March
Multilingual
Month 2005
A handbook for schools
Ms Fahro Malik
Lynk Reach
Spring 2005
Contents
Page
3
Foreword
Introduction: Language Identity and Community
20 Ways to Support English as an Additional Language Pupils
4
6
Ideas for multilingual month activities
7
Information to support teachers in running taster language
lessons
8
Additional ideas for lesson plans
9
People jigsaw – Lesson plan for maths at foundation stage
10
African story – Lesson plan for year 2: times and cultures
11
Writing systems
12
Writing systems: Quiz
13
Language Survey
14
Do you know?
15
Mega, Macro and Arterial languages
16
Modern Foreign Languages:
 Albanian
 Bengali
 Bosnian, Croat and Serbian
 Gujarati
 Hindi
 Punjabi
 Somali
 Swahili
 Urdu
 Yoruba
 Wolof
 Latvian
 Estonian
 Lithuanian
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
32
Multilingual month
34
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
2
Foreword
Multilingual Month focuses on celebrating the richness of the linguistic diversity of our
school communities and is a major opportunity to promote the importance of learning
another language.
The celebration of March as Multilingual Month was the brainchild of the 1998 Waltham
Forest (NALDIC) conference – Bilingualism in the Millennium, where Ms Fahro Malik
proposed the idea for a Multilingual Month in schools in March as a national annual event
on a par with the already established Black History Month in October.
Since 1998 key educational agencies in Waltham Forest and Lynk Reach and Lynk Ray Ltd
have collaborated to promote a range of activities across the curriculum in schools which
explicitly value the cultural and linguistic heritage of their pupils and which promote
language learning and anti-racist and anti discriminatory attitudes.
The lessons focus on empowering monolingual and multilingual teachers to utilise the
languages spoken in their classrooms in order to enhance the learning of monolingual as well
as multilingual students. The key focus of these activities lend themselves to a broad and
balanced curriculum. Experience has demonstrated that these activities engage and excite
students.
This booklet links with the Primary Strategy and embraces the premise stated therein that
‘enjoyment is the birthright of every child’. It aims to encourage schools to build on ‘their
own strengths to serve the needs of their own children. To do this, they will work with
parents and the whole community; they will think creatively about how they use the skills of
everyone in the school’. (Clarke; Foreword to the Primary Strategy)
Project Aims
 To incorporate the activities in the Primary / KS3 Strategy / KS4 incorporating
Literacy, Numeracy, Humanities, RE and Citizenship
 To engage the wider participation of parents and the whole community in the
delivery of these activities.
 To encourage students to see themselves as global citizens with a hunger to learn
about other languages and cultures beyond Europe and to inspire them to become
truly multilingual and multicultural citizens.
 To raise achievement amongst ethnic minority and EAL pupils and make an inclusive
learning environment for all pupils.
The ideas in this booklet have been inspired by teachers and students/parents and the book
has evolved since its inception in 1998 with the continuing addition of these ideas.
Therefore we would welcome responses to the suggestion that Multilingual Month become a
focus for sharing languages, together with more ideas for activities for embedding this kind
of language work in the regular curriculum.
This document is being distributed nationally as part of ‘Now We Are Talking’ project
funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
For further information or to book a course, please contact: Fahro Malik
Lynk Reach Limited. Office 20, Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford, E15 1NT.
Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. email:Lynkreach@hotmail.com/fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
3
Introduction: Language, Identity and Community
More than half the world population uses more than one language in everyday
life. In many countries in the world, it is commonplace, not only to speak, but also to be
literate, in two or more languages. Language is an important marker of personal and
cultural identity. Languages are a personal wealth and a resource that connects us to
our communities and the rest of the world. However languages used in a minority
context are threatened by the status and power of the majority language.
Multilingualism flourishes where all languages are used for a range of purposes.
Language acquisition
Languages may be acquired in the home and the community, or learned more
formally at school, or both. Some children learn two language more or less from the
beginning (simultaneous bilinguals), or learn a new language when they start school or
move to another country. The social status of languages and how children come to
learn them have a great impact on whether children add a second language to their
first, or whether the second language replaces the first.
Language use
“What language do you speak?” is never a simple question for a bilingual. People
who use more than one language in their daily lives commonly use different languages to
different people, in different situations and for different purposes. It is common to
