Online resources for language teaching and learning
Other resources and links on this website:
- About Newcastle City of Languages
- Language resources for schools
- Wider language learning resources (adults and community)
- English as an additional language (Adults)
Follow us online to find out the latest activities and opportunities for languages in schools and communities: twitter, facebook, linked in or check our news page.
As a first port of call for schools, it is strongly recommended for teachers to look at the wide range of online teaching and learning resources for primary and secondary being made available and accessible through the Association for Language Learning.
A summary of online apps, tools and website resources can be downloaded here and this includes links to support for language teaching at all key stages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin.
It is also strongly recommended to visit the webpage, which has even more resources and will be regularly updated. The resources are extensive and cover all key stages and a wide variety of languages. Click here to access the resources.
Sign up or link to other ALL resources and support at these links:
- ALLNet the Association for Language Learning’s weekly ebulletin contains latest information from ALL and Corporate Members to help languages teachers create interesting and engaging lessons remotely / at a distance too for the many learners now at home. Subscribe to ALLNet here. This will also allow access to past issues that you might have missed out on.
- Download the ALL Briefing on Remote working and online teaching. You can see the ALL London webinar that inspired it is is recorded here and a new related ALL London webinar is online here
- Keep up to date with the latest news, events and resources on Twitter: Follow #mfltwitterati and @ALL4language
- Follow ALL on facebook for updates and alerts, as well as engaging with ALL
- Sign up for free Technology in Language Teaching (TILT) webinars every Thursday with Joe Dale and others
- ALL is now listed in the Council for Subject Associations Directory for supporting MFL in schools
Linguacast resources for KS4 and above have been made available by Newcastle University Language Resource Centre. Materials have been made available in French, German and Spanish and include powerpoint presentations with sound for the spoken language, written and with English translations.
All the presentations involve characters from ‘The Angry Family’ and include vocabulary, grammar and explanations, phrases and applications, pronunciation and other resources specific to languages and also a story in 13 parts based around the Olympics.
Futbol Lingo is an app which is designed to help players and coaches around the world overcome language barriers. It is also an education service for schools, colleges and universities, offering tailored, football-themed language learning experiences within schools, colleges, and universities, with the aim of igniting a passion and inspiring a generation of linguists. Click here to download the flyer about the app and the education offer.
The Great Languages Challenge can be completed during a planned lesson or also set as a language-themed homework task. We even have a blank version available that students can use to design their own challenges for their classmates or peers in their partner school overseas.
The pdf worksheets set a range of tasks that students can undertake and cover different languages and cultures: Arabic, French, German, Mandarin, Spanish and Welsh. Click here to find out more and download the resources.
British Council also offer a wide range of other classroom resources linked to different cultures, such as Chinese and Arabic – access resource packs online here.
Arabic Culture and language webinar: British Council and Qatar Foundation International held a webinar version of their Arab Culture Day for Years 9, 10 and 12, which included four 20 minute sessions which can be viewed at this link:
- An introduction to Arabic language and cultures by Tony Calderbank(QFI)
- A traditional Arab story told by Palestinian play specialist Elias Mattar
- Stereotypes of the Arab world by Hana Mohamed (Council for Arab British Understanding)
- Live performance and conversation from by Syrian American hip-hop artist Omar Offendum.
BBC Bitesize has launched a range of resources from KS1 to GCSE to help students learn and revise:
- KS1 French, German, Mandarin and Spanish + Modern Foreign Languages
- KS2 French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, Welsh + Modern Foreign Languages
- KS3 French, German, Mandarin, Spanish + Modern Foreign Languages
- GCSE French, German and Spanish
- Top tips for students learning a language at home
Variety of topics, skills and resources for KS1-KS5 learners in French, German Spanish, Italian and Latin
Provided by @OllieMFL via TES, this Languages Self Study Guide is a one page summary of resources for KS3, KS4 and KS5 and is in the form of an interactive pdf, giving an overview of what each resource is, how they can be used and relevant weblinks. The pdf can be downloaded here and emailed to parents, teachers and students. It contains suggestions around: Quizlet; Duolingo; Seneca; Conjugemos; Netflix; British Council; You tube; Revision guides; El Boletin; Past Papers; Literature; Film.
Becoming Visible are specialists in British Sign Language (BSL) Deaf culture and the Deaf community. As well as being involved in a variety of projects aimed at raising the profile of Deaf people in the wider community, BV manages a British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreting agency, offers an extensive range of BSL training courses and has an established expertise in the production of BSL media translation.
General Guide for elearning lessons for teachers, which also contains links to further reading.
Science in the Language Class is an educational programme which provides resources that link language learning to RZSS conservation projects across the world, or to the conservation breeding programmes within RZSS sites. Each language is split into free and premium resources, with information about sessions you can book with us where available. Resources such as free games and animal fact files are available for French, Spanish, Japanese and Gaelic. There are also some limited resources such as games in Italian and German.
