CONNECT 3 – A new online Language Awareness and Good Relations resource for post-primary learners
May 9, 2012
A new online resource aimed at helping learners in post primary education to discover more about the languages of English, Irish and Ulster-Scots will be officially launched by Mayor Alderman Maurice Devenney on Wednesday 16th May 2012.
The project, titled CONNECT 3, was jointly designed and developed by Derry City Council and The Verbal Arts Centre to record young people’s attitudes to these languages.
Young people from a range of schools in the Derry City Council area were surveyed to establish their level of awareness of the languages of English, Irish and Ulster-Scots and to ascertain what role social influences play in young people’s different attitudes to languages. Survey data from these workshops was subsequently analysed and used to form the basis of the CONNECT 3 website.
Speaking ahead of the launch, the Mayor, Alderman Maurice Devenney said: “The Connect-3 project illustrates how a creative approach to dealing with complex subjects such as language and cultural identity can often be the best; and because this project has been designed in partnership with young people from the Council area, it accurately reflects contemporary attitudes towards the languages of English, Irish and Ulster-Scots. I would encourage as many schools as possible in the Council area to make use of this creative resource as a means promoting positive attitudes to languages and fostering good relations”.
The new website which can be accessed at www.connect-3.co.uk includes a fun, interactive language awareness quiz with a range of teaching resources designed to complement specific areas within the NI post-primary curriculum.
The CONNECT 3 project was funded by Derry City Council’s Good Relations Section and the project launch is one of a number of events taking place in the Council area as part of Community Relations Week 2012 which runs from 14th – 19th May 2012.
The project launch will take place at 1.15pm on Wednesday 16th May at the Verbal Arts Centre, Derry.
Website URL: www.connect-3.co.uk