have a “domestic language” which has high emotional value and is different from the
language used for study or at work. There may be yet another language used for
religious practice. Language mixing (code-switching) is a common feature of
communication when people speak the same two languages. Far from being confused,
many children enjoy exploring creatively the way their languages interact with each
other, develop a rich vein of multilingual wordplay and enjoy teaching their friends
(Kenner,2000).
Language and education
When children have the opportunity to develop more than one language to a high
level, for example through education, they are likely to develop a greater understanding
of how language works. There is considerable evidence that having the opportunity to
use their languages to develop their thinking skills as well as their social relationships, is
beneficial to children’s cognitive development (Baker, 2000). Children are more likely to
take pride in their language skills if these are acknowledged and developed by the
school. Although there that over 300 languages spoken by London school children
(Baker & Eversley, 2000), English is often the only language heard in school. Many pupils
who want to develop their home language and become literate in it attend after school
or Saturday classes. There are over 2000 of these in the London area, most of them run
on a voluntary basis by communities.
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
4
Language maintenance and shift
Whether a language spoken by a minority group survives depends greatly on the
economic and social networks of the community. If individuals have opportunities to
meet regularly and speak with others who share their language in a range of contexts
(family, friends, school, work), the use of the language is more likely to be maintained.
The younger generation will only use a language if they see a value and a purpose for it.
Language status and power
If children’s languages are not acknowledged in school, the children perceive
these as having little status, as not being important. They may have been ridiculed for
speaking a language other than English and be embarrassed if their parents speak to
them in the home language in front of their friends. In that situation it is common for
children to understand the home language, but always answer in English. Teachers need
to be aware that not all languages are equally valued in Britain and that children may
have internalised negative messages. Teachers who have shown a real interest in
children’s languages, engaged in sharing activities, enjoyed being taught by children and
devised interesting games and activities, such as the ones suggested in this booklet,
have discovered how quickly embarrassment can turn to pride and how eager other
children are to learn their friends’ languages.
Baker,P. & Eversley, 2000. Multilingual Capital. Battlebridge Publications
Kenner,C. 2000. Home Pages, literacy links for bilingual children. Trentham Books
Baker,C. 2000. A parents’ and teachers’ guide to bilingualism. Multilingual Matters
For more language sharing ideas:
Datta,M. & Pomphrey,C. 2004. A World of Languages. CILT
And for everything you could possibly want to know about bilingualism:
Baker, C. 2001. Foundations of Bilingual education and Bilingualism. Multilingual
Matters
Dr Raymonde Sneddon
University of East London
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
5
20 Ways to Support English as an Additional Language Pupils
1.
Plan all lessons with the needs of EAL pupils in mind.
2.
Explain the objectives of the lesson clearly and utilize warm up sessions
to motivate and activate previous learning.
3.
Define targets clearly, ensure they are simple and obtainable, write the
targets down for the first-stage learners and tick them off as they are
achieved.
4.
Illustrate items from the pupils’ cultural backgrounds and from what
the pupils’ are interested in.
5.
Pay particular attention to vocabulary and structures in the lessons.
6.
Maximise the use of talk as a learning tool, including role-play.
7.
Encourage pupils’ to discuss and share their linguistic knowledge.
8.
Allow extra time to complete written tasks and use adults as scribes.
9.
Provide writing frames at appropriate levels of difficulty.
10. Ensure EAL pupils are grouped with peers who are the best models of
English as well as speakers of their OWN language whenever possible.
11. Have a high status policy to enable more advanced EAL pupils to
be buddies to new arrivals who share a common language.
12. Promote classroom practice that encourages and rewards peer support.
13. Pre-teach vocabulary and key concepts in the home language.
14. Provide vocabulary lists on the board and in writing to be taken home.
15. Hold parent groups (using interpreters if necessary) focusing on how to
help children at home.
16. Forge links with supplementary schools.
17. Use mime, puppets, demonstrations, artifacts, and visual aids,
18. Use inclusive seating arrangements.
19. Encourage the use of home language to write
20. Provide bilingual resources such as dictionaries, texts, tapes, and videos.
Create a positive learning environment including multilingual/multicultural
displays to help pupils succeed.
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
6
Ideas for Multilingual Month activities include:

