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Listed below are the upcoming and past events for the FLAME research group.
FLAME Research Group is currently engaged with the following projects and events:
This project has different strands:
1) Development of specific training for using film in the language classroom. This training include INSET days, networking events, training on the use of specialised software, symposia, conferences and CPD events around a specific theme.
2) Development of resources and materials for using film in the language classroom, as well as to provide teachers of MFL with resources that fit the new curricular requirements for A-Level and GSCE. In order to do so, the team is continuously designing new study guides and activities for the classroom.
3) To understand the requirements and needs of language teachers via the FILTA (Film in Language Teaching Association) and its community of practice, as well as to respond to these needs with specific training, events and resources. This project interrogates the impact of the Film in Language Teaching Association (FILTA) in relation to the professional development of teachers who are part of the related Community of Practice (CoP). FILTA is an association that works as a Community of Practice, with an online presence in the form of a community website that hosts calendar of events, teaching resources, community forum, groups, blogs, etc. As of July 2017, it had over 3,700 members. The lead investigator of this research project is also a co-founder member of the association. One of the most popular resources of the site are the teaching guides and the teaching training events that take place during the year. The intention of this project is to evaluate the perception of the community of the role that FILTA has had in their professional development as well as the limitations identified. The intention is to produce a report that highlights successes and failures, in order to be able to do comparative research and develop an impact plan that can ensure not only the survival of the community but also effective practice.
Beyond Babel is an annual Multilingual Film Festivalorganised by FLAME. The research project linked to the festival collects qualitative data via surveys and interviews, in order to evaluate the impact of the film festival in relation to film literacy, intercultural understanding and language learning.
The Beyond Babel project is linked to the OWRI AHRC Community Languages project. It investigates how regular film festivals dedicated to non-mainstream multilingual cinema can contribute to and enrich the arts and creative sector and how they can promote and develop a greater understanding of and appreciation for diversity. These are captured in the following research questions:
What is the significance of multilingual films for audiences?What is an appropriate framework for engaging communities and educational institutions in the organisation and delivery of a film festival? How can this project influence other cultural bodies?
The 2018 edition of the Beyond Babel Festival will approach notions of diaspora and migration. It currently includes the prospective films and languages (to be confirmed):
You can find a video from the 2017's edition here: https://vimeo.com/224455089 and https://vimeo.com/226368544
AHRC OWRI
FLAME is collaborating with The University of Manchester for the Multilingual Communities Project, which is part of the larger multi-institutional OWRI: Community Languages Project.
For this project, FLAME is developing teaching training workshops and resources for teachers of language, with a specific focus on teachers of community languages and supplementary schools. Working alongside The University of Manchester’s team for the programme “Cross-Language Dynamics: Re-Shaping Community“, the aim is to address the linguistic variety and support the teaching of languages beyond the national curriculum, promoting the understanding of other cultures and languages in the community.
The teaching training events combine a series of INSET days (In-Service Training Day) with Networking Days for language teachers. Some of these events include guidance and examples to prepare Study Guides for teaching language through film. These study guides are made available through FILTA (Film in Language Teaching Association), which is a free association and community of practice that offer resources for teachers of languages.
Another activity that FLAME is piloting as part of this project is a student competition for film review writing. The first pilot consisted of participation as audience in a French short-film festival, for which they had to vote on their favourite film and write a film review. The team is currently exploring the options to expand this activity to other languages.
Following the desire to increase awareness of other cultures and languages, as well as to support positive conviviality, FLAME curates and organises a multilingual film festival under the name of Beyond Babel. In 2018, the festival offers three multilingual films in February, which will include French, Arabic, Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi and English. Currently on its third edition, the festival has increased in relation to number of attendees, number of films and number of screening days.
The FACE (Film and Creative Engagement) project is a collaborative project between the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey and FLAME. This project develops further previous research on audiovisual translation and increases its reach by working collaboratively with the University of Monterey in Mexico.
The CoMoViWo Project is a multi-institutional project between the Manchester Metropolitan University, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Universitat Politècnica de València, Gdansk University of Technology and the The International Language Association.The CoMoViWo Project focuses on the new language and communication practices in the context of virtual and mobile work. Funding for the project is provided by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) under Erasmus+ programme.The most important skills needed in communicating in the working life today are sharing information and being able to interact in writing and orally. In addition, being able to conduct negotiations online and interact in technology-mediated situations is essential. On top of this, a professional has to be able to choose the right communication tool depending on situation, language, and cultural background of the participants. An increasing number of people in working life are confronted with these challenges and possibilities of communicating across distances, different languages and diverse cultures in an increasingly complex world of business and trade.
The Regional Research Network in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Cinemais a group of specialist researchers from universities across the trans Pennine region who meet to share current research and discuss their expertise on Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American cinema.
Symposia organised by the network are open to the public, PhD students and other researchers and coincide with ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Festival, Manchester’s long-standing and much anticipated annual film festival that showcases productions from different Spanish regions and Latin American countries. The largest of its kind in the UK, ¡Viva! has developed into a multi-arts event bringing together experts and audiences to share ideas and demonstrates that the platform for celebrating Spanish and Latin American culture in the North West continues to grow.
