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20 ideas for this year's European Day of Languages

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20 ideas for this year's European Day of Languages

Struggling to find ideas for an event for this year’s European Day of Languages? It can be challenging to organise events that are fun, inclusive, have an educational element and motivate a large number of people. Below are a few ideas to get your creative thoughts flowing, most of which are based on the principle of “starting small to go big”! 20 ideas for activities that can be carried in celebration of this year's EDL.

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1. Multilingual tongue twister challenge

How many tongue twisters, in at least 3 different languages, can you manage, more or less correctly, in one minute? Tongue twisters are tricky in one language but 3 or more is certainly not for the faint-hearted! You can prove just how good you are, either individually or within a group, by submitting a video.

Focus: whole-school/classroom activity

Resources: https://edl.ecml.at/tonguetwisterchallenge, https://edl.ecml.at/Fun/Tonguetwisters/tabid/3116/language/Default.aspx

2. Baking in a foreign language

For the 20th anniversary of the European Day of Languages we asked you to send us your best birthday cake recipes. We now have chosen 20 amazing recipes and put them into a colorful booklet.
Celebrate with us by baking one of these truly European birthday cakes in the language you are learning!

Resource: https://edl.ecml.at/Portals/33/documents/recipe-book.pdf

3. Language taster workshops

A 30-60 minute workshop to introduce a language to a group. Depending on the space available you determine the maximum number of participants.

The workshop could for example include

  • some of the unusual aspects of the language and some of its similarities with the first language of the participants
  • greetings and key phrases, counting 1-10
  • interesting trivia facts, ‘false friends’ and famous speakers of the language,
  • introducing a sign language- it could also include fingerspelling your name and knowing how to meet and greet a deaf person

    • The sessions do not necessarily have to be moderated by qualified teachers but can also be run with pupils/students/colleagues from different linguistic backgrounds presenting their home languages. As they are called taster sessions – some samples of national cuisine might add some extra ‘spice’ or ‘sweetness’ to the event.

    Focus: organisation/ whole-school/classroom activity

    Resource pages: https://edl.ecml.at/languagetrivia, https://edl.ecml.at/signlanguage, https://edl.ecml.at/celebrities, an example

    4. Eurovision song/poetry/story-telling contest

    While waiting for next year’s Eurovision song contest, why not create your own mini competition? Of course, this could prove a huge endeavour, so first determine on what scale you would like it to be held (for example within one class with a few teams/groups, or involving several classes, or perhaps involving the whole school). Why not set up an organising committee to help prepare the event. Do also bear in mind that not everyone can sing like Celine Dion or Andrea Bocelli. You might like to widen it out to a song or poetry contest, making it more inclusive - this will possibly also save your ears! After all, the key point is the language itself – can the ‘performers’ use a foreign language and still sound impressive? Performances can either be live or recorded. If you wish to have a competitive contest, then, of course, a voting system and perhaps judges are also required as in the real Eurovision!

    Focus: whole-school/classroom activity

    Resource sites: Youtube, Spotify etc.

    For inspiration: see Junior Eurovision: a minority language view

    5. Travel virtually- make a map of the places you want to visit and learn the most useful expressions in the language of your dream travel destination.

    This can be done as individual projects or in teams. If everyone wants to choose the same country (which can tend to happen!) you can randomly select a country for each team/ pupil by drawing lots or using an online tool like Wheeldecide.

    You can make a list of elements which each poster should contain – such as: reasons why to go there; the sights to visit; things to do; which language/s is/are spoken there and what makes it/them unique; as well as what expressions would be important for the holiday.

    Focus: classroom activity/groups

    Resources: Discover the world through languages poster, https://edl.ecml.at/languagetrivia, https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

    6. Set up your own treasure/scavenger hunt

    You can do this the ‘traditional way’ with a series of items or tasks to be carried out at or found at different locations or use an app such as Actionbound. Participants then have 10-15 tasks to carry out within a certain timeframe. These can be ‘multiple choice’ or ‘open’ questions, such as ‘write down 10 dishes originating from other countries and with foreign names that are available in a certain area of the town or city’, or ‘find at least two pathways leading through the city park that are named after cities in other countries’. Each question to be answered or item to be found can be allocated a number of points in order to turn the activity into a competition. The hunt can either be carried out in small groups of 3-4 or individually. If you are organising it as a competition, you will likely need to consider an appropriate prize to add further incentive!