Theme based Assemblies
o
where the theme is languages including BSL and Braille
o
Eid assemblies which include Somali, Turkish, Farsi and Urdu.
o
Diwali assemblies which include Hindi, Punjabi and Tamil.
o
A St David’s Day assembly which includes Welsh

Taster language lessons in a range of world languages, Bengali, Urdu, Yoruba,
Swahili, Hindi, Bosnian, Albanian, Twi and Arabic, as well as European
languages.

“Teach me your language” sessions where pupils teach simple phrases of their
home language/mother tongue to other pupils. These can be incorporated in
rhymes and performed at lunchtime or after school

Greetings and salutations in different languages, so that on a chosen day,
everyone in the school can greet each other in as many languages as possible

Parts of lessons in Literacy and Numeracy could be taught in languages
other than English

Bilingual poetry / writing events. Suggested reference material for this could
include Forest Whispers and The Way We Are.

Bilingual storytelling/poetry workshops

Multilingual drama workshops

Dual language hip hop

Displays of multilingual writing by pupils

Avoid ‘S’ words like: Sari, Samosa, Steel Pans!

Displays of newspapers in other languages, even as backing paper

Language surveys where the results are displayed

Displays in the borough and school libraries or classrooms of dual language
books and books in languages other than English

Video cameras to interview grandparents/parents/kids – handing down
stories, talking about conflict and tradition

Music, songs and dance from countries of origin depicting stories
Details or further information regarding any of the above publications or
suggested activities can be obtained from fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
7
Information to support teachers in running taster language lessons
Often teachers who are monolingual are at a loss as to how to capitalize on the
literacy levels of EAL students and are therefore unable to tap into the
languages spoken by pupils to enhance access to English and the curriculum.
The aim of this project is twofold. In the first instance we aim to equip
teachers who do not necessarily speak other languages to utilize the languages
spoken in their classroom. This is done through peer learning and encouraging
the multilingual students to share their knowledge of other languages.
The second aim of the project is to provide an opportunity for multilingual
pupils to use their own language to teach others, express themselves in the
language they are most comfortable with and in the process learn more about
the English language.
There is a further, wider issue of Citizenship which is also addressed through
these sessions. Students are encouraged to foster a wider understanding of a
more global representation of culture and languages within their classrooms and
amongst their fellow students. Throughout the session the focus is on ‘who am
I?’ and children are encouraged to understand the wider issue of where their
culture fits in and to feel proud of who they are. The project is underpinned by
a very inclusive approach to learning from monolingual to multilingual children
and is aimed at addressing the invisibility of some cultures.
The reason I am writing to you is that I wish to promote the following:




