Where can languages take you?

On Friday 7th November, we were fortunate to be visited by an ex-student who wanted to return to Presdales to share her experiences of language learning. Since Katie Curtis left Presdales in 2017, she has completed her undergraduate degree in Italian and Spanish from the University of Manchester and a masters’ degree in Madrid.

Katie talked about her year abroad, which she spent studying in Bergamo, northern Italy, before working as a trading assistant in Madrid. She described the highs and lows of her year, including taking the Prince of Libya’s pet chihuahua for walks and cutting off her finger on a tin of tuna all while navigating the challenge of learning the language.

“I attended Katie’s talk on Friday lunchtime, and I was absolutely inspired by her story. I actually reached out to her afterwards to tell her what an amazing job she did. I want to become a language teacher, and it’s so lovely to see other people who are as passionate as I am- it’s great to know that your dreams are achievable and there is always someone with you at every step of the way. I couldn’t have made a better decision than to continue studying languages, and Katie only confirmed that for me.” Sophie, Year 12

“I really did enjoy Katie’s talk last week because I think those of us who are interested in a similar path and spending time abroad, want to hear about life there disregarding school work and how fun the social side would actually be, as that really would be what would make it such a great experience. It was also interesting to hear about where her degree and fluency in Italian and Spanish have taken her in her career to work at Warner Bros!” Willow, Year 11

“It was very inspiring and I found it very eye opening as to what my future could look like if I continue with languages. The path Katie has taken seems like something I would love to do, especially considering the year abroad in a degree in languages as it’s not just work but social and life skills.” Ronnie, Year 11

During the week of 22nd to 26th September, we celebrated the diversity of languages and cultures within our school community with a variety of activities throughout the week. In tutor groups, we looked at how many loan words from other languages we already use on a day to day basis. We also embraced the idea that learning other people’s languages opens hearts and minds.

Presdales teachers greeted their classes in a different language every day. By lesson 6 they were quite proficient!

On Monday we hosted an event for students during Monday lunchtime called ‘Culinary Connections’. Students from Years 7 to 9 were invited to bring in a home-prepared dish/snack originating from a different country. Over 60 families baked and prepared a variety of dishes. There was a real buzz of activity. Thank you very much to those families who contributed to this very popular event. The aims of the event were to showcase and share food from other countries and cultures and to allow students to try something that they might not usually eat!

In class, in Year 7, we celebrated with researching flags, languages and ‘hello’s’ from all over the world. and creating bunting with the information gathered. Students in Years 8 and 9 in both of their languages were given a theme or topic to focus on and have produced some excellent bookmark creations, which you can view here.

German

In German Year 8 information about German companies and Year 9 researched different musicians and music genres which are popular in Germany.

Spanish

This year for Global Week of Languages and Culture, the Spanish Department celebrated in KS3 lessons by students researching various aspects of hispanophone (Spanish-speaking) culture and decorating bookmarks with their research. Year 8 enjoyed researching traditional food from Spanish-speaking countries such as paella valenciana, crema catalana, patatas bravas, churros, and croquetas. Year 9 considered the different amazing places that Spanish could take them, and found out about tourist attractions such as Machu Picchu, La Sagrada Familia, La Isla de Pascua, and La Alhambra. Year 7 celebrated the diversity of languages and countries around the world, researching different countries and making decorations with each country’s flag, the languages spoken there, and how to say hello in those languages.

Italian

Russian