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Millthorpe School Language College

Languages News

October 2010

Issue 2

Autumn Term

Y7 French/ICT Project 1

New French

Conversation Class

for Adults

1

New Staff

Miss Susie Booth

2

International School

Award

2

New French Language

Assistant

3

New German

Language Assistant

3

European Day of

Languages

3

Language Leaders 4

Y10/11 Spanish

Students Visit

4

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Specialist

Language

College

Tania Andrle

Head of MFL

Director of Language College

First of all, I‟d like to welcome all of our new Year 7 pupils and their families. I‟m not

lucky enough to teach a Year 7 class myself this year, but one of the highlights of this half term has been looking at the wonderful work Year 7 pupils have produced

through their „Mon collège – Millthorpe‟ projects. We introduced this project because last year we noticed that lots of pupils arrived at Millthorpe already having

learnt most of what we taught in the first three weeks of Year 7. We decided to create a project, therefore, that enabled pupils to practise language they‟d learnt at primary school and at the same time to learn lots of new language. We also thought

it would be a good idea to use French lessons as a way of getting to know Millthorpe better: the teachers, the timetable, the lunchtime and after-school clubs

etc. The French leaflets Year 7 produced in ICT lessons for Open Evening were absolutely magnificent (thank you very much to Mr Ward and colleagues in the ICT

department), and it was great to see pupils writing full paragraphs in their exercise books, within just a few weeks of starting secondary school. Well done to everyone,

including all the parents who helped pupils practise what they had learnt in class

every week…

…Talking of which: parents- if you learnt French in school but you‟ve forgotten a lot of it and you‟d like to learn again, after Christmas our French teacher from France,

Valérie McNulty, will be running a „Holiday in France with Confidence‟ conversation class for adults. The class is part of

our Language College community outreach work and will take place in the café at Bar Lane Studios on Micklegate from 1.30-

2.30 on Friday afternoons. Places are limited but priority will be given to Millthorpe parents, so if you fancy making improving your French your new year‟s resolution, send a

note in to me or to Mrs Moore in the MFL Office and we‟ll

reserve you a place. Allez-y! Profitez-en!

special offer! Reduced price French & German

dictionaries!

If you are in Years 7, 8 & 10 you must have a dictionary. It doesn’t have to be this one, but we use these in lessons so they will be

familiar to you.

This offer is also open to anyone interested

in Year 9 or 11.

Buy your dictionary directly from your teacher or go to the Language Office at lunchtime or after school. Don’t forget to

bring your £5.00!

£5.00

(instead of £7.99)

An example of work from

our joint Y7 French-ICT

project

Page 2

Where did you grow up?

Harrogate – about 45 minutes by car from York.

What was your favourite subject in school?

Art – I still love being creative but I don‟t have the time

to paint at the moment. A good friend of mine designs and makes her own jewellery. Over the summer, she is

going to teach me how to make simple pieces of jewellery, I can‟t wait!

What was the first foreign language that you

learnt? French in my first year at secondary school. My French

really improved when I went on the school French exchange. I stayed with a French speaking, Moroccan family in Nice. The family lived right on the beach which

was great.

What did you study at University?

I studied French and Italian at Exeter University. I had not studied Italian before, but as I had A-Level French I was able to start from scratch! In my second year, to

improve my Italian I spent a whole year at Urbino University in the Marche region of Italy. It was one of

the best years of my life, I still love the Italian way of life, the weather and the food! I hope to live in Italy again in

the future.

How many different countries have you visited? A lot! I have definitely been to most of western Europe.

During my year in Italy I travelled from North Italy to

South Italy during the Easter and Summer holidays.

The most exciting place I have been to is Nicaragua in Central America. Nicaragua is not a wealthy country

like the U.K. and life is very different for people over there. For example, the house where I stayed had no

indoor bathroom – you had to shower under a hosepipe in the garden! We used to get up when the sun rose as there were no street lamps or electricity in

the houses.

How many languages can you speak?

Four – English, Italian, French and German.

How have different languages helped you when you have been travelling?

My languages have been really useful to me when I‟ve travelled to help me get to know people quickly and find my way around, go shopping, check into

accommodation, etc. Having French and Italian helped me when I travelled in Central America because they

are similar to Spanish so I was able to pick up some basic Spanish quite quickly and make myself understood.

Is there any language that you wish you could

speak? Spanish because it is spoken in many different countries

across the world so I plan to learn Spanish in the future.

Does anyone else in your family speak more than one language?

My parents are learning French at the moment because they often go to France, they go to weekly classes and I

help them too!

“Thank you for submitting your portfolio of international

work. I am delighted to inform you that your school has been successful in gaining the International School Award

and is accredited for three years until 31 August 2013.” Thus started the letter that we were all eagerly awaiting

– confirmation that our bid to retain International School status had been successful. This was the culmination of a year‟s hard work by a large number of staff and students

to help put together a portfolio of work which demonstrated how our students are aware of the world

around them and the part they play in that wider world. Overall, we submitted evidence for twenty-three

activities from subjects as diverse as Languages, English, RE, Music and Geography. Some activities were well

known events on the school calendar, such as the Year 7/8 International Day or the whole school Music concerts. Other activities involved students travelling

abroad - to Poland, France, Germany and Switzerland. Some activities enabled our students to communicate

directly with students in other countries such as Ghana, India and Thailand; we also welcomed visitors

into school such as Iby Knill, a survivor

of Birkenau and the Holocaust. The best part of co-ordinating the

whole process for me was becoming aware of the amount of activities going

on in school but also reading the student evaluations of these activities which were overwhelmingly positive. Students enjoy engaging with

the “international dimension” of the National Curriculum and this enthusiasm must have been evident in the

portfolio because the letter that I mentioned at the beginning ended with the following sentence…

“I hope that your excellent international activities will continue to develop and benefit the school community;

your support, commitment, creativity and innovative international work is greatly appreciated.” High praise indeed and a heartfelt thanks from me to all

the departments, staff and students in school who made it all possible.

