Our Festival of International Culture for Year 8-9 pupils about to make GCSE option choices is back for 2016!
The Festival will comprise of all sorts of different activities to raise awareness of the need for language learning in the UK. We will focus on the fun, active and practical side to learning new languages and cultures. This year, we are currently planning that the cultural element of the Festival will form part of the regional Mother Tongue, Other Tongue poetry competition, with workshops giving your pupils the chance to create a poem to submit as part of the regional competition.
This event at Durham University will last for the full school day and will take place between 9:30 and 15:00. It will be split between language taster sessions and interactive poetry workshops in which pupils will be encouraged to produce their own poems (either individually or as pairs/in small groups) to be entered into the regional competition.
The purposes of the day are as follows:
1) To introduce the idea of learning an entirely new language to school pupils
2) To show the students the benefits and opportunities that language learning can offer
3) To explore issues around multiculturalism and linguistic diversity within the UK
4) To encourage the creation of a piece of text or a poem in a language other than English
5) To give them an idea of what life in higher education is like through visiting a university campus
Please note that this is currently subject to change - please check back for further updates later this month.
9:15 - Arrivals & Registration
9:40 - Plenary: The Importance of Languages & Cultural Awareness
10:30 - Language Taster Session 1
11:35 - Mother Tongue, Other Tongue Introductory Workshop
12:15 - Lunch (not provided - school groups are asked to bring packed lunches)
12:50 - Mother Tongue, Other Tongue Poetry Writing Session
13:45 - Language Taster Session 2
14:45 - Event Feedback & Evaluations
15:00 - Departures
Please register using the links available above or, in the event of any queries, email sophie.stewart2@ncl.ac.uk. Each school is able to bring a group of 15 pupils (either Year 8 or Year 9 but yet to make their GCSE option choices) and a total of six schools can take part in the event. Please be aware that a £50 cancellation fee applies in the event of cancellation with less than two weeks' notice ahead of the event - this is in respect to the additional administrative work involved and extra costs incurred as a result.
