1. For your whole school
• Show a f oreign language f ilm during lunch time. Language institutes such as Goethe Institut, Institut francais etc. or ev en t he cultural departments of
the embassies could help y ou with ideas f or suitable f ilms.
• Arrange a Eurov ision-sty le song contest – perhaps with another school
• Display dif f erent flags around the school and hold a competition to identif y the country and how to say “hello” in that language. Make a banner of all
the dif f erent words f or “hello” or “welcome”
• Place a language quiz around the school or label parts of the school in dif f erent languages
• Include a language activ ity / story f rom another culture in school assembly , using elements such as the Lord’s Pray er, songs f rom around the world or
national anthems. Staf f who speak languages can join in too.
• Use the occasion to promote school exchanges and ov erseas v isits by having presentations f rom students who hav e taken part in prev ious y ears.
• Inv ite a local personality to share their language and culture in school.
For y our class
• Design a poster celebrating the many languages spoken in y our class/school/town
• Take the register in another language
• Make hats in colours of the f lags of dif ferent countries or decorated with f amous landmarks or icons e.g. Eif f el Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa,
Coliseum, Big Ben, la Sagrada Familia, Acropolis, Tintin, Brandenburg Gate etc.
• Try out some tongue twisters in other languages
• Check out online newspapers in dif f erent languages
• Hold a Language Speed Dating session – 5 minutes at each table to learn key phrases bef ore mov ing on to the next table and language.
• Start a map marking the countries of origin or holiday destinations and language spoken of children in the class/school. Make a graph of results
• Ten words challenge: identif y 10 words in target language and ask students to write a short poem/rap/ or text including these words
• Read a well known story in another language; ask children to identif y words that sound like English.
• Do a geography and citizenship trail around y our area/town looking f or links with other EU nations eg street names, community
activ ities/centres/shops/EU sponsored initiativ es to explore y our connections and interactions with the EU including towns et c y ou are twinned with.
Pupils could take pictures and annotate maps of the local area to show how and where y ou are connected with.
• French boules competition
• Create a a quiz to send out to parents
• Find teachers who speak a v ariety of languages and learn f rom them how to say a simple phrase in that language.
In your town
• Hold a French/Spanish/Italian caf é – inv iting parents, gov ernors and local people to come along
• Play multilingual Twister
• Focus just on one country , may be one y ou hav e a twinning agreement with, and hold a special day celebrating their culture and language
• Hold blind f ood tasting session with f oods f rom dif ferent countries
• Inv ite representativ es f rom local businesses trading with other countries to discuss their work and the use of language
• Encourage students to send text messages in other languages
• Do some internet shopping comparisons -using Amazon in French/English/Spanish
• Encourage older linguists to share their skills with y ounger students
Web resources
There are loads of resources on the internet to help y ou arrange a European Day of Languages ev ent
Games such as Chez Mimi and Hennings Haus, or the Lingo Show
Children teach y ou key phrases in a wide range of languages and bit about where that language is
spoken:http://www.newbury park.redbridge.sch.uk/langof month/
A f un tool f or pronouncing key phrases in European languages: http://www.europe.org.uk/f iles/language-app.swf
Dual language story books and other resources at https://www.mantralingua.com/uk/home.php
Prov erbs, say ings and quotations about language : http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/prov erbs.htm