Celebrate The European Day Of Languages

“There are over 6000 languages in the world. And behind each and every one of them lies a rich and diverse culture. That’s what the European Day of Languages (EDL) aims to celebrate”

The National Centre for Languages The autumn term will herald the return of the European Day of Languages (“EDL”) on the 26th of September 2011. This day will also kick start a week of activities organised in celebration of the 45 languages spoken by pupils, and staff alike, at Paddington Academy. As well as organising activities throughout the week for Paddington Academy students, this year we are encouraging parents to take part in the celebrations.

We will be asking parents to prepare traditional dishes that represent their background and heritage. These dishes will then be sold to students and staff in a Languages Cafe. In the cafe, students will also prepare and serve food communicating in only French and Spanish. We are also interested in gathering testimonials from parents, who speak a community language, regarding their experiences (both good and bad) of being bilingual in London. We would like parents to share what it means to them for their child to be bilingual.

This activity may involve displaying parents’ written testimonials throughout the school or parents giving a talk to students during assemblies throughout EDL week. For more information about EDL, or to express your interest in participating, please contact Miss Samera Hassan in the Modern Foreign Languages Department.