Linguascope has been hosting free webinars for language teachers across the world. You can watch past sessions on the Linguascope blog. You can also check out the programme of upcoming webinars and register here
Copyright restrictions eased: Linguascope has been in touch with the Copyright Licensing Agency. The CLA Education Licence permits the copying of one chapter or 5% of a book owned by the school. Linguascope has asked CLA to give all schools the blanket right to copy 100% of all our publications until the end of the academic year. This means that you are authorised to distribute (securely) to your students digital or printed copies of any of our published titles during that period.
Products: Linguascope offers a range of resources for language teaching, including video and audio. You can subscribe to Linguascope for a discount and also find out more about the products here.
Digital literacy for the teaching and learning of languages: upper secondary and University level.
E-lang is a new open-access resource website, developed through expert cooperation in the field of language education across geographic Europe and beyond. Developed by the Council of Europe’s European Centre for Modern Languages, the resources include motivating real-world tasks for your learners to develop their learner autonomy, creative ways to develop your teachers’ digital literacy skills and information for language researchers interested in pedagogies based on social interaction.
- Didactic framework Towards a socio-interactional approach to foster autonomy in language learners and users
- Webinar with concrete examples that can be implemented on web 2.0 sites, glossary, related resources
- E-lang online training platform (Moodle) – click on “Log in as a guest”
- Guide for facilitating training sessions using the e-lang modules
ECML Treasure Chest of Resources
European Council of Modern Languages have developed a Treasure Chest of Resources for parents, learners and teachers with a range of inspiring, research-informed and state-of-the-art resources including for parents of pre-school and primary-school aged-children, with a range of activities for secondary school teachers and with some language games for learners. Please check regularly for new material and contact ECML if you have resources you believe others would benefit from.
Most British people (62%) are monolingual and and lack awareness of how difficult English can be for those who are learning it as a second language. English Unlocked addresses this by providing work place training, proof-reading and resource-writing services for companies in the North East. In this way organisations can become more easily accessible by international students, EU nationals, overseas visitors, and refugees and asylum seekers.
English Unlocked is also providing webinars in the form of half day courses – click on the links to find out more:
GENERAL
Linguacuisine helps people learn new languages while you cook delicious meals from all around the world. The Linguacuisine project promotes learning of digital literacy, languages, cuisines and cultures. It does this through co-design of downloadable apps and social recipes, using an authoring tool to develop an online community of practice. Download the app for free for recipes available in: English, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Catalan, Turkish, Quechua, Chinese and Korean. Linguacuisine was developed by Newcastle University.
You can search YouTube to find original content in many different languages, from language lessons, to short films, music in other languages. It is easily searchable and free to use, if you have internet access.
Netflix is a subscription service costing £5.99 per month. There are a wide variety of films and series in English and foreign languages, with the option to have subtitles and alterable playback speeds.
FRENCH
French language learning, literature, cinema, visual arts, theatre, dance, music, debates and kid’s activities of all sorts are now at your fingertips. With the Institut français online, you can learn French with a real teacher, watch great films for free, pick up a bande dessinée in our digital library, follow our reading recommendations, take part in a virtual Café Philo, or catch up with your favourite artists thanks to our exclusive podcasts and interviews. And there’s much more to come. Visit our website and follow us on social media. You will always have something to read, watch, listen or learn, as we are working remotely to curate inspiring, fun, mind-expanding and cheerful online content for you.
Do you teach French at primary or secondary level? The Education team of the Institut français ran a special webinar with the Association for Language Learning to present the best of online support and resources for schools and teachers of French in the UK. The full presentation and Webinar video can be accessed for free through IFprofs UK here.
Primary French Programme offers free resources for teaching at KS2 (Year 3-6 and also Year 7). Click here for further information and links, as well as free webinars about the different levels and resources.
Meet the Angry Family and conversations (Linguacast). Introduction to the family of characters and a range of French conversations in 34 animated Powerpoint presentations with sound and translation.
Handy Vocabulary with the Angry Family (Linguacast). French vocabulary is presented on different themes, each in one of 60 animated Powerpoint presentations with sound and translation.
Join the Angry Family on a trip to the Olympics. 13 animated presentations with text and sound exploring French parts of speech, tenses, language practice.
See summary of resources available for languages in schools, including French and additional resources online and updated here.
BBC Bitesize French resources available for: KS1, KS2, KS3 and GCSE
1 Jour 1 Actu provides online resources to help children to learn French with daily activities, blogs, an online diary, videos and webinars on different topics.
TV5Monde free resources for teachers of French as a Foreign Language (all ages)
Free resources for learners in French from KS1 to KS5 available online here.
Science in the Language Class is an educational programme which provides resources that link language learning to RZSS conservation projects across the world, or to the conservation breeding programmes within RZSS sites. There are free and paid for resources in French, such as free games and animal fact files.
Martine Pillette (author of Labo Grammaire, C’est Parti, Vrai de Vrai, and many other amazing resources) has offered to create weekly sequences of activities to help French teachers during COVID-19 school closures. These resources are available from the Linguascope blog online here.
