Mungo Makes New Friends written by Gill Aitchison, illustrated by Jill Newton and published by Mantra Lingua in several Languages has been read to Bulgarian and Slovakian pupils in English and their own languages with the use of the Classroom Pen available through Mantra Lingua ( uk.mantralingua.com/mungomakesnewfriends ). This has followed on from a successful and very entertaining reading of the book on World Book Day in the North Inch Community Campus Library in English by it’s author and in Polish by Violetta Malon from the EAL service.

Below are some photos of pupils in Inch View primary school enjoying looking at and listening to the story.  These pupils have limited English and became really animated to hear the story also read in their own language through the Classroom Pen and the Anker Bluetooth speaker.  We were able to discuss the story, recap the events and exchange vocabulary – my Bulgarian pronunciation of pheasant was very funny apparently!

Exciting new launch for the EAL Service in PKC – Language of the month.  Look out for a notice board in your local school which will showcase languages from around the world.  For March Learn Bulgarian and Learn Romanian so far.  The aim of this is to raise awareness of other languages in schools, ensure Bilingualism is celebrated and hopefully spark an interest in another language, build friendships among pupils and create a language exchange and better communication between peers.  Many thanks to Newbury Park School for the ideas. Enjoy!