Pupils enjoy European Day of Languages

Staff and pupils from South Walney Junior and Ormsgill schools brought the vibrant cultures of the continent to the classroom for European Day of Languages.

At South Walney each year group chose a different country – Year 3 France, Year 4 Italy, Year 5 Belgium and Year 6 Spain – and challenged themselves learning new vocabulary and trying foods associated with the country.

Pupils were tasked with making traditional dishes from their countries with paella, waffles, pizza, croissants and pain au chocolat on the menu.

There were also creative challenges with Year 5 painting in the style of Belgian artist Rene Magritte and Year 4 learning about life in ancient Rome and having their photo taken with a backdrop of the Colosseum.

Year 6 at Ormsgill School mastered saying ‘hello’ in ten different languages, learnt about European countries and flags, tried traditional French pastries and learnt some key phrases in French.

The children at South Walney Juniors were joined by specialist modern foreign languages teacher Paul Vaughan, from Chetwynde School, who is teaching French to key stage 2 pupils across the primary schools in South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust.

He led Year 3 in learning French children’s song ‘Savez-vous planter les choux?‘, which is a very popular nursery rhyme in French speaking countries. He also taught Italian and Spanish to the children.

“It was a special day and pupils thoroughly engaged with the tasks because they were able to see languages being used for a purpose,” he said.

“Learning a second language at such a young age has a huge and positive impact on a pupil’s communication and interpersonal skills. It is exciting to witness this first-hand and be part of their linguistic learning journey.”

South Walney Junior School Headteacher Zena Lines said everyone had entered into the spirit of the day, which is hosted annually.

“It is such a fun way to introduce pupils not only to speaking and singing in new languages but also to create and try new foods, which always goes down well with our children.”

South Walney Junior School and Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School are both part of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust.

Share!