On Wednesday 26th September, 2007, Manchester Academy celebrated the European Day of Languages. The day is annually marked across Europe to celebrate linguistic diversity.

Essentially, the overall objectives of the European Day of Languages are to:

• Notify the public about the importance of language learning and expanding the range of languages learnt, in order to improve intercultural understanding

• Promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe

• Encourage lifelong language learning in and out of school

The European Day of Languages, which was declared by the Council of Europe during the European Year of Languages in 2001, is marked yearly with hundreds of events in member states.

At Manchester Academy, the MFL [Modern Foreign Languages] curriculum area worked with Year 9 students to raise career awareness and tackle stereotyping.

Stereotyping

"The language a person speaks is part of their identity and their culture.  So learning languages means understanding of other people and their way of thinking. It means opposing racism, xenophobia and intolerance." Cheryl Smedley, Languages Curriculum Area Leader at Manchester Academy.

During a class presentation, the Year 9 students discussed various issues ranging from European stereotypes all the way to the importance of being multilingual in all walks of life.

Students from other year groups also participated by taking part in classroom quizzes, discussing common language misconceptions, preparing posters and delivering class presentations amongst other activities all embracing the European Day of Languages.

Outcome

"In my experience, if you go to a foreign country, the people there will always appreciate it if you have taken the trouble to learn their language..." Sven- Göran Eriksson.

"All I can advise is that you keep working at your languages. Foreign languages are exciting and interesting - keep up the hard work, it will be worth it in the end." Sir Alex Ferguson CBE.

The excellent class presentations by the students at the end demonstrated how much they had understood about the importance of linguistic diversity at school and beyond.

Quizzes

Click here to attempt one of the quizzes the students tackled on the day.