynote Speech at the recent ALL West of England online conference, I have also created a ' virtual tour ' of Dakar, using Genially, to give children the best chance of visualising the city.

The children's thinking could be guided through prompt questions and class discussion to draw together their first impressions of the country. SEND children and those who find it harder to pick out key information, may benefit from an organiser, like this one.

It might also be interesting at this point to consider anything that the children found surprising and unpick, in a light-touch manner, whether the images they have seen have helped them question what they thought they knew about Senegal or Africa in general.

Once they have watched the clips and taken the virtual tour, the children can begin their own research, this time in French. I've included examples of a text that I created in Canva, written at three level of challenge, which children could choose from depending on their confidence levels.

Before tackling a text of any kind, I always encourage children to consider the techniques they will need to use in order to get the gist. It's great for children to realise that they do not need to rely on a dictionary and can get a good grasp of the meaning of a text by using their knowledge of cognates (and false friends) as well as recalling key vocabulary and grammatical structures from previous units of learning. I also prompt them to read aloud, using their knowledge of letter strings, and colour-code their text as they go, before beginning to look up any unknown words. The aim is to give children the confidence to 'have a good go' at decoding an unfamiliar text, using the skills they already have as language-learners.
Musical Traditions:
Music and the oral tradition are an integral part of life in Senegal. At the heart of this sit les griots, a caste of musicians who hold, protect and pass on the traditional stories and music of the peoples of Senegal. Over the course of a couple of lessons, pupils could be encouraged to discover and learn the names of the traditional instruments that are used in Senegalese music, recapping the conjugation of regular 'er' verbs in the present; the masculine and feminine definite article; and bringing in the partitive to create sentences starting 'Je joue du/de l'/de la...' or 'Il/elle joue du/de l'/de la...'

One of the most iconic and important instruments of Senegal is la kora, a traditional, twenty-one stringed instrument, much like a harp. This great little BBC documentary is probably too long for the children but is an interesting insight into the way in which the kora is made and could be useful background research for teachers. The website of award-winning griot Seckou Keita is also full of fantastic information about the traditional instruments used in Senegalese music, as well as the importance of les griots in the musical tradition of Senegal, and West Africa as a whole.

Now is also a wonderful opportunity to get children expressing their opinions about particular instruments or musical styles and extending their sentences with reasons. After listening to clips of individual instruments, children could be encouraged to look up adjectives to describe the nature of the sound they produce (e.g. rythmique). These adjectives would then form the basis of more complex sentence-building to create phrases such as: 'J'aime la musique du djembé parce que c'est rythmique'.

For those children with a strong interest in music, Senegal also has a thriving Hip Hop scene and they may want to spend some time finding out about the stars of the genre, many of whom refer to themselves a 'modern-day griots'. Other contemporary musicians, who have become globally recognised names, include Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal and Pape Diouf who are all known for the upbeat Senegalese musical style known as mbalax, which combines traditional instruments with more modern sounds.
Fantastic Fashion:
Dakar Fashion week is an incredible event, bringing together designers from all of the African continent to show off their creations, many of which fuse traditional African styles and fabrics with international ideas. This France 24 report, recorded in both French and English, is a really helpful introduction to Dakar Fashion Week for teachers.

Talking about Fashion Week would be a perfect opportunity for older pupils to revisit clothing vocabulary, along with adjectives of size and colour, with the addition of traditional Senegalese items such as le boubou, a loose-fitting garment worn on special occasions by many men and women in West Africa, and le moussor, a headscarf.

Due to the pandemic, Dakar Fashion Week 2020, which took place in December, had to be moved out of the capital and into a baobab forest just outside of the city. Inspired by Annika Hammerschlag's amazing photographs of the event, as reported by BBC World News, my children will be planning and writing a set of descriptions for a selection of the outfits shown, using adjectives of size, length and colour to talk about the garments in detail. Images can be used for free if shown directly to children from the BBC website or, alternatively, Annika is happy to be contacted by teachers who wish purchase any of her images for use within the classroom.

This short clip, also from the BBC, helps to demonstrate the variety and vibrancy of the clothes on show at Dakar Fashion Week 2020 and the unique setting in which it took place.

