International Mother Language Day
In the year 2000, February 21st was named by the United Nations as the International Mother Language Day. On this day, schools and other organisations all over the world celebrate the multitude of diverse languages that are such an important part of our global society. English and French are very much the working languages of La Garenne, but the members of our school community speak a wide range of other Languages.
It is part of our Mission as a school to develop global citizenship in our students. Celebrating the enormous diversity of world languages is part of this, and being able to communicate effectively is one of the keys to international mindedness. Consequently, here at La Garenne we have been raising awareness of the importance of mother Languages. In Tuesday’s assembly the younger students shared common phrases with the rest of the group, spoken in their Mother language. Everyone had great fun trying to repeat the phrases, with some achieving this more successfully than others! They all then participated enthusiastically in a quiz about world languages. In the Junior classes, the students discussed International Mother Language Day in class, and participated in a language-themed quiz.
At La Garenne, we promote English and French, as these are our languages of instruction. Furthermore, many of our students come to the school specifically to consolidate their abilities in these two languages for further study. However, as part of an international education it is important to appreciate and cultivate mother languages. We have guidelines for when and under what circumstances students may speak in their first language. For the International Mother Language Day the students were authorised to speak in any language as long as they were not in the classroom. It was refreshing to see how well they adapted to this situation. No one was excluded, as the students naturally spoke in English if anyone present did not speak their language. At the same time, when small groups of one particular nationality were together, it was evident that they enjoyed conversing in their mother language.
Overall it was a successful, informative and enjoyable day and we are looking forward to celebrating more international days of this kind as the year progresses.
