St John Fisher Catholic High School visit to York St John University
26 June 2013
York St John University were delighted to welcome a group of able linguists from Years 10 and 11, from St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate. After a brief talk on ‘why study languages?’ and a contribution from a YSJ Languages student, they participated in three language taster activities and finished the day with a campus tour.
The first activity was Japanese, led by Mizumi Nango of York St John Languages department. The students learned the numbers 1-10 and practised them in a very unusual way, by throwing balloons to each other and counting each time they caught them.
They then made jumping frogs in origami and learned a little bit about Japanese characters.
Stuart Gilliland, of York St John Languages department, kept the students on their toes in the BSL session by communicating by sign only for the first half hour, before revealing that he was a hearing person. The students then learned the alphabet and a how to exchange simple facts about themselves.
We took the unusual step of including a Latin session, because the students had been studying Latin at school as an extra-curricular activity. We were delighted that James Harrison of Bootham School was able to spare the time to run this session, and it was a real eye-opener to many of the pupils. Having given them a quiz on Latin words and names which are still used in English today, Mr Harrison gave them a whistle-stop tour through the essential points of Latin grammar, which the students picked up very quickly.
They showed their interest by asking questions about tenses and pronunciation, and were thrilled to be given an extract of Harry Potter in Latin to read.
Feedback from staff and students was very positive, and we plan to repeat the event next year.
Suggestions for improvements included:
- Timing good – perhaps just a short DVD of some kind would have added a bit of ‘je ne sais quoi’. (staff)
- Would have liked to have more time on the different languages and also be given ways to continue them after the day. (student)
Student comments included:
- It was nice to learn more unusual languages. It made me want to learn the languages, particularly BSL.
- Latin was my favourite.
- An informative event, with a captivating range of languages and activities included, as well as being an insightful look into university life.
- Great campus tour! I thought the student ambassadors were very friendly and helpful. I also found the Latin really interesting.
- Really liked learning BSL and Japanese.
- I am interested in learning Latin after this language day.
- Really interesting – I learnt so much! Student ambassadors were funny! Latin was amazing.
- It has encouraged me to pursue languages such as Latin and Japanese.
- Informative and entertaining.
- I learnt a lot, very interested in attending university when I finish school.
Staff comments included:
- The Latin input was the driving force behind any languages attitude change among the students (this is a reference to the question “Is the event likely to change students’ attitudes to language learning?”) The sign language was inspirational – wonderful presentation.
- The variety, and opportunity for students to ask questions at all levels, were very useful.
- A huge thanks to YSJ – our students have had an excellent day!
Alison Organ, June 2013