To finish the unit, and before a more formal assessment, the children will have a chance to use Deck Toys to revisit the key language features, following one of two paths to enable all pupils to access the learning at their level.

Senegalese culture is incredibly rich and there are many other aspects which could easily form the basis of a really engaging unit of work including, but not limited to: art and artists (particularly the graffiti art of Dakar and the Dakar Biennale); sport (including the national sport of laamb); animals and their habitats; and traditional tales.
For further reading, the following books and websites are particularly helpful for getting an overview of the history and culture of Senegal:
Senegal: Enchantment of the World. Ruth Bjorklund. Published by Scholastic.

15 contes du Sénégal. Jean Muzi. Published by Flammarion Jeunesse.

Les enfants de l'antilope. Souleymane Mdodj and Zaü. Published by Rue du Monde.

TV5 Monde for a variety of clips on all aspects of life in Senegal (use the search tool in the 'Culture' section to bring up a range programming).
How do you incorporate the French, Spanish or German-speaking worlds into your lessons? Have you found any resources that you think are invaluable for creating a more globalised MFL Curriculum? As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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On découvre le Sénégal Did you know that there are roughly 300 million French-speakers worldwide, making French the sixth most-spoken language in the world? Interestingly, due to rapid population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, French is now the fastest growing language on the continent. In fact, Africa is now home to roughly two thirds of the...

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Click on the image to see the full tweet, including a film clip of Senor Kasa's class performing a song in Lingala, a language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the north of the Republic of Congo.

Scotland is a multilingual country and has four recognised official languages. In the same why, in countries where a European language such as French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese or English is an official langauge, people frequently use other languages too.

Are your students aware of the historical reasons for the spread of European languages to Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania?  What other languages are also used in countries where the language you are teaching is spoken?

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La pièce de résistance; j’ai appris à ma classe une chanson en lingala. Ils ont appris cette chanson en trois jours. 🇨🇩🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@LangsWeekScot je suis très heureux de pouvoir partager ce moment avec vous! Profitez-en 😄🤗#ScotlandLovesLanguages

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La pièce de résistance; j’ai appris à ma classe une chanson en lingala. Ils ont appris cette chanson en trois jours. 🇨🇩🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@LangsWeekScot je suis très heureux de pouvoir partager ce moment avec vous! Profitez-en 😄🤗#ScotlandLovesLanguages https://t.co/6ZEdjaCJVC

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La pièce de résistance; j’ai appris à ma classe une chanson en lingala. Ils ont appris cette chanson en trois jours. 🇨🇩🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@LangsWeekScot je suis très heureux de pouvoir partager ce moment avec vous! Profitez-en 😄🤗#ScotlandLovesLanguages pic.twitter.com/6ZEdjaCJVC
— Mr A Kasa (@rniKAS) February 4, 2022

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La pièce de résistance; j’ai appris à ma classe une chanson en lingala. Ils ont appris cette chanson en trois jours. 🇨🇩🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@LangsWeekScot je suis très heureux de pouvoir partager ce moment avec vous! Profitez-en 😄🤗#ScotlandLovesLanguages https://t.co/6ZEdjaCJVC

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La pièce de résistance; j’ai appris à ma classe une chanson en lingala. Ils ont appris cette chanson en trois jours. 🇨🇩🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@LangsWeekScot je suis très heureux de pouvoir partager ce moment avec vous! Profitez-en 😄🤗#ScotlandLovesLanguages https://t.co/6ZEdjaCJVC

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La pièce de résistance; j’ai appris à ma classe une chanson en lingala. Ils ont appris cette chanson en trois jours. 🇨🇩🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@LangsWeekScot je suis très heureux de pouvoir partager ce moment avec vous! Profitez-en 😄🤗#ScotlandLovesLanguages

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Tap to see the full tweet, including 3 photos.

