International Languages Week celebrated at Macleans College
Posted on May 28, 2018
Between 20 - 26 May New Zealand celebrates International Languages Week.
This special week provides an opportunity to showcase and promote languages and cultures in the school and the community. As New Zealanders, today we have exposure to a huge number of international languages – more than 160 languages are spoken in our country. Learning an international language encompasses much more than language proficiency. Knowing an international language means knowing about the culture that is the foundation of that language.
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 language, that goes to his heart”.
Learning a new language provides a means of communicating with people from another culture and exploring one’s own personal world, because they are inseparably linked to the social and cultural contexts in which they are used. Languages and cultures play a key role in developing our personal, group, national, and human identities.
That is why the Language Faculty organised a week-long celebration of languages and cultures as well as a Languages Carnival, where students had the chance to try a number of delicious traditional food representing the International Languages taught at Macleans College.