Ivan Noble

International Co-ordinator

Page 3

Interview with Christian

(German Language Assistant)

Tell us about yourself.

I am 22 years old and I am from Saarbrücken, a city in the south west

of Germany.

What are the differences between England and Germany?

There are 2 different taps on the sinks in English homes. School here

is rather strange because the pupils have to wear a uniform and the teachers wear smart clothes. In

Germany, both teachers and pupils

wear what they want to school.

How much did you know about York before you came?

Well, I checked it out on the internet to see what it was like. I had heard about the Minster and The Shambles

but that‟s all. It‟s much nicer than it‟s described on the internet.

Why did you come to England?

As I‟m studying English and German to become a teacher I thought it

would be a good chance to improve my English and get an impression of

the school system. Also to get some practical experiences of teaching.

What are your favourite things?

Friends and family and spending time with them. I also really like cooking

and reading.

What is your favourite place in York?

The museum gardens because it is calm with not too many tourists. It‟s

nice to take a break and see the squirrels!

Christian was interviewed by Year 9 pupils Jenny Magyar and Martha

King

Interview with Élodie (French Language Assistant)

Which is your favourite city in France and why?

My favourite city is Lille in the north of France. There are lots of shops and cinemas - it‟s the 4th biggest city in France. It is where I live. The people are really friendly

and helpful!

Have you ever been up the Eiffel Tower? Yes, I walked to the top once and was exhausted! I loved

the view though and really enjoyed the visit.

What is your favourite food?

My favourite food is chips! It‟s because I love the taste and I live very near Belgium where they eat a lot of chips! I like spicy food as well.

What sports do you like? Football, badminton, table tennis and netball.

Are there any films that you like? I like Les Choristes, a French movie, and Juno as well as

Slumdog Millionaire.

Who is your role model? My mother. I really admire what she has done with her

life.

What do you like about York? I think the city is lovely, and I like the town and the city

walls. I prefer the schools here and think the people are nice.

How long are you going to be at Millthorpe? I‟ve been here since October and will stay until May.

Élodie was interviewed by Year 8 pupils; Jessica

Clark, Kyra Clarke, Niamh Harrison, Katherine Rawlings, Cee-Jay Moore and Rebecca Colley

To celebrate the European Day of Languages on 26

September, students in Years 7 to 9 practised their linguistic skills by greeting each other in five lesser

known languages around school – Mandarin Chinese, Dutch, Hindi, Japanese and Turkish. These are all

languages spoken by some students at Millthorpe and the more adventurous students learnt other phrases as well.

Teachers in lessons on the Thursday and Friday also

joined in by greeting students in one of the five languages.

To cement their international knowledge, students also completed a quiz that tested their knowledge of

European flags – including some lesser known European states such as Vatican City and Gibraltar!

Millthorpe School

Nunthorpe Avenue York Y023 1WF

Telephone: 01904 686400

Facsimile: 01904 686410

www.languagesatmillthorpe.

typepad.co.uk

Page 4

When Miss Quevedo told our Spanish class that

25 14-15 year old Spanish students were

coming from Vigo in Spain, we were all very

excited! We were given their email addresses

and some people got in touch before they

arrived in York. The morning they arrived we

were all nervous yet excited. We ate breakfast

in the library together, then later on we got

paired up and went off to morning lessons. The

first day was awkward but after that everyone

seemed to get on! As the Spanish students

weren‟t staying with us we went on trips at the

weekend to places like Leeds, Scarborough

Knaresborough, and there was a weekly

Spanish/English disco at the Gallery Nightclub.

At the end of the first week we all swapped

partners to give us the opportunity to get to

know more people. On the last day everyone

was upset to see their Spanish friends go and

tears were shed. Everyone had a great time, we

hope to keep in contact with them and maybe

go to Vigo one day!

Isabella Nugent (Y10)

Students enjoying day trips and

activities

On Monday 11th October, the

Language Leaders came together and worked as tour guides at the Y6 Open

Evening at school. The Language Leaders gave tours all night, that lasted about 20 minutes. One of us even gave

a tour that lasted the whole hour! We were very proud of Sally Langan who gave a great speech on “What Millthorpe Means To Me” to a hall packed full of people.

We also had the job of meeting and greeting and

handing out leaflets and maps of the school to parents and prospective pupils coming in from both entrances.

A Language Leader is someone who is willing at every

opportunity to support the school in special events, and is also willing to give up their time to help the wider

community. We think that

the school benefits from this extra help at events

and it gives visitors to the school lots of opportunity

to ask questions. We would like to thank

Miss Gray for giving us the opportunity to become part

of the school in this way and giving up her time at lunchtimes to give us the support we need and help us

to develop our skills in many ways.

Shania Carter 9RD and Andrew Feve 9SW

Language Leaders