DDE scoops top European Award!

Friday, 07 October 2011

A Devon Development Education project providing primary and secondary schools with materials to teach about life in the French-speaking West African country of Mali has won a prestigious European Language Label.

DDE created a set of resources which not only teach children about the geography and people of Mali, but also help them learn French. The end result was a resource pack and website entitled Take Mali, which was produced by DDE with support from Devon Learning and Development Partnership. Using video, audio and ICT-based resources Take Mali provides opportunities for children to journey to the West African Country of Mali, engage with local Malians, listen to French, explore similarities and differences with their own lives and develop their intercultural understanding. They also have the opportunity to take action in their role as global citizens regarding climate change, Fairtrade, and sustainable development.

The 2011 European Language Label is an award for the most innovative language-learning projects across Europe. It rewards creative ways to improve the quality of teaching and motivate learners. DDE Coordinator, Sue Errington, and Project coordinators Sharon Tanner and Matt Partridge along with Chris Wakely, Adviser for Modern Languages with Devon Learning and Development Partnership (LDP) attended the awards ceremony held at the European Commission Office in London on 26th September 2011.

Judges were so impressed with the project that they also awarded it the coveted Mary Glasgow Language Prize worth £2000!

Sharon Tanner, Project Coordinator for DDE, commented: "We feel privileged to receive this endorsement from a national advisory panel for modern foreign languages. Thank you to everyone who contributed in the UK and Mali and for the positive feedback from teachers. We hope it illustrates the value and importance of education for global citizenship and intercultural understanding within a modern foreign language context."

DDE are now making plans to produce a similar cross curricular resource, focussing on the South American country of Peru, using Spanish. The resource will help to develop skills in global citizenship and Spanish language across Key Stage 2 + 3. Find out more by downloading the Hola Peru! flier [pdf 360Kb]