How do you feel when you speak your mother language?

On the 21st of February each year, International Mother Language Day is celebrated about the world. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness about the importance of protecting all languages and the benefits of maintaining our own mother languages. This event is special for us at Dulwich College Suzhou because we know that being part of a multicultural and multilingual community brings us many benefits and we know that students will learn other languages more effectively if they have a strong foundation in their home language.

To celebrate this, we held a Mother Language Week in Senior School, during which students participated in morning tutor time activities and we held our first over online whole-school assembly. During the assembly, held on Teams, we were able to hear a speech from Mrs Garnhum and Jiwon H, the student leader of our Language, Culture, and Inclusion Committee, and a video starring some Year 12 students who proudly shared their own mother languages. "When I speak my mother language, I feel like home," said many students.  

As an extra special treat, some teachers took part in a video speaking the different languages that are important in their lives and sharing their feelings about their languages. It was the first time for many of our students to hear these languages in person from their teachers – enjoy watching below. We encourage you to watch the video and reflect personally on this question: How do you feel when you speak your mother language or the other languages in your life?