The following is the beginning of an page added to the DfE website on 26th April:

"There is no statutory requirement to teach a modern foreign language at Key Stages 1 and 2. The following guidelines are non-statutory and aimed at those primary schools that are teaching or planning to teach a modern foreign language.

The guidelines are designed for use with pupils in Years 5 and 6. They may be adapted for use with other year groups in primary schools.

While much of the programme of study for modern foreign languages at Key Stages 3 and 4 can be applied in primary schools, the following aspects are particularly relevant and have been suitably adapted."

While the Expert Panel for the Curriculum Review recommended that MFL should be statutory in Y5 and Y6, and placed a question mark on Y3 and Y4, nothing is definite yet.  Or is it?  Why does this page specify that "The guidelines are designed for use with pupils in Years 5 and 6"?  You decide.

I've just uploaded 55 new resources to the website.  Many thanks to new contributors Marie O'Sullivan and Terri Dunne, as well as regular contributor Marie Connolly.

There are new resources for Primary Spanish, Primary French, Spanish Starters and Plenaries, KS3 Spanish, KS3 French, KS3 German, KS4 Spanish, Numeracy and the Olympics.

Apologies for this latest update taking so long - I've just purchased the latest version of the software that I use, and it's different enough to make the update a bit more tricky than usual.

Do you have any resources that you would like to share via MFL Sunderland?  I can't pay you or enter you in a prize draw, but I can put you on the Thanks page and you will make the working life of many MFL teachers much easier.  All you have to do is email them to mflsunderland@gmail.com.  Thanks!

A message from Jo Peach of NALA:

"Nala (the National association of Language Advisers) is currently supporting the Speak to the Future campaign and several of our members are on the working parties. The primary group has produced a document all about primary languages with some Frequently Asked Questions, links to research and the case for offering languages to pupils in the whole of Key Stage 2. You can read the document on the open part of our website at www.nala.org.uk."

Follow the link and scroll down to the bottom of the page to access the document.  It's a good read.

I have just uploaded some more shape puzzles, cheat games and snap games to the Spanish Starters and Plenaries page - thanks Marie!

In addition I have added my next batch of KS2 Spanish resources, finishing the sports topic and starting the weather.  Plenty of Olympics and Intercultural Understanding potential in both!  I've also added some more colours resources which I have made for the afterschool Spanish club that I have been doing at my daughters' school.  Thanks very much to Amanda Salt for the ¿Qué apuestas? idea - it went down a storm!

Today I have added 7 PowerPoints for Primary French, one of which is for Le Navet Enorme, and 24 new resources for Primary Spanish, most of which are for family, pets and sports.

There are still more resources to come!

If you have any resources that you would like to share with MFL Sunderland, please email them to mflsunderland@gmail.com  I can't pay you or offer lavish prizes, but the MFL teaching community would be very grateful. 

Thank you all for the 56,398 hits in January.  That is a significant improvement on the 52,062 in January 2011.

The next batch of new resources is now live on the website.

First of all, for Primary French, some resources to practise numbers 60 to 100 and also a new song and accompanying resources for saying your age.

Thanks to treasured regular contributor Mary Colwell for the GCSE vocabulary tests 

With very many thanks to the queen of the dominoes Marie Connelly (aka @zaragozalass), the site has some more dominoes and other shape puzzles for Spanish as well as someBlockbusters activities. 

You will find other new resources here (KS3 French) and here (KS3 Spanish).

14th February is well known for being Valentine's Day, but did you know that in much of South America it is also Friendship Day, or el Día de la Amistad?

Last year my KS2 Spanish students found out about Día de la Amistad and we had a go at singing the song "Hay un amigo en mí" (You've got a friend in me) by the Gipsy Kings from Toy Story 3.  Then they made Valentine's and Friendship cards.

This year, our Spanish link primary school in Madrid has asked us to make them something for 14th February which they will be able to display in their school.  The children will be thrilled to see a photo of their work being displayed in another school in another country, so this week they will be making friendship bracelets for their penfriends and attaching them to a small card on which they will write a saying or proverb to do with friends and friendship.

If you'd like to have a go at making the friendship bracelets, you'll find available to download here the instructions, the friendship sayings and a PowerPoint to introduce the day to your class.

Some other links you may find useful:

Valentine's Day around the world

San Valentín para niños - with some good craft ideas

Colouring and crafts - from Primera Escuela

Click here to download:

friends.doc (26 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

friends.doc (26 KB)

Click here to download:

amor-amistad.ppt (462 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

amor-amistad.ppt (462 KB)

Click here to download:

pulsera-amistad.pdf (925 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

pulsera-amistad.pdf (925 KB)

This afternoon I have added the first in a long queue of new resources to the website.

There are some new number worksheets on the Primary French resources page, along with some PowerPoints for numbers and other topics too.

I have also started to add the first of this year's Primary Spanish resources, starting with Family, Pets and Sports, including the first Olympic resources.

Some of these resources will also come in handy for KS3 beginners or SEN.

I will, of course, let you know as soon as I upload more resources.

Clare