    Focus: classroom activity

    Resources: https://edl.ecml.at/quiz (inspiration for questions to run as a virtual treasure hunt), Actionbound, ICT inventory of OERs

    7. EDL secret agent’s language challenges handbook

    Here you have 51 challenges to choose from, that can be carried out over an agreed period of time – so there is plenty of choice of activities to undertake! If you only have a short time available, you can even let the ‘wheel of fortune’ decide which challenge to take. If you decide to take the 51st challenge, you are invited to create a short video clip, based either on the one of the existing challenges or on one of your own invention, and upload it to the EDL website.

    Some ideas for this final challenge are:

  • “Show how you are cooking your favourite national recipe”
  • “Recommend a movie from your country in a foreign language”
  • “Recreate a country you would like to visit in your home”
  • “Film a one minute workout in a language you are learning”

    • The Handbook of language challenges is currently available in 37+ languages. Don’t forget to reward yourself with a certificate if you complete 10 or more challenges!

    Focus: individually or in groups

    Resources: https://edl.ecml.at/languagechallenge

    8. The secret agent’s language challenges app

    The challenges and quizzes contained within this app encourage learners – future international agents – to take advantage of the plentiful opportunities available to practice or learn more about a language beyond a classroom context. By passing through a series of 7 levels you can rise from a lowly agent in training to become a master secret agent.

    You can compete with friends in achieving challenges, identifying countries and languages and completing quizzes. The challenges go from the easy, such as, “count from 1-10 in 3 different languages within one minute” to ones that are a bit more demanding, “together with a friend, write the words to a song/rap in a foreign language.

    The app, developed with the support of the European Commission, is available in 31+ languages.

    Focus: individually or in groups

    Resource: https://edl.ecml.at/app

    9. Language fair

    This can be as small- or large-scale as you wish. You need to divide the students into groups and have each group represent a country. If everyone wants to choose the same country you can randomly select a country for each team by drawing lots or using an online tool like Wheeldecide. The goal is for them to organize an activity for the fair around the country’s language. Some examples are cooking a traditional recipe, learning a typical dance or a song, or even doing a sketch or short play using a foreign language. The fair could be organized in a large space or even outdoors. The objective of the language fair would be to encourage students to discover the world around them and demonstrate that there is more than one way to learn a new language.

    Focus: whole school/classroom activity

    Resources: Wheeldecide link

    For inspiration: https://languagesconnect.ie/thinklanguages/

    10. International online tandem

    A very effective way to learn a language is through tandem learning, i.e. practising with a native speaker. To make sure your students don't miss out on the great opportunity of learning a language together with a native speaker, how about organizing an international online tandem?

    This is an activity that requires a certain amount of organization, so to make it easier your school might consider joining the European Commission's eTwinning platform. eTwinning promotes school collaboration in Europe through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). It allows teachers to search for other registered eTwinners and schools, connect with them, and collaborate on different activities.

    By joining this platform, your school could easily get in touch with a foreign school in the eTwinning network and organize the international online tandem. Of course, this event can be organized as many times as you wish and with different language combinations to enable students of different foreign languages to participate. The goal is to make international friends and practise your language skills as much as possible.

    Focus: whole school/classroom activity

    Resources: https://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/index.htm

    For inspiration: example of an eTwinning event

    11. Board games day

    Organize a ‘board games day’ with your students to show them just how much fun languages can be! Students can be divided into groups and rotate from game to game. For added motivation, you can also split the class into groups but have them all play the same game to see who wins.

    The idea behind the activity is for students to practice the language they are learning in a fun way, so they might not even realise they are actually learning!

