Renowned film director Federico Fellini once claimed, “A different language is a different vision of life.” If true, then Leaside High students have the unique opportunity to see the world in technicolour, especially during the Celebration of Languages, which took place last December, and for the first time, lasted an entire week.
LHS is no stranger to giving instruction in foreign tongues. It is one of 14 TDSB secondary schools offering French Immersion. It’s a well-established program now in its 39th year, and it serves close to half the student population. Over the years LHS has also afforded students the opportunity to learn German, Spanish, Latin and Italian. I recall my daughter studying Italian with beloved teacher Enrico Vicentini and raving about the field trip to an authentic Italian pizzeria. There’s no doubt that Leaside languages teachers practise their craft with flair.
The most recent example of the ingenuity and dedication of faculty – language teachers as well as those in ESL and special education – was the Celebration of Languages.
Celebrating languages
Leah Raghunath has taught French at LHS since 2015 and recently assumed a leadership role. “We have always done activities that celebrate languages, especially French and Spanish,” Raghunath explained, “but this year it was decided we would also highlight languages spoken by many of the students of LHS.” So, along with French and Spanish, Cantonese, Arabic and Russian were also feted; altogether 14 languages were featured.
Much of the work was done by Raghunath’s Grade 11 Leadership class, a popular course taught traditionally in English, but for the first time also offered to French students. They organized 12 language stations that the entire student body could visit on the ultimate day of the event. They also learned firsthand what cross-curricular cooperation looks like since they worked with ESL students and the World Language Social club in bringing the concept to fruition.
Raghunath fitted the Celebration of Languages event into the course curriculum; it became the culminating activity. This allowed students to work in small groups to plan and advertise the itinerary. The first day was a lunchtime trivia challenge which pitted the Reach for the Top team against teachers. Three of the students stepped up and became DJs who played international music each morning as students moved to their classes. The week also included interactive games, charades and bingo during the lunch hour.
The events were well attended, and participant feedback was positive. But some of the most telling comments came from the students themselves. According to Trishna Shah, “Celebrating cultural diversity is extremely important, especially if we want to create a more understanding and inclusive world, and starting within our school community felt like a meaningful first step.” She noted that “seeing students smile, participate, and learn made the experience incredibly rewarding.”
Leadership student Zoe Lofthouse summed up well what many were feeling: “The event gave me the confidence to step out and learn about languages of which I didn’t know a single word.” And they certainly experienced a different vision of life.