A greater access to the different languages spoken by pupils in the
classroom and especially through Literacy and Numeracy hours.
Empowering monolingual teachers and encouraging bilingual teachers to
incorporate their own spoken languages into their teaching repertoire.
Taster Language Lessons, the lesson includes using languages spoken by
pupils
Multilingual Month in March including a teacher friendly resource pack,
which will also incorporate and address Citizenship issues, that will
include teacher friendly/photocopiable resources.
This project has been piloted in schools in Bexley and Waltham Forest and
proved immensely popular with class teachers and students alike.
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
8
Bringing Languages Alive in the Classroom through a Taster Language Lesson
Lesson Plan Additional Ideas for using languages spoken in the classroom
Aim: To raise the pupil’s awareness and appreciation of linguistic Diversity to demonstrate that they are
part of a wider community and to encourage teachers to incorporate the linguistic and cultural diversity
within the class into the curriculum, fully utilising the language spoken within their class
Objectives:
 Pupils will learn some basic phrases in the language
 Pupils will have the opportunity to `read' and write the script of the language and display it.
 Pupils will have the opportunity to hear the language spoken and to speak the language.
 Pupils will gain an understanding of the cultural context in which they exist through raising the
cultural identity of the individual
 Teachers will gain an understanding of the languages spoken in the school and how they can be
enlivened in the classroom
Contents:
 Introduce a language through a student or a group. How and where he/she/they learnt the
language. Where in the world that language is spoken and by approximately what number of people
worldwide.
 Letters of the alphabet or maybe just a few letters (if appropriate). Similarities to the English
alphabet.
 Numbers 1 to 12. Numerals as well as names (if appropriate) and use these in songs/rhymes- ask
groups to think of songs, rhymes with numbers and translate the numbers in another language- sing
the song in English but numbers in the chosen language for presentation. Groups can teach each
other numbers in different languages
 Use numeral from other scripts for maths lessons
 Use dual text books during literacy lessons, encourage students to do the written tasks in their
own language. If they can speak but not write they can transliterate in English script.
Prior learning/understanding required:
Understand quantity and recognise the numerals 1 to 12. Understand the concept of alphabet.
Differentiation:
For pupils already literate and numerate in the language, worksheet 1,
For pupils new to the language - worksheet 2, an opportunity to write (copy) numerals and names of
numbers.
For pupils who may have difficulty with worksheet 2, - worksheet 3 which has fewer numerals and no
names to be completed.
Extension work:
Numbers Bingo / Dominoes
Making posters about supporting the use of other languages in our community, and the benefits of
speaking other languages.
A school language survey
A numbers chart
Input of support/team/class teachers: Support pupils with SEN, extend most able pupils and pupils
already literate in the language
Resources: World Map, Blank Dice, Card, Sugar paper, Felt pens
Shared reader `texts ́ i.e. teacher's individual version of these.
Timing: 35-60 minutes in total: 15 mins language awareness (items 1 and 2 above)
20 mins language learning (items 3 to 5 above) 25 min group activity and presentation
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
9
People Jigsaw
Lesson Plan for maths at foundation stage
Aim: To promote pupils’ understanding of themselves through creative work
(Foundation – Yr1)
Maths Objectives:
Talk about, recognise and recreate simple patterns: for example, simple repeating or
symmetrical patterns from different cultures. (p 18) (Reception)
Use a variety of shapes to make models, pictures and patterns, and describe them.
(p 24,25) (Reception)
Make and describe models, patterns and pictures using construction kits, everyday
materials, plasticine…(Y1)
Content: as description, however to fulfill mathematical expectations place an
emphasis on the recognition and description of shapes used to make the jigsaw
pieces. If the People Jigsaws were made previously in an art lesson, the resulting
work could be brought in as a focus resource during whole class teaching and
independent activity.
During the whole class teaching model the use of language such as straight, curved,
corner, the names of common 3D shapes (including irregular shapes). Invite pupils to
discuss/say words in their own language as well.
Encourage children to use similar language when reassembling the jigsaws.
Prior learning/understanding:
Recognise common 2D shapes and be familiar with the language of shape (refer to
NNS vocabulary books for age appropriate expectations
Differentiation:
Simplification – encourage children to use descriptive language of the properties of
shape, have plain representations of common 2D shapes (including irregular shapes)
so that children can make comparisons when identifying parts of the jigsaw.
Challenge: expectations of the use of language and description, introduce a greater
range of 2D shapes (pentagon, hexagon, octagon Yr 2)
Extension work:
Sort a range of regular and irregular 2D shapes, explain criteria recognising
properties - no’ of sides, corners, similarities
Feely bag- explain what you can feel, predict which 2D shape is in the bag
Geo sticks to construct a range of irregular and regular “D shapes
Resources:
Large sheets of paper, magazines/newspapers, shape templates and name flashcards,
scissors, glue
Cross-curricular links:
Art, PSME
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
10
African Story
Lesson Plan for Year 2 – Maths: Times and Cultures
Aim: To investigate different kinds of art, craft and design from times and cultures
(Yr2)
Maths Objectives:
Make and describe shapes, pictures and patterns using, for example, solid shapes,
templates, pinboard and elastic bands, squared paper, a programmable robot...
Content: as description.
Using artifacts explore how the different properties of 2D shape can be used to
create patterns.
What types of patterns can we make if we use rectangles? Oblongs and squares?
Squares and triangles?
Explore tessellation within pattern or using combinations of regular and irregular 2D
shapes to create pattern.
Assess children’s use of language and reasoning when describing their patterns.
(Work to develop colour, tone and texture should be developed through art as an
addition to the maths lesson).
Prior learning/understanding:
recognise common 2D shapes and be familiar with the language of shape (refer to
NNS vocabulary books for age appropriate expectations)
Differentiation:
Simplification –use sticky shapes to support the creation of patterns.
Challenge: expectations of the use of language and description, introduce a greater
range of 2D shapes
Extension work:
Exploring colour, tone and texture through art.
Resources:
Artifacts, squared paper, art materials, etc.
Cross-curricular links:
art, PSME
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
11
writing
systems
Writing is one of the most important inventions that human beings have ever made.
