http://www.open.ac.uk/education-and-languages/includes/news_feed.php The Open Univerity's Faculty of Education and Languages Newsfeed. en-gb Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:05:13 +0000 GCAPS - GC Assisted Publishing System k.mcleod@open.ac.uk k.mcleod@open.ac.uk
The survey of 1,300 teachers was commissioned by Vital, The Open University’s Professional Development Programme for teachers, which is funded by the Department for Education. The survey analysed primary and secondary school teachers’ attitudes towards internet safety and the use of social networking and smartphones, finding that teachers today face new challenges in managing pupils’ use of these technologies.

80% of secondary school teachers feel there is a growing problem in schools with pupils’ phones which allow access to the internet and social networking sites. The most common form of cyberbullying is via social networking sites, and most teachers feel that these sites should be banned during the school day.

Director of the Vital Programme, Dr Peter Twining said, “I have great sympathy for hard-pressed teachers, but collecting mobile phones in a cardboard box at the school gate is not the answer. The technology is not going away. Schools need to focus on helping pupils and teachers to get the best from smartphones and other technologies, whilst also developing responsible behaviours and learning patterns.”

Nearly all of the teachers surveyed said that their schools have an internet safety policy and although many use social networks themselves, this was an area where the fewest number of teachers felt confident in advising pupils. A quarter of primary and half of secondary teachers felt that staff had received inadequate e-safety training.

Dr Twining continued, “These findings imply that a significant number of teachers, particularly within the secondary phase of education, want or need more support in dealing with e-safety. Schools need to focus on appropriate staff development. It is a big challenge, but there are many benefits to engaging pupils with technology – and a wealth of resources available to help.”

Vital provides free events and resources via its website (www.vital.ac.uk), which includes subject and special interest portals helping teachers to explore ways of bringing technology into the classroom. There is a portal dedicated to e-safety which is one of the most popular amongst the 7,200 Vital users.
]]> Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=22931 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=22931 £1.25M boost for Vital programme

With the ever increasing need for IT skills among teachers, The Open University has welcomed a government cash endorsement of its programme to support education professionals in sharing and enhancing their technology skills. Vital Professional Development, a programme to support schools and colleges in enhancing their teaching with ICT, including the teaching of IT and Computing, has received a £1.25 million boost by the Department for Education (DfE) to safeguard its work into 2013. This means the programme – already enhanced by £2.5 million earlier this year – can develop and extend its outreach to staff in state funded 5-19 education in England.

The additional funding underlines the success of Vital and supports the In-house Professional Development Partnership, an innovative approach to CPD which provides a structured programme to support schools and colleges in meeting their institutional needs, and includes access to subject specific web-portals to help teachers use IT more effectively across the curriculum.

The new In-house Professional Development Partnership is a school-based initiative supporting a teacher in each partner school to become a “Vital Professional”, who is supported in designing flexible staff development to help a team of staff achieve agreed needs within their own institution. Subject specific web-portals identify high quality teaching resources and advise on how to use them effectively in teaching, as well as providing opportunities for discussion and sharing between practitioners.

Dr Peter Twining, Vital Director and Senior Lecturer at The Open University, said: “This is great news for the programme and allows us to partner with more schools and colleges to help them maximise the impact of their existing resources. The In-house Professional Development Partnership model provides an economical yet high quality and effective approach to staff development that is flexible and sustainable, and targeted on meeting each partner institution’s specific development needs.”

Notes to Editors:
About Vital
Vital Professional Development is delivered by The Open University and part-funded by the Department for Education. It aims to support practitioners in sharing their expertise and so enhance the quality of teaching and learning. Vital provides inspiring ideas for learners, materials that can be used in the classroom, and opportunities to share expertise with peers.

Vital supports teachers and other practitioners in making even better use of ICT in their teaching. It is delivered in collaboration with other key providers, such as e-skills UK, the sector skills council for IT. Since it launched at BETT in January 2010, Vital has engaged with educators and schools worldwide to create an active community in the real world and online with over 7,200 registered users of www.vital.ac.uk.

Vital is supported by a network of regional teams who organise events and activities across the UK, such as “TeachMeets”, conferences and web conferences to reach out to educators, local authority staff and education professionals. Free 30 day subject portal trials are available to teachers from the website www.vital.ac.uk.

The In-house Professional Development Partnership is a new approach to CPD. The current pilot price for state funded 5-19 education institutions in England is £330, which provides support for 12 months. For further information see www.vital.ac.uk/IPDP.

To get in touch with the regional team or for any other enquiries please contact info@vital.ac.uk or telephone 0845 366 0481.


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The new professional development programme is a school-based initiative supporting a teacher in each partner school to become a “Vital Professional”, who is supported in designing flexible staff development using resources from Vital. Subject specific web-portals identify high quality teaching resources and advise on how to use them effectively in teaching, as well as providing opportunities for discussion and sharing between practitioners.

Dr Peter Twining, Vital Director and Senior Lecturer at The Open University, said: “I’m very excited about the enhancements to the website and our new In-house Professional Development Partnership. These will enable us to work more closely with schools to support them in developing high quality, cost effective, sustainable and targeted staff development that is responsive to their needs in these challenging times.”

Matt Lovegrove from Sonning Common Primary School in Reading is one of thousands of teachers who has participated in and benefited from the Vital programme. He said: “Vital has provided me with a network of teachers interested in the development of ICT within education and with a wide variety of excellent resources. Through sponsoring and hosting professional development events, such as TeachMeets, Vital helps bring IT innovation into classrooms and provides teachers with the support that they require to become innovative themselves.”

Vital, run by The Open University, supports teachers and other practitioners in making even better use of ICT in their teaching. It is delivered with e-skills UK, the sector skills council for IT. Since it launched at BETT in January 2010, Vital has engaged with educators and schools worldwide to create an active community in the real world and online with over 7,200 registered users of www.vital.ac.uk.

Vital is supported by a network of regional teams who organise events and activities across the UK, such as “TeachMeets”, conferences and web conferences to reach out to educators, local authority staff and education professionals. Free 30 day subject portal trials are available to teachers from the website www.vital.ac.uk. - To get in touch with the regional team or for any other enquiries please contact Stephanie.Young@vital.ac.uk or telephone 07770 825900.

