Building Cultural Connections from the Classroom

Fiona Pryce

If school budgets and staff resources were limitless, overseas trips and foreign exchanges would no doubt be a key  feature of every MFL department’s calendar. They’re a great way to balance in-class learning with engaging, immersive experiences around the globe. In reality, budgeting, staffing, increased red tape and scheduling pressure mean that a number of schools have been forced to cut back on these activities (or cancel them altogether).

If this story sounds like a familiar one, you’re not alone. According to findings shared by the House of Lords, school overseas trips in 2023 were down 30% when compared with four years earlier.^[1] There are, however, several different approaches that could help you and your school get the balance back: bringing the world of language learning much closer to home.

Start with your school’s unique culture

The rich tapestry of our local and national communities mean that many school children experience (either personally or within their own communities) more than one language and may have links with people, countries and cultures abroad.

Host conversations that offer students a chance to share their backgrounds. What languages do their friends and family speak? When do they celebrate holidays and what food do they like most? What is traditional for their heritage country that isn’t here? Encourage interested students to create a presentation for the class or even for an assembly. The opportunities to make this a really interesting, whole-school initiative are all there.

Create space for some friendship circles 

If you ever took part in a foreign exchange trip yourself, you’ll know how much difference one connection can make in motivating a student to stay engaged. It’s how my lifetime love of language teaching and learning began. When young people can use what they’ve been taught to make new connections, enjoy a chat, share a joke, or plan a future real-life adventure, that’s the power of language learning in action. Luckily, fostering these kinds of friendships from one side of the world to the other is something within almost every school’s reach.

Explore the links you’re able to make with schools in other countries that speak your chosen language. Encourage your students to communicate with their overseas friend, either by text, email or even a video call. This can give them a brilliant opportunity to practise their informal writing (and speaking) skills, asking questions and working out their own answers; building their speaking confidence and enhancing their classroom experience.

A separate yet no less effective option could be to investigate partnership opportunities within local universities. Most host international undergraduates and/or exchange students, and many will be open to building connections. Secondary students might find this link to older learners especially motivational, and a possible inspiration for their future career and studies.

Make the most of music

Another relatable topic that I’ve seen spark a love of languages at any age is music – which can unlock so much about foreign cultures. Make a language class more engaging by sharing examples of different singers, groups, musicians and composers. Unpick the lyrics together line by line, practising aural skills and adding vocabulary. Invite students to create their own versions in your chosen language. You could even link up with your school’s music teacher, for a chance for some cross-curricular learning: asking whether your students can learn a particular piece of music this term. One of my favourite teaching memories is a Year 9 class enthusiastically performing a grammar song, along with flashcards, ukuleles and percussion!

The same concept can work in drama and dance lessons too. Perhaps students could explore script writers from different countries, or tap in to different dance styles from around the world. And if you feel inspired to go even bigger, why not host an event where year groups combine their learnings to create a small play, assembly, show and/or end of year celebration?

Artfully inspire them

Some learners may prefer to find their way forward in languages through the medium of visual art. Again, this is a resource most of us have at our fingertips, whether through technology or existing resources in school or your local community – and the options are endless. Start by introducing your students to artists and art movements from your chosen country.

You could take them down more traditional avenues like Impressionism from France, Cubism from Spain, or Expressionism from Germany. You could break the canon up and look at influential artists whose lives themselves are incredible stories – like the fantastical painter Frida Kahlo, whose love of learning multiple languages might inspire students even more.

And just as you can with music, you can play with fusing ideas and sparking competitions. Can students encompass a culture in their own masterpiece? How about multiple cultures? The results could lead to a brilliant display in your school’s entrance or corridors, for everyone else to see and enjoy (and, with any luck, learn from)…

Cook up a batch of excitement

Or maybe it’s the taste of a place and its dishes that will hook them in. After all, we can learn so much about a country’s culture from its food. That may be by starting conversations about dining rituals (times, styles, celebrations). It may also be by considering the history: what traditions and trades from that region are there and why? What does this say about that place’s relationship to the land, the water and even its neighbours?

What does it say about the ways different groups within that country interact and adopt different ideas from each other? Are there any ingredients or dishes from other countries that students have bought or tried in the UK, or recipes they’d like to try making? I have previously taught students about the history of fairtrade bananas in Spanish speaking communities, brought in chorizo and tortilla for them to try, and set them a cooking challenge.

If possible, pair up with your school’s Food Technology teachers to keep that learning cross-curricular – chat to school canteen staff too, and establish if there is capacity to champion different cultures and cuisines at any point.

Or think a bit further outside the box and contact local restaurants and organisations. Would any of them be willing to donate specialist ingredients, demonstrate styles of preparation and cooking (even better if they can simultaneously help students practise their language skills). Maybe they’d like to collaborate to develop a delicious food-themed project, or even be a judge?

If the world of overseas trips and exchanges feels out of reach at your school, I hope some (or all) of these ideas will help you bring the world alive – and your learners’ love of languages too.

Fiona Pryce, formerly a language teacher of 20 years, including Head of Languages, now MFL Senior Qualification Manager for Pearson

For information on Pearson’s More than words campaign and their new language GCSEs, please visit: go.pearson.com/MFLGCSE24

[1] lordslibrary.parliament.uk/educational-trips-and-exchanges-budget-challenges-post-brexit-travel-and-the-introduction-of-the-turing-scheme