Throughout the month of December, Radio Lingua is releasing daily Festive Phrase lessons in which pupils can learn to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy New Year” in 24 languages. The daily videos feature native speakers and provide additional background information on where the language is spoken and the number of speakers of that language.

We are delighted to announce our competition in which one lucky class will win an iPad, and there are lots of Radio Lingua goodies to give away too. The competition is being organised in conjunction with XMA, an Apple Solutions Expert in Education.

How do you enter?

Our Festive Phrases series includes festive greetings from around the world in 24 languages. The following five phrases are not included in our episodes, and we’d like you to identify the languages. We’re sure that by combining what you’ve learned in the Festive Phrases series along with some web research you’ll be able to identify these languages easily!

To enter the competition, please complete our faxback form – download the pdf form here. Alternatively you can enter by email: send your entries to info@radiolinguaschools.com. Please include a contact name, class teacher or class name, school, address, telephone number, fax number and email address. The closing date for the competition is 12:30pm on Monday 20th December. Winners will be announced on Tuesday 21st December here on our website.

What about the prizes?

• First prize: an Apple iPad (16gb wifi model), a free Radio Lingua Schools language workshop and a one year licence for a language course from the Radio Lingua catalogue.
• Second prize: a free Radio Lingua Schools language workshop and a one year licence for a language course from the Radio Lingua catalogue.
• Third prize: one year licence for a language course from the Radio Lingua catalogue.

Who can enter?

This competition is open to P4-P7 classes in primary schools in Scotland only. Entry to the competition is restricted to one entry per class or group of pupils. Multiple entries from individual schools are allowed, but must be submitted on separate entry forms. If you have any questions about the competition, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Competition rules

1. Competition is open to P4-P7 classes in primary schools in Scotland only and entry to the competition is restricted to one entry per class or group of pupils.
2. Multiple entries from individual schools must be submitted on separate entry forms.
3. Automated entries, bulk entries or third party entries will be disqualified.
4. Winners will be chosen at random from all correct and valid entries.
5. Winners will be contacted by email or by telephone and winners will be posted on our website.
6. The Judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
7. The competition will run from Friday 10 December until 12:30pm on Monday 20th December.
8. Radio Lingua Ltd is compliant with the data protection act. Our policy is such that we will not pass on your details to any third party.
9. Radio Lingua Ltd reserves the right to cancel or alter or amend the competition at any stage.

If you’re ready to start opening the Advent Calendar, please click here.

We’re also launching a festive competition: prizes include Radio Lingua language courses, a free creative language workshop (click for some examples) and an iPad. This competition is being run in conjunction with Apple Solution Expert in Education XMA. Further details of how to enter the competition will be available in the next few days. Please check back to find out how you can win an iPad for your classroom.

Please note that this competition is restricted to Scottish primary and special schools.

Today Radio Lingua Schools is supporting a group of Scottish language students who are in the European Parliament in Strasbourg taking part in a Euroscola debate. The students come from schools in Glasgow City Council, East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire and over the past three days have been taking part in a variety of linguistic and cultural activities in an attempt to develop their confidence in French. Activities have included street surveys, active learning challenges and cultural visits. The video below gives a flavour of what the students have experienced.

Radio Lingua’s Coffee Break Academy: self-access flexible language support for teachers

The Radio Lingua courses Coffee Break Spanish and Coffee Break French have been used by hundreds of thousands of learners around the world for the past three years. We have now reworked these series into a step-by-step self-access course which can be accessed by teachers wishing to develop their confidence in French and/or Spanish. Each course comprises eighty lessons which take the learner from the absolute basics of French or Spanish up to an intermediate level where they can cope with most situations encountered while travelling in a country where the language is spoken, as well as a thorough understanding of how the patterns and grammar of the language work.

Each lesson includes:

• an introduction video in which the learning outcomes for the lesson are presented
• a 15-20 minute audio lesson with synchronised ‘flashcards’, viewable on the website or downloadable to portable media players
• comprehensive lesson notes in pdf format
• additional 10-15 minute audio programme reviewing the language covered.

Within an education context the courses focus on equipping teachers with the necessary skills to communicate in the language, allowing teachers to study when it suits them best. The Coffee Break Academy provides an overview of the entire course, so teachers who already have a grounding in the language can choose the most appropriate starting point.