Some languages have had writing since about 3000BC e.g. Chinese and Sanskrit (the
ancestor of modern Hindi). Others have only been written down in the twentieth
century AD for example Inuit languages.
Writing systems
Characteristic
Used for
Alphabetic
writing systems
Breaks words down into their
component sounds and represents
these sounds with letters or
combinations of letters
Latin script
Syllabaries
Consonantal
i.e. Uses symbols to represent
individual sounds
Basic units of graphemes
correspond to syllables which are
usually a sequence of consonants
and vowels e.g. ba, bi, ge, si, gn
i.e. Separate symbols for
consonants and vowels
Represent consonants and not
vowels
Cyrillic script
(used for
Russian and
other Slavic
languages)
Punjabi
Example
Monday
запретили
пользоваться
Gujarati
Bengali
Arabic
‫تحت سطح االرض‬
Urdu
‫ظ‡ظ—أ‬Œ‫أھأ¼أ‬.
Hebrew
Logographic
Pictographic and
Ideographic
Mixed systems
Symbols or characters used to
represent whole words, in some
cases components of words
i.e. Whole words or ideas are
represented by a single symbol
Elements from more than one
writing system
Chinese
漢語大字典
Japanese
(which
combines
syllabic and
logographic
writing)
日本語スクリプ
トのためのツ
The Latin alphabet is the most widely used alphabet in the modern world.
The Cyrillic alphabet is the second most widely used.
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
12
Quiz
writing
systems
Solve the puzzle below
Across
1.
The …… alphabet is used to write most European languages.
5.
8.
10.
Down
2.
3.
4.
6.
7.
9.
This language uses elements of both the logographic and syllabary writing systems.
These writing systems do not represent vowels in their writing.
Russian and other Slavic languages use this writing system.
Ideographic writing systems use single symbols to represent whole words or……
A synonym for pictographic.
This language uses the same writing system as does Arabic.
Writing systems which use symbols to represent individual sounds.
This is the ancestor to Hindi.
The writing system used to write Gujarati
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
13
For monolingual students
Language Survey
Name:
1.
Name the languages used by you, your friends and by other students in
your school.
Language:
Well
A little
Well
A little
Well
A little
Can you understand this
language?
Can you recognise this
language?
2.
List as many languages as you can think of below:
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
14
Do you know…
…that there are more than
40,000 languages and dialects?
…that a 1000
million people in
the world speak
Mandarin?
…how many different
languages are spoken
by people in your
school?
…that there are different sign
languages used in different
countries. People who use
American Sign Language (ASL)
cannot understand people who
use British Sign Language
(BSL)?
…that language
probably
developed in
East Africa
around 100,000
years ago?
…that the year 2001 was the
year of European Year of
Languages?
…that London has 307 languages, 20 of
which have over 2000 speakers?
…that London is the
world’s most
linguistically diverse
city?
That language is a
highly developed form
of animal signalling?
…that writing is one of
the greatest human
achievements? There are
5 main writing systems:
alphabetic; logographic;
syllabary, consonantal
and mixed.
…that languages belong to
families? English belongs to the
…that each language has its own sounds? The tune
Germanic branch of the Indo(the overall sound) of languages is different too. The
European language family while
tune of one’s first language is very deep – it is the first
Urdu belongs to the Indic branch
thing we learn. Babies babble the tune of their mother
and Kurdish to the Iranic branch.
tongue before they know any words. Hence it is very
On the other hand, Hebrew
difficult to learn the tune of another language. When
belongs to the Semitic branch of
learning another language we have to learn to make
the Afro-Asian language family
individual sounds that may be unknown to us, and we
and Mandarin belongs to the
have to learn the tune of the language. This is why
Sinitic branch of the Sino-Indian
people have “foreign accents.”
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
language family.
How many
languages
you
speak
a foreign
London,
E15 1NT. can
Tel: 020
8432
0691without
Fax: 020 8432
0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
accent?
15
Megalanguages
100 million or more speakers
1000 million
speakers
500 million
speakers
200 million
speakers
100 million
speakers
Engish
Hindi and Urdu
Russian
Mandarin (Chinese)
Spanish and
Portuguese
Bengali
Japanese and
Malay / Indonesian
German (in Europe)
Arabic
French (throughout
the world)
Macrolanguages
10 million or more speakers
There are 80 of these languages
Arterial languages
Only 1% of the world’s population speak these languages
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
16
Modern Foreign Language
Albanian
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals
Indo-European
5 million
Albania, former Yugoslavia, Italy,
Greece, UK
Alphabetic, read from left to right
Latin, Greek, Turkish, Arabic
Geg and Tsok
 nje
 dy
 tri
 kater
 pes
 gjasht
 shatat
 tet
 nand
 dhet
Albania is a member of the Indo-European family of languages.
separate branch, quite separate from other branches.
It forms a
Apart from single words, the first certain record of the language is a formula
for baptism written down in 1462 for occasions where no priest was available. In
1555, a prayer book in Albanian was printed. It was composed by the Bishop of
Shkodra, and it is the oldest known book from Albania.
The Albanian language has borrowed many words from the languages of the
empires to which Albania belonged. First Latin, from the Roman Empire, then
Greek, from the Byzantine Empire, then Turkish, from the Turkish (Ottoman)
Empire to which Albania belonged for 500 years.
Many Albanian speakers are Muslims, so numerous Arabic (the language of the
Qu’ran) words and names have been borrowed.
Some useful sites if you want to find out more about Albanian:
www.omniglot.com/writing/albanian.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
17
Modern Foreign Language
Bengali
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals
An eastern Indo-Aryan language
180 million
Bangladesh and the Indian state of
West Bengal.
Syllabic alphabet derived from the
Brahmi alphabet
Sanskrit; Hindi
Cachar Bengali, Bishnupriya Manipuri,
Dheyan, Cachar Hindustani and
Cachar Oriya
 ek
 dui
 tin
 car
 panc
 chay
 sat
 at
 nay
 das
Some useful sites if you want to find out more about Bengali:
www.omniglot.com/writing/bengali.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
18
Modern Foreign Language
Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals
Southern Slavonic languages formerly known
collectively as Serbo-Croat
18.5 million
Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro, USA
and a few in Turkey.
Serbian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, while the
Croats use the Glagolitic alphabet.
The Latin alphabet was gradually adopted by the
Croats, though they continued to use Glagolitic
for religious writings until the 19th century.
Serbian contains many loan words from Greek
and Turkish and continues to borrow new words
from various languages. Croatian contains many
words of Latin and German origin but many new
Croatian words are created by combining and
adapting existing ones.










