Landmark Celebrates the European Day of Languages
The European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September. It is organised by the Council of Europe, whose conviction is that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our world. They actively promote plurilingualism throughout Europe, encouraging young children to learn languages at school and assuring them that it is never too late to pick up a new language.
This year our Year 9 and Year 11 students were given the chance to take part in a webinar organised by the British Council and in partnership with GCHQ. We listened to four speakers who explained the importance of languages within their jobs, and we were given the chance to ask questions afterwards. Those who worked at GCHQ had to have their cameras turned off, but we enjoyed hearing about some of the exciting things they do for work!
We thought about skills that might be developed through language learning, such as presentation, communication, self confidence and problem solving, realising how well they fit in with the IB Approaches to Learning that we have begun considering throughout Key Stage 3. We heard about the importance of home and heritage languages, and how even just a single language GCSE can open doors into a world of possibilities and drastically increase your chances of employment.
The webinar concluded with an important reminder that we should not be aiming for fluency or perfection: making mistakes is a normal part of communication and knowing just a few words in another language is better than knowing none. As Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, states: "The European Day of Languages reminds us that learning a language is a step towards openness and respect for other cultures." I think we can all agree that this is something we should be striving for and instilling in our young people. Duolingo, here we go...!
