European Day of Languages 2012

This coming Wednesday (26th September) is the European Day of Languages. This is a day to celebrate the many languages spoken in countries all over the world.

To celebrate this day at Spring Grove, rather than having their usual French lesson, Form 1 and 2 will be having a special Spanish taster lesson on Tuesday morning with Mrs Diaz Razul, and Preps 3-6 will be learning some German during the course of the week. We will finish the week on Friday morning with our first French Breakfast of the year.

Have a look at this song. How many languages can you recognise? Why don't you try answering the register in as many different languages as you can this week? This poster can help you pronounce the word for hello in lots of different languages.



Here are some more things to do this week:

Have a look at this BBC languages site where you can learn basic words in lots of European Languages.

Play the Let's Explore Europe Game on your own or with some friends.

Can you recognise European countries by their shape? Have a go at putting the falling countries into the right position by playing this Europe Map Match Game.

How well do you know the flags of Europe? Have a go at this Flag Dropper Quiz to find out.

You could watch this video featuring European flags before you try it!




Prep 5 and Prep 6 might like to try this trickier Council of Europe Quiz to test their knowledge on European Languages. How much can you score?

Little ones could explore the CBeebies Lingo Show website and learn some new words.

Have fun!

Prep 4 - Prep 6: Les Pays Européens

Have a look at this map of Europe. It has the names of all the countries in French and shows you how to say all the nationalities too. Use it to help you next time you are talking about holidays.

Prep 4, 5, 6: Pronunciation

I've found a really good site to go to if you are not sure how to pronounce a word in French. Just type it in on this website, click on French and you will hear it being said. You can use it for other languages too.

Nursery, Reception: Poisson Rouge

Poisson Rouge is my  favourite website for younger children. There are so many activities and mini-games to explore on it, from Frère Jacques to the night sky to famous works of art to life under the sea, and the navigation is clear and simple enough to allow children to explore the site independently. And it's French! Try it!

Prep 3, Prep 4, Prep 5, Prep 6: Pronunciation

I have been talking a lot about pronunciation with the older pupils this year and looking at the many sounds in French that are different from English. I found this sounds page on the new BBC Primary French site which shows you how to pronounce some of the main sounds. There is also a game to reinforce four of the sounds. I wonder if Prep 4 can spot which sounds we have practised recently that are not on the page?

Nursery, Reception: The Lingo Show

This new CBeebies show looks like a great way to get little ones interested in learning a language. Featuring French, Spanish, Mandarin, Welsh, Punjabi, Urdu, Polish and Somali, The Lingo Show introduces children to the magic of language and different cultures through its collection of colourful characters.