jedan
dva
tri
četiri
pet
šest
sedam
osam
devet
deset
The division between Croats and Serbs originates in the 11th century, when both groups
converted to Christianity. The Serbs aligned themselves with Constantinople and the
Eastern Orthodox church and adopted the Cyrillic alphabet, while the Croats favoured
the Roman Catholic church and the Glagolitic alphabet.After the Turkish conquest of
Serbia and Bosnia, Islam spread to parts of Bosnia and the Arabic script was sometimes
used.
Some useful sites if you want to find out more about Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/serbo-croat.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
19
Modern Foreign Language
Gujarati
Language family
Number of Speakers
Indo-Aryan language
46 million
Where is it spoken?
Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh,
and also in Bangladesh, Fiji, Kenya, Malawi,
Mauritius, Oman, Pakistan, Réunion, Singapore,
South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, United
Kingdom, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Writing system
adapted from the Devanāgarī script
Numerals

(pronunciation in brackets)









Gujarati script first appeared in print in 1997 but the earliest known document in the
script dates back to 1592. Gujarati script was mainly used for letter writing etc, which is why it is
also known as saraphi (bankers), vaniasai (merchants) or mahajani (traders) script. Until the 19th
century the Devanāgarī script was used for literature and academic writings.
To find out more about Gujarati visit:
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/gujarati.htm
http://www.asmita.com/down.htm
http://www.fototext.com/download.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
20
Hindi
Modern Foreign Language
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Indo-Aryan language
487 million
India, Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Germany,
Kenya, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines,
Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, UAE, UK,
USA, Yemen and Zambia.
The Nagari or Devangari alphabet from Brahmi
script
Numerals

(pronunciation in brackets)









Hindi is part of the Devanagari alphabet which descended from Brahmi script around the
11 century AD. Hindi is therefore closely related to Sanskrit, Urdu, Marathi and Nepali To learn
more about Hindi visit: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/devanagari.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
21
Modern Foreign Language
Punjabi
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals
(pronunciation in brackets)
Indo-Aryan Language
60 million
Pakistan and the Indian state of
Panjab.
Gurmuki script but in Panjabi
(Pakistan) is written with an Arabic
script









Guru Nanak was the first Sikh guru who devised the Gurmukhi alphabet which
forms the basis of Punjabi. It was popularised by Guru Angad, the second Sikh
guru. Gurmukhi means "from the mouth of the Guru".
To learn more about Punjabi visit:
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/gurmuki.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
22
Modern Foreign Language
Somali
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Cushtic language from the Osmanya
8,335,000
Somali, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya,
Yemen, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy,
Finland, Sweden and the UK.
The Osmanya and Arabic alphabet
more recently the Latin alphabet
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals

(pronunciation in brackets)








In 1922 Cismaan Kenadiid (the Sultan of Obbia’s brother) created the Osmanya
alphabet. Unfortunately it was not widely used. Since 1972, Somali has been written with the
Latin alphabet.
The Somali alphabet is written from left to right in horizontal row and the names
of the letters are based on Arabic letter names.
For more information on Somali visit:
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/somali.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
23
Modern Foreign Language
Swahili
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals
(pronunciation in brackets)
Bantu language
35 million
Tanzania, Burundi, Congo (Kinshasa)
Kenya, Mayotte, Mozambique, Oman,
Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa,
Uganda, UAE and the USA
Arabic but later the Latin alphabet
Arabic, Persian, Malagasy, English,
German and Portuguese










