The Language Factory, an Aberdeen- based company, has already had success with lessons that help children learn French, German and Spanish through rap, song and rhyme.

Carole Nicoll, the languages teacher behind the lessons, is now turning her attention to English with a set of resources that she hopes will be used by schools with pupils from the new European Union states.

Work on the English resource is still at an early stage, but it is hoped that it will match the Language Factory’s previous success audio CD Francais! Francais! won the CILT European Award for Languages in 2003.

It will work on the same principles as existing resources, where children are encouraged to learn language pronunciation and intonation in the way they acquired their mother tongue. They sing catchy, specially written songs based on familiar tunes.

The resources are also suitable for teachers who do not know the language being taught they learn at the same time as the children.

* www.language-factory.co.uk