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Our Lady’s Catholic College

Learn, Live, Love, Together...

Routes into Languages Day

Latin , Italian, Chinese were the languages that 17 Year 8 students experienced on their visit to Lancaster University on Thursday 7 January.
The students learnt how to greet each other in Latin and looked at how closely the English language is derived from Latin words. After some excellent translation from Latin into English, they moved onto Calligraphy and painting Chinese symbols. It was harder than it looked using the black ink and thick paintbrushes but the students produced some amazing symbols, portraying the key ideas in Chinese culture of respect and support for the family.
In the afternoon, the students worked on their Italian conversational skills, learning how to introduce themselves and talk about their favourite groups, while perfecting their Italian accent. The final session required the use of different tones in Chinese so there were plenty of unusual sounds coming out of the classroom! Finally a song in Chinese to round the day off!
The students were enthusiastic and positive and fully participated in every activity throughout the day. Not only was this a chance to practise language skills and develop new ones but the students were also introduced to University life on campus. A short presentation in the Lecture theatre gave students an insight into why languages are important for everyday life and how they can develop skills to prepare for their futures using languages.