The Council believes that this is central to promoting intercultural understanding. It is also vital to the cultural heritage of Europe as a continent. As reported in an article in The Guardian last year, there are 23 officially recognised languages within the European Union. Alongside these, there are more than 60 indigenous/minority languages and a handful of others spoken by smaller groups of migrants.
How Have Children Been Marking The Occasion?
Rosie told me how the Year 3 pupils spent time learning about countries in addition to France in which French is spoken, including Madagascar and Canada. In Year 4, children were learning about countries like Peru and Chile, where French is spoken.
She went on to explain that Year 5 and 6 learnt some French songs and had fun cooking some foreign dishes. Meanwhile, in Year 7, pupils continued with their normal lessons but with a Spanish and French twist, learning about Christopher Columbus in their history classes and Louis Pasteur in French lessons. They also learnt to play Pétanque. Year 7 and 8 pupils painted Picasso faces in art. In Year 8 the children learnt a Spanish poem about a guitar and they also had fun cooking foreign delicacies!
As Similar As They Are Different?
One of the things that I love about foreign languages is their uniqueness. Some share a certain quality or qualities, yet each foreign language remains distinctive. Many of you reading this post will have undoubtedly already come across the video in which characters say a series of foreign words. |
Another Year, Another Language...
If you would prefer to learn a European language, rather than one taken from a television series, maybe Kloo Language Games can help. I'm sure they would be only too happy to advise you on their range of bright, exciting games designed to help you and your family to learn French, Spanish or Italian in a fun and inventive way! |
My Challenge to You!
I’ll be posting about my progress with learning both Spanish and Dothraki in the coming months so keep an eye on the blog!