Language Enrichment Day
July 2010
Did you know that there are 6,912 known living languages in the world? In July, 25 Year 9 students set off to UCLAN, to embark on a day of discovery for two of these languages – Chinese and Arabic. The morning was spent discovering some facts and figures about languages. Do you know the answer to these questions?
- what percentage of the world’s population doesn’t speak English?
- how many different languages are spoken in Manchester alone?
- which is the first most spoken language in the world?
- which is the second?
If you don’t, find one of the Year 9s or MFL staff to help you !
The students spent the morning learning to count in Chinese and say that they are British – so that they could get help in an emergency. They then learned about some important places and traditions in the country.
Lunchtime brought a multi-cultural market where students were able to sample the cultures in a range of ways: belly dancing, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese painting, trying on costumes from different countries, henna tattoos, having their names written in Urdu. The photos are a real treat !
During the afternoon, the students learnt some Arabic – how to greet someone and describe their appearance or feelings. It was amazing how well they could soon converse a new language.
Each of the students was thoroughly engaged in the whole day and it was difficult to select contenders for the prize-giving. Eventually, Grace Dinn won the prize for overall enthusiasm during the day, with Myles Robinson winning a prize for his belly dancing and Chantelle Atkinson for her participation in all the activities.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day and left with a greater understanding of some lesser known languages and cultures.