ENDS

About Vital
The Vital Professional Development is delivered by The Open University and part-funded by the Department for Education. It aims to support practitioners in sharing their expertise and so enhance the quality of teaching and learning. Vital provides inspiring ideas for learners, materials that can be used in the classroom, and opportunities to share expertise with peers.
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Our Story has been designed to be used on mobile devices, such as the iphone or iPad. The app incorporates research findings and theory to provide the experiences known to develop the abilities and motivation for reading. Parents can easily create their own personal picture books, stories and games and in doing so support vocabulary development and reading skills.

David Messer, Professor of Education in the Faculty of Education and Language Studies, explained: "Reading, even in the digital age, is probably one of the most important skills that children can acquire. It’s an important source of enjoyment and helps children to develop vital language and social skills. Indeed, it can open up whole new worlds by providing the means to access an enormous range of information and knowledge.

"Research has indicated that building a story based on a child’s own life has been proven to increase their confidence and social skills. What Our Story does is build on this to produce an app that provides an easy to use means for parents to take their own photos and ideas and create personalised story books and games for their children. This use of familiar pictures and scenarios helps children to relate to the content and thus become more engaged in learning. Not only does this provide a foundation in reading for children, but it means parents can really take part in creative storytelling activities. In fact, some of the most famous children’s books were initially written by authors for their own children."

The app has been developed by a team of child psychologists and education specialists at The Open University including Professor David Messer, Natalia Kucirkova and Dr. Denise Whitelock. Using Our Story, parents can create stories for their children by putting pictures, sounds, speech and text on 'ecards' to build storyboards which can be based on anything from real life events and trips, to stories that focus on family and community. Trials have shown that young children enjoy both listening to a story using the app and/or taking part in the creation of a story.

The app is suitable for ages one year and upwards and can be adapted to various levels of a child's ability. This makes it flexible and a sensitive way to target each child's needs and differences.

Our Story is free to download from the Apple store.

For a short video showing the app in action, please see link (right).

Notes to editors

The Open University (OU) is the largest higher education institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.7 million students and has more than 264,000 current students, including 20,000 overseas, learning in their own time using course materials, online activities and content, web-based forums and tutorials and through tutor groups and residential schools.

The OU has been highly rated for teaching quality, and has been at the top of student satisfaction rankings in the National Student Survey since it was introduced in 2005. 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and three out of four FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.

The OU supports a vibrant research portfolio and in the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), the University climbed 23 places to 43rd, securing a place in the UK's top 50 higher education institutions.

Regarded as Britain’s major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast ‘open content portfolio’ includes free study units on OpenLearn, which has had more than 11 million unique visitors, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded over 31 million downloads. The OU has a 40 year partnership with the BBC which has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to prime-time programmes such as Life, Bang Goes the Theory, James May’s Big Ideas, Can Gerry Robinson Save Dementia Care Homes?, Saving Britain’s Past and The Money Programme.
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The OU has created two films within the theme of ‘Innovation in Education’. The first highlights the global challenges of health and education. The second showcases the OU’s work to address these issues. The videos will be shown at a live show in Los Angeles on Saturday night (midnight GMT) and will be available on YouTube for at least 24 hours.

Members of the public are encouraged to view the videos in order to push the clips to the front page of YouTube, which will increase exposure of the featured charities. Links from the clips will enable people to make a donation.

Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor at The Open University, said: “We create incredible educational content, much of which we make freely available. Literally millions of people access The Open University through channels like YouTube, providing a gateway to a world of knowledge.

“Our free educational materials are also transforming the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people in the world. So, we help train teachers, doctors and healthcare workers in countries where they are desperately needed.”

The Open University is currently working to help a number of countries meet their Millennium Development Goals. It is providing education and training to teachers in sub-Saharan Africa through its TESSA (Teacher Training in sub-Saharan Africa) project which has already helped to train over 300,000 teachers in 12 African countries, and is providing training to 31,000 Community Health Workers in Ethiopia as part of its HEAT (Healthcare Education and Training) project.

As part of its mission to widen access to learning, the OU is continually looking at innovative ways to provide educational content. In 2008 the university launched its ‘OUView ‘channel on YouTube to enable people to access educational videos online. It also makes course materials available for free through its OpenLearn website, which was developed to widen participation in education and has had 11 million visitors to date, and over 28 million people have downloaded the OU’s free educational podcasts through its presence on iTunes U.

-ENDS-

For more information about the projects which will be featured in the OU’s videos, go to: http://www.open.edu/p4a

The second UK charity featured is bullying prevention charity, Beatbullying.

Project for Awesome (P4A)
P4A was set up by two brothers in the US, Hank and John Green. Hank and John are responsible for the popular VlogBrothers Channel on YouTube and for creating Nerdfighters.

The brothers launched P4A in 2007 and decided to ‘take over’ YouTube for a day to promote charities. They did this by ensuring a common template on all charity videos created by the YouTube community so that they featured all over the YouTube website.

YouTube has embraced the project this year and will be hosting a four-hour live show on the day the videos go live to celebrate and raise awareness of the initiative and causes represented this year.
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The funding will support much-needed schools-based teacher training for women in isolated and rural areas of Malawi through The Open University’s Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) programme. The award is made as Scotland and Malawi celebrate the fifth anniversary of the signing of a Co-operation Agreement between their Governments (on 3 November).

Based on the Open University’s distance-learning model, TESSA has already helped to train over 400,000 teachers in 12 African countries.

The Scottish Government has awarded the funding over three years from the International Development Fund. This support will enable 1000 scholarships for the TESSA project to be made available to women who aspire to become primary school teachers in their local community. Individuals, aged 18-40, who have completed secondary education but do not have the grades required for entry into teacher education programmes will be able to apply. The first scholarship holders will start training in April 2011.

TESSA works with 18 partner universities in Africa to develop a comprehensive set of freely-available teacher training modules. It enables teachers to train while remaining in their local communities, also providing continual training opportunities to develop their practice, leading to more effective learning experiences for pupils.

Dr James Miller, Director of The Open University in Scotland, said:

“This is a tremendous opportunity for The Open University to play a significant role in supporting the Scottish Government's International Development Policy and its particular commitment to Malawi.