Previous events and projects appear in the archive section below. Please click on the links for more information.
Saturday 23 April 2016
Hear experts from the trans-Pennine Regional Research Network in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Cinema discuss the Latin American film industry and its audience. With invited keynote speaker Sarah Barrow (University of Lincoln) discussing ‘Latin American Cinema and Europe: Beyond Neo-colonialism’ and public lecture by Deborah Shaw (University of Portsmouth) on ‘Transnational Latin American Filmmaking: A New World Cinema’. £27.50 (£7.50 postgrads) includes VIVA programmed film.
Saturday 7 May 2016, 70 Oxford Street, Manchester. 1pm - 6.30pm. Free entry.
Following the success of our pilot run last year, the FLAME Research Group is delighted to announce the return of the multilingual film festival, Beyond Babel.
Nowadays multilinguism is part of our everyday life. Cinema can help to open a space for a wider cultural dialogue on the richness and complexities that lie in the multilingual experience of our age. Films reflect on tensions between everyday ‘polylingualism’ and what Loredana Polezzi defines as 'monolingual performances'. This festival draws on the multi-sensorial and multimodal film experience to provide a space for thinking about how multilingual experiences operate and interact across diverse axes of connection and the geographical, economic, political or cultural conditions that transcend conventional national boundaries.
Our extraordinary programme aims to showcase transnational productions from different regions of the world; multilingual films which connect with the personal, the local, and the global and will open conversation across cultures.
This year we will be screening:
With screenings, introductions and Q&A discussions, Beyond Babel aims to engage, inspire, connect and celebrate Manchester’s culturally diverse communities that form the rich multilingual tapestry of our global city.
Friday 20 May 2016
With study of literary texts becoming an integral part of the new A-level syllabus, film adaptations can be a useful resource to help teachers get to grips with this specification. Join experts Dr Isabelle Vanderschelden and Dr Carmen Herrero to discover how best to integrate knowledge of content, genre and characteristics of film adaptations and explore how they can be used in the language classroom.
Programme:
Fee: £80 (refreshments & lunch provided)
Friday 10 June 2016
Manchester Metropolitan University is holding a workshop to bring together language teachers and university staff to share good teaching practice, meet one another, and more generally to support each other in maintaining the health of the subject. A workshop open to all language teachers to come and share new ideas and subject expertise, including our own – teaching Languages through film. Additional topics up for discussion are:
The event is coordinated by Routes into Languages North West.
To participate or to suggest a workshop you could offer, please contact c.herrero@mmu.ac.uk.
Tues 13 Oct 2015
The FLAME Research Group have partnered with Video for ALL the European funded educational project that brings together current digital video ideas and innovative practices for teaching and learning languages. FLAME Director Dr. Carmen Herrero will be participating in a live online conference that will take place Tuesday 13th October 18.00 GMT.
Saturday 7 Nov 2015
FLAME will be administering a programme of presentations and discussions open to the public that explore the changing contexts for Spanish cinema that will run in collaboration with ¡VIVA! Presents New Spanish Cinema at HOME. In coordination with University of Manchester, the symposium New Contexts for Spanish Cinema will bring together experts in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Cinema from universities across the North West region.
25-26 June 2015
For the last ten years the languages team at Manchester Metropolitan University has been exploring innovative ways of using film and audiovisual media in the language classroom. While audiovisual supports are not new, there is growing evidence of the positive impact of using films as teaching medium in different forms of language education. These practices encourage participatory culture and student-based learning approaches. They promote better awareness of intercultural communication and are intrinsically linked to more interdisciplinary theoretical approaches such as the role of digital literacies in education, participatory culture strategies and multimodality in teaching and intercultural communication.
The main objective of this conference is to bring together teachers, scholars, specialists of language and film education and applied linguistics to share current good practices, analyse new emerging trends and methodologies, and explore new avenues.
Programme:
International Conference Booklet
20 May 2016
The new A-Level language syllabuses are going to include set literature texts that may have film adaptations. This INSET day, designed for A Level teachers of French and /or Spanish, will present the characteristics of film adaptation, address issues of genre and explore how they can be used in the language classroom. Examples may include Jean de Florette, Intouchablesand No et moi for French; and Como agua para chocolate, La casa de Bernarda Alba and Bodas de sangre for Spanish.
Saturday 7 November 2015
FLAME will be administering a programme of presentations and discussions open to the public that explore the changing contexts for Spanish cinema that will run in collaboration with ¡VIVA! Presents New Spanish Cinema at HOME. In coordination with University of Manchester, the symposium New Contexts for Spanish Cinema will bring together experts in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Cinema from universities across the North West region.
26 July 2014
With support from the IHSSR Future Networking Now grant, FLAME research group will bring together academics from different European and UK universities in an event that aims to promote international networking and the sharing of knowledge related to use of audio-visual material for teaching and learning in the classroom.
12 June 2014
The event strives to contribute to an increased role and understanding of the challenges and impact of raising intercultural awareness in Higher Education through use of film and provide a forum for academics, early researchers and postgraduate students to discuss their knowledge and experience in the field.