All of us are different, yet we often share the same hopes, desires and aspirations. We are united by our humanity. We can share laughter and sadness.
This post is a language learning exercise and perhaps a step towards understanding other people's points of view better.
The class were given the task of interviewing someone in their family or a neighbour over half term about their views on life. The following entries are what the children found out from people with all sorts of different cultures, nationalities and backgrounds from across Europe to North Africa and beyond. Most of the people interviewed live in Luxembourg and really like it. Most people interviewed are from different parts of the world and also talked about their countries of origin.
We are united by wanting cleaner cities in many parts of the world, less crime, less poverty, less pollution, fewer cars and a safer world.
We all like different colours, different places, different sports and different words in our own language and surprisingly, from Denmark to Morocco, one of the things people like is shopping!
This week we've been learning adverbs. We often use them to describe how to walk well together. Walking well together now has two meanings one which is practical and one which is figurative (or alternative).
At the end of every lesson in school, we remind ourselves to walk quietly, respectfully, gently, carefully, properly, safely.... and especially not to run on the school stairs.
The Editor
Multicultural Understanding
Interview of Raja by S
I asked my cousin. Her name is Raja. She's Moroccan. She's from Morocco. Her favourite sport is basketball. Her favourite colour is red. Her favourite word in her language is 'shopping'. Her favourite city is Casablanca. In her country, she likes the good climate, the hot summers, the sweet springs and the snow in the Atlas Mountains in the winter. In her country, she doesn't like the polluted cities and the dirty streets in the cities. She doesn't like the car drivers who don't respect the driving rules.
By Dragon:
My Dad's name is Roberto. He is Italian.
His favourite sport is Rugby. His favourite colour is blue . His favourite word in his language is ‘zucchero ‘ which means sweet. His favourite city is London. In particular, he loves Camden Town . In his country, he likes the food and the wine but he doesn't like the mess.
By Babacar
My brother was born in Italy and he doesn’t like the Mafia. His favourite sport is football, and his favourite colour is light green. His favourite city is Johannesburg in South Africa and his favourite word is ‘CIAO’.
By M
I asked my Grandma. Her name is Valentina. She is from Italy. Her favourite sport is football. Her favourite colour is blue. Her favourite word in her language is music. She doesn’t know many countries. Her favourite village is Villaromagnano in Piedmont. She likes her village because she has a big house. She doesn’t like her village because sometimes it is cold.
I asked my Mum. Her name is Claudine. She’s Luxembourgish.
Her favourite sport is swimming. Her favourite colour is white. Her favourite word in her language is ‘Weem sees d’ët’. Her favourite place is the Castle of Vianden. She likes the woods, the vineyards, the wine, Serge Tonnar and Legotrip.
By Wendy.
I asked my Grandmother. Her name is Teresa. She is Irish.
Her favourite sport is hurling. (In Irish it is ‘come on’). Her favourite colour is red. Her favourite word in Irish is ‘mo coire’ (my love). Her favourite city or place is Kilkeny. What she most likes about Ireland is the culture. She doesn’t like the weather in Ireland.
By T
I asked my sister, M.
Her favourite sport is ice hockey. Her favourite colour is blue. Her favourite word in her language is 'svamp' (mushroom). Her favourite place is San Juan in Puerto Rico. She likes the food and the free education in Denmark. She doesn’t like that shopping is expensive. She lives in Luxembourg.
By G
Interview wth Kristian & Karin.
My Dad’s favourite sport is football. His favourite colour is blue. His favourite word in his language is 'boller i karry'. His favourite city is Barcelona. His favourite place is Blokhus. He likes the clean beaches in Denmark but he doesn’t like the cold wind.
My Mum’s favourite sport is Keep Fit or fitness training.
Her favourite colour is purple. Her favourite word in her language is 'smuk'. Her favourite city is New York. Her favourite place is Blokhus. She likes the sea in Denmark. She doesn’t like the cold weather.
