#ThinkLanguages 2023
#ThinkLanguages 2023
#ThinkLanguages 2023 was the first year that the event took on a festival style by way of a week-long event. Over 15,000 TY students celebrated nationwide during the week of the 27 November – 1 December.
This was the sixth annual celebration of languages and cultures. The event has quickly become a highlight of the TY calendar and 180 schools across the country kicked off their events taking part in a range of activities.
Partner Offerings
For the first time, we teamed up with some great partners to offer an assortment of activities to schools participating in #ThinkLanguages Week.
The Department of Foreign Affairs Career for EU strategy kindly sponsored our Champion Team Prize in 2023. Six TY students and two teachers won an exciting trip to Brussels – taking in all the sites and visiting the EU institutions!
Universities across Ireland opened their doors for campus tours, activities and workshops to give TY students a taste of what life is like as a third level language student!
The Irish Film Institute showed foreign language films at cinemas nationwide and also gave schools the opportunity to stream the movies directly into the classroom.
Read more about our partners here.
National TY Celebration of Languages
TY students from right across Ireland came together in a national celebration of languages and cultures, enjoying inspirational talks, fun language-filled workshops and competing against schools nationwide in an interactive #ThinkLanguages Quiz.
TY Students, TY Coordinators and MFL teachers got to run the show and put on a festival of languages in their own school – with lots of support from the #ThinkLanguages Team!
Think Global, Act Local
Schools really harnessed the theme, “Think Global, Act Local,” for their individual events with many inviting an array of impressive local speakers to share their career experience and language journeys. Members of the Defence Forces and Garda Siochana, universities and the local business community were just some of those who took part.
Student-led workshops proved particularly popular this year, with students all across Ireland giving their peers an insight into their language and culture. Some parents, teachers and local business people also got involved and offered insights into their heritage cultures and languages, including playing music or baking traditional items for students to enjoy and learn about.
Social Media and Press Coverage
There were some brilliant photos and videos taken of the celebrations nationwide and schools shared so many on social media and in their local press – this is a brilliant way to promote languages in the school and local community. Below are some great examples of videos that the students created to illustrate the many languages and cultures present in their schools.
Champion Team 2023
Our Lady’s Bower Secondary School, Athlone were crowned Champion Team of the year, taking home the title as well as an amazing prize of a trip to Brussels.
The Minister for Education, Norma Foley T.D, was in attendance at the final to congratulate the finalists – Killarney Community College, Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School, Waterford and Our Lady’s Bower Secondary School and present this year’s award, which recognises the contribution of students to the promotion of the many personal, professional and social benefits of foreign language skills during #ThinkLanguages week.
