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Bringing Unity through the Celebration of Diversity

Kyra And Classmate Erina Displaying An Apple Pie

Above: Kyra (left) and her classmate with an American apple pie.

By Jaleh S., YES Abroad 2016-2017, Macedonia

The European Day of Languages, an international event sponsored by the Council of Europe, is dedicated to recognizing the diversity of languages spoken throughout the world. This year, the European Day of Languages was September 26, and schools all over the European continent planned events meant to engage students in learning about a variety of international languages. Several Macedonian schools participated in the day, including Gymnasium Josip Broz Tito (JBT), which hosts YES Abroad students, including me.

At JBT, the 3rd year International Baccalaureate (IB) students and the school's English, Macedonian, Turkish, French, and German language departments were responsible for planning activities centered on different world languages. Each language represented had its own booth to showcase aspects of the language and the cultures of the countries it is spoken in.

Jaleh Serving Apple Pie At The  English Language Booth

As native English speakers and exchange students from the United States, Kyra, the other YES Abroad student at JBT, and I were responsible for helping with the English language booth. We presented pictures of the UK, Australia, and the U.S. as well as English-language books. We also served English tea and American apple pie, which were both a big hit. (Left: Jaleh serving apple pie at the English language booth.)

There was also an elaborate scavenger hunt planned and executed by our class in which each clue was in a different language (image below). Crowds of students ran around the school trying to decipher each of the clues for over an hour!

The main event of the day was a foreign language spelling bee where participants tried to spell out words in French, English, and German. At the end of the event, prizes were given out to the top spellers and the winners of the scavenger hunt.

Overall the day was a big success; there were over 100 participants in total, and we all left knowing a little more about European languages.

Ib Student Filip Hands Out Clues To Students