We’re Ready… Are You?

That’s right, the uTalk Junior Language Challenge is back for the 2019/2020 academic year! We’ve got a whole new website with a brand-new look and we’re ready and waiting for your sign ups. But what is the uTalk JLC, and why should you take part? For the last fifteen years, uTalk has been proud to … Read more

Putney teacher honoured in new memorial fund to help schools compete in national Junior Language Challenge

Organisers of the uTalk Junior Language Challenge have announced the launch of the Laetitia Collender Memorial Fund, a special bursary set up in memory of a popular teacher from Putney in West London who was a passionate supporter of the national language competition. The Junior Language Challenge (JLC) is an annual competition for primary school … Read more

Don’t get in a tangle over telling the time in Swahili!

This week, our fabulous JLC finalists have started learning their third language before the final competition in October. Having flourished in Romanian and triumphed in Korean, they are now tackling the African Bantu language of Swahili. Luckily for them, Swahili uses the Latin alphabet (one less thing to worry about!), but there is one peculiar … Read more

Why children should learn a second language

The Scottish Government has committed to every child learning a second language at the age of 5. Alongside this, they’ll learn an additional language in P5, which means children will know 3 languages by the time they leave school. It’s called the 1+2 policy and we think it’s a great pledge, as there are so many reasons why … Read more

Beginner’s Guide to Romanian

The Junior Language Challenge is a national competition for children aged 10 and under across the UK. One of the goals of the competition is to give young learners the chance to discover exciting new languages, and this year we’ve chosen Romanian as the first language. But how much do you know about this European … Read more

‘Something I’ll always be very proud of’: Shane’s JLC story

Shane came in 3rd in The Junior Language Challenge in 2014 and is now in year 7 studying German and Latin. Below he talks about the wonderful JLC experience and why any teacher/parent should register their kids.  If you’re a parent or teacher of children aged 10 and under in the UK, visit juniorlanguagechallenge.com to find out more about … Read more

Junior Language Challenge: fun for the whole family!

Isobel Eason from Hartlepool qualified for the Junior Language Challenge final two years in a row, and came third last year, with her proud family cheering her on. Here her mum Vickie shares their experience of the competition… If you’re a parent or teacher of children aged 10 and under in the UK, visit juniorlanguagechallenge.com to find out more … Read more

Counting the days: Reuben can’t wait for his 4th Junior Language Challenge

In today’s blog post, father and son Joseph and Reuben share with us their JLC story and how learning made fun got them counting the days until this year’s competition. If you’re a parent or teacher of children aged 10 and under in the UK, visit juniorlanguagechallenge.com to find out more about our annual competition, … Read more

Junior Language Challenge finalist Grace aiming for the top in 2016

Jenny’s daughter Grace was a finalist in the 2015 Junior Language Challenge – and one of the stars of our video from the day! In today’s blog post, Jenny tells us about her experience of the competition as a mum, and what taking part in the JLC has meant to Grace. The JLC has become a very big part of … Read more

Why Russian? Why not?

Lucy was our first ever winner of the Junior Language Challenge and at age 23 has now chosen to take part in the uTalk Challenge learning Russian. Lucy already speaks Spanish, French, Italian, German and Latin and has been learning languages since she was 10 years old. Why? Why not? I was talking to some … Read more