Our flagship #ThinkLanguages TY event has grown over the last few years – and with your help – this year it’s going to be bigger than ever! We don’t want any TY student to miss out on the buzz and excitement of #ThinkLanguages this year – so we are going to work together with TY classes to re-create the event in schools all over Ireland on 7th December.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to our Request for Information survey – your insights have been so important.
How is it going to work in 2020?
We’re calling on TY students, TY coordinators and MFL teachers to manage your own local event with the support of the Languages Connect team. Languages Connect will provide online support and event management kits including Student and Teacher Guides, posters, flyers and promotional material for the day e.g. bunting, merchandise & prizes.
We are setting up an online #ThinkLanguages Hub, where regular updates and downloads will be available. We will contact all those registered as soon as this is live.
A mix of supports including streamed keynote speakers, online workshops, and the chance to have a live workshop or speaker at your school will also be made available to registered schools.
How do you Think Global and Act Local for #ThinkLanguages?
Each school will also be given the opportunity to invite local speakers, workshops and businesses to take part and support their event.
Why not showcase the languages that are spoken in your school and used in your community? Explore how people use different languages in their lives, workplaces and families.
Maybe you can even get the Home Economics students to cook food from different countries and learn some new vocab that way!
#ThinkLanguages Champion Team
We’d like you to appoint a #ThinkLanguages Champion Team of TY students and a #ThinkLanguages Team Lead (TY Coordinator or MFL Teacher) to help organise your event.
How to register
Registration Step One will need to be completed by Friday 9th October (TYs only). Register here.
Registration Step Two All registered schools will need to choose their #ThinkLanguages Champion Team and send us draft plans by Friday 23rd October. This will help us put together the kit for your school and offer any extra advice and support you might need. More details will be available on the #ThinkLanguages online hub in the coming weeks.
#ThinkLanguages National Award 2020
After the event on 7th December, we would like all schools who participate to fill in an online submission to enter the #ThinkLanguages National Award 2020. Winners will be chosen in January 2021 and prizes awarded at an online ceremony.
Lots of ideas on our social channels
We would encourage you to follow Languages Connect on social media channels for all the latest ideas and updates! For ideas of how #ThinkLanguages worked in 2019, check out the playlist on our Youtube Channel. Our Say Yes to Languages campaign that ran all summer also had lots of ideas about how to bring languages to life through music, cooking, dance and lots more!
Good luck with your event!
As you will understand, flexibility will be key for all plans this year. Every school is different and it’s not easy for anyone to plan too far in advance. But we hope that together we can make #ThinkLanguages 2020 the best one yet!
If you have any queries about #ThinkLanguages 2020, please contact us
