News

June 2008

Zim Zam Zoum Module 2 is well into production ! Those of you who have the blue audio CD will know that there are six super songs that don’t feature in the Module 1 software.  This is because they are destined for Module 2 and are presently being animated in the Taught By Song Design Department, where we are having a lot of fun creating the witty and engaging drawings, together with the inventive Promethean interactivities that are the hallmark of ZIM ZAM ZOUM !

In the Module 2 animated songs, we find out what foods, sports and hobbies Romain likes and doesn’t like, what you see when you take the bus to town, all about birthdays and Lucy’s family, how the teacher deals with a boisterous class and how to spell using the French alphabet.

Watch out for further news of this exciting French teaching resource – due to be available in September !

Durham Primary Modern Foreign Languages Conference:

Taught By Song were pleased to attend this splendid Primary MFL conference at Durham on 11th June, where creative teaching through song featured strongly amongst the workshops. We were overwhelmed with interest from visiting delegates, who watched demonstrations of Zim Zam Zoum, not only enjoying the animated songs, but also trying out the huge variety of flipchart interactive exercises and games. “What a time-saver to have these wonderful ready-made exercises using all the Promethean tools !” was one of the many comments in appreciation of the comprehensive Promethean version of the Zim Zam Zoum software. Lucky teacher, Amy Bell, won a free copy of this fabulous software in the prize draw !

We are looking forward to another visit to the North-East in the not too distant future and meanwhile we will be attending the North Yorkshire Primary Languages Conference on Friday June 27th 2008 in Harrogate. Please do come and visit our stand to see Zim Zam Zoum in action !

Taught By Song present Zim Zam Zoum at the ALL Languageworld Conference in The Examination Schools, Oxford April 11- 12th

25 June 2007

ARTICLE IN PRIMARY CHOICE MAGAZINE - Volume 1, Issue 4 .

KS1&2 RESOURCES REVIEWED BY TEACHERS FOR TEACHERS

Like it or not, at least one Modern Foreign language is coming to a primary school near you!But don't fret, Pam Turnbull promises that with the right resources, it can be fun ...

ZIM ZAM ZOUM.

This is the only program here that is not out yet, but we were lucky enough to get an early
version to review. Eventually, there will be six units in Module 1 all based on the same
flip-chart format, although for the preview we had limited access.

The scene is set by a catchy tune which introduces Lucy, Romain and their friends who
live in Perpignan in south-west France. Each unit comes with a green and red route -
the green being the standard flip-chart pages which translates to 13 lessons over
125 pages for Unit1 alone, while the red route provided extension exercises. Planning
and objectives are very obvious throughout, as are the different learning strands being
addressed from knowledge about language, speaking and listening to inter cultural
learning. Learning comes in form of songs, interactive activities and games with
an interesting "tickertape" option to view specific vocabulary.

Away from the whiteboard there are worksheets, flashcards, vocabulary lists, song
words and additional teacher resources, which means that this is a package which lends itself well to meshing with other products and programs.

Unit 1 covers colours, nouns, gender, name, age and where you live as well as
links to Perpignan. It uses the Promethean tools well - such as the Activote - although a
paper and pencil will do just as well in this assessment activity. There is a good balance
between listening, speaking and looking at the words, although we'll have to take a look at the complete package to really get the measure of Zim Zam Zoum.

12 April 2007

INNOVATIVE SONG-BASED SOFTWARE FOR TEACHING FRENCH

If you are looking for an engaging and comprehensive scheme to teach primary
French, the innovative and stunning Zim Zam Zoum software from Taught By Song could
well be the solution. It will be published first in Promethean's Activprimary format (Module 1, the first year's teaching, available Spring 2007). As the name implies, Taught By Song use the medium of song as the basis for their French teaching scheme, building a progressive series of exercises around the topic presented in each song.

Their website (www.taughtbysong.com) contains interesting insights into the power of
song to enhance language learning. The new three Rs (rhythm, rhyme and repetition)
develop patterning skills and improve memory, whilst music has the ability to connect the
right and left hemispheres of the brain and improve learning. Not to be underestimated also is that a song repeats itself to learner over and over again,way beyond the walls of the classroom, providing natural and meaningful repetition which aids long-term memory.

What is special about this package, is that the songs are not only original, melodic and
catchy, but are also accompanied by full flash animation of a charming set of recurring
characters. The animation is very high quality, with accurate mouth shape synchronising
with the words, as an extra aid to pronunciation. The words are skilfully written in dialogue form to act as a springboard to role-play. Zim Zam Zoum is a remarkably flexible scheme, with a fabulous choice of exercises and games for the interactive whiteboard, which make full use of Promethean's excellent range of tools. The interactivity goes way beyond the normal drag and drop exercises and the activities show clear progression.
All five skills of the KS2 Framework for languages are developed.

In trials, Zim Zam Zoum has proved to be motivating, engaging and fun, giving pupils a sense of achievement in their learning. It caters not only for different teaching styles! It is well supported for non-specialist teachers, with clear guidance notes to all the activities,
as well as 'click-on' recordings of the vocabulary and sentences, spoken by native French
voices. At the same time, the scheme has considerable depth, in-built differentiation and plenty for specialist French teachers to get their teeth into! The quality of the songs, animation and interactivity, together with the obvious language progression, make this software stand out.

28 March 2007

Taught By Song are pleased to announce that the flipcharts within Module 1 have been
accredited with the top kitemark from Promethean Activprimary.

This award complements the wonderful reception the animated songs have received.

12 March 2007

Modern foreign language lessons are to be compulsory for the first time in England's
primary schools. Education Secretary Alan Johnson backs the recommendation of a
review by Lord Dearing that all children should learn a language from the age of seven.
This should happen by 2010, as part of the next curriculum overhaul.

Read full story on the BBC website

7th March 2007

Welcome to Zim Zam Zoum. We have just launched the website "6th March 2007"
which we hope you will find informative and entertaining. We continue to fine tune Module 1 which will be available to purchase very soon and details of which we will be publicising here. As an early interested party, we are pleased to offer you an incentive to purchase Module 1 at a discount. To qualify for this offer, please register your name, position and school details before 30th June 2007 at info@taughtbysong.com. This special introductory offer will entitle you to a 20% discount off the retail price of Zim Zam Zoum (Module 1), should you wish to make a purchase.

Monica Hyde will be attending the NEC conference in Birmingham on Saturday 24th of
March 2007 and will be happy to meet (subject to prior arrangement) and answer any questions relating to Zim Zam Zoum.

Additional promotional details are available in the forthcoming March editions of
Primary Choice magazine and, an editorial feature in the Education Business magazine