Routes Into Languages North West

Languages Week (18 – 22 March 2024)
Free Online Workshops for Schools (Years 7-9)

Routes NW is co-ordinating a series of free online workshops to accompany the Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition.  Details of each session, together with registration links, are available below.

This is the ideal opportunity to engage pupils in creative language production, whether they intend to enter MTOT or not. We hope to engage a wide range of teachers and pupils in these live events, but will ensure materials are shared with registered teachers after the event.

Tuesday 19 March: Chinese

Chinese Language Taster

Tuesday 19 March: 14.15-15.00

The University of Chester will deliver this Chinese session where you will be learning basic information about China and Chinese characters, numbers, and how to greet in Chinese. Join us and explore this amazing language!

Registration linkhttps://www.ticketsource.co.uk/university-of-chester-languages/t-rpdllvg

Wednesday 20 March: French

French in Various Countries Around the World – La Francophonie

Wednesday 20 March: 13.00-14.00

In this session run by the University of Lancaster, will look at the way French can vary and how idioms change according to the location you are in. We will listen to some songs in French, but not from France.

Registration link: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DGID

Thursday 21 March: Spanish

Poetry Unleashed

Thursday 21 March: 13.30-14.30

Come and unleash your inner animal through this fun and exploratory workshop offering various types of poetry and vocabulary activities in Spanish to develop creative ideas which will be the foundation of your own work. We encourage the whole class to attend and take part in this fun and interactive workshop. Run by the University of Liverpool; If you have any questions, please contact lcfoutreach@liverpool.ac.uk.

Registration link: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/languagesculturesandfilm/t-moaymdy  

Friday 22 March: German

German Poetry Come to Life!

Friday 22 March: 11.00-12.00

This hands-on workshop will examine a range of fun poetry in German, including the visual nature of concrete poetry and the soundscapes of poems that have to be read out loud (including some tongue-twisters!). We encourage the whole class to attend and take part in this fun and interactive workshop. Run by the University of Liverpool; If you have any questions, please contact lcfoutreach@liverpool.ac.uk.

Registration Link: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/lcf/t-mokneor

All events are aimed at students (and their teachers!) currently in Years 7-9.

Links to the above workshops and other information about Routes into Languages North West can also be found here:

Mother Tongue Other Tongue introduced: a series of short videos for use in classrooms

These videos feature poets talking about their own bi- and multi-lingual backgrounds and the impact that this has on their writing process. Each also shares a poem in their Mother Tongue and talks about why they have chosen to share this poem. You could select one, or play all of them, they are all quite different, suitable for all ages and will appeal to different audiences from any language background.

These, and the recorded poetry workshops that are also available on request, have been produced for Mother Tongue Other Tongue but would also be of general interest in any English or MFL class.

  • MTOT: Meet Valerie Bloom

    Poet Valerie Bloom talks about her Jamaican Patois language and how she decides which language to use in her writing. Valerie shares one of her own poems in the second part of this film, ‘Granny Is’ and explains why she wanted to share it.

    The printed version of this poem can be found at childrens.poetryarchive.org/poem/granny-is (Suitable for KS2/3)

    A recorded 45 minute workshop giving a general introduction to Mother Tongue Other Tongue, a history of Jamaican Patois and a performance of four of Valerie’s poems is available on request. See Writer-Led Poetry Workshops below for details.

  • MTOT: Meet Dr Usma Malik

    Dr Usma Malik is a writer, teacher and lecturer who grew up speaking a mix of languages including Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Spanish and she is also learning Farsi.

    In this general introduction to Mother Tongue Other Tongue, Usma speaks about the impact her multi-lingualism has had on her approach to writing and on her writing style.  Usma invites young people to write their own poetry in their own language or in a language they are learning.

  • MTOT: Dr Usma Malik shares a poem and a story in Urdu

    Dr Usma Malik, writer and lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University explains the Mother Tongue element of the competition.

    Usma shares a poem by Allama Iqbal, an Urdu poet and talks about why she likes this poem and wanted to share it.  In the second part of the video, Usma sets a small classroom challenge by reading an extract from Michael Rosen’s ‘Bear Hunt’, asking the children to identify the story from her Urdu reading. (Suitable for KS2/3/4 and older.)

    A recorded 60 minute poetry workshop, in which Usma models her writing and editing process and is suitable for (KS3.4,5)is also available on request. See Writer-Led Poetry Workshops below for details.

  • MTOT: Meet Bohdan Piasecki

    Poet Bohdan Piasecki talks about his experience of growing up between three languages, Polish, English and French in this introduction to the Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition.

    Bohdan discusses how he writes in his two main languages and how the poetry he writes sometimes dictates the language he uses.  Bohdan also shares a poem ‘Pebble’ by another Polish poet, Zbigniew Herbert.  He reads the poem in Polish and also English translation and explains why he finds that particular poem interesting and wanted to share it. 

    A recorded 60 minute poetry workshop, suitable for KS3/4/5, in which Bohdan models his writing process and which includes feedback and examples of writing produced in his workshop by teachers and students is available on request. It is general introduction to Mother Tongue Other Tongue, suitable for KS2/3/4 and older. A recorded workshop, led by Bohdan Piasecki is also available on request. See Writer-Led Poetry Workshops below for details.

