Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education
Locals in Parkwood enjoyed a day filled with different languages.
The Goethe-Institut in Parkwood invited numerous language schools and teachers to offer their expertise and knowledge in honour of the International Day of the Mother Languages.
The event aimed to promote South African diversity in learning multiple languages.
Along with the language crash classes, there were language games, child face painting, virtual reality experiences, musical performances, and a wide variety of food from local restaurants.
The programme began with different academies, and teachers took over the classrooms to share their language skills and the accompanying history and culture of the language.
PASCH Officer for the Goethe Institute, Jordan Coetsee, said, “Participants learned chiShona and Setswana at the Vambo Academy; Sesotho and siSwati at Bothabile; Farsi at Sam Sadeghi; and isiZulu and isiXhosa at Namgamso Zajiji.”
She adds that the crash courses in German, French, and Italian were offered by the Goethe-Institut, the Alliance Française, and the Dante Alighieri Society for European languages.
“Amongst the invitees was the Ukrainian Association, educating participants on the history of Ukraine, the beauty of the language and culture, and the fascinating Cyrillic alphabet.”
A well-known polyglot from the United Kingdom, Alex Rawlings, showed off his language skills, shared some “old school” language learning methods, and had a dialogue with the audience on the perceived value of certain languages, reviving dead languages, and the philosophical question of when one is done with a language.