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¡Comida deliciosa cubana! Today we tried some delicious Cuban food including yuca (a root vegetable), fried plantain, pineapple juice, mango and black beans, pork with cheese & gherkin. We also had grapes which are traditionally eaten at New Year 🍇

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¡Comida deliciosa cubana! Today we tried some delicious Cuban food including yuca (a root vegetable), fried plantain, pineapple juice, mango and black beans, pork with cheese & gherkin. We also had grapes which are traditionally eaten at New Year 🍇 https://t.co/ifoGsgrA6V

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¡Comida deliciosa cubana! Today we tried some delicious Cuban food including yuca (a root vegetable), fried plantain, pineapple juice, mango and black beans, pork with cheese & gherkin. We also had grapes which are traditionally eaten at New Year 🍇 pic.twitter.com/ifoGsgrA6V
— Miss Gorman (@missgorman_) January 14, 2022

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¡Comida deliciosa cubana! Today we tried some delicious Cuban food including yuca (a root vegetable), fried plantain, pineapple juice, mango and black beans, pork with cheese & gherkin. We also had grapes which are traditionally eaten at New Year 🍇 https://t.co/ifoGsgrA6V

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¡Comida deliciosa cubana! Today we tried some delicious Cuban food including yuca (a root vegetable), fried plantain, pineapple juice, mango and black beans, pork with cheese & gherkin. We also had grapes which are traditionally eaten at New Year 🍇 https://t.co/ifoGsgrA6V

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¡Comida deliciosa cubana! Today we tried some delicious Cuban food including yuca (a root vegetable), fried plantain, pineapple juice, mango and black beans, pork with cheese & gherkin. We also had grapes which are traditionally eaten at New Year 🍇

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Tap to see the full tweet, including a film clip of part of the lesson described.

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We’ve learning about the work of Cuban artist, Carlos Cesar. He has produced some vibrant, abstract pieces 🎨 We drew portraits based on his art and are using watercolour paint to add shadow and tone

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We’ve learning about the work of Cuban artist, Carlos Cesar. He has produced some vibrant, abstract pieces 🎨 We drew portraits based on his art and are using watercolour paint to add shadow and tone https://t.co/CZg3kEQVHP

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We’ve learning about the work of Cuban artist, Carlos Cesar. He has produced some vibrant, abstract pieces 🎨 We drew portraits based on his art and are using watercolour paint to add shadow and tone pic.twitter.com/CZg3kEQVHP
— Miss Gorman (@missgorman_) January 18, 2022

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We’ve learning about the work of Cuban artist, Carlos Cesar. He has produced some vibrant, abstract pieces 🎨 We drew portraits based on his art and are using watercolour paint to add shadow and tone https://t.co/CZg3kEQVHP

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We’ve learning about the work of Cuban artist, Carlos Cesar. He has produced some vibrant, abstract pieces 🎨 We drew portraits based on his art and are using watercolour paint to add shadow and tone https://t.co/CZg3kEQVHP

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We’ve learning about the work of Cuban artist, Carlos Cesar. He has produced some vibrant, abstract pieces 🎨 We drew portraits based on his art and are using watercolour paint to add shadow and tone

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Tap to see the full tweet, including 4 photos taken during the lesson described.

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Today whilst listening to some traditional #Japanese music we tried our hand at Japanese #calligraphy, focusing mainly on Kanji symbols. Some pupils carried out research in order to write specific phrases or sayings, or their names ✨

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Today whilst listening to some traditional #Japanese music we tried our hand at Japanese #calligraphy, focusing mainly on Kanji symbols. Some pupils carried out research in order to write specific phrases or sayings, or their names ✨ https://t.co/6NCWxtpkXE

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Today whilst listening to some traditional #Japanese music we tried our hand at Japanese #calligraphy, focusing mainly on Kanji symbols. Some pupils carried out research in order to write specific phrases or sayings, or their names ✨ pic.twitter.com/6NCWxtpkXE
— Miss Gorman (@missgorman_) February 11, 2022

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Today whilst listening to some traditional #Japanese music we tried our hand at Japanese #calligraphy, focusing mainly on Kanji symbols. Some pupils carried out research in order to write specific phrases or sayings, or their names ✨ https://t.co/6NCWxtpkXE

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Today whilst listening to some traditional #Japanese music we tried our hand at Japanese #calligraphy, focusing mainly on Kanji symbols. Some pupils carried out research in order to write specific phrases or sayings, or their names ✨ https://t.co/6NCWxtpkXE

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Today whilst listening to some traditional #Japanese music we tried our hand at Japanese #calligraphy, focusing mainly on Kanji symbols. Some pupils carried out research in order to write specific phrases or sayings, or their names ✨