By Mrs L Robertson, Head of MFL
 
Studying a foreign language can be seen by many as a challenge at the best of times, but here at Felsted the MFL Department have been delighted by the exceptional effort and engagement of our pupils under lockdown. This week, we have seen particularly careful and detailed work from Alex T-A, Milly A-G, Zoia O and Scarlett W-H. Scarlett's review is about what she has been up to in lockdown, Scarlett is an ab initio IB Diploma student who has been learning Italian for only eight months! click here to view.
 

Well done to them all! As well as continuing to learn their vocabulary and tackle new structures, all of our pupils have now got more freedom of time to be more creative and to explore different cultures.

For example, the Lower Sixth IB have been looking at ways to offer online tutoring to disabled pupils in France who cannot access the support available to them during school closure, and this week we are encouraging all our pupils to get involved in the University of Cambridge's poetry competition "Mother Tongue Other Tongue". This challenge gives them an opportunity to express their feelings at this unusual time as well as to celebrate the cultural diversity within our school community. Watch out for some of the entries in the weeks to follow!

We have also encouraged all our older students to consider intensive on-line language learning opportunities, such as those run by The Language Gap, which might replace any plans they had to go on similar courses which have had to be cancelled this summer. Our pupils are also enjoying films, recommended by their teachers and peers, as well as playing songs to keep in touch with the language on a regular basis. Both these activities can be enjoyed by the whole family and this week, you can access a range of short films in lots of different languages via myfrenchfilmfestival.com, which have been made freely available until 25th May. We look forward to hearing your reviews (in any language you would like!).