The Lanyard Challenge

The 2025 Languages Week commenced with a lanyard challenge. The aim was to find as many foreign words from teachers of all subjects. This engrossing challenge kept the students engaged all day long. It was a fun interactive challenge that included learning new words in different languages. It was interesting to learn about new words that I would otherwise not have learned like Aschenputtel which means Cinderella in German and many more. It was fun to do this challenge with my friends.

Tate B & Destina S, Year 7

Languages AM Culture Club: Q&A with Alumnae Linguists

A new MFL club has been established at Channing on Tuesday mornings to explore the rich culture connected to languages around the world. During Languages Week, this club featured a Q&A with some of Channing’s alumnae: students who have recently graduated from the Universities of Leeds and Edinburgh, and one currently attending the University of Cambridge. These guest speakers shared their experiences studying languages which included French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

Throughout the session, Channing pupils engaged in small group discussions, asking questions and hearing about the variety of pathways available to those pursuing languages beyond school. We heard about the range of opportunities for the year abroad, including studying at partner universities, spending time working, or becoming a language assistant at a secondary school. The alumnae also reflected on their time at university, exploring the options available for study, including literature, film, and business, and student life more generally.

A huge thank you to both the MFL Department for the organisation of the event, and to the participating alumnae for such an insightful view into the exciting opportunities that education in languages provides!

Siana C, Year 12

Languages Assembly  

After an introduction by Ms Pavlopoulos on the cognitive, cultural and employability benefits of language learning, Alix, Lili and Sophia, three Channing alumnae, spoke in the Languages Week Assembly. They shared their opinions on and their exciting experiences of studying languages (and more) at University. Alix described her year abroad in the Saarland teaching students English. Lili detailed the year she spent living, working and studying abroad in Paris as a part of her degree. Sophia described the challenges and pleasure of learning Italian from scratch at university and how well Channing had set her up for this. It was incredibly enlightening for all students, as it gave a view of language-related career and study paths one could go down, and even helped lay foundations for younger students who may be interested in languages alongside other subjects such as Business and History. The whole student body is incredibly grateful for the experience, and thank the MFL department and alumnae for this learning opportunity.

Keira A, Year 12

Trip to the Swiss Embassy  

During this week a small group of keen linguists from Years 10-13 went to visit the Swiss Embassy in Marylebone. We received an insightful talk from Dr Lutz-Peter Berg, Head of Science and Innovation at the Embassy, learning about the internal structure of the Embassy itself, but also the involvement it has in connecting Swiss entrepreneurs with UK finance and trading partners. We also heard from an intern, hoping to work as a diplomat in the future, about what qualifications and experiences had driven his further engagement in this field of work. Overall, it was a highly valuable experience for all students who attended to learn about the intricacies of diplomacy, and how we can get involved with it in the future! Thank you to Ms Pavlopoulos and Ms Wilberforce who accompanied us.

Anna G, Year 13

How Grimm are German Fairy Tales?

Everyone had the opportunity to come along to Mr Meier’s fascinating talk, “How Grimm are German Märchen (fairy tales)?”. By the end of the talk, we learnt that German fairy tales really are very gruesome and about how modern-day fairy tales have been sanitised to make them seem more child-friendly. We found it particularly interesting how much the original fairy tales had been changed over the years but it made sense due to the amount of gore and violence that was in them! Overall, it was a fascinating and very entertaining experience that will also help with our understanding of German now that we know some of the history and culture.

Ettie and Octavia, Year 8

French & Spanish Debates

Pendant la Semaine de Langues, j’ai eu l’occasion enrichissante de participer à un débat français sur un sujet à la fois difficile et fascinant: la France devrait-elle suivre l’exemple du Royaume-Uni en quittant l’Union européenne, surnommé « Frexit » ? Parler d’une question aussi actuelle en français m’a poussé hors de ma zone de confort, mais cela m’a également donné la chance d’exprimer des idées compliquées dans une langue étrangère. De plus, cette expérience m’a fait réfléchir à des questions politiques, culturelles et sociales qui dépassent nos propres frontières. J’ai apprécié la possibilité d’échanger des arguments, d’écouter des perspectives différentes et de découvrir comment la langue peut ouvrir des portes vers de nouvelles idées.

Natasha B, Year 12

In A-Level Spanish we debated the motion ‘Spain’s migratory situation and policy is an example for other European countries.’ as part of our topic on immigration. This required us to think critically about all we had learnt to formulate a strong argument. The proposition highlighted Spain’s new immigration law of May 2025, which aims to legalise 900,000 immigrants and is far more flexible than other European countries’ policies. The opposition covered how, following this law, there has been an increase in migrant deaths on small boats and how Spain’s infrastructure is overwhelmed. We experienced a lot of to and fro, forcing us to think rapidly in Spanish to counter one another, which was very beneficial for our oral skills. While the proposition won, all of us took away improved skills from this opportunity.

Saskia C, Year 13

The Languages Hula Hoop Challenge

We think that the Hula Hoop challenge let us enjoy other languages along with our friends and allowed us to have a sense of competition. This also motivated us to be competitive and good team players. It’s a good way to learn languages in a fun and interesting way. It also lets us celebrate other cultures and our friends’ wins and victories. It let us create a sense of community and gave us a perspective of other cultures and countries. We also practised our language skills while hula hooping and we think that it was a very fun activity and a great experience to have for Languages Week. Thank you!

Amelia B & Mina T, Year 8