Multilingual escape rooms and German hip-hop workshops were the order of the day as ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ welcomed local secondary school students to campus, to experience the joy of learning languages and cultures.
±«³¢â€™s School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics (MLAL) hosted some 170 Transition Year (TY) students from four schools across Limerick – Castletroy College, Villiers School, Hazelwood College and Coláiste Iósaef – for its annual #ThinkLanguages event.
ThinkLanguages is a nationwide celebration designed to build awareness of the importance of modern foreign language skills among secondary school students. It is funded by Post Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI) through Languages Connect, an important strand of Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017-2026, supported by the Department of Education and Youth.
Event organisers Dr Erika Marcet and Stephanie O’Riordan, and colleagues in MLAL, brought a whole new level of fun to the lecture theatre, devising and delivering a packed schedule of innovative and engaging workshops for the visiting TY students. Assisting on the day were some 15 undergraduate and postgraduate students in MLAL, who accompanied the TY students around campus while sharing their own experiences with languages and cultures.
The proceedings kicked off with a cultural quiz, with students then split into smaller groups and invited to solve an escape room using language and culture clues; try their hand at a German hip-hop dance class; take language and culture tasters in Chinese, Japanese and Arabic; and participate in a Spanish music and dance workshop. The students were also introduced to Culture Shocked!, a research project and exhibition celebrating cultural diversity and led by Dr Florence Le Baron-Earle.
Dr Erika Marcet, Assistant Professor at the School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics, said: “In addition to the on-campus event, MLAL lecturers and staff took the opportunity to visit 10 schools, reaching a further 500 students across Cork, Kerry, Clare, Tipperary and Limerick. These school visits are to raise awareness about the importance and value of learning languages and cultures in an increasing multilingual Ireland.â€
Stephanie O’Riordan, who lectures in the School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics, added: "It was great to see the enthusiasm for learning languages during our school visits. Students understand how beneficial language learning is for their future as global citizens as well as for their brain health!"