As part of Futurelab’s Greater Expectations project we are currently developing a web resource called ‘Infocow – Social search for stufff that matters’. We are finalising the branding for the site and are eager to get the views of young people aged 13-19 on the shortlist of designs.

Click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytc0U2WAz4s

What you’ll hopefully have found is Michael Rosen, possibly the UK’s most celebrated children’s poet, performing ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’, at your finger tips. A brilliant opportunity to engage with a crafted performance of a poem, directed at the viewer, with sub-titles to read along with. A valuable resource, right there in your living room, office, or wherever else you access the internet. But not in your classroom.

I’ve heard many laudable reasons to learn a language, and some slightly suspect ones: “To find your future husband/wife – learning a new language and culture increases the size of your selection pool.”

Regardless of your motivations, it’s hard to ignore the continuing presence of modern foreign languages (MFL) in education. The recent Rose review, for example, sets out how foreign languages will become a statutory requirement of the National Curriculum at Key Stage 2 from 2011. There is currently a real interest in the role digital technologies can play in the application of MFL in the classroom. Social software and digital media are increasingly being used by teachers to help students’ access language learning, and language labs have been newly incarnated for the digital age.