“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
Learning another language is about much more than being able to ask for an ice cream on holiday. It opens up an amazing new world of life-enhancing experiences, creating connections beyond our island that help us understand and value difference. Just as importantly it’s really enjoyable!
The way we teach is by immersing our children in the vivid, exciting world of foreign culture, giving them the confidence and understanding to communicate spontaneously. To help them we develop key language learning skills including phonics, dictionary skills and grammar.
We bring in a whole range of other subjects to make foreign language feel real. For example, our French lessons involve Gallic literature, film, history, geography, music, art, drama and sport. By looking at the French language in context we prepare our children for the French language in real life. To top this off, our Year 6 pupils have the opportunity to visit Paris and explore the French capital, while Year 7 pupils have the opportunity to visit Normandy for a fun-packed week of outdoor and cultural activities, all conducted in French.
In terms of actual languages, all children study French throughout their time here, with many choosing Spanish in Years 7 and 8. To help us we’ve forged connections with school children in France and Spain.
We want our pupils to leave Dulwich with a passion for foreign language and a real understanding of their own place in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual world. That brings us back to the Wittgenstein quote at the start; I think what he’s saying is that if we expand our language, then we expand our world. And that’s got to be good.
Check out our Year 8 Spanish project Summer 2020 – writing an article about a fictional trip to a Spanish speaking country, talking about its food, culture and activities.