Students across the school enjoyed a wide range of activities to celebrate International Day of Languages.
The students were challenged to put their language skills to the test throughout the day, from presenting an assembly to the whole school on the importance of languages to translating the day’s menus in French and Spanish, answering house roll-call in a different language to language karaoke at lunchtime, and inclusion of multiple languages during Thursday’s Chapel service to Euro flags cupcake sale for charity, the students were challenged to put their languages skills to the test.’
French and Spanish language speaking was particularly tested with a selection of tongue twisters – try for yourself:
Je suis ce que je suis, et si je suis ce que je suis, qu’est-ce que je suis?
El cielo esta enladrillado quien lo desenladrillara? Quien lo desenladrille buen desenladrillador ser’
Christine McCaffrey, Head of Languages said: ‘Languages are all about communication and building communities. You just need a few words to get started and you can have a lot of fun on the journey. Hopefully the past few days at Bloxham have spread the message that languages are everywhere and not as scary as a lot of people think.’
This celebration of modern languages follows news that the Modern Foreign Languages department has been awarded a second grant by the European Union through the Erasmus + scheme to further develop the quality of language teaching and intercultural understanding at the school.
The project will last for two years, during which the language teachers will attend French and Spanish courses in Lyon and Granada. The MFL department will all travel during the school holidays for a week of intensive language learning, teaching methodology, teaching ideas and cultural activities with the aim of modernising the MFL teaching practice at Bloxham.
The language teachers will be joined by other Bloxham staff to help the MFL teachers to help develop more cross-curricular links, as well as increase internationalism in other curriculum areas. A sport-based exchange programme with a French school and a grammar project with the English department are only two of the exciting projects we have planned for the near future.’