26th September 2017 marks the 16th anniversary of the European Day of Languages. The aims of the event as declared by the Council of Europe are to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding, to encourage lifelong language learning and to promote Europe’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity. Thanks to cultural institutes such as the Goethe Institut, the Institut Français and the British Council, the European Day of languages is nowadays widely celebrated especially in schools.

St. Stanislav’s Institution is no exception. The event took place already for the tenth year in a row. Back then, it had all started with Diocesan Classical Gymnasium students presenting basic language skills to pupils of the Alojzij Šuštar Primary School in seven different languages taught at the DCG. This meant using English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Latin and classical Greek. In the following years, teachers of foreign languages at the DCG devised riddles and other challenging tasks in the above mentioned languages through which students displayed their knowledge of the language as well as culture, history and geography of the respected country.

This year students had to define the origin of photographs presenting highlights from different European countries. Thus, we were trying to promote the practical aspect of this year’s motto at St. Stanislav’s Institution, which is Where are you going? Students with most correct answers received a practical award. We are still also looking forward to a short video clip by students presenting goings-on on the European Day of Languages at the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/