2019 has been a fantastic year for Language Explorers! We have started a newsletter for schools, which has rapidly gained many subscribers, and we have visited schools, libraries and festivals, bringing language fun to more than 1,000 children! The Language Explorers activity book was shipped to new countries including the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Read More
Blog
Because it’s possible to have the rest of both worlds, but miss the best
Over the last year together with other volunteers from Mother Tongues I have been given the privilege of working with children in a primary school situated in a culturally diverse area of Dublin city centre. As I was planning the lesson for a 5th class I was trying to think about an activity the children enjoy Read More
Great news for heritage language schools in Ireland!
The second conference on heritage language education in Ireland hosted by Mother Tongues took place on 2nd November 2019 in the Teachers’ Club..It was a very inspiring event, filled with informative talks and presentations of projects as well as hands-on workshops on teaching techniques. We hosted over 60 teachers and representatives of complementary schools based Read More
Our multilingual city
It is very common nowadays to walk around any city or large town in Ireland and hear many different languages. Main streets are populated with road signs in Irish and English and with shop fronts that signal the presence of ethnic food, with signs written in Chinese, Arabic and Polish. We often pass by signs Read More
Building an intercultural programme for schools, a professional development opportunity
On Saturday 16 November 2019 Chester Beatty will hold a continuing professional development day for teachers interested in intercultural education. The CPD features a presentation from Mother Tongues director Dr Francesca La Morgia, who will talk about the Language Explorers project and will describe how teachers can embrace a plurilingual approach in the classroom and Read More
Mother Tongues Conference on Heritage Language Education in Ireland
The Second Mother Tongues Conference on Heritage Language Education in Ireland will take place on 2nd November in the Teachers Club (Parnell Square West). Our main goal is to bring together teachers, researchers and policymakers who have an interest in promoting heritage language education in Ireland. The conference creates a unique opportunity to share experiences Read More
Are you ready for your multilingual classroom?
Your multilingual pupils are getting ready to go back to school and they are keen to tell you all about their Summer holidays. Some will be shy, some won’t feel confident speaking English after a long period in their grandparents’ home abroad, some will want to say something, but the special word they are looking Read More
Story boxes in our mother tongues: a hands on multilingual literacy experience
Take a traditional tale that has travelled the world, build characters and props, and here you have a “story box”! Now it’s time for you to enjoy telling stories in many languages, share fun moments and engage with the whole school community! As part of the Language Explorers initiative, we visited a Junior Infants class in Dublin Read More
Language Explorers is one year old!
Twelve months ago Mother Tongues started offering visits in schools, library workshops and fun activities at festivals and events, all with the aim of celebrating and valuing linguistic diversity in our society and giving children the opportunity to use all of their languages through fun and engaging activities and games. The project was awarded that Read More
