Local primary schools will receive new educational resources celebrating multilingualism, cultural diversity and the languages of Aberdeen and beyond as part of an initiative led by the University of Aberdeen.
To mark the European Day of Language (September 26) Aberlangs in a Box, a new collection of educational resources for primary schools, will help to improve the visibility of Aberdeen’s linguistic diversity.
The initiative is part of Aberlangs: City of Languages, a collaborative programme at the University of Aberdeen which aims to promote Aberdeen as a City of Languages and celebrate multilingualism as a positive force within the city and its surrounding communities.
Aberlangs brings together researchers from Modern Languages, Linguistics, Education, and the Elphinstone Institute, working with schools, councils, community organisations and other local and regional partners. The initiative highlights the value of languages including Scottish languages as well as home, heritage and community languages from around the world.
Aberlangs in a Box takes this wider work into the classroom with resources that have been designed for pupils at the end of primary education and encourage children to explore language, culture and multilingualism in creative and accessible ways.
Fifty-two physical resource boxes will be distributed to primary schools, in Aberdeen city alongside digital versions of the activities available through the Aberlangs website.
Activities encourage pupils to think about how languages work and how they differ, while also inviting them to discover new vocabulary, cultures and perspectives.
Among the activities are ‘Spin the Wheel’, an interactive vocabulary game, and ‘Global Greetings’, which encourages pupils to explore cultural connections and discover more about languages and communities.
A central creative activity introduces pupils to the Cartonera format - a hand-crafted book tradition that emerged from grassroots publishing movements in Latin America. Through this activity, pupils are encouraged to reflect on the languages and cultures that form part of their own lives and communities.
Teachers will also be provided with prompts to help their classes create their own cartoneras, giving pupils the opportunity to tell their own stories and explore the languages present in their classrooms, families and communities.
In addition to the boxes, schools will receive a copy of The Atlas of Languages, a beautiful and engaging book which invites readers on an exciting journey of languages through continents, countries and cultures. The Aberlangs team said: “European Day of Languages is the perfect time to launch Aberlangs in a Box and celebrate the remarkable linguistic diversity of Aberdeen and the North East. We want children to see languages as much more than subjects to be studied in the classroom - they are part of who we are, where we come from and the communities we live in.
“Aberdeen has always been an international city, shaped by centuries of movement, exchange and migration, and today this is reflected in the many languages spoken across our communities.
“Aberlangs in a Box brings that diversity into the classroom, giving children the opportunity to discover new languages and cultures while also recognising and celebrating the languages that are already part of their own lives.”
The resources are the latest development in Aberlangs’ programme of research and public engagement. The wider initiative is aligned with the Cities of Languages scheme, which seeks to recognise multilingualism as an asset to individuals and communities and to bring together universities, schools, councils and communities around languages. Aberlangs is Scotland’s first City of Languages under the scheme.