“The Open University’s TESSA programme is a direct response to the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal to achieve universal primary education by 2015. To achieve this goal, an extra four million teachers are needed.

“In the five years since it was created, TESSA has made a remarkable and enormous difference to education across 12 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa by providing training materials to over 400,000 teachers. But the project reaches even further as teachers anywhere in the world can access the resources freely via the internet.

“Opening access to education is The Open University’s mission and we’re delighted that our expertise and the proven success of TESSA can be extended to benefit even more teachers, potential teachers and children.”

The Scottish Government’s External Affairs Minister Fiona Hyslop said:

“The long and enduring relationship between Scotland and the people of Malawi goes from strength to strength.

“Since 2005, more than £13 million has been invested into 207 diverse and sustainable projects that are making a real difference to improving peoples’ lives in Malawi.

“I pay tribute to former First Minister Jack McConnell and the previous Scottish Executive for its commitment to establishing an International Development Fund and a formal relationship with Malawi, both of which this administration has built on. Cross-party consensus on these issues was forged five years ago and prevails today.

“This project exemplifies the distinctive approach Scotland has taken to our engagement with Malawi. Our support is very clearly ‘development’, not ‘aid’. The TESSA programme is enabling Malawians to gain new skills so they and their communities can work themselves out of poverty.

“With no quick solutions to the many challenges facing Malawi, the Scottish Government’s commitment is long-term. We have delivered on our pledge to double the international development budget, with a minimum of £3 million ringfenced for Malawi each year.

“Research shows that our development funding is having a real and positive impact. As a responsible outward-looking nation, Scotland will continue to play a role in alleviating poverty, and contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.”

ENDS


Notes to editors

The Open University’s TESSA programme is a direct response to the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal target to achieve universal primary education by 2015. To achieve this goal, an extra four million teachers are needed. TESSA won a Queens Anniversary Prize in 2009 for exceptional contribution by an institution in the higher education sector to the wider community. In addition to teacher-training, the success of TESSA provided the basis for the OU to build on the project and adapt the model to provide much-needed training to healthcare support workers in Ethiopia (HEAT – Health Education and Training in Africa).]]> Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=19969 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=19969
Dr Kehily says: “Whereas once Western childhoods were something to aspire to, we are now led to believe that childhood in the West is in crisis, and imploding. This is a construct led by media hysteria and compounded by the loss of confidence amongst parents - who feel under increased pressure and surveillance. In what is now a risk-conscious society, the child is a treasured emotional investment, providing security for parents in an insecure world.”

Dr Kehily examined reports, books, media and particularly parenting magazines when researching, putting these into the context of past debates over childhood, and she found that there has been a “sea change in attitudes towards and perceptions of childhood.” Today, nostalgic romantic visions of how childhood should be are blended with consumerism and the increased availability of scientific knowledge, giving modern child-parent relationships a unique character. Dr Kehily argues this is typified by the rise in 4D scans, giving parents increased reassurance before the child is born. Scientific procedures such as stem cell harvesting are also increasingly popular, with parents seeing this as a way to minimise future health risks.

“Childhood has been reconfigured,” says Dr Kehily. “The burgeoning availability of parenting advice through magazines, books and television programmes has given rise to a moral panic. The assumption is that childhood is not what it used to be and that this, in itself, signals catastrophe.”

Dr Kehily’s article appears in the journal Media, Culture and Society.

Notes to Editors
Mary Jane Kehily is Senior Lecturer in Childhood and Youth Studies at The Open University. She has research interests in children and young people, gender and sexuality, narrative and identity, and popular culture.

Recent publications include:
An Introduction to Childhood Studies (Open University Press, 2004),
Sexuality, Gender and Schooling (RoutledgeFalmer, 2002)
Children's Cultural Worlds(Wiley: Chichester, 2003)

About The Open University
•The Open University climbed 23 places to 43rd in the UK’s latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), securing a place in the UK’s top 50 higher education institutions. Results showed that more than 50% of the University’s research is internationally excellent (3*), with a significant proportion world-leading (4*).

•The Open University is the UK’s largest university and the world leader in distance education, and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009. It has more than 200,000 students in over 40 countries. Of these, more than 1,100 are postgraduate research students.

•Open Research Online (ORO), the University’s freely accessible repository of research publications, is available at: http://oro.open.ac.uk. ORO has around 30,000 visitors from 170 different countries each month, and is currently ranked the fifth best higher education repository in the UK by the Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR).

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Child of Our Time reveals personality profile of the nation in UK’s biggest personality test

Did you know that the UK is one of the most extrovert nations in the world? That levels of conscientiousness are higher among lower income families than richer families? And that low agreeableness is associated with higher earnings?

The Big Personality Test: A Child of Our Time special, produced in partnership with The Open University, reveals the results of the biggest ever scientific study of personality in the UK. In a two-part special, presenters Professor Robert Winston and Sophie Raworth outline results from over 200,000 people who have taken part so far in the Big Personality Test, and catch up with the 25 children who have been followed by the landmark series Child of Our Time, to find out how much their personality has shaped their direction in life.

Launched last year by BBC Lab UK, The Big Personality Test is the largest experiment of its kind. It aims to answer the question: does personality shape our lives or do our lives shape our personality? To coincide with the broadcast of Child of Our Time, participants will now be able to use Lab UK to invite family, partners and friends to take part, opening up a fascinating new area of study into the effect of your social networks on your personality.

Richard Cable, Editor of Lab UK said: "The Big Personality Test is only at the halfway stage, but we've already generated some truly fascinating insights. It really builds on Lab UK's growing reputation for doing groundbreaking science with the British public that started with our Nature paper on brain training and continues with this huge study of personality."

The Big Personality Test was designed by Lab UK in collaboration with Professor Michael Lamb and Jason Rentfrow of Cambridge University. The five traits examined in the Big Personality Test are: extroversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness.

Child of Our Time is halfway through its ambitious 20 year mission. The new series brings together the 25 children whose development has been followed by the programme since birth, along with their families, to investigate how individual personality traits may have influenced their decisions and paths in life. To take part in the test visit: www.bbc.co.uk/childofourtime.

Find out more about how personalities are formed and how they affect our lives by ordering The Open University’s free booklet “Personality and Your Life”. Call 0845 366 8019 or go on-line at www.open2.net/childofourtime

Programme Credits
The Big Personality Test - A Child of Our Time Special is produced in partnership between The Open University and the BBC.