Writer-led Poetry Workshops – available on request

Recordings of 3 workshops, delivered online via Zoom in Manchester schools during 2021, are available on request.  See details below for each and email k.tew@mmu.ac.uk to request the links.

Each poet approaches their workshop individually, so each is different in style and content.  They all bring pupils into contact with poet who is enthusiastic and inspirational and invite pupils to respond by creating their own poetry, using a language that they are learning, or expressing themselves in a language they already know, so suitable for language classes or simply as poetry workshops.

  • MTOT: Valerie Bloom workshop

    26 minutes recorded footage, 45 minutes workshop duration

    Starting with an introduction to Jamaican Patois, Valerie talks about the history of the Jamaican language, explaining how it developed, before going through an interesting and entertaining glossary of a number of Patois terms.  This is followed by a typically engaging Valerie Bloom performance of 4 poems that give a flavour of, and insight into, Jamaican culture and language. 

    • ‘Poem’ by Thelma Baker
    • ‘Sandwich’ by Valerie Bloom
    • ‘Outdooring’ by Valerie Bloom
    • ‘Pinda Cake’ by Valerie Bloom

    Each of the poems is chosen for a different aspect of performance or language use and Valerie closes by inviting pupils to respond to her final poem, ‘Pinda Cake’.  Pupils are asked to think about a person who is selling things, someone who has a kind of job that would involve singing, or chanting, or street cries and invites them to write a refrain for their seller, using the refrain from ‘Pinder Cake’ and a verse.  This is the point where pupils might explore writing in a language that they are learning. 

    This workshop will work particularly well with KS2 and KS3 pupils, though it is also accessible and suitable for younger pupils (particularly the performance elements).  Older students interested in the Jamaican language and its history may also find it of interest. 

    The notes accompanying this workshop make a number of suggestions about ways in which this workshop might lead to pupils exploring their creativity in a language that they are learning; an Other Tongue or to share aspects of their culture by sharing or writing poem in their Mother Tongue.  The notes also contain links to other resources that might be of use in your classroom.

    Please email k.tew@mmu.ac.uk to request access.

  • MTOT: Usma Malik workshop

    Duration one-hour, 25 mins recorded length

    Dr Usma Malik explains the Mother Tongue Other Tongue brief before leading a workshop that begins with a non-fiction text.  Usma scaffolds pupils through the process of initial ideas, creating a poem and through to editing, modelling her own creative process throughout. 

    This very practical and hands-on workshop, recorded online as a live workshop with students from Cedar Mount Academy, will result in pupils creating their own poetry, in either their Mother Tongue, writing in a language they already know or an Other Tongue, either writing in a language they are learning, or writing a poem in English and translating it into a language they are learning.

    This workshop is intended for KS3/4  pupils, though the techniques demonstrated may also be used with older students and advanced Y6 pupils. A copy of all of the documents and handouts featured in this workshop will also be provided.

    Please email k.tew@mmu.ac.uk to request access

  • MTOT: Bohdan Piasecki workshop

    Duration one-hour, 28 mins recorded length

    Poet Bohdan Piasecki writes in Polish and English.  In this workshop, Bohdan leads pupils through the process of zooming into the creative process, thinking about language and languages and poetry.  Pupils are invited ‘Zoom In’ to the specifics of their own personal interpretation of everyday things to create their own unique poetry in any language they choose.  Bohdan shares his own experience of switching languages between Polish and English, modelling his own writing process and giving practical ideas for editing work that will be applicable not only to Mother Tongue Other Tongue, but more generally to any writing.  This workshop was recorded at Levenshulme High School and staff and pupils kindly allowed us to include their responses to the workshop at the end, showing how staff and pupils wrote poetry in Urdu, Arabic and German classes.  

    This workshop is intended for KS3/4  pupils, though the techniques demonstrated may also be used with older students and advanced Y6 pupils. 

    Please email k.tew@mmu.ac.uk to request access.

Additional Resources

The following resources might also be of interest. These were compiled by Robert Nelson, who formerly co-ordinated Mother Tongue Other Tongue for Routes into Languages North-West until 2021.

Sarah Schechter, co-ordinator of Routes into Languages East has produced a Teachers’ Pack. This contains information specific to the Routes East competition but also has some useful workshop suggestions and link that could be helpful to anyone running the competition in their school.

An additional resource that might be useful

We recently came across a fabulous resource, produced for another project ‘Mother Tongues’ that was run by the Arvon Centre. We can’t claim any credit for this fabulous project, other than that our current Poetry Library Director, Becky Swain worked on it, when she was at Arvon.  The similarities in project title are not connected. The resource is excellent, though, and may be of interest, so we thought it worth sharing here: www.arvon.org/learning/mother-tongues

2021 Celebration Video

The 2021 Mother Tongue Other Tongue celebration event took place online. It showcases the winning entries and features contributions from former Poet Laureate Professor Carol Ann Duffy (DBE), Bohdan Piasecki, Usma Malik and judges and teachers involved in the project, as well as featuring young poets reading their work.

Updates

To be kept informed as new resources are uploaded and CPD events offered, sign up for the Manchester Poetry Library mailing list or follow us on Twitter @McrPoetryLib.