    For the 2024 European Day of Languages, the European Centre for Modern Languages is developing a brand-new board game on languages. The new game will be available to try out from the 2nd week in September (to find out further details see: https://edl.ecml.at/EDLboardgame")

    Focus: classroom activity

    Resources: https://www.spanishplayground.net/spanish-board-games, https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/teacherzone/try-these-classic-board-games-in-class/ (these are just some board game ideas that can easily be adapted to any other languages)

    12. EDL T-shirt contest

    Every year, the European Centre for Modern Languages organizes a T-shirt competition on the occasion of the European Day of Languages. So why not encourage your students to take part?

    To enter the competition, all students have to do is create a design/image/graphic that meets the requirements listed on our website and upload it to our platform: https://edl.ecml.at/tshirtcontest

    The winner will not only get to see their design displayed on all of our t-shirts, but he/she will also be featured on our website! Time to get your ideas flowing!

    Focus: whole school/classroom activity

    Resources: https://edl.ecml.at/tshirt (here you can check out our t-shirt store and read more about previous winners and their designs!)

    13. Foreign cinema festival

    A great way for your students to improve their listening skills is by watching films in a foreign language. So how about organising an ‘international film festival’? You can do this at either class or school level, depending on the space you have available. Moreover, the festival can last as many days as you want! It may not be Cannes or the Venice festival but you can certainly find a catchy title for it!

    You can choose films from different countries and in different languages. Of course, depending on the students' level in the language, you may need to use subtitled versions of the films. This festival will help students improve their skills without them even realising and will also stimulate their interest in other languages and cultures.

    You can also find out more about Eurimages, the Council of Europe’s support fund which promotes independent filmmaking at European level. Many of the films supported through the fund are world-renowned and have won awards at major film festivals.

    Focus: whole school/classroom activity

    Resources: https://www.coe.int/en/web/eurimages/eurimages-prize-list, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/best-international-films-for-kids, https://thelearningadventure.com/2020/04/language-films-students, https://www.negrabohemian.com/blog/2019/4/2/20-foreign-movies-to-watch-with-kids (some film ideas for language teachers)

    14. Start a book club

    Another easy and fun way to improve students' reading comprehension and vocabulary in a foreign language is to start a book club. This type of activity not only helps to promote a love of reading, but also improves language skills in many areas, such as writing and spelling. In addition, this activity can be used with different groups of students, regardless of age.

    To establish a successful online book club, don’t forget to consider the students' interests when selecting the books - to ensure that they are motivated and enthusiastic about this activity. It is also important to choose books that correspond to the language level of the students in the respective foreign language.

    The link below provides some helpful for setting up an online book club. Happy reading!

    Focus: whole classroom activity

    Resource: https://bookclubz.com/,

    15. GeoGuessr challenge

    What better way to encourage your students to practise foreign languages than with a challenge? GeoGuessr is an online geographic discovery game that drops the player in a series of random locations around the globe and challenges them to find out where they are! To do so, players must pay close attention to their surroundings.

    Luckily for us, one of the best clues you can get while playing GeoGuessr relates to languages. Students will come across all sorts of signs, advertisements and so on during their game. Recognising these alphabets and languages and where they are spoken will help them to find out which country, city or area they are in. They will need to pinpoint their location on the map, earning more points the closer they get to the spot chosen by GeoGuessr.

    Moreover, there are different game modes. In some, your students will have a time limit to find out their location. In other modes, you can choose whether you want your students to play worldwide, or whether you want GeoGuessr to place them in a specific country or area to focus on a particular language or culture. A fun time is guaranteed!

    Focus: whole classroom activity

    Resources: https://www.geoguessr.com

    For inspiration: https://srtaspanish.com/2018/05/04/geoguessr-lets-explore-the-world/

    16. Organise a ‘special edition’ newspaper for the Day of Languages

    ...either for your class or for the whole school/institution. This can be as small- or large-scale as you wish.

