Extending support
Further information from NICILT and external organisations on events and programmes supporting language learning.
ALL-IRELAND LINGUISTICS OLYMPIAD (AILO)
This is a competition for pupils in secondary level education which involves problem solving and unpicking codes and challenges.
NICILT collaborates annually with the organisers of AILO and the ADAPT Centre at DCU to provide a free preparatory workshop for pupils taking part in the competition.
Pupils will receive a specially-designed pack full of specimen materials which help them prepare for the competition, as well as hands-on training and top tips from specialist tutors from the ADAPT Centre. This training will help them learn how to decode any linguistic puzzle!
Preparatory Workshop in Belfast
More news on future workshops will be posted here soon.
For more information about the competition visit the AILO website here.
GAEL LINN
It aims to promote and support the Irish language and its heritage all over the island of Ireland. It runs a number of events for pupils of Irish in Northern Ireland:
Tráth na gCeist- This quiz aims to provide students of Irish the opportunity to hear the language being spoken outside the classroom at an informal and light-hearted event.
Abair- This public speaking competition is for pupils of Irish studying for GCSE and AS/A2 level.
Coirm Festivals- These are aimed at primary pupils and each school is asked to perform a 20-minute variety show in Irish for an audience of other participating schools.
Gaeltacht Courses– These are courses for students which take place in Gaelic speaking regions across Ireland.
Gaelbhratach- This is a new scheme for primary and post primary schools, funded by Foras na Gaeilge and organised by Gael Linn.
Publications- Gael Linn publishes a series of textbooks for second level Irish.
For more information visit the Gael Linn website- click here.
UK-GERMAN CONNECTION
The UK-German Connection is a bilateral government initiative set up to increase contact and understanding between young people in the UK by bringing them together. It offers a wide range of opportunities, programmes and initiatives for young people, schools and teachers. It is funded by the UK and German governments, the British Council and the Padagogischer Austauschdienst.
For more information on opportunities visit www.ukgermanconnection.org.
BRITISH COUNCIL
The UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. To find out more about the programmes offered by the British council use the following links:
STUDY SPANISH IN SPAIN
Learn and improve your Spanish in a Spanish language school.
FEDELE is the Spanish Federation of Associations of Schools of Spanish as a Foreign Language and it consists of seven associations, comprising 90 Schools of Spanish as a Foreign Language (ELE- Español como Lengua Extranjera) across Spain and Latin America.
Its main objective is to promote quality in the teaching of Spanish in Spain and all of its schools have been accrediated by the Instituto Cervantes (the government-funded body responsible for the promoting the teaching and study of the Spanish language).
Teachers in FEDELE schools are native speakers of Spanish and qualified Spanish teachers. They regularly undergo rigorous inspections and observations as well as training in the latest language learning methodologies.
FEDELE schools can prepare students for the DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) examinations, which use the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) grading system.
If you are considering taking a group of students, sending an individual student, or perhaps going as a language teacher to a school for training, please get in touch with Louisa Gibson (l.gibson@qub.ac.uk) and she will be happy to advise you on where might be best for you.
To see the full list of language schools registered with the FEDELE please click here.