A young man covers his mouth with his hands and is surrounded by speech bubbles of expressions in different languages.

Celebrating Languages

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 19 September 2022 > Celebrate Shine Bright Collège


26 September is the day the EU celebrates all the many languages spoken in Europe and around the world. They have lots of suggested activities to get your pupils enthusiasm flowing for languages.

You can find out 20 fascinating facts about languages on this poster, and 20 MORE facts on this new one for 2022. For example, did you know that With a few exceptions, there are really only two ways to say “tea” in the world?One is similar to the English term (“té” in Spanish, “tee” in Afrikaans,...). The other is a variation of “cha” (“chay” in Hindi, “chá” in Portuguese). Both versions come from China, but the words that sound like “cha” mostly spread across land, along the Silk Road, while “tea” spread over the sea with Dutch traders.

A Piece of Cake
And to go with the tea, what better way to celebrate a birthday than with a cake? For its anniversary last year, the EDL asked people all over Europe to send in cake recipes. Now you can download a book of the 20 best. They are in various languages but translations are available via QR codes.

Tonguetwisting Fun for Your Pupils
Tonguetwisters are a great way to practise difficult sounds in a foreign language. Why not have your pupils take up the EDL Multilingual Tonguetwister Challenge by recording themselves having a go? There are examples of tonguetwisters here, and your pupils could even make up their own to contribute. (Hint, anything with H and WH sounds is great for French speakers.)

Spy Challenge App
And pupils individually or as a class activity to download the secret agent's language challenges app.  It aims to make the point that good spies need good language skills. (Don't we all!) This would make a great extension to Shine Bright 3e SnapFile 1 Join the Spy School! If you want to get a quick overview, there's a downloadable handbook.

We'd love to hear about your European Day of Language activities!



Pedagogy See the related news
> Semaine des Langues 2022
Webpicks Useful websites and online tools for classroom use
> European Language Day 2021