European Day of Languages

European Day of Languages

The European Day of Languages (EDL) is celebrated across Europe on the 26th of September every year. It aims to promote the rich linguistic diversity of Europe and raise awareness of the importance of lifelong language learning for everyone. It was set up by the Council of Europe and was first celebrated in 2001. Why not celebrate with your class, and use this opportunity to raise the profile of languages in your school.



Ideas for your school

SCILT has put together lots of ideas to support you in celebrating the European Day of Languages in your school. We have grouped them into primary and secondary ideas, as well as ideas for parents and families, and provided a suggested timeframe for each activity:

Schools organising events to celebrate EDL 2023 are invited to upload details of their event to the EDL events calendar, a Europe-wide calendar hosted by the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML). There will be a prize for the most innovative event.

Blogs

Tell us how you celebrate the European Day of Languages and we will feature you in our EDL 2023 blog. If you include some colourful photos your article could even appear in our next newsletter! Just submit your entry via our EDL blog form

For more ideas on how to celebrate, view the SCILT EDL blogs from previous years:

Competitions

The ECML are inviting entries for their EDL t-shirt contest. Submit your entry online and your design could be on the official EDL t-shirt for 2024!

For 2023 ECML are running two new initiatives: Languages in my classroom/school and The beauty of languages. Design a poster or record a video, and you might feature on the ECML website and even win a prize.

Find even more activities, games and facts on the ECML website.

Posters

The ECML have created two infographic posters with 20 things you might not know about the world of languages. 

Visit their website to download the posters in English, French, German and more.

                               

Useful websites

Ideas to celebrate European Day of Languages across all areas of school life. Some are whole lessons, others are short activities which could be used as starters or fillers.

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Find quizzes and postcards and more ideas for celebrating.

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Choose from 10 accessible EDL activities and combine them in a way that suits you. Or download our EDL resource that will help learners celebrate the rich diversity of languages and cultures that exist across Europe today.

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Fun facts about European languages and why language-learning is a fantastic skill to develop.

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Ideas for celebrating cultural and linguistic diversity.

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Ideas for a successful EDL celebration in your primary school, including using maps, puppets and portrait lessons.

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Teacher-designed European Day of Languages resources. Choose from our PowerPoints, quizzes, activities and displays to find the perfect fit for your class.

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An interactive Escape Room to celebrate European Day of Languages. Suitable for both primary and secondary.

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Top tips for running a successful European Day of Languages event.

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In preparation for the big day, we’ve picked out some lesson inspiration in the form of displays, games and assemblies to help you to share your passion for languages with pupils and colleagues alike.

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Join others all across the continent on 26 September to celebrate the annual European Day of Languages – with a song! A quick activity, easy to manage, for teachers and pupils all you need is internet access, sound and projection equipment.

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The United Nations declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages to raise awareness about these languages and their contribution to global diversity. To help preserve them this Google Earth tour shares audio recordings from more than 50 Indigenous language speakers.

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Here we take a look at 4 ideas to help celebrate the European Day of Languages in your school, including 'Who wants to be a millionaire?' and a European Food Market.

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Download this small booklet where you will find examples of the many languages spoken in Europe.

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Why not start (or end) this year with a themed day? Celebrating the European Day of Languages is a great starting point!

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University of Strathclyde Education Scotland British Council Scotland The Scottish Government
SCILT - Scotlands National centre for Languages