World Day of Languages

“Today we celebrated World Day of Languages at Wellington School”, writes Mrs Ramsumair. “Over 40 volunteers from all year groups designed and delivered lessons to teach their peers a new language and introduce them to a culture that they may never have even considered before. The Year 7 and 8 pupils who took part had 22 languages to sample and our volunteers showed them traditional dress, sweets and games, as well as giving them an introduction to the language. We even had a lesson in how to prostrate – bend low – to greet elders in Yoruba culture. As well as learning an array of foreign languages, pupils were given the opportunity to visit our International Café, run by our Year 10 Language Ambassadors and Mrs Williams, Head of Languages. 

Walking around Wellington School today, you can see approximately 50 different ways of saying “hi” on our colourful bunting displayed on teachers’ doors. We have also held our annual Celebrity Badges competition; where Year 7 pupils have been given the task of finding the language spoken by a variety of celebrities indicated on badges worn by staff all over school.

The activities didn’t stop at lunchtime, and many students gathered in Mrs Ramsumair’s room to try and guess the number of sweets in the jar. They were given one clue: the number of sweets roughly represented the number of languages spoken in the world today. This has started some interesting conversations around school, including in the staffroom. The winner will be announced on Monday morning…don’t eat them all at once!

All in all, the atmosphere on World Day of Languages 2018 has been of enthusiasm and intrigue. A passion for languages goes beyond the classroom and today has helped to establish that. Thank you to all helpers involved.”