As part of ‘Europe celebrates all Languages Day’, held each year on 26th September, celebrations here in St Dominic’s got underway early this morning: students wearing their national costumes greeted their class mates in the many languages spoken by students in our school. What a lovely colourful blend of language and dress, music and dance to start our day!
Today everyone is encouraged to learn a greeting phrase in a language other than English and Irish.
First Years are wearing language badges they designed in French, German or their native language and in their MFL classes today students will teach one another greeting phrases in languages such as Russian, Filipino, Igbo, Vietnamese, Bengali, Arabic, Hindi , Estoninan – to mention just a few.
A Language awareness PowerPoint presentation is running all day on our entrance TV screens. Lots of language quizzes for junior classes and short video clips on the value of languages for senior groups will take place in MFL classes.
The whole school community will take time today to listen to students expressing greetings in languages from all over the world via the intercom.
Today we remember the words of wisdom of Nelson Mandela when he said –If you talk to a person in a language he/she understands it goes to his/her head. If you talk to him/her in his/her own language it goes to the heart.