Page 21 - The College Echo Spring 2019

Modern Foreign Language 19

The Sights and Sounds of Valencia

In March, Year 13 Spanish linguists visited Valencia, one of the most culturally relevant capital cities of Spain.
The visit took place during the popular festival of ‘Las Fallas’, where the students had the chance to experi-
ence the festive and traditional atmosphere of the city during these special days.
They had a very busy schedule. exploring the city and visiting unusual places of interest; including a Baroque
Palace and the museum of Blasco Ibañez, The students also visited La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias and
the Principe Felipe Museum, where they voted for the best ‘ninot de fallas’. In the evening, they went to
Ruzafa to see the impressive festive light decorations.

The students also visited ‘La Mascleta’, a daytime Valencian tradition
that happens during Fallas. Enjoying displays of colour resembling
fireworks, with the objective being to create as much noise as possible.
The festive atmosphere was everywhere with music in the streets.
Before leaving Valencia the students visited ‘Mercado Central’ (one of
the biggest markets in Europe) and also went underground