Executive Producer for the BBC is Dinah Lord, BBC Series Producer is Sam Starbuck, Multiplatform Commissioning Executive for the Open University is Emma De’Ath; The Broadcast Learning Executive for The Open University is Anne Stevens, The Open University academic consultants for the series are John Oates and David Messer.


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Beijing has been and gone, the London Olympics are getting closer and the sacrifices along the way are mounting. Athletes like Tom Daley and Jessica Ennis are looking to their next challenge with the ultimate goal of securing a place on Team GB and winning gold in front of a home crowd at London 2012. Revealing just what it takes for Olympic hopefuls to make the grade, the next instalment of Olympic Dreams, produced in partnership with The Open University, is set to begin on BBC Two on 13 April.

The athletes featured in this two-part series include diver Tom Daley; GB Junior Judo hope Ashley McKenzie; sprinter Shauna Thompson; heptathlete Jessica Ennis; rowers Andy Hodge and Pete Reed; weightlifter Zoe Smith and synchronized swimmers Jenna Randall and Olivia Allison.


Building on the success of the first two series, Olympic Dreams offers an insight into the world of elite sport with intimate access to British athletes’ lives - their gruelling training schedules, daily sacrifices, highs of victory, lows of defeat and injury, and the pressure of coping under the weight of growing expectation.

Senior Lecturer in Sports Studies at The Open University, Ben Oakley, is the academic consultant to the programme and said: “'These unusual programmes give us a unique insight into the minds of top athletes and their coaches, both when they succeed at world level but also when they are faced with adversity and setbacks. The behind the scenes access is absolutely incredible. We get to see personal stories such as the psychological aspects of Jessica Ennis's comeback from injury, watch Tom Daly cope with becoming the most famous 14 year old in Britain and we witness the trials and tribulations of 15 year old Zoe Smith's first world championships in Thailand.”

To continue the learning journey with The Open University, visit http://www.open2.net/olympicdreams/

Editor’s Notes
Olympic Dreams is a co-production between The Open University and the BBC.
The Executive Producer is Dinah Lord; BBC Commissioning Executive for The Open University is Emma De’Ath.
The Broadcast and Learning Executive for The Open University is Anne Stevens.
The Open University academic for the series is Ben Oakley.

The OU and the BBC have been in partnership for forty years, providing educational programming to a mass audience. In recent times this partnership has evolved from late night programming for delivering courses to peak-time programmes with a broad appeal, to encourage wider participation in learning.

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English in Action provides English teachers in Bangladesh with professional development training and resources and classroom materials, so that they can enhance their own teaching skills and bring new ideas into the classroom. The Open University’s experts in distance education have helped to produce development materials for teachers that fit with the Bangladeshi curriculum, and advise on how teachers and their use of technology can be supported in the programme. Teachers are given handheld mobile devices such as iPods to use in the classroom with speakers, so that pupils can listen to podcasts and other audio or video materials, and use these in conjunction with their school textbooks.

One teacher involved in the project said: “Earlier, when I used to read from books, I thought students do not understand at some point, they cannot understand further. Now I am using the iPod for the purpose of active listening. The pupils listen from the iPod and get a good grasp of the lesson. They build a comprehensive understanding.”

An innovative feature of the programme is the development of a local support structure with regular groups of teachers coming together in ‘cluster meetings’ to share experiences and advise each other on how they are using the new materials. This collaboration is crucial to the success of the programme and also helps teachers in more rural areas build their own network of peer support.

In addition to the resources available through the programme, 200 secondary school teachers are studying a customised level 1 OU course – Make Your Teaching Experience Count - which is being delivered through BRAC University in Bangladesh and quality assured by the OU.

Frank Banks, Professor of Teacher Education at The Open University, said: “Widening access to education and using technology to overcome barriers to learning lies at the heart of the OU’s mission. English in Action is all about using new technology and resources to realise change at the classroom level. With the innovative materials and training courses based on our research, teachers can enhance their lessons and develop their own professional capabilities. The programme also helps them build professional networks – which gives teachers in rural areas much-valued support from their peers.”

English in Action aims to reach 25 million primary and secondary school children and adult learners. It is a partnership programme, led and managed by BMB Mott MacDonald, with the BBC World Service Trust, the Open University, Underprivileged Children’s Educational Programme and Friends in Village Development Bangladesh.

Notes to Editors

About English in Action
English in Action (EIA) has been initiated at the request of the Government of Bangladesh and is funded by a grant from the UK Government. The implementation of the Project is being managed by BMB Mott MacDonald, and supported by a number of partners including the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST); Friends in Village Development Bangladesh, (FIVDB); the Open University (OU); and Underprivileged Children’s Educational Project (UCEP).

BMB Mott MacDonald has managed similar projects and programmes in India and Nepal, and beyond South Asia in Indonesia, South Africa, the Sudan and the Yemen. BBC WST is the international development arm of the BBC and works worldwide with BBC Learning English on educational and English learning initiatives. OU UK offers a very substantial resource spread across the teaching of English and teacher education and use of multi-media throughout the world. FIVDB and UCEP bring the enormous success of their schools to enable the piloting of initiatives.


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The research found that, of the 40 primary schools in England surveyed, those which moved farthest towards sustainable provision were those that capitalised on a wide range of languages-related opportunities, including local networks and projects; ongoing training; international partnerships; and local and national sources of funding and award schemes. These schools also made good use of any staff members with languages expertise as well as members of the wider school community.

