Language drive promoted in sporting babel
25 September 2007
City of Manchester73, Manchester City FC 14. No, not a result. It's the minimum number of main languages spoken in Manchester and within the premier league club.
It points up the fact that Manchester is a language melting pot. And the City of Manchester stadium, where Thai, Swedish, Spanish, French, Chinese and Bulgarian, are just some of the languages spoken, is to be the venue for a conference marking the city's continuing drive to improve its foreign language teaching in Manchester primary schools.
The third Manchester Primary Languages Day event is being held at the stadium on September 28.
All Manchester primary school head teachers and language co-ordinators are being invited to attend the conference to hear the latest developments in language teaching and how they can be helped and supported.
Speakers will include Lid King, National Director for Languages at the DfES, and Nigel Pearson, language teaching advisor for CILT, the national centre for languages. There will also be a series of workshops and language demonstrations.
Pupils from St. John's RC Primary in Chorlton cum Hardy will also do some talking with their feet by putting on a display of Irish dancing, while pupils from Abbott Community Primary School in Collyhurst will perform in French.
The Executive Member for Children's Services, Councillor Sheila Newman, said: "As a cosmopolitan city with a growing world reputation we really do need to promote and provide the teaching of foreign languages from the earliest opportunity. We have a rich ethnic mix in Manchester and we need the same rich mix of languages being taught in the classroom. There are good examples from around the city but we need to do much more. We hope the conference that is being planned will be a helpful step in that direction."
There is a language training courses booklet available for teachers with courses by the Manchester Education Partnership and other training providers. Up-to-date information can be viewed www.mewan.net. The booklet is sent out to all schools.
Media contact:
Jane Lemon / Dave Hulme tel: 0161 234 3179