Coffee Break French and Spanish provide self-access flexible language support for teachers

The Coffee Break Academy provides the opportunity for an entire school staff to build their language skills, working together or independently. As teachers, classroom assistants and other support staff develop their skills, the language can become more widely used in the school. In a sense it’s the equivalent of a whole school enrolling in a French or Spanish night class, without the commitment of having to attend the class.

So far North Ayrshire and East Dunbartonshire Councils have signed up to provide the Coffee Break Academy for all probationer teachers this year. In addition, all primary teachers will be able to access the materials, whether they want to learn a language from scratch or to refresh the French or Spanish they have previously learned.

For more information on the North Ayrshire and East Dunbartonshire projects, see this article from Scotland on Sunday. If you are interested in using the Coffee Break Academy in your school or local authority, please contact us for pricing details.

This week Radio Lingua Schools has been working with 15-16 year old students from across Scotland at the S@S Accelerate programme, part of the Strathclyde University’s Innovative Routes to Learning project. The participating students signed up for a week of language-learning activities and over the past few days have taken part in challenges and debates, learned some Italian, Japanese and Zulu, and have created multilingual radio shows in French, German and Spanish.

The students have learned how to produce podcasts using GarageBand, recording their voices, applying filters and adding jingles and sound effects. They’ve had the opportunity to practise their language skills and increase their confidence in speaking. Their podcasts can be downloaded from the links below.

Group 1 – download mp3

An celebrity chat show featuring interviews with Audrey Tautou in French and Antonio Banderas in Spanish.

Group 2 - download mp3

Comparing the relative benefits of holidaying in Madrid or Paris.

Group 3 - download mp3

Strathclyde University Radio interviews with language students about their experiences working and studying abroad.

Group 4 - download mp3

Agony Aunt Tía Dolores solves callers’ problems in a phone-in radio show.

Well done to all the students who have taken part!

Pupils in P5 at St John’s Primary, South Ayrshire, recently challenged Radio Lingua Schools to support them in a project on the human body. The class had been learning about the parts of the human body including the functions of bones, muscles, organs and the skin, and their class teacher wanted to reinforce their learning with a project which would involve various elements of media.

The first stage was to write a song: using GarageBand loops and a midi keyboard, the children created a rhythm and melody, and started to write the words to the song, working along with Radio Lingua Schools director Mark Pentleton. The pupils then spent a few days creating sponge versions of bodily organs. The class teacher wanted the pupils to understand how the parts of the body fit together, so we came up with an idea which would combine the song with a visual element involving time-lapse photography. The pupils were delighted with the result which exemplifies a real cross-curricular project.

Sing along to the Body Song with the lyrics below:

We’ve been learning about our bodies, all about our skeleton:
Bones and organs, flesh and muscles, let’s all sing our body song.

When you’re walking around or running a race
Your bones help you move all over the place.
You’d be very floppy all of the time
If you didn’t have a strong, straight spine.
Your ankle helps you walk, your wrist helps you write;
Your patella helps you kneel and your jaw helps you bite.
So without your bones you couldn’t do much,
And that’s all you need to know.

Every day of your life you are kept alive:
Without your organs you just couldn’t survive.
It’s complicated, so let us explain:
Your eyes send pictures to your brain.
Your heart pumps your blood, which makes you feel good.
Your intestines help you digest all of your food.
So without your organs you couldn’t do much,
And that’s all you need to know.

If you stretch or you jump, or even dance with your friend,
Your muscles help you move, they help you to bend.
You have 600 muscles in your body machine:
to smile you need to use seventeen.
Last but not least comes your skin,
Protecting everything and keeping everything in!
So your body’s made up of all these things,
And that’s all you need to know.

Pupils in P1 at St Mark’s Primary, North Ayrshire, recently took part in an animation activity in which they painted characters for a Pirate Story and then animated these characters in the iWork application Keynote.

Pupils in P1 at St Mark’s Primary, North Ayrshire, recently took part in an animation activity in which they painted characters for a Pirate Story and then animated these characters in the iWork application Keynote.

Pupils in P1 at St Mark’s Primary, North Ayrshire, recently took part in an animation activity in which they painted characters for a Pirate Story and then animated these characters in the iWork application keynote.

Pupils in P1 at St Mark’s Primary, North Ayrshire, recently took part in an animation activity in which they painted characters for a Pirate Story and then animated these characters in the iWork application keynote.