Introduction

Radio Lingua Schools provides award-winning materials for primary, secondary and staff development, and pupil workshops combining language learning with creative digital technologies, helping participants to use their language skills with confidence.

With the combination of a sound background in producing high quality, engaging resources and huge experience in delivering learning experiences to young people, Radio Lingua Schools is uniquely placed to provide a service to educational establishments throughout the country.

Podcast pioneers

Since 2006, Radio Lingua has been publishing language courses to a worldwide audience, pioneering the delivery of progressive courses by podcast. Learners tune in to free weekly episodes in over 20 languages, downloading some 60 million podcasts over the past three years.

Radio Lingua podcasts have won international acclaim: Coffee Break French was shortlisted as one of ten podcasts in the Education category of the International Podcast Awards 2008 and Coffee Break Spanish won a European Award for Languages 2007 and the European Professional Podcast of the Year 2008.

All Radio Lingua courses have free listening materials which can be accessed on the main Radio Lingua website. In addition to the free materials, each course is available as a “premium version” which includes printable lesson guides, additional listening content, and other materials to enhance the learning process, providing a complete solution for independent learners.

Through Radio Lingua Schools these materials are now available to educational institutions through a licensing system. Depending on the license you opt for, the materials can be used in the classroom or for revision at home. In response to demand from schools we’ve also provided a CPD license to allow non-specialist teachers to acquire a thorough knowledge of the language, working independently. Imagine if every member of staff in your school could speak Spanish…

Would you like to give your students extra listening practice at home? Perhaps parents ask you how they can help their children improve their language skills. Radio Lingua podcasts are not recorded conversations or lists of vocabulary: each podcast is a complete lesson taught by an experienced teacher and/or native speaker and, used regularly, provides progression for the learner for independent learning and review. Find out more about the courses we offer in our products area.

Who are we?

Radio Lingua is directed by Mark Pentleton. Mark taught French and Spanish for several years in secondary schools in the west of Scotland. He then was appointed as coordinator of the Partners in Excellence languages and technology project, working with teachers and students in the secondary schools of Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. The aim of the PiE project was to motivate language learners and to raise attainment through the use of creative technologies.

Mark and his team developed innovative workshops involving film-making, animation, digital photography and podcasting, all combining language-learning with these creative technologies. Over the course of the project over 1,000 young people from the three participating authorities took part in language-learning activities. The independent evaluation carried out by Scottish CILT points to the resulting “positive attitudes, motivation and aspiration” and “the development of a modern, ‘cool’ image for modern languages”.

Mark’s work in creative technologies was recognised by Apple in 2004 and he has delivered workshops, training and presentations in podcasting, film-making and animation throughout the UK and Europe in his role as an Apple Distinguished Educator.

Since the inception of Radio Lingua in 2006, Mark has worked with a team of teachers and native speakers to develop the range of language courses offered through the main site.

Innovation > Motivation > Conversation

Radio Lingua courses and workshops aim to use technology in an innovative way to motivate language learners. The methods used in the podcast courses and the activities delivered in workshops help learners to build their confidence in productive and receptive skills. Radio Lingua Schools workshops involve the production of some kind of media: film, animation or audio recordings, all of which are posted in our Media Gallery. Young people can use our materials to learn a language, and literally “speak to the world”.

Find out more about recent workshops, or view the media gallery featuring the work of young people involved in our workshops.
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