International Languages Week 2023
Posted on August 08, 2023
Buenos días, kon’nichiwa, nĭ hăo, kia ora.
Languages were in the spotlight at Macleans College recently as International Languages Week was celebrated. Macleans College is fortunate to have staff and students from a huge number of different countries, which brings diversity and richness to our school family and creates wonderful opportunities for learning and building understanding of language and culture.
Throughout the week students had the opportunity to participate in a range of activities, including Chinese calligraphy, attending a concert by a Japanese harp player, Spanish conversation, Mexican cake making, a language-based scavenger hunt, quizzes, discussions and a food festival. These activities blended language and culture, which are so inextricably linked, and students had a lot of fun broadening their horizons by learning about languages and cultures other than their own.
Knowledge of other languages opens a world of possibilities, helps us to build connections and meaningful relationships with others and makes life more colourful. Learning a language is a worthwhile pursuit at any stage of life and students are encouraged to take up the challenge and give it a go! As Nelson Mandela once said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to the heart.”
Many thanks to the teachers and students who organised activities throughout the week.