Nathalie Paris has been posting short language lessons for young children (up to the age of 6) on youtube during the coronavirus lockdown. You can access these for free online here.
Nathalie also provides daily videos and weekly activities for 7-11 year olds online here.
French songs for early learners: Younger students can listen to songs by Le Clown Alexandre at home. Each album contains 12 motivating songs for primary school children and is accompanied by an activity book with lyrics, music notation, a reproducible activity sheet and a page of suggested activities for teacher use. As well as being available in Linguascope’s online shop, the songs can be played on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, or Napster.
SPANISH
The Spanish Embassy Education Department provides a range of resources for language learning in Spanish.
- Primary – including Primeros Pasos (a guide to teaching Spanish at primary) and a range of teaching and learning resources for young learners. Sí, sí, sí sets include: lesson plans, vocabulary cards, worksheets, audio and video scripts, songs, multimedia activities and flash animations.
- Secondary – a range of guides are available as pdfs
- Some selected El País articles are available online here.
Meet the Angry Family and conversations (Linguacast). Introduction to the family of characters and a range of Spanish conversations in 34 animated Powerpoint presentations with sound and translation.
Handy Vocabulary with the Angry Family (Linguacast). Spanish vocabulary is presented on different themes, each in one of 60 animated Powerpoint presentations with sound and translation.
Join the Angry Family on a trip to the Olympics. 13 animated presentations with text and sound exploring Spanish parts of speech, tenses, language practice.
See summary of resources available for languages in schools, including Spanish and additional resources online and updated here.
BBC Bitesize Spanish resources available for: KS1, KS2, KS3 and GCSE
Free resources for learners in Spanish from KS1 to KS5 available online here.
NCELP provides is a Year 7 Spanish 50-page language guide to accompany the NCELP Y7 Spanish scheme of work. It provides succinct grammar explanations, vocabulary lists, and a phonics guide to support students’ independent learning for the whole of Y7. It also has QR codes on each page to link to each week’s vocabulary learning on Quizlet.
El País is a global newspaper in the Spanish language. Its website is available in different versions and may be useful for older students and learners:
Science in the Language Class is an educational programme which provides resources that link language learning to RZSS conservation projects across the world, or to the conservation breeding programmes within RZSS sites. Free and paid for resources are available in Spanish, such as free games and animal fact files.
These Spanish resources links were provided by Stacey Williams, a local parent who found them invaluable for her children and wanted to share them:
GERMAN
The Goethe Institut offers a wide range of language learning resources online:
- German for children – including songs, games, lesson plans
- German for young people – including music, culture, games, films, lesson plans and more
- German for work and study
The Goethe Institut is the Federal Republic of Germany’s cultural institute, active worldwide and one of our partners in Newcastle City of Languages. The Goethe Institut promotes the study of German abroad and encourage international cultural exchange.
See summary of resources available for languages in schools, including German and additional resources online and updated here
Meet the Angry Family and conversations (Linguacast). Introduction to the family of characters and a range of conversations in 34 animated Powerpoint presentations with sound and translation.
Handy Vocabulary with the Angry Family (Linguacast). German vocabulary is presented on different themes, each in one of 60 animated Powerpoint presentations with sound and translation.
Three short animated powerpoint presentations with sound, on pronouncing the German Umlaut Ü, Ä and Ö.
Join the Angry Family on a trip to the Olympics. 13 animated presentations with text and sound exploring German parts of speech, tenses, language practice.
New Books in German launched a new website in October 2020 and provides a wide range of literature in the German language. It is a collaboration between Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
BBC Bitesize German resources available for: KS1, KS2, KS3 and GCSE
Free resources for learners in German from KS1 to KS5 available online here.
MANDARIN
Beyond the Panda presents new online books for home learning. Everyone can access these and they include a good mix of science and Mandarin. These are different from our other online content as they don’t need to be downloaded and printed. They also include sound files and Mandarin learning points.
At present, there are 4 books which provide an online experience of the giant panda expert visit aimed at upper primary level. Over the coming weeks, we hope to add further books that will cover the other outreach and the Confucius Classroom sessions which obviously at this difficult time cannot be delivered. Individual links for the current books which are available:
- Intro & the giant panda’s hand
- The giant panda’s teeth
- Bamboo & the giant panda’s distribution
- The giant panda and babies
See summary of resources available for languages in schools, including Mandarin and additional resources online and updated here.
BBC Bitesize Mandarin resources available for: KS1, KS2, KS3 and GCSE
ARABIC
Arabic Culture and language webinar: British Council and Qatar Foundation International held a webinar version of their Arab Culture Day for Years 9, 10 and 12, which included four 20 minute sessions which can be viewed at this link:
- An introduction to Arabic language and cultures by Tony Calderbank(QFI)
- A traditional Arab story told by Palestinian play specialist Elias Mattar
- Stereotypes of the Arab world by Hana Mohamed (Council for Arab British Understanding)
- Live performance and conversation from by Syrian American hip-hop artist Omar Offendum.
Free videos available to practice Arabic script: ScriptTips