European Day of Languages
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A talk by Anna Margrét Bjarnadóttir on European Day of Languages and a video from the school's students.
European Day of Languages was celebrated on the 26th of September. In the run-up to the day, the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute for Foreign Languages at the University of Iceland hosted discussions on the importance of languages and language teaching. Well-known figures from society and students were encouraged to take part in a discussion about this national issue. On the institution's Facebook page, interviews were published and participation was encouraged by submitting videos or written reflections based on the following questions:
- What is the use of language skills?
- How do you think language teaching should be?
Anna Margrét Bjarnadóttir, a Danish teacher and subject leader at Víðistaðaskóli, gave a speech at a celebratory event at the University of Iceland for the occasion, discussing attitudes towards language teaching and the language teacher's struggle in this regard, based on her own experience. Not least concerning the struggle with students' attitudes towards the purpose of learning Danish, and the challenge of changing teaching methods – particularly among those students who are accustomed to traditional teaching methods. – and the struggle with one's own attitudes on how to implement one's intentions to introduce new teaching methods and make the goals of increased oral proficiency and a focus on authentic, culturally-related texts a reality.
At Víðistaðaskóli, pupils worked on a project about the importance of language teaching in collaboration between the English and Danish teachers in the week leading up to European Day of Languages. The students worked with the above-mentioned questions and were encouraged to choose for themselves which language they wanted to use for their poster and/or video. They worked in groups and came up with many good ideas regarding the value of languages and language teaching.
Below are the slides from Anna Margrét Bjarnadóttir's presentation, which include videos from current and former students of the school.
Slides by Anna Margrét Bjarnadóttir can be accessed here.
You can also have a look at the website of the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute. and see more exciting clips and reflections from students
