“Thank you for the Languages Day we attended at your University. We all very much enjoyed it and would really love to come back again!”
— Year 10 pupils,
St. Gregory's school
Local school pupils learn language and culture at the University of Bath with the Foreign Languages Centre
Pupils in Bath are proving they want to move with the times by recognising the importance of modern foreign languages and multi-cultural awareness.
Year 9 students from St. Gregory's School in Bath attended two Language & Culture Days organised by the Foreign Languages Centre recently.
The days were sponsored by a government programme called Routes into Languages, which aims to inspire and encourage young people to study languages. The University of Bath is a member of the Routes into Languages South West Consortium and is involved in a number of initiatives designed to take our foreign language expertise to local secondary schools.
The Language & Culture Days programme comprised interactive language classes and activities in French or Spanish. The pupils also had the chance to try some new languages for the first time, including Arabic, Greek and Japanese.
Isabella Stefanutti, Course Director at the Foreign Languages Centre and organiser of the days, said: "The school pupils had a fantastic opportunity. They practised their language skills in a friendly setting and they showed great enthusiasm and interest. In their encounter with a new language, they got to learn some basic sentences and some cultural facts. The Japanese class, for instance, learnt how to make origami".
St Gregory's teachers and students said they were really glad to have attended the Language & Culture Days. They praised the friendliness and professionalism of the members of staff and of the student ambassadors.
For more information, please contact Isabella Stefanutti, I.Stefanutti@bath.ac.uk
