Junior School Enrichment Programme: What’s in a language?

The Academy Junior School (JS) celebrated Telugu language week from Monday, 02 September to Friday, 06 September. The Telugu week was concluded with a special assembly held on Friday, 6 September where students participated and performed in various activities. Additionally, there were few engaging sessions organised in classrooms which highlighted the significance of learning mother tongue.

Learning and acquiring languages form an integral part of the enrichment programme, which resonates around the Academy’s language policy. The Academy’s language policy states that learning mother tongue and regional languages play key roles in the overall development of children and also helps with understanding and appreciating diverse cultures.

Last week was truly a sight to the eyes as many young children were seen jostling around happily in colourful traditional attires. Here is a sneak-peek into what kept the Junior School students happy and talking!

Telugu language Week

The Telugu Bhasha Dinotsavam or the Telugu Day was celebrated for a whole week in the Junior school. Each day marked a theme which included story-telling, games, singing songs, book reading, and some writing activities. A special assembly was held on Friday, 06 September led by Ms. Kasturi Varanasi, Telugu teacher.

The assembly saw grade 1 students reciting Telugu rhymes and poems. This was followed by a beautiful dance performance by grade 3 students and a skit enacted by students of grade 5. The skit showcased Telugu culture by giving interesting insights into food, traditional attires, and other notable traditions and culture. This wonderful assembly was enjoyed by both students and teachers.

Engaging sessions on mother language

On Junior School enrichment day, many informative sessions on mother languages were organised in classrooms on Friday, 06 September. Some interested parents were also invited to facilitate their understanding of diverse languages.

The Academy offers a variety of languages to students, including Hindi, Telugu, Gujrati, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Dari, Urdu, Marathi, Odia and Russian.

While some students were seen enjoying a short read, other enthusiastic bunch performed in a drama, and some volunteered to introduce alphabets and numbers in their respective mother language to the rest of the audience!

Meghana a grade 5K student said, “these kind of sessions help us in giving priority to our mother tongue and also helps at boosting our confidence. For example, I learnt many Telugu words today. I also enjoyed performing in the skit which was based on a story read by a parent. I believe we must have more engaging events like these.”