Conducted across three school years from 2006-2009, the study found that:
• Schools have an expectation that funding for ongoing professional development will be maintained and that training to teach languages will receive greater attention in initial teacher education
• Most children were enthusiastic about their learning experience and appreciated the interactive teaching, and the wide variety of game-like activities, which made learning languages fun. Children indicated they were motivated by the language learning process itself as well as by their perceptions of the wider value of languages
• Many children who experienced difficulties in literacy in English and across the curriculum appeared more assured in languages and gained confidence throughout their involvement in structured yet varied oral interaction. Staff believed that this was of considerable value to their self esteem
• Staffing for languages was a key concern for head teachers. A number said that languages expertise was now a criterion when recruiting new staff
• The shortness of lessons and the relatively limited confidence and expertise among some staff appeared to constrain the amount of time spent on reading and writing other languages and the development of intercultural understanding, with implications for timetabling and staff development
• Children’s performance in the assessment activities carried out by the research team was variable, but findings indicate that children can achieve levels in listening, speaking and reading in line with national expectations after four years of learning one language (equivalent to Year 6 outcomes in the Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages (DfES, 2005) and/or Asset Languages Breakthrough). Writing remains the most challenging area for these learners; the best performances were found where children had received consistent provision, and where teachers’ linguistic skills were strong
• Teachers were concerned that children’s prior learning would not be taken into account in secondary school, and that this could have a negative impact on children’s motivation and enthusiasm for languages learning.

Carrie Cable, Senior Lecturer in Education at The Open University, said the research showed that learning languages at this level brought many benefits to pupils: “Teachers believe languages are making a substantial contribution to children’s development in personal and social learning, cultural understanding, communication skills, literacy skills and attitudes to learning. A number of head teachers also see languages learning as contributing to a school ethos which values diversity and increases tolerance and understanding of other people. Key issues are the need for guarantees of continued funding to support language learning, the integration of languages into the new primary curriculum and the recognition of children’s new skills by secondary schools.”

The Government has undertaken to provide all children in Key Stage 2 in primary schools in England with the chance to learn a foreign language as part of the new primary curriculum from 2011.

ENDS
The research team was
- Carrie Cable, Senior Lecturer in Education, The Open University
- Professor Ros Mitchell, University of Southampton
- Dr Patricia Driscoll, Canterbury Christ Church University

About The Open University
• The Open University climbed 23 places to 43rd in the UK’s latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), securing a place in the UK’s top 50 higher education institutions. Results showed that more than 50% of the University’s research is internationally excellent (3*), with a significant proportion world-leading (4*).
• The Open University is the UK’s largest university and the world leader in distance education, and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009. It has more than 200,000 students in over 40 countries. Of these, more than 1,100 are postgraduate research students.
• The latest edition of the Open University’s Research Highlights brochure can be downloaded from: www.open.ac.uk/research/research-highlights
• Open Research Online (ORO), the University’s freely accessible repository of research publications, is available at: http://oro.open.ac.uk. ORO has around 30,000 visitors from 170 different countries each month, and is currently ranked the fifth best higher education repository in the UK by the Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR).

]]> Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=18361 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=18361
The study found that the rise of virtual worlds and of massive multiplayer role playing games hold great potential for the use of different languages and learning in this informal environment. The study also recommends further research into the development of Personalised Learning Environments (PLEs), where users generate content, use informal learning models and environments and control their own learning.

The researchers make recommendations to strengthen language teachers’ professional development and ICT literacy; to innovate pedagogy through technology; to work on cross-sectoral initiatives; and to strengthen communication in creating awareness of successful initiatives and best practice.

Anne Stevens, Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages at The Open University, was the UK academic lead and says that language teaching practices are not yet fully integrated into technological innovation and change: “Many language teachers are daunted by the speed of technological development and the popularity of new social networking sites, but strengthening knowledge and confidence in this area through training – and integrating ICT into language learning best practice – will bring benefits for both the learner and the teacher.”

Presenting an overview of formal and informal language learning, the research found that, in spite of large geographical differences in the take-up of new technologies for language learning and the attitudes to its use, there are some universal tendencies. Through increased awareness about the benefits of innovative methods and concerted measures on national and regional levels, more people could be involved in language learning and make faster progress with the help of tailor-made technological support.

Notes to Editors
The ownership and the copyright of this study belong to the European Commission.]]> Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=18269 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=18269
The study found that the rise of virtual worlds and of massive multiplayer role playing games hold great potential for the use of different languages and learning in this informal environment. The study also recommends further research into the development of Personalised Learning Environments (PLEs), where users generate content, use informal learning models and environments and control their own learning.

The researchers make recommendations to strengthen language teachers’ professional development and ICT literacy; to innovate pedagogy through technology; to work on cross-sectoral initiatives; and to strengthen communication in creating awareness of successful initiatives and best practice.

Anne Stevens, Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages at The Open University, was the UK academic lead and says that language teaching practices are not yet fully integrated into technological innovation and change: “Many language teachers are daunted by the speed of technological development and the popularity of new social networking sites, but strengthening knowledge and confidence in this area through training – and integrating ICT into language learning best practice – will bring benefits for both the learner and the teacher.”

Presenting an overview of formal and informal language learning, the research found that, in spite of large geographical differences in the take-up of new technologies for language learning and the attitudes to its use, there are some universal tendencies. Through increased awareness about the benefits of innovative methods and concerted measures on national and regional levels, more people could be involved in language learning and make faster progress with the help of tailor-made technological support.

Notes to Editors
The ownership and the copyright of this study belong to the European Commission.]]> Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=18269 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=18269
A unique portrait of life in the heart of the Middle East is shown in a new documentary coming to BBC FOUR. Syrian School, produced in partnership with The Open University, explores the lives of ordinary people in close up – from the Palestinian refugee rappers clashing with their conservative head teacher, to girls finding self-expression through love poetry.

For forty years Syria has been dominated by a single party and there is limited political freedom. Now with unprecedented access and filmed over the course of a year, this five part series shows what it is like to grow up in the heart of the Arab world. Using the prism of four schools in Damascus, the series takes us beyond politics and media clichés to the stories of ordinary people. Syrian School follows on from the success of previous series Chinese School, Indian School and African School.

Through the eyes of teachers, pupils and families, Syrian School gives a rare opportunity to see the human face of this region, exploring the hopes and aspirations of this primarily Muslim country and challenging our own assumptions about what life is like there.

Expert Freda Wolfenden is the lead academic for The Open University on the series and said: “As with the other school series that the OU and BBC have produced, Syrian School gives us the chance to examine an overseas education system and the people within it. The series throws into relief the different kinds of schooling within this region – from traditional to progressive – and gives us the chance to compare it with our own education system here in the UK. It’s a fascinating and important insight into education in this part of the world.”

