Languages take you further — a booklet for students aged 12-15
Teachers’ Guide
I.
AIM
To promote interest in Europe and the official languages of the European Union among
young people aged 12-15.
II.
CONTENT
Each page presents one of the European Union’s 24 official languages through a few
basic words and a short dialogue. The content is the same in all languages, apart from the
names and cities referred to in the dialogue.
One of the cities mentioned in each dialogue is the capital of an EU country, while the
other is either another town in the same country or a city of another country where the
same language is spoken. In the German dialogue, for example, the first city is Berlin,
while the second is Vienna.
Each language is illustrated with some pictures symbolising the country or countries
where the language is spoken.
III.
CURRICULAR THEMES
Mother tongue: language families, language history
Modern foreign languages: reading skills; appreciation of differences and
commonalities; appreciation of other countries and cultures
Geography/EU studies: EU countries and their capitals; European landmarks; official
EU languages
IV.
EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Mother tongue
 Discover the similarities between languages. Some very old words bear a
resemblance between languages. By comparing the words for ‘two’ and ‘three’,
students can try to work out which languages belong to the Indo-European language
family, and which belong to other language families.
Indo-European: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French,
German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian,
Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish
Finno-Ugric: Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian
Semitic: Maltese
Geography/EU studies
Find the countries. Let the students find the 28 member states of the European Union by
searching for clues in the texts and the pictures. In each text one or two capitals are
mentioned. In most cases one language corresponds to one country, but there are a few
exceptions.
Note that Luxembourg is the only EU country which is not represented either in a text or
the drawings, which can be assigned as an extra task to the students ‘Which country is
missing?’ Luxembourgish (Lëtzebuergesch) is one of the country’s three official
languages, but it is not used at EU level like French and German.
Keys to text and illustrations on each language page
Bulgarian: Sofia, Bulgaria. The illustration shows the St. Alexander Nevsky
Cathedral which is one of the main landmarks in Sofia. The conversation mentions
the city of Burgas — one of the two biggest cities on the Black Sea Coast.
English: London, United Kingdom. London is mentioned in the dialogue. The
illustration shows Tower Bridge in London and the girl is wearing a school uniform.
Croatian: Zagreb, Croatia. The form Zagreba in the text is the genitive case of
Zagreb. The illustration shows various buildings from the Croatian coast and a
Dalmatian dog. The girl is wearing a cravat with a red and white chequered pattern
like that of the Croatian flag. The cravat — the forerunner of today’s tie — goes back
to 17th century Croatia.
Czech: Prague, Czech Republic. The form Prahy in the text is the genitive case of
Praha. The illustration shows the Charles Bridge (Karlův most), and the girl is
holding a glass of pilsner beer which takes its name from the Czech city of Plzeň.
Danish: Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish name for Copenhagen is København.
The illustration shows the Little Mermaid, a statue honouring the writer Hans
Christian Andersen, and the boy is dressed as a Viking.
Dutch: Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Amsterdam is mentioned in the dialogue, as is
Antwerpen (Antwerp), the largest city in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of
Belgium. The illustration shows a windmill, and the boy is dressed in orange, the
national colour of the Netherlands.
Estonian: Tallinn, Estonia. The form Tallinnas is the inessive case of Tallinn. The
wintry illustration points to a country in the north, and the skiing boy has the
Estonian flag on his jacket.
Finnish: Helsinki, Finland. The form Helsingistä is the elative case of Helsinki. The
wintry illustration shows a sauna by a lake and the girl is holding a coffee cup and a
mobile phone, a reference to Finns as great coffee drinkers and IT developers.
French: Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium. Both capitals are mentioned in the text
(Paris, Bruxelles). French is also an official language of the EU country Luxembourg,
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with its capital of the same name. The illustration shows the Eiffel Tower (France),
and the boy is eating chips (Belgium). Chips are actually a Belgian invention,
although the Americans call them ‘French fries’!
German: Berlin, Germany, and Vienna, Austria. Both capitals are mentioned in the
text (Berlin, Wien). The illustration shows the Austrian Alps and the four animals
from the German folktale ‘The Musicians of Bremen’, written down by the Brothers
Grimm. The boy is wearing German Lederhosen. German is also an official language
in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Greek: Athens, Greece and Nicosia, Cyprus. Both capitals are mentioned in the text
Αθήνα is Athens and Λευκωσία [lefkoˈsi.a] is the Greek name for Nicosia. The
illustration shows the Parthenon in Athens and the boy is wearing a traditional Greek
costume.
Hungarian: Budapest, Hungary. The form Budapestről is the delative form of
Budapest. The illustration shows the Hungarian Parliament building and the girl is
wearing a traditional Hungarian costume.
Irish: Dublin, Ireland. Baile Átha Cliath is Dublin in Irish, and Béal Feirste is
Belfast. The illustration shows the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. The harp is
the Irish national instrument, while the shamrock is a symbol of Ireland and of its
patron saint, St. Patrick.
Italian: Rome, Italy. The Italian name of the capital is Roma. The illustration shows
the Colosseum, and the boy is eating an ice-cream. His sunglasses and shirt are a
reference to the Italian fashion industry.
Latvian: Riga, Latvia. The form Rīgas is the genitive form of Rīga. The illustration
shows a hockey player in Latvian colours against a silhouette of the old town of Riga.
Lithuanian: Vilnius, Lithuania. Vilniuje is the locative form of Vilnius. The
illustration shows the cathedral of Vilnius, and the girl is wearing a necklace made of
Baltic amber.
Maltese: Valletta, Malta. The name most commonly used for the Maltese capital is ilBelt (‘the capital’), and the form mill-Belt in the text is a contraction of minn (‘from’)
and il-Belt. Għawdex is the Maltese name for Gozo, the second largest island in the
Maltese archipelago. The illustration shows a fishing boat with the eye of Osiris on
the bow, a traditional design on Maltese boats.
Polish: Warsaw, Poland. The form Warszawy is the genitive form of Warszawa. The
illustration shows Sigismund’s Column in Warsaw, and the girl is wearing a
traditional Polish costume.
Portuguese: Lisbon, Portugal. Lisboa is the Portuguese name for Lisbon. The
illustration shows the Barcelos cockerel (Galo de Barcelos) and a girl in a Madeiran
wicker basket sled.
Romanian: Bucharest, Romania. București is the Romanian name for Bucharest. The
illustration shows the Romanian Athenaeum, a concert hall in Bucharest. The girl is
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wearing a traditional Romanian costume, and the bat refers to the story of Dracula, a
denizen of Transylvania.
Slovak: Bratislava, Slovakia. The form Bratislavy is the genitive form of Bratislava.
The illustration shows Bratislava Castle.
Slovenian: Ljubljana, Slovenia. The form Ljubljane is the genitive form of Ljubljana.
The illustration shows the Julian Alps and the highest peak, Triglav. Although a
small country, Slovenia has many top sportsmen and women, among others in skiing.
Spanish: Madrid, Spain. Madrid is mentioned in the text. The illustration shows
orange trees. The polka dot dress worn by the girl is commonly associated with
Andalusian flamenco dancers.
Swedish: Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm is mentioned in the text. Åbo is the official
Swedish name of Turku in Finland, where both Finnish and Swedish are official
languages. The illustration shows Stockholm City Hall and a midsummer pole. The
girl’s plaits and freckles are a reference to the children’s book character Pippi
Longstocking.
V.
LINKS LISTED IN THE BOOKLET
The booklet online:
http://bookshop.europa.eu/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/EU-BookshopSite/en_GB/-/EUR/ViewPublication-Start?PublicationKey=HC0114350
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