My Year 4 son has discovered Duolingo, the language learning app. He is whizzing through the levels, while we sit back, admiring his autonomy and marvelling at just how many sentences you can make involving “un chat et un chien”.
My son is dyslexic and it has been suggested twice already during his schooling that we should consider removing French from his curriculum so that he can focus on developing his English literacy skills. While I understand the rationale behind this, to remove a second language now would deny him other learning opportunities. The Canadian psycholinguist, Frank Smith, once wrote that, “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” Regardless of whether Rory can remember the French word for ‘cat’ or ‘dog’, by studying another language, he is honing his listening skills, developing his problem-solving skills and building resilience, qualities that will be crucial for future success. He is also learning about different cultures and realising that there are other ways of doing things (“Yes, the adjective does come after the noun in French!”). With each mini discovery, another door opens.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve welcomed Spanish students from IES Hispalis in Seville and French students from the Collège Notre Dame de Toutes Aides in Nantes on their return exchange visits. Planning an exchange is a hugely time-consuming and complex affair. Many schools stopped running them years ago. I am delighted that things are different at Brighton Girls. Thanks to the determination of Madame Cormack and her team, and to the generosity of our parents who volunteered to host, our students can benefit from these transformative experiences.
As Madame Cormack and Madame Coombes wrote in their thank you letter to parents this week, the impact is clear to see: “We have noticed that our students are more curious about the language and now have the desire to pursue their language studies further. They faced their fears and realised what they could achieve when they put their mind to it”. Language skills have improved, and courage has been gained. More doors open.
As I write this blog, our Year 7s are enjoying a magical cross-curricular experience. They are staying on La Ferme Européenne des Enfants in Haute Normandie – or the French Farm Trip as it’s affectionately called. This trip is something of a Brighton Girls tradition and it’s great to see it back after a COVID-induced break. In addition to developing their language skills, students have been milling flour, baking, tending to the animals, crafting with wool, investigating the pollution levels in the pond, and dabbling in carpentry. Doors are opening left, right and centre: they are learning about sustainability, about the great outdoors and, no doubt, learning a lot about themselves and each other in the process.
Yet, while one door opens, another one closes. The Year 7s have been given another sizable challenge this week. To some it seemed insurmountable.
They have endured five days without their mobile phones.
Which reminds me – there is another reason why my son is working so hard on the Duolingo app: he doesn’t want to break his 24-day streak.
But that is a different matter altogether and something for another blog!
