International Languages Superheroes power language learning

School children from South Wales completed a training day at Cardiff University to become International Languages Superheroes.

The course, which was run by Routes into Languages Cymru on 12 and 14 June, saw over 90 primary school children in year 5 engage in various activities throughout the day which aimed to spark a passion for language learning and improve language skills.

Throughout the day, various language workshops were held by academic staff at the School of Modern Languages and Swansea University as well as Routes into Languages Cymru’s Student Language Ambassadors.

The workshops were designed to teach children about languages and the cultures of the countries where those languages are spoken. This included learning about Spanish music and the Paris 2024 Olympics during the Spanish and French workshops. The children also received language taster workshops in German, Italian, and Portuguese.

Having spent the day immersed in languages, the children were each given an International Languages Superheroes handbook of challenges to complete with their peers once they returned to their schools.

Nazaret Perez-Nieto is the Academic Director for Routes into Languages Cymru. She said: “Our International Languages Superheroes had an absolute blast learning so many interesting facts about languages and cultures. They have taken their role very seriously and are ready and excited to spread the love for language learning among their peers in their schools and communities.

“The events have been a huge success and we cannot wait to see the wonderful ideas and initiatives these little superheroes are going to come up with. We are also very much looking forward to the completion of the exciting challenges the Routes into Languages Cymru team have prepared for them.”

The success of the events has been echoed on a wider University level by the announcement that Routes into Languages Cymru has been nominated for the Excellence in Civic Mission or Public Engagement award 2024 as part of Cardiff University’s Celebrating Excellence scheme. The winners of the award will be announced in November. Congratulations to Routes into Languages Cymru on being nominated!