Primary school teachers and parents can now harness music and drama to help children learn Welsh and Spanish by using a new, free to use website.
The website includes more than 30 activities, such as simple drama games and songs in three languages.
Everything needed to lead children through the activities is provided, including full instructions, demonstration videos, downloadable sheet music, lyrics, audio files and suggestions for extension and reflection.
Teachers can use the resources to fill a lesson, a range of lessons or as single, short activities.
British Council Wales led and managed the project and Rebecca Gould, its head of arts, said: “Cerdd Iaith is a powerful new resource for primary school teachers that aims to tackle the decline in modern foreign language learning in schools.
“The activities will inspire and stimulate children to learn actively and begin speaking new languages confidently.
“The site is packed full of engaging, original content. It’s easy to use and we hope teachers will take some time to explore the site.
“I think that they will find it is an ideal resource to help with the challenging job of teaching children at home.
“I’d also recommend the site to parents who are looking for fun educational activities to explore with their children.”
The resource has been designed for use with primary school pupils age 7-11.
It will be especially useful for Year 6 pupils who are preparing for the transition to secondary school and the introduction of modern foreign languages, but can also be used with younger learners.
The site was developed in partnership with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and linguists from the Institute of Education at University of Wales Trinity Saint David and ERW, one of Wales’ regional education consortia.
The songs were created especially for the site by poet Mererid Hopwood and composers Gareth Glyn and Tim Riley.
The website can be found at https://www.listeningtolanguage.com/