moja
mbili
tatu
nne
tano
sita
saba
nane
tisa, kenda
kumi
Swahili is the official language of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya and is commonly
used throughout East Africa. Swahili derives from the Arabic word sawāhil
meaning coasts.
Swahili was originally written in Arabic script. During the 19th century it was
used by the European colonial powers in East Africa and under this influence
the Latin alphabet was increasingly used to write it. The first Swahili
newspaper, Habari ya Mwezi, was published by missionaries in 1895.
To find out more about Swahili visist:
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/swahili.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
24
Modern Foreign Language
Urdu
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Indo-Aryan Language
104 million
Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Botswana, Fiji, Germany, Guyana,
India, Malawi, Mauritius, Nepal,
Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
South Africa, Thailand, the UAE, the
UK and Zambia.
Writing system
Perso-Arabic script since the 12th
century when it was introduced by a
Turkish Moghul courtier during
Akbar’s reign. It is normally written in
Nastaliq style.
Borrowed words are from:
Farsi (Iran), Turkish and Arabic
Dialects
None
Numerals
 ek
(pronunciation in brackets)
 do
 tin
 char
 panch
 chay
 saat
 aath
 nau
 dhus
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and is closely related to Hindi, though
a lot of Urdu vocabulary comes from Persian and Arabic, which is not the case
for Hindi.
The word Urdu is Turkish for 'foreign' or 'horde'.
Persian was the royal language in the 12th century and the courtesan, Amir
Khusrau, wanted to give the everyday people a language to be proud of. He was
a champion for equality with a truly multicultural and pluralistic identity.
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/urdu.htm
http://www.alif-india.com
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
25
Modern Foreign Language
Yoruba
"Yoruba Language" is written as "Èdè Yorùbá" but pronounced "Èdèe Yorùbá"
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals
Niger-Congo
25 million
Nigeria, Benin, Togo, UK, USA
Alphabetic, read from left to right
English, Hausa, Arabic
Itsekiri
or
Isekiri – ½ a million speakers around
Wari and Sapele
or Jekri
 okan or eni or kan
 eji or meji
 meta
 merin
 marun
 mefa
 meje
 mejo
 mesan
 mewa
Yoruba is a member of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family of language in
South West Nigeria, Benin and Togo.
Yoruba speakers make up about 21% of the population in Nigeria, living chiefly in
the city on Ibadan.
Yoruba is one of the four national languages of Nigeria alongside Hausa, Igbo
and English. Yoruba speakers like most West Africans are multilingual.
Some useful sites if you want to find out more about Yoruba:
www.learnyoruba.com
www.motherlandnigeria.com/more_language.html#Numbers
www.omniglot.com/writing/yoruba.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
26
Modern Foreign Language
Wolof
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals
(pronunciation in brackets)
Niger Congo
3,215,000 or more first language
speakers (1998); 7,000,000 including
second language speakers (1999).
Senegal, Gambia, neighbouring West
African countries, Western Europe,
USA
Alphabetic, read from left to right
English, French, Arabic
None
 beena (bayna)
 ñaar (nyar)
 ñetta (nyetta)
 ñenent (nyenent)
 juróom (joorom)
 juróom beena
 juróom ñaar
 juróom ñetta
 juróom ñenent
 fukka (fookar)
Wolof is a member of the West Atlantic sub-branch of the Niger-Congo
language family.
Wolof is one of the national languages of Senegal and Gambia alongside French
(Senegal), English (Gambia), Pulaar, Jola and Mandinka. Wolof speakers like
most West Africans are multilingual.
About 80% of the population of Senegal speaks Wolof, either as a first, second
or third language and the majority of people in Gambia speak Wolof.
Some useful sites if you want to find out more about Wolof:
www.africanculture.dk/gambia/ftp/wollof.pdf
www.africanculture.dk/gambia/ftp/wolfgram.pdf
www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/aflang/Wolof/
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
27
Modern Foreign Language
Latvian
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals
Indo-European
1.4 million
Latvia
Alphabetic, read from left to right
Lithuanian, Old Prussian
West Latvian, East Latvian
 viens
 divi
 trīs
 četri
 pieci
 seši
 septiņi
 astoņi
 deviņi
 desmit
Latvian belongs to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European family of
languages. English is also an Indo-European language, but from the Germanic
branch.
The only other Baltic language (still used) that is similar to Latvian is
Lithuanian. Lithuanian is spoken in Lithuania, which is a southern neighbor of
Latvia. (Old Prussian was the third member from the Baltic branch but is now
extinct.) There are also Latvian speakers in the USA, Russia, Australia, Canada,
Germany, the UK, Sweden, Lithuania, Ukraine, Estonia, Brazil and Belarus.
The first publication to be printed in Latvian was a Catechism which appeared
in 1585. The first Latvian dictionary, Lettus, was compiled by Georg Mancelius in 1638.
The German monks who wrote these texts used a version of the the Fractur alphabet
adapted from German which was ill suited to the Latvian language. This alphabet was
used until the mid 1930’s, when it was replaced with a modified version of the Latin
alphabet devised by Dr. J. Endzelins and K. Mühlenbach.
Some useful sites if you want to find out more about Latvian:
www.omniglot.com/writing/latvian.htm
www.liis.lv/latval/zimval/5.htm /numerals in Latvian/
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
28
Modern Foreign Language
Estonian /Eesti
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Finno - Ugric
