Y9 Language Leaders Day

Primary Languages Day, June 2009
by Miss Moss, Languages Faculty

Throughout this year I have been co-ordinating eighteen Year 9 (now Year 10) pupils in the pilot Language Leaders Award Scheme. The aims of this scheme were outlined in the last newsletter (page 11) and since then the pupils involved have gone from strength to strength. Throughout the year, the Language Leaders have been trained and guided to build their confidence in the delivery of simple language tasks, moving from teaching their peers to primary pupils. On 30th June we held a Primary Languages Day, which was the final task the Language Leaders had to organise and carry out in order to pass the course.

The Primary Languages Day was a big challenge for the Language Leaders but they all rose to it magnificently. The day began with a French breakfast for 75 Year 4 and 5 pupils, including a welcome by Ms Henson. The primary pupils and their class teachers were divided into groups of approximately 16 and they attended five different language-based workshops, each of which was run exclusively by a group of Language Leaders. The workshops were all cross-curricular, as follows:

1. Parts of the Body Pasta Craft in French
2. Singing in French, German and Spanish
3. Geography andCultural Understanding in French
4. Drama in French
5. ICT and website games in French, German and Spanish.

Each workshop had been carefully designed by the Language Leaders and they were responsible for planning the half-hour sessions, considering timing, resources needed, level of language for their audience, layout of furniture, etc. They discussed their planning with me at various stages but on the day they had to use their initiative to deal with any problems (e.g. looking up words in dictionaries to deal with questions by the primary pupils).

The primary pupils were treated to an Italian-themed lunch in the canteen and it was lovely to see our Language Leaders sitting with them at the tables, chatting to them about the workshops from the morning sessions.

In the afternoon, the weather stayed fine and the Language Leaders played games in French with the primary children outside on the grass. These games involved a range of vocabulary, from numbers to animals to colours, and involved tennis balls, running, keeping rhythms going and team games.

The day closed with all pupils gathering in one classroom to showcase some of the things they had learnt throughout the morning. It was great to see so many enthusiastic children desperate to sing in German or to perform a café scene in French, as well as to show off their pasta people labelled with the parts of the body.

The Primary Languages Day was an enormous success and the Language Leaders should be very proud of their achievements. The primary pupils benefited from having a positive experience of both language learning and of Deer Park School, whilst the Language Leaders themselves gained confidence and new-found skills from leading the workshops on the day. Well Done!