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A Note for Teachers

  • Facing History and Ourselves is an educational charity providing teaching resources to help young people develop as empathetic, critical thinkers, who understand the role they can play in shaping society for the better. We believe that civic agency is developed through intellectual rigour, emotional engagement and ethical reflection. Learn more about us on our website.

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  • This PowerPoint presentation has been created to be used in a S1-4 and KS3-4 assembly on European Day of Languages.

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  • While you may need to modify this presentation to meet the needs of your students, please note that Facing History and Ourselves does not endorse your changes that alter the presentation's content or original layout.

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European Day of Languages�Assembly

Facing History UK Assemblies

#ChangeStartsWithMe

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European Day of Languages

What is European Day of Languages and why should we celebrate it?

Image by Simon from Pixabay

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What is European Day of Languages?

  • European Day of Languages takes place annually on 26th September.
  • European Day of Languages is an opportunity to celebrate Europe and the range of languages spoken across it.
  • Additionally, it is a chance to encourage individuals to learn a new language.
  • The theme for 2025 is ‘Languages open hearts and minds!’.

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Image by Simon from Pixabay

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Language(s)

by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

I only speak one language.

My friend at school speaks two.

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Sometimes I hear her

singing to herself

talking with her dad

thinking aloud

and I wish my brain held

two words for dog

two worlds of sound

two countries in one mouth.

I have only one word

for spoon

for sock

for moon

for clock.

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My friend sings two songs

and I wonder

if I will ever find another voice.

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Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

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Reflecting on Language(s)

  1. In your own words, what is the message of VanDerwater’s poem ‘Language(s)’?
  2. How does VanDerwater communicate her message? �(You might wish to consider imagery/language/devices)
  3. What impact can speaking more than one language have on someone?
  4. How does the poem add to your thinking about languages?

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Languages

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What might speaking different languages ‘open hearts and minds’?

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What are the other benefits of speaking more than one language?

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Reading a Blog Post

Read the information on the next two slides. It is part of a much longer blog post on the benefits of learning a language.

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How Learning a New Language

Changes Your Brain

Everyone’s brain is made up of neurons, which have a cell body, and dendrites, which are the connections between neurons. This is what we call “grey matter.”

Bilingual people have more of these neurons and dendrites compared to people who speak only one language. This means that their grey matter is denser.

Bilingualism also has an impact on white matter – that is, a system of nerve fibres which connect all four lobes of the brain. This system coordinates communication between the different brain regions, helping your brain to learn and function.

Bilingual adults have increased white matter integrity compared to adults who only speak one language. Their second language experience actually boosts their brain’s reserves.

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Carley Spence, How Learning a New Language Changes Your Brain, Cambridge, April 2022

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How Learning a New Language

Changes Your Brain

Given the measurable impact of language learning on the brain, it’s no surprise that these physical changes are accompanied by the improvement of certain other skills such as communication, creativity, recall and concentration.

In a meta-analysis of 20 studies examining language learning and its impact on academic performance, the majority of studies (90%) showed that language learners perform better across a range of academic subjects than students who don’t study a second language.

Just one week of learning a new language has a positive impact on students’ levels of alertness and focus.

Early studies on language learning found evidence that it boosted learners’ empathy… Speaking a second language can help to improve students’ ability to see things from another perspective. In turn, this can have a positive impact on their communication skills.

Carley Spence, How Learning a New Language Changes Your Brain, Cambridge, April 2022

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Reflection and Discussion

  1. What do you find surprising or interesting about the information in Spence’s blog post?
  2. Spence writes: ‘Speaking a second language can help to improve students’ ability to see things from another perspective’.
  3. Why does this matter?
  4. How might this impact you at school, home or in your local community?
  5. Why else should we celebrate languages?

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Exit Ticket

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Take a moment to think about the following:

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Learning a new language is beneficial to me because ______________________________

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People speaking more than one language can be beneficial to society because _____�___________________________________________

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We should celebrate different languages because __________________________________�___________________________________________

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