1 100 000 people
Estonia, Sweden
Alphabetic, read
from left to right
German, Russian,
Latin, Greek,
English
Hiiumaa, Saaremaa,
Muhumaa,
Läänemaa, Vigala,
Kihnu, Harju-Risti,
Kuusalu, Järvamaa,
Põhja-Virumaa,
Vaivara, Kodavere,
Karksi,
SouthernTartumaa,Võrumaa,
Setomaa.
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects:
Numerals:
The ancestors of the Estonians arrived at the Baltic Sea 13 000 years ago when the
mainland glaciers of the last Ice Age had retreated from the area now designated as Estonia.
The first settlers who followed the reindeer herds came here from south, from Central
Europe. Although the vocabulary and grammar of the language used by people in those days
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
29
have changed beyond recognition, the mentality of the tundra hunters of thousands of years
ago can be still perceived in modern Estonian.
The Estonian language belongs to the Finnic branch of Finno-Ugric group of languages.
It is not therefore related to the neighbouring Indo-European languages such as Russian,
Latvian and Swedish. Finnish, Hungarian and Estonian are the best known of the Finno-Ugric
languages; rather less known are the following smaller languages of the same language group:
South Estonian, Votic, Livonian, Ingrian, Veps, Karelian, Sami, Erzya, Moksha, Mari, Udmurt
and Komi, spoken from Scandinavia to Siberia.
Estonian is spoken by approximately 1 100 000 people throughout the world. About 950
000 of them live in Estonia, and more than 150 000 are scattered over Sweden, Canada, USA,
Russia, Australia, Finland, Germany and other countries.
The oldest examples of written Estonian are names, words, and phrases found in early
13th century chronicles. The earliest surviving longer text dates from the 16th century. An
Estonian textbook first appeared in 1637. Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann published the
comprehensive Estonian-German dictionary in 1869, and a grammar describing the Estonian
language in 1875.
The Estonians say külma käes, vihma, päikese, tuule käes ('in the hand of the cold, rain,
sun, wind'), or ta sai koerte käest hammustada (literally 'he was bitten from the hand of dogs'
i. e. 'he was bitten by dogs') or ta sai nõgeste käest kõrvetada (literally 'he was stung from the
hand of nettles'). Quite obviously, nobody any longer thinks that the wind, rain, dogs or
nettles actually have hands. But in ancient times the moving, often personified natural
phenomena, to say nothing about animals and plants, were believed to have certain powers.
These powers, sometimes exerting control over human beings, were symbolised by a hand.
Hence the contemporary Estonian käskima ('to order'; can be translated 'to give orders with
one's hand'), käsilane ('handyman').
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
30
Some useful sites if you want to find out more about Estonian:
www.omniglot.com/writing/estonian.htm
www.einst.ee/publications/language/language.html
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
31
Modern Foreign Language
Lithuanian
Language family
Number of Speakers
Where is it spoken?
Writing system
Borrowed words are from:
Dialects
Numerals
(pronunciation in brackets)
Indo - European
3 500 000
Lithuania, Poland
Alphabetic, read from left to right
Sanskrit, Latin
Namely, Zemaiciu (Samogitian)
 vienas
 du
 trys
 keturi
 penki
 šeši
 septyni
 aštuoni
 devyni
 dešimt
Lithuanian is a Baltic language related to Latvian and Old Prussian with
about 3.5 million speakers in Lithuania. There are also Lithuanian speakers in
Poland, the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the UK and Uruguay.
Lithuanian is considered to oldest surviving Indo-European language and
is thought to have retained some features of Proto-Indo-European (PIE) such
as pitch-accent and a complex inflexional case system. Some words in
Lithuanian even resemble words in Sanskrit and Latin.
The western border areas of Lithuania and Latvia show traces of
toponyms of Finnish origin, which gave rise to the opinion that these places may
have been once inhabited by Baltic Finns. In general, the Balts had contacts
with Finnish tribes at the dawn of history, well before Christ. The Fins learned
land and animal husbandry from Baltic tribes which is shown by Finnish words
denoting cereals, rye, ram, goose, etc. lent from respective Baltic words. The
Baltic marti (daughter-in-law) is also a loan-word in Finnish; apparently, the links
may have been rather close…
Long before our era Old Baltic branched off into separate dialects of
which there were two groups: the western and the eastern. The latter
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
32
comprised Lithuanian and Latvian as well as the eventually extinct Curonian,
Selonian and Semigallian languages which we know of only from occasional
references in historical sources. Lithuanian and Latvian began to branch off
into separate languages approximately in the 7th century. A. D. Lithuanian
developed two main dialects, namely, Zemaiciu (Samogitian) spoken by western
Lithuanians, and Aukstaiciu (Highlander) spoken by southern, eastern and
northern Lithuanians. Both main dialects have a wealth of preserved the old
sounds and forms.
www.angelfire.com/mo/Lith/language.html
www.omniglot.com/writing/lithuanian.htm
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
33
March Multilingual Month
Please describe below, the activities done to celebrate multilingual month in each
subject area / department in your school
Literacy / English
Maths / Numeracy
Science
History / RE
Geography
Modern Foreign Language
Whole School
School:
Lynk Reach Ltd. Ms Fahro Malik, Executive Manager, Office 20 Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford,
London, E15 1NT. Tel: 020 8432 0691 Fax: 020 8432 0690. Email: fahro@lynkreach.co.uk
34