The European Day of Languages (EDL) aims to celebrate linguistic diversity by showing people across Europe how important languages are and what fun can be had learning them. The European Day of Languages is 26 September. It was set up by the Council of Europe and was first celebrated in 2001. It’s getting bigger every year, with 45 countries now involved. Schools across Scotland will be celebrating the European Day of Languages 2010 in Septmber. This is a snapshot of what’s happening.

Tuesday 28 September 2010

South Ayrshire schools at Prestwick Airport

S5 & S6 pupils studying a language were invited to Prestwick Airport on 28th September for an event organised by South Ayrshire Council and Ayrshire Chamber Of Commerce.
The event aimed to promote the relevance of languages in the workplace, and to encourage pupils to consider studying languages further at school and beyond.
Employers involved included:
• IBM
• NATS (Air Traffic Control)
• PR/Marketing Company – Write2Promote
The day began with an ice-breaker activity where pupils worked in groups and to develop a presentation on why you should visit France or Spain.  Pupils were then given the opportunity to work with an employer on tasks in the language they are studying at school.  These tasks included:
• Role play
• Developing visual media in the language
• ‘Guess who’ and Pictionary
The aim was to develop pupils’ confidence in using the language, as well as to encourage them to see the relevance of learning a language.
Merron Watkins from IBM said they are are big supporters of EDL, and were delighted to be involved in this event.  Languages are crucial in the work they do, supporting customers across Europe.
This is the first event of its kind in South Ayrshire, but organisers hope its success will mean the event can become an annual event.




2 comments:

  1. Hi I was there (I helped the pupils to create posters about France) and I really enjoyed it and I hope the students did too.

    I hope I'll be there next year !

    Alexis Dutrieux

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hallo!! - as they say in Bavaria

    It was great to meet everyone on Tuesday! I was pleased to help out by working with Marr College pupils studying German - hope everyone had fun!

    Eileen Bruce, Write2Promote

    ReplyDelete