The influx of refugees into Syria, most recently those from Iraq, is giving the educational system an additional challenge, as it has had to adapt to meet their needs and accommodate extra pupils in schools across the busy city of Damascus. In episode one we meet Yusuf, a Christian refugee from Iraq, who is settling in to Jaramana Boys’ School. After living through bombings in Baghdad, Yusuf still has a fear of loud bangs.

Richard Klein, Controller of BBC Four said: “Syria is one of those places that really is mysterious - because it is so different, so pivotal in its role in the Middle East and yet so difficult to get into and get a proper look around. The film team spent the best part of year with remarkable access in three schools and in doing so portrayed the lives and worlds of children in a way that is both captivating and eye-opening. It really is a series from another world.”
ENDS

Notes to Editors

Syrian School will be shown on BBC World in August 2010.

Supporting material for the series can be found online at www.open2.net and via the BBC website www.bbc.co.uk/syrianschool

BBC World Class
For Syrian School, BBC World Class is working with the British Council to twin UK schools with schools in the Arab world. Join BBC World Class and we will help you twin. For more information go to www.bbc.co.uk/worldclass


TX details: Wednesday 10 February, XPM, BBC Four – 5 x 60mins
Syrian School is a co-production between The Open University and the BBC, made by Lion Television.
The Executive Producer for Lion Television is Bill Locke; Producers: Max Baring and Sarah HamiltonBBC Commissioning Executive for The Open University is Emma De’Ath.
The Broadcast and Learning Executive for The Open University is Anne Stevens.
The Open University academics for the series are Freda Wolfenden, Helen Yanacopulos and Giles Mohan.

The OU and the BBC have been in partnership for forty years, providing educational programming to a mass audience. In recent times this partnership has evolved from late night programming for delivering courses to peak-time programmes with a broad appeal, to encourage wider participation in learning.

]]> Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=18045 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=18045
The Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize is one of eighteen awards that will be presented on 28 December 2009 during the association's annual convention, to be held this year in Philadelphia.

The selection committee's citation for the winning book reads: “Using research from science and mathematics as their point of departure, Diane Larsen-Freeman and Lynne Cameron's Complex Systems and Applied Linguistics presents a comprehensive, surprisingly accessible overview of chaos theory and complex systems as they relate to second-language learning and applied linguistics. Whether one agrees with the theories and interpretations presented by the authors, the thinking behind the work is innovative, and the scholarship is impressive.”

Lynne Cameron received her MA from the University of York and her PhD from the University of London. She is the author of Teaching Languages to Young Learners and Metaphor in Educational Discourse and co-editor of Researching and Applying Metaphor and Explorations in Spatiality. She is co-editor of the forthcoming Metaphor Analysis: Research Practice in Applied Linguistics, Social Sciences, and the Humanities and co-author of the forthcoming Bringing Creative Teaching into the Young Learner Classroom.

Speaking of the award, Lynne said: “We are delighted with this acknowledgement of our collaborative work that began 10 years ago. Complex systems theory offers exciting ideas for our field, and we hope the book will stimulate new debates.”

Diane Larsen-Freeman is a professor of education, a professor of linguistics, and a research scientist at the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a distinguished senior faculty fellow at the Graduate SIT Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont.

ENDS

About the Prize
The Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize was established by the MLA Executive Council in 1979. First presented in 1980, the prize is awarded under the auspices of the MLA's Committee on Honors and Awards. From 1998 to 2002, the prize was awarded in alternate years to an outstanding book and an outstanding article in the field. From 2004 to 2007, the Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize was selected by a committee that also reviewed work for the Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize, which is awarded for an outstanding work in the fields of language, culture, literacy, or literature with strong application to the teaching of English.

Kenneth W. Mildenberger (1921-79) devoted his distinguished career to the advancement of the study of foreign languages. He received his PhD in 1951 from New York University and an honorary doctorate of laws from Middlebury College in 1963. He joined the staff of the MLA in 1952 and served as associate secretary and director of the association's Foreign Language Program until 1958. He then moved to Washington, DC, where he served first as assistant chief of the Language Development Section in the United States Office of Education and then as chief until 1961. From 1962 to 1965 he served as director of the Division of College and University Assistance of the United States Office of Education. After his government service, Mildenberger returned to the MLA as deputy executive secretary and treasurer. During his career at the MLA he was instrumental in the establishment of the Center for Applied Linguistics, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, and the first ERIC Clearinghouse on Foreign Languages. He also directed numerous research projects; edited special publications, and was the founding editor of Foreign Language Annals.




]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=17516 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=17516
Berlin has seen everything from Nazi imperialism to the first gay mayor; it has been home to some of history’s most influential people including Bertholt Brecht, Marlene Dietrich and Einstein; and it’s a city that has been steeped in controversy and contradiction throughout the centuries. Co-produced by The Open University, Berlin is a new three-part documentary written and presented by award-winning, German-born, journalist Matt Frei, who unveils the turbulent and dramatic story of this city from the Prussian years right through to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Matt Frei, now Anchor of BBC World News America and host of ‘Americana’ on Radio Four, took up the post of the BBC’s Bonn Correspondent in Germany on the same day as the fall of the Berlin Wall, and revisits his own past in this series: “Making a film about a city I love, whose happiest milestone I was lucky enough to witness and where layers of history, good but mostly bad, have collided with consequences for the rest of the world is a gift for any journalist. To do it in both English and German was a first for me."

Drawing bold connections between events, characters, art and architecture from 200 years of turbulent history, the series – which is shot in English and German - reveals how the ideas, buildings and people of Berlin have become iconic symbols of our times. Travelling back and forth in time between the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, the 18th century Prussian years, Hitler’s Third Reich and Cold War Berlin, we discover a city of contrasts – divided and shaped by its own history.

Dr Sylvia Warnecke, an expert in the cultural policy of the former East Germany, is The Open University’s academic consultant to the series and was involved in underground democratic political movements in East Germany in the 1980s. Sylvia said: “Unlike many other European cities, Berlin’s identity has moved and shifted as history has unfolded, something that has been reflected in its cultural scene. In a sense, Berlin is braver because of its turbulent past, and there is a real sense of endeavour and innovation. The series gets to the essence of this unique city, and brings a fresh view to a place that many viewers will think that they already know.”

To accompany the series, The Open University has produced a free bi-lingual guide to the city of Berlin available to order from www.open2.net or by calling 0845 366 8013.

