On Thursday, September 26, 2019, the French and German Departments of Athens College Elementary School held a joint event to celebrate European Languages Day.

On this day, 5^th grade students who take German as a 2^nd foreign language visited their counterparts who take French, in the latter’s classrooms.  The main objective of this activity was to have students communicate using the new foreign language that each was studying. Thus, with the help of their classmates, students learned to introduce themselves using both target languages and got a glimpse of typical cultural elements of German-speaking and French-speaking peoples. They wrapped up the activity by discussing the importance of learning foreign languages in today’s world, both for personal gain and for society at large.

In the same context, Athens College 6^th graders studying German met with Psychico College 5^th graders on Tuesday, October 1^st by the chessboard in the woods surrounding our schools.  The goal was to have 6^th graders and 5^th communicate with one another by jointly facing the famous German tongue-twister challenge. In the days preceding the activity, students with the help of their teachers worked on finding the funniest tongue-twisters. They then practiced individually and with classmates in order to master the skill of repeating the tongue-twisters both quickly and accurately.  The activity was particularly enjoyable. Students participated with enthusiasm, encouraging and applauding their classmates

Athens College 5^th and 6^th graders who take German enjoyed both activities, which helped them understand the importance of learning foreign languages.