By Aidan Nowleiski
On Friday the 25th of February, BISB middle school students participated in a language-themed Kahoot quiz, as well as other fun activities in the Showa cafeteria. The planning and presenting of this year’s first language quiz was a joint effort spearheaded by both the Language ambassadors and a handful of committed teachers.
Ms. Louise Miller started the Language Ambassador program and was instrumental in making the language quiz a reality. We sat down with her so she could share her insights about the event.
How did this year’s first language quiz go?
The lunchtime activity was a language-themed Kahoot quiz attended by around 50 Middle School students and written with the help of two of our newly appointed Language Ambassadors, Emma Mirchev and Liv Davidson.
We opened with Emma's round on language trivia and followed with a round on language in music. Round 3 was a Blankety Blank style challenge in which students had to identify missing words in quotes about language learning. This was followed by questions surrounding the topics of people in language, with the quiz culminating in Liv's round, 'Lost in Translation.
How did this quiz event come to be?
Ms. Minto coordinated a series of departmental lunchtime activities for Middle Schools and when she asked me if the MFL department would like to do something, I immediately accepted and enlisted the help of our Language Ambassador team.
What did you hope to achieve, on top of providing students with a chance to unwind and have fun with their classmates, through the Language Quiz?
Fun was the primary objective but of course, the quiz contained some really important messages about the value of language learning, which are present in the numerous quotes and proverbs about polyglotism and language acquisition. I think the message is also conveyed effectively through the multilingualism present amongst BISB staff members.
You recently created the Language Ambassador program that envisaged this quiz and brought it to life, could you outline the key objectives of the program?
The purpose of the Language Ambassador program is to provide our talented and enthusiastic linguists with an opportunity to develop their leadership skills and serve the BISB community. It's been so interesting to listen to our ambassadors' ideas and to allow them to shape their role and steer our plans in the direction that they would like to see language opportunities develop in the school.
Are there any upcoming language-themed events in the works as we speak?
Yes, after Spring break, we will be launching a weekly language-themed lunchtime club. This will be run mainly by our Language Ambassador team and will feature diverse sessions ranging from languages such as Mandarin, Japanese, and American Sign Language to glimpses of culture from different countries. This is important to do since we do not offer some of these other languages.
Until we launch this initiative, the MFL Department's focus is very much on our exam candidates' oral exams. It is for this reason that we have recruited several native speakers and very strong linguists in High School to act as language mentors during lunchtime for our Year 11 students. They will run conversation practice sessions from 1:30 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays right up until the exam date. All Year 11 linguists are most welcome to join us as often as they want during these final few weeks.
Do you think a language quiz will ever spring up on our campus again?
Definitely! The quiz seemed to be a big hit with Middle School so we might do it with the High School soon.
The language quiz and the other events that took place were a great experience for participating students. The work of Ms. Miller and the MFL Department is continuing to play an important role in furthering the school. We thank Ms. Miller for speaking with us and sharing her thoughts about the evolving role of language and culture at BISB.
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