- ENDS -
Editor’s Notes
For interviews, preview DVDs, images and further information contact Kath Middleditch

Images available from the BBC Picture service – go to www.bbcpictures.com

TX details: Saturday 14 November, BBC TWO, time to be confirmed. TX details are correct at the time of issue and are subject to change.

About Matt Frei
Matt Frei was born in Essen, West Germany. When he was ten years old he left Germany with his family and moved to the UK. He joined the BBC shortly after graduating from St Peter's College, University of Oxford. After a year in the German Section of the World Service, he moved to English Language Current Affairs, where he worked for another year. In 1989 he reported on the First Intifada in Jerusalem, then on the Gulf War as London Foreign Affairs correspondent. He took up the post of Bonn Correspondent in Germany on the same day as the fall of the Berlin Wall. And on October 1, 2007, Frei became the first presenter of the BBC World News one hour Washington-based news broadcast, BBC World News America. He has won numerous awards during his career notably Amnesty International Asia Award, for Newsnight features on Vietnam and Indonesia (1997 and 1998), Royal Television Society International News Award (2000) and Prix Bayeux for War Reporting (2000).

Programme Credits
Berlin is a co-production between The Open University and the BBC.
The Executive Producer is Basil Comely; the Series Producer is Sam Hobkinson.
BBC Commissioning Executive for the Open University is Emma De’Ath.
The Broadcast Learning Executive for The Open University is Anne Stevens.
The Open University academics for the series are Dr Klaus-Dieter Rossade and Dr Sylvia Warnecke.

The OU and the BBC have been in partnership for forty years, providing educational programming to a mass audience. In recent times this partnership has evolved from late night programming for delivering courses to peak-time programmes with a broad appeal, to encourage wider participation in learning.
Resources
Related Courses and programmes from The Open University:-
• L130 Auftakt: get ahead in German
• L193 Rundblick: beginner’s German
• L203 Motive: upper intermediate German
• L313 Variationen: Advanced German

]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=17252 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=17252
A nationwide programme to help teachers bring technology more effectively into the classroom is launched today by The Open University and e-skills UK.

Funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), the £5.6million programme will help education professionals, from primary through to secondary and college level, build their information and communications technology (ICT) skills, stay up to date with the latest developments and meet the needs of an increasingly technology-savvy generation of young people.

The new programme will help teachers of all subjects make effective use of ICT as an inspirational and effective learning tool, and boost the technology skills of their students.

There will be a special focus on building the professional competence of technology teachers providing them, amongst other things, with first hand experience of the ways in which IT is used in business and to drive innovation.

The programme brings together the world leading, virtual learning environment of The Open University with e-skills UK’s extensive employer reach and innovative education and IT skills programmes.

Karen Price, CEO e-skills UK said: “We live in a technology-enabled world. To prepare young people for successful futures we need to transform the way in which technology is taught and used in education. This places new demands on the skills and knowledge required of teachers. The UK already has many excellent technology teachers as well as teachers who are inspirational in their use of ICT in lessons. We believe that this programme will raise the overall standard to that of the very best, enhancing and enriching education for young people and their teachers.”

Professor Brenda Gourley, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, said: “From Facebook and Wi-Fi, to iPods and YouTube, today’s school pupils are some of the most technologically savvy people in society. The Open University has been driving the use of innovative technology in education since it began 40 years ago and we are looking forward to helping teachers become even better at harnessing the potential of technology in their own classrooms.”

The programme combines state-of-the-art distance learning that can be tailored to individual needs, with face-to-face learning at local venues or hosted by employers. It will be supported by a dynamic online community.

The aims and objectives of the programme reflect the recommendations of the recent Rose and OFSTED reports to create a world-class learning environment in the UK by transforming the approach to ICT in education.

About e-skills UK
e-skills UK is the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology. We work on behalf of employers to ensure the UK has the technology skills it needs to succeed in the global economy. www.e-skills.com

About The Open University
The Open University (OU) is the United Kingdom's largest university and the world leader in distance education. More than two million people have studied with the OU since it began in 1969. The OU has more than 200,000 students in over 40 countries studying for a variety of degrees and vocational qualifications ranging from short courses to PhDs.

Independent authorities have consistently ranked the OU in the top five UK universities for teaching quality and virtually all of the University’s research areas have received ratings of national or international excellence. OU students are more impressed with the quality of their courses and the support received than those at any other UK university, based on the findings of the National Student Survey. The OU has been at the top of the rankings every year since the survey began in 2005.

The Open University's style of teaching is called 'supported open learning'. ‘Open learning’ means that students learn in their own time by reading course material, working on course activities, writing assignments and perhaps working with other students. ‘Supported’ means support from a tutor and the student services staff at Regional Centres, as well as from centralised areas such as the Library or Open University Students Association. Some courses include a residential or day school, held at various times and locations.

E-learning – making intelligent use of media such as computer conferencing, email, CD-Roms, DVDs, the internet and of course, television and radio programmes – has always formed a major part of the OU’s courses and student support services, and the OU is regarded as Britain’s major e-learning institution.]]> Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=16523 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=16523
The ‘Outstanding Contribution to Language Learning’ is a special award with the citation stating, “one institution stands out for consistently delivering projects which take language learning one step beyond. The OU is to be commended for its use of new technologies to make language learning both easy and engaging for distance learners.”

The Department of Languages also won the Italian Embassy Language Prize for its Italian course, ‘Andante’ – which centres around distance learning and uses a dedicated website and range of online activities.

Uwe Baumann, Head of Languages at the OU said: “We have always strived to find new ways of delivering language teaching via distance learning and to share resources – one of our latest successes is sharing French, German and Spanish materials on iTunes U. It is a great honour to receive the first ever Outstanding Contribution to Language Learning award and this really pays tribute to the innovative work being done across the whole department.“

Teresa Tinsley, Director of Communications at CILT and one of the judges said: “The Open University’s unfailing commitment to broadening access to education is an inspiration to us all. Year after year this institution comes up with new ways of raising the profile of language learning and to share its educational resources. We are delighted to be able to show our recognition of the OU’s work through a special award this year.”

