I tweeted earlier that I hoped this year’s Language Show would be better than the last and, much to my delight, it was! Even I, the master of refusing to take pieces of paper that just happen to be thrust in my direction, have a nice CILT bag (yet another way to cut the budget deficit; government agencies should be banned from giving them out!) with a number of potentially interesting brochures, flyers, order forms and the like. My top picks from the show follow this arty picture of the venue….

…..hope it will be worth the scroll.
1. www.orangeryeducation.co.uk The first time I have seen anyone selling software which is written for Smart Notebook software. Move over Boardworks! It is actually aimed at KS2 and is based upon the QCA scheme of work for primary languages but it has some excellent level 3 – 5 material. And it’s cheap; only £40 per pack which covers 6 of the 24 units. They also sell something called ‘On Target French’ which is excellent CPD for primary teachers and a high- quality image bank. Both are priced at £35.
2. Mary Glasgow publications have produced new online material at www.maryglasgowplus.com to go with the magazines they publish. I’ve been toying with the thought of re-subscribing to the material this year and this may be my reason to do so.
3. Another primary languages resource that could be good at KS3; www.languagenut.com . A bit like Linguascope but with better graphics.
4. I bought a ‘Languages Work’ activity guide and CD. This may be good for the CPHEE day that I am organising on the 5th November. Remember, remember!
5. Routes Into Languages have two new websites they are promoting; www.universed.co.uk and linguacast.ncl.ac.uk . I know nothing more about them apart from the URL….
6. Yet another primary resource that could be useful at KS3; www.stepuptolanguages.com . I had a lengthy chat with the guy who has written the packages and some of it could be perfect for CLIL.
7. I bumped into Alistair Drewer, chief languages guy at Edexcel and had a good chat. He has promised to send hard copies of the FAQ that have been produced. I think these are the documents my colleagues who went on the controlled assessment courses a couple of weeks ago couldn’t get hold of.
8. Dragons In Europe – www.dragonsineurope.com – could be useful when the Chinese teachers return to Gillotts next July.
9. I leafed through a book at GCSE level written to help use the film Amélie in school. It is available from Linguascope.
10. I have a long, complicated URL from the European Commission which will allow me to order more copies of the CPHEE day ‘Passports to Europe’. They were good last year and I need 200 more! They have also produced a new booklet called Let’s Explore Europe which may also come in handy when for planning for the 5th November.
11. And finally, my colleague Janice will hopefully be pleased with the three posters that are winging their way to her courtesy of www.academiaisla.com . They organise Spanish trips to Salamanca and Barcelona.