Interview with Bertil, my Father. By A
I asked my Dad. His name is Bertil. This is what he answered. My Dad`s favourite sport is golf. My Dad’s favourite colour is blue. His favourite word in English is “right”. His favourite city is Copenhagen. He likes the sea, but he hates that it rains all the time in Denmark!
By Catstein Junior.
I asked my Mum.
She is from Denmark.
She is Danish.
Her name is Bettina.
Her favourite sport is skiing.
Her favourite colour is red.
Her favourite word is ‘tommeltot’ thumb.
Her favourite place is Lemvig.
She likes that people are easy going.
She doesn’t like the weather.
By Y
An interview with my Grandmother in France She likes walking and practising yoga.
Her favourite colour is white.
Her favourite word is serenity (peace in yourself).
She likes the Alps in the summer very much.
She likes France because it has got so many different landscapes (sea, mountains).
She doesn’t like that there are so many nuclear power stations. Her name is Chantal.
By B
I asked my friend’s Father. His name is Nico. He is German. His favourite sport is skiing. His favourite colour is orange.
His favourite phrase is `Master of disaster`. His favourite place is a skiing area named "Bonhomme". He likes the river Mosel. He hates the traffic jams during the rush hour.
I asked my Aunt. She’s Spanish. Her name begins with J. Her favourite sport is cycling.
Her favourite colour is blue.
Her favourite word in her language is ‘cielo’.
Her favourite city is Barcelona.
She likes Spain because the weather is nice, but the summer is too hot.
Carnival Interview by LL
Interviewee: My Grandmother Inara
My Grandmother Inara comes from Latvia. She grew up in Wales.Her favourite sport to watch on TV is basketball.
She likes cooking.
She likes to play Sudoku.
Her favourite colour is red.
Her favourite word in Latvian is ‘MILULITIS’ (darling). Her favourite city is Riga in Latvia. In Latvia, she likes lakes and forests.In Latvia, she does not like the long, cold winters. Her favourite movie is “Pride and Prejudice”.
By Babacar
I asked my Mum and my brother some questions. My mother ‘s name is A and she is Serbian.
My Mum’s favourite sport is tennis. She likes the colour orange. She has a lot of orange clothes. My Mum’s favourite word in Serbian is ‘ljubav’, which means love. My Mum’s favourite city is Barcelona. What my Mum doesn’t like about her country is the poverty.
I asked my Auntie. Her name is Litsa. She is from Greece but she has lived in Germany for twenty years. My Aunty’s favourite sport is Volley Ball. Her favourite colour is white. Her favourite word in Greek is ‘Kalimera’, ‘goodmorning’. Her favourite place is a little village in Greece called Kalithea (in English that minds wonderful view). My Auntie likes the ‘Lake Mayen’ in Germany. She doesn’t like the people there very much because they’re not as friendly as Greek people.
By Flower
I asked my friends. Their names are S and Ch. S is from Denmark and Ch is from Belgium. They live in Luxembourg. Ch said: ‘I love gymnastics. My favourite colour is green. My favourite city is New York. My country is very big and cool. And I love Carnaval.’ S said: ‘I love my pet (a dog). My favourite colour is purple. My favourite country is Denmark. My country is calm. And I like Carnaval.
By Percy
I asked my Mum. Her name is Catherine. She’s Belgian. She’s from Belgium. Her favourite sport is winter skiing. Her favourite colour is beige. Her favourite word is “sourire “ (smile in French). Her favourite place is Africa. She likes the beautiful countryside in Belgium but she doesn’t like politics. L asked Mallaury : Her favourite sport is horseriding. Her favourite colour is blue. Her favourite word is ‘sucre’ (sugar). Her favourite place is Australia. She likes French fries. She doesn’t like weather in France.
Interview : Multicultural Understanding.
By V
I asked my Grandma’s sister. Her name is Jacqueline.
She is Chilean and came from Chile to spend some holidays in Luxembourg. Her favourite sport is walking and her favourite colour is white. She also has a favourite word in her language, which is “amor”. It means “love”. Her favourite place is Chile. About her country, she likes its sea and its mountains, but she doesn’t like the poverty that some people have to live in.
