The Council of Europe's 46 member nations represent 800 million Europeans throughout Europe, and all are encouraged to learn more languages at any age, as part of or in addition to their studies. Since 2001, the European Commission has collaborated with the Council of Europe to celebrate the European Day of Languages.
1. What is the Date of European Day of Languages?
The European Day of Languages is celebrated on September 26th, as declared by the Council of Europe on December 6, 2001, at the conclusion of the European Year of Languages (2001), which was conducted jointly by the Council of Europe and the European Union. Its goal is to promote language learning throughout Europe. The overarching goal is to raise awareness of Europe's diverse linguistic and cultural heritage, which must be encouraged and conserved. It also aims to extend the range of languages learned by people throughout their life in order to improve plurilingualism and intercultural understanding. E.D.L. allows us to honor all of Europe's languages, especially those spoken less frequently and by migrants.
2. European Day of Languages History
The concept of creating a campaign to persuade the general public of the importance of studying more languages was born in 1997. This concept developed at the Language Learning for a New Europe conference, which inaugurated the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (C.E.F.R.) and the concept of plurilingualism.
The first European Day of Languages was held on September 26, 2001, and was the major event of the European Day of Languages campaign, which was organized in collaboration with the European Union. This event was a success, and the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers determined that this day would be observed yearly on September 26.
Learning languages entails more than just conversation. It also promotes tolerance and understanding among people from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Numerous awareness-raising activities and declarations, such as "The celebration of linguistic diversity," have emphasized the value of plurilingualism. The European Day of Languages is an excellent opportunity to recognize the dozens of languages spoken across Europe. The principal goals of this day are to celebrate linguistic diversity in Europe, its residents' plurilingualism, and lifelong language study, as well as to promote Europe's rich diversity by encouraging people to be open to diverse languages and cultures.
3. European Day of Languages Activities
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (European Day of Languages Special)
Everyone enjoys a good game show! While you may not leave with money in your wallet, students will undoubtedly encounter a plethora of language-related questions as well as that all-important entertaining learning experience!
Travel with Alain Simons from the French version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" as students answer a variety of multiple-choice questions in a variety of languages. EAL students may have the opportunity to shine as they educate their peers in their original language.
European Food Market
With a European food market activity, you may incorporate some learning into your lunchtime. You can still get your class interested in identifying food items and determining which country each one originated from if you don't want to change over the school dining hall.
Encourage each student to bring a piece of cuisine linked with a European country. Divide the class into groups (or "market stalls") so that students can take turns obtaining a small tasting and guessing which country the food item comes from. Clues could be placed on the table, such as cards linked to the language, such as the Spanish phrase 'quisiera,' which means 'I would like.'
Your plenary can contain an overview of the various European countries that were presented at the end of the session.
Buddy System Language Lessons
Establish a buddy system at your school that allows year groups to overlap. Year 6 students could collaborate with Year 1 students to teach a 15-minute language session to the younger kids. Being placed in a position to teach something is an excellent method to learn for yourself!
During the morning sessions, the classroom may be reorganized into 12 work stations, allowing children in Year 1 to participate in a variety of language-related activities later in the afternoon.
From matching cards to simple sentences to mini-quizzes, older students can share their language expertise with younger classes, allowing them to not only share their knowledge but also take on responsibility as role models for younger students.
Celebrating European EAL
Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to truly honor the European languages carried by your class's EAL students!
Allow your EAL pupils to share their knowledge of their original language with their peers. Preparing for these brief sessions might be done as part of a homework assignment.
Those who speak English as their first language can participate in a similar take-home work centered on learning as much as possible about a language chosen by the teacher based on those in the classroom.
The session will not only enable EAL kids to share and collaborate with their peers, but it will also create confidence in them to openly discuss their family's language and culture.
4. European Day of Languages Facts
There are approximately 225 indigenous languages in Europe
Which may appear to be a large number, but it represents only about 3% of the world's total!
Over half of EU citizens are bilingual
According to an EU survey, more than half of EU people are bilingual: 54 percent speak a second language, and an amazing 25 percent can communicate in two foreign languages.
Languages are related to one another in the same way that family members are
Most European languages are members of the huge Indo-European family that once ruled what is now the Middle East,
And most are first cousins
Germanic (German, Dutch, English, Danish...), Romance (Italian, Spanish, French, Romanian...), and Slavic (Polish, Czech, Croatian, Russian...) languages are the most common.
European languages adore borrowing terms from one another
For example, French vocabulary is widely prevalent in English, but English phrases are widely spread throughout all other languages. Many languages benefit from German's beautifully precise (and long!) phrases - wanderlust, anyone?
Arabic, Chinese, and Hindi are the most widely spoken non-European languages on European soil
Europe has become even more multilingual as a result of the influx of migrants and refugees. In fact, almost 300 languages are spoken in London alone!
Most European countries have a number of regional or minority languages
Many of which have gained formal recognition. For example, while Spanish is the official language of Spain, Galician, Basque, and Catalan all have formal regional status, with native speakers of these languages accounting for a sizable proportion of the country's population.
However, Russia takes this to an entirely new level
Russia has the most languages spoken on its territory, with around 148 million people, ranging from 130 to 200 depending on the criteria.
Perfection in bilingualism is uncommon
That is, on a natural level. Many people in Europe and the rest of the globe have two mother tongues, and while there are 'perfect bilinguals' who speak two languages equally well, most bilinguals do not have a perfect balance between their two languages.
English remains the overwhelming favorite
After all, English is the world's lingua franca, and its reputation in Europe is no different: it is regarded as the most useful language, followed by French and German.
