Christiane Günther and Ariane Laumonier
Swansea University
Overview
Building on the success of Languages Day in 2025, supported by UCFL, the event aimed to highlight the power of languages and their role in connecting people. As well as being in line with Curriculum for Wales and the new GCSE specifications, this year’s theme “Ein Byd, Ein Hieithoedd: Straeon sy’n Cysylltu – Our World, Our Languages: Stories That Connect Us” also encouraged pupils to explore languages through a different lens and develop their intercultural understanding and creativity.
Programme highlights
The event took place on Wednesday 1st July 2026 at Swansea University, Singleton Campus.
Postcard project
During the welcome session, each pupil received a postcard featuring a monument or landmark in another country. Pupils were asked to write greetings and their favourite word in another language. Postcards were collected and re-distributed during the “finale”, so each pupil received a new postcard, helping to create connections and stories between pupils.
Guest speakers
Building on the success of previous events and the positive feedback received regarding guest speakers, the event featured a range of guests during both the “welcome session” and the “finale”:
- Professor Richard Thomas, Head of the School of Culture and Communication, and Dr Rocio Perez-Tattam, Head of the Department of Languages, Linguistics and Cymraeg welcomed pupils and teachers to Singleton Campus.
- Dr Greg Herman, Senior Lecturer in French and Admission Tutor shared with attendees the opportunities that learning languages can offer.
- A current student shared their experience of studying languages and their upcoming year abroad.
- Dr Marlies Hoecherl, Honorary Consul of Germany and Switzerland in Wales, showcased the importance of learning languages.
- Dr Alison Williams, former Associate Professor of French at Swansea University delivered a keynote address on etymology, the evolution of languages and the ways in which languages connect us.
- Dr Christian Knoblauch, Lecturer in Classics at Swansea University shared his experience and stories about archaeology, languages and Egyptology.
- Dr Gwennan Higham, Senior Lecturer in Welsh, presented an address on the importance of the Welsh language, drawing on her own experience.
Language-specific sessions
The French session explored the links between food, history and stories. Pupils explored associations around the “madeleine de Proust”, recipes and idioms. Pupils then produced either a visual poetry or invented a new idiom.
In the German session, pupils explored languages through the lens of codes. Pupils practised code-breaking and learned about the history of code-breaking and famous figures. Pupils also designed emojis and made badges.
In Spanish, pupils explored the unique links between the Newport Country football club and Basque Country. Pupils learnt about the ties uniting both countries and completed their own football shirt inscriptions.
Padlet
Photos of pupils ‘creations were uploaded on a Padlet to celebrate their achievements. The Padlet was shown on the screen during the “Finale”, creating a shared sense of celebration.
Impact
10 schools across South and West Wales, from Cardigan to Swansea attended the event, bringing around 260 pupils, accompanied by around 18 teachers. Spanish, German and French were represented in language-specific workshops.
The event was an opportunity to create new links and partnerships with schools in the wider region. 6 schools that hadn’t attended our previous on-campus events were able to come to the event. The event also fostered a wider sense of community between language learners.
Extracts from our survey
- 1. What parts of the day did your pupils enjoy the most? (Please share any details, activities, or feedback your pupils shared with you.)
“Enjoyed the interesting presentations by different people with such different life experiences. Especially the Egyptologist speaker.”
“The workshops”
“They loved the Spanish session on the links between Newport and Basque country. It was really interesting and something that I was unaware of before visiting the university. I would definitely use this as inspiration”
- 2. As a teacher, what parts of the day did you enjoy the most or found the most beneficial?
“Hearing from current university students and their experiences, as well as others where the different routes languages can take you were highlighted.”
“The word etymology/story about Basque country”
- 3. Areas for improvement: what would you like to see in future events? (Please share your thoughts or suggestions to improve the day or for future events.)
“Maybe 2 shorter workshops so pupils can experience different languages. Maybe a language they don’t study in school but can make links with?”
“Shorter workshops- more of them- shorter activities and pupils move around so not stuck in the same room or with the same individual for the whole workshop.”
Challenges
The event was initially intended for a maximum of 200 pupils and received a significant amount of interest, with requests to bring nearly 600 pupils. Although we were delighted to see such enthusiasm for a language-related event, we were unable to accommodate this large number of pupils due to room and staff capacity on campus. Some schools were therefore placed on a waiting list.
Early cancellations from schools made it possible to accommodate some of those on the waiting list. However, reductions in pupil numbers closer to the event did not allow sufficient time for additional schools to attend, as the required paperwork, permission from SLT and consent forms needed to be completed and returned.
The paperwork required by some schools using an online platform to manage school trip planning, also created some challenges. As a university and event organisers, it was difficult to provide some of the required documentation at short notice. With the support of colleagues and with schools seeking assistance from their local authorities, we were able to resolve these issues and ensure that the schools could attend the event.
Next Steps
We will create a toolkit for UCFL to share our experience and practice in organising language events.
Thank you to UCFL for their generous funding and support. We would also like to extend our diolch, danke, merci and gracias to all colleagues and guests who supported the event.