    However, to begin, you will need an editorial team consisting of journalists and a photographer to develop your very own Language Tribune, Herald, Bugle, Times, or whichever title you choose for your newspaper, to be published on 26th September!

    What might it include? Like any typical newspaper, it can feature a variety of interesting articles and features: an editorial, interviews - perhaps with the school principal on why languages are important, with pupils who are interested in a particular language, with teachers on what first attracted them to the language they teach, or with any polyglots you have access to! How about emphasising the resources that are easily accessible within your school or institution and in your locality; doing some online research on some of the places in your town or city whose names originate from other languages and why, or find out some interesting facts about languages in a ‘Did you know section?’. You could also include the lyrics of a popular song in a foreign language (perhaps with a translation). You can even develop a crossword or quiz on languages. Just about every newspaper has a sports section or a gossip column, so why not profile a sports ‘celebrity’ or other ‘star’ in your area who has a different language background?

    Of course, if you wish to make it more challenging, how about producing a bilingual version?

    Focus: whole-school/classroom activity

    Resource pages: https://edl.ecml.at/downloads, an example

    17. Learn how to say "Hello" in several languages

    Students collaborate in small groups to design posters featuring greetings like "Hello" or "How are you?" in various languages. The pupils presenting the posters or vocalising the greeting are recorded on video, for example using a mobile phone. The clips can be combined into a single video presenting the results of the activity, or a competition can be organised to see in how many languages the pupils can make the greeting within a limited time period (for example one minute).

    The aim is to teach pupils about language diversity and further motivate them to study foreign languages.

    Focus: classroom activity

    Resource pages: https://edl.ecml.at/downloads, an example

    18. The great multilingual joke book (or Make me laugh!)

    In how many languages can you make someone laugh? A sense of humour and what someone finds amusing are often considered to be influenced by the language(s) they speak and their cultural background. In order to test out whether this is really the case, and during a time where there has not been much to laugh about, we are inviting you to send us your best jokes. The jokes can be in your own language(s) or a language you are learning - the most important thing is that they are funny! They can of course be related to language or adaptable to different languages but the primary criteria is that they are amusing! Submit your favourite joke! If your joke makes it past a very strict jury (comprised of individuals who don’t laugh much!) your joke may be selected to feature in the ‘greatest ever (or perhaps only!) multilingual joke book’ to be published after the EDL.

    Focus: classroom activity

    Resources: https://edl.ecml.at/jokebook

    19. New: Lara’s next journey - through Europe’s Regional and Minority Languages

    Lara sets off on a new language journey! In this chapter of her journey, Lara explores the fascinating world of regional and minority languages, uncovering numerous linguistic treasures along the way, fueled by her curiosity!

    Having found out about some 46 of Europe’s more prominent languages on her first journey, this trip sees Lara scratch beneath the surface and explore languages which are not so well known beyond the areas they are spoken in. In some cases, the languages she encounters have several dialects, some do not have a standardised written form or can be or can be transcribed in different scripts. Additionally, many of these languages are experiencing a decline in native speakers. In all cases, however, the languages have a proud tradition and very dedicated and active communities of speakers seeking to preserve their linguistic heritage for generations to come.

    Focus: classroom activity

    Resources: https://edl.ecml.at/languagejourney, https://edl.ecml.at/Activities/languagejourney/guideforteachers/tabid/3227/Default.aspx

    20. Test out your knowledge of Europe’s languages

    There is a wealth of information on the EDL website relating to Europe’s languages, including language facts, trivia, famous quotes, quizzes (with a Kahoot quiz also in preparation!) as well as languages games. Why not organise a language contest for your class based on one or more of these activities?

    Focus: classroom activity

    Resources: https://edl.ecml.at/quiz, https://edl.ecml.at/languagetrivia, https://edl.ecml.at/languagefacts, https://edl.ecml.at/braingame, https://edl.ecml.at/Activities/languagejourney/guideforteachers/tabid/3227/Default.aspx, https://edl.ecml.at/signlanguage, https://edl.ecml.at/quotes