Hola, Bonjour, Kalh mepa, ciao – only some of the wonderful greetings you’ll hear first thing every morning in our school. At Dalmarnock we believe that learning languages unlocks many doors for our children and we embraced the new Scottish Language Initiative 1+2. At Dalmarnock Primary we are already exceeding the recommendations with children learning French and Spanish from P1.
We are lucky to have so many staff trained to deliver languages at Dalmarnock and to be supported in our work by Señora Fernandez and Señora Cochrane. We also celebrate our wonderful range of cultural diversity with displays using our children’s home languages.
Recently our World of Work Day highlighted to our P7 children how important languages are in many jobs. Our key note speaker from Weirs told us that she regularly looks for workers who not only have an engineering background but who also are fluent in 2 or 3 languages. We heard from the Modern Language Development Officer who told us of the many opportunities that we will be offered in secondary schools.
All the Primary 1’s have been learning about Spain this term. The children have enjoyed listening to Spanish music, trying out some flamenco dancing and tasting some Spanish foods. The children have enjoyed learning about the culture of Spain in more detail as well as learning the language. ¡Hola amigo! and ¡Adios amigo! are by far the favourite phrases.
Primary 5 have created a fabulous display of some Paris landmarks with inspiration coming from the book ‘A lion in Paris’ by Beatrice Alemadna. The children have enjoyed learning about the culture of France alongside the language. Une journée à Paris is an excellent example of the opportunities available to enhance learning through languages.
Primary 6 have been working on a performance of Little Red Riding Hood in Spanish and Primary 4/5 in French. They have also been starting every day with the weather.
Primary 7 practised their language skills by communicating in French using Forest phones. Languages and Outdoor Learning – what a great combination of skills! A group of P7’s also took part in a competition with Mrs R showcasing their French and acting skills. Confident individuals all round as the P7’s presented a play.
Primary 4 have been learning about the Día de los Muertos. Lots of creative work has been taking the place about the traditions and cultures in Spain! Well done P4!
All around our school you will see links to languages. It is great to see so much fabulous work going on around our school and making such an impact on learning. To find out even more about language learning at Dalmarnock Primary, please follow this link.