The European Awards for Languages are given yearly by CILT, the National Centre for Languages. Each year the Award recognises between ten and fifteen exciting language projects from across the UK, including schools, further or higher education institutions or other organisations. To win an Award, the projects must show innovation and effectiveness in language teaching and learning, and must be replicable in other contexts and languages.

The awards were presented to Fernando Rosell-Aguilar, Lecturer in Spanish, Anna Proudfoot, Head of Italian, and Uwe Baumann, Head of Languages, by broadcaster Henry Bonsu and languages advocate Baroness Coussins at a ceremony on 30 June in Bristol.

ENDS

About The Open University Department of Languages
The Department of Languages has offered language learning opportunities to over 85,000 students since its foundation, it has clearly demonstrated that language learning can be successfully done at a distance. Its use of technology for pedagogic enhancement is at the forefront at the sector and benefits students by offering a variety of technology-enhanced ways to communicate – be it from student to student or in the form of virtual classrooms conducted by tutors.




]]> Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=16443 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=16443
The award recognises TESSA as a group ‘that has made significant advances in the understanding of the issues of innovation surrounding OER and the OER movement, applied to development issues.’ Innovation is at the heart of the TESSA project, as it is allowing teachers in remote areas that would otherwise have to travel to education centres far away to use high-quality materials from their own classroom.

The flexibility and open nature of the TESSA materials means that institutions and organisations can use the materials in a variety of ways. For some, TESSA materials form the core of a new course or award for teachers; whereas others revise existing programmes to include TESSA materials.

Empowering teachers to develop their skills in this way is proving a huge success. Freda Wolfenden from The Open University said: “We expect that up to 200,000 teachers will be using TESSA resources by the end of next year. TESSA is playing a major leadership role in exploiting new technology to support teachers, many of whom work with large classes in remote rural communities.”

TESSA works with a consortium of national institutions and international organisations in Africa and most recently has extended work into Malawi, implementing its materials and support as a core element in the new national teacher training programme. Currently TESSA has partners in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.

About TESSA:
The TESSA consortium was established in 2005. The principal purpose of the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) research and development consortium is to improve the quality of, and extend access to, university-led primary school teacher education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The scale of need in the region is very great and it is estimated that across the region a third of existing primary teachers are unqualified or under qualified.
• More than 100 African academics have participated and are participating in the TESSA process including authoring the TESSA study units.
• A full first phase of resource development has been completed and more than 800 original study units, authored by African academics, are now available for use (see www.tessafrica.net).
• The TESSA text resources have all been adapted and versioned to the nine country contexts of participating universities. Resources are available in Arabic, English, French and Kiswahili.
• TESSA has commissioned a number of research activities, most notably a project looking at the lives of female teachers in rural communities in five of the participating institutions in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Sudan (Pride and Light’ 2009).
• TESSA funds have enabled the creation of three PhD studentships for students from participating TESSA countries.

TESSA Case Study: Mavis Nkwenkwana, a teacher in South Africa
“I am Mavis Nkwenkwana, a teacher at Isithsaba Junior Primary school in Mdantsane. Mdantsane is the largest township in East London, South Africa. I have taught here for thirty years. I teach a class of forty children. It is multi-grade and my learners range from nine to fifteen years. My classroom is arranged into groups of learners. They are grouped both by age and ability, firstly by age, but if a child is particularly bright or is struggling, I will move them to a different table where they will be able to work to their best.

“I was asked to trial some TESSA materials in October, 2007. I am studying for my National Diploma of Primary Education (NDPE) at the University of Fort Hare. My tutor asked me to trial the materials. I agreed because I thought it would be interesting to try new methods of teaching.

“I was given a module on Literacy. I read the whole module, but what interested me most were the activities and case studies about litter. We have a big problem with litter in our school, only last week our learners were in trouble for dropping litter. So I thought I would prepare a lesson on litter using the TESSA materials. I think the lesson was very successful, for example, I never realised the children worried about litter too. Some children volunteered to be bin monitors so they must care!

“The TESSA materials reflect and support the work I am doing for my NDPE, namely they make me realise that I need to learn every day if I am to be a good teacher. I cannot leave the learning up to the learners! Teaching in this way makes me feel like I have more energy in the classroom. I would definitely like to use more TESSA materials. The methods and activities they recommend give me the confidence and skills to finally be the teacher I have always wanted to be”.

]]> Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=16227 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=16227 The European Day of Languages aims to:
• encourage people of all ages to start to learn another European Language,
to take part in events to celebrate diversity and language learning
• promote communication between the peoples of Europe by breaking down barriers of understanding about each others’ languages and cultures

The day is an opportunity to celebrate our differences and similarities, and to show plurilingualism to be a normal part of European life. It is an annual reminder of our need to improve linguistic capability.

To celebrate the European Day of Languages with us, why not have a look at some of our resources?

• Have a look at some of our course “tasters” by visiting: www.open.ac.uk/courses/tasters/

• Go to Openlearn, the site for open educational resources from The Open University, where you will find more than 150 hours worth of language learning materials and other resources: http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/home.php

• If you are planning a weekend break, then don’t forget to download our weekend guides to Italy, France, Germany and Spain. These podcasts, done in collaboration with the BBC, will teach your some useful survival phrases and tell you a bit about the culture too! http://open2.net/weekendbreak/index.html

• Learn a language! Sign up for one of our beginners’ courses in French, Spanish, German or Italian starting in November… There’s still time, so make you way to our courses website: http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/classifications/humanities__arts__languages__history_courses.shtm

And finally…

The Department of Languages at the OU is currently developing an electronic European Language Portfolio (ELP) as part of the Virtual Learning Environment initiative.

The ELP aims at documenting your proficiency level in modern languages (including English as a foreign or second language) and to enhance your language learning skills. The ELP contains three main parts that are closely linked:
• The Language Passport, a record of your language skills, qualifications and experiences (in one or more languages, including your own).
• The Language Biography, which facilitates planning, reflection and self-assessment of progress in a number of languages.
• The Dossier, that offers you the opportunity to document evidence and illustrate your achievements and experiences recorded in the Passport.

We are developing an OU ELP which will be exclusively online and are looking for volunteers to pilot it. If you are interested in taking part, we will be posting more information here shortly!

European Day of Languages, Celebrating Europe’s linguistic and cultural diversity!]]> Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=11937 http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=11937