Modern Language students at Solihull Sixth Form College took a trip to London last month to explore different cultures and cuisines and put their language skills to use.
A level Modern Language students would normally travel abroad for exchanges and/or work experience, but as the pandemic has prevented these trips abroad from taking place over the last two years, a trip to London was arranged instead. 33 students on our A level French, German, Russian and Spanish courses went on the trip to have a tour of European and Latin American art in Tate Modern and to have a taste of some European and Latin American food at Borough Market.
At the Tate Modern, the students saw works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Gerhard Richter and Marcel Duchamp and got an understanding of art movements such as Soviet Realism and Abstract Expressionism. The tour guides encouraged the students to use some of their foreign language skills by speaking in the foreign language or by getting the students to translate words on the artworks.
In Borough Market, the students were set the task of finding and trying food from the country of their foreign language. This was undoubtedly easiest for the students of Spanish as there was such an array of Spanish and Latin American food on offer. There was a competition for the best photo of food or the most artistic photo for each language.
Assistant Curriculum Leader for English and Modern Languages, Deborah Smail-Ross, commented:
“It was great to take students out of the classroom again and to give them authentic cultural experiences of the countries whose language they are studying. The students really enjoyed the trip, their first one since being in Year 9 or Year 10 and for many, it was also their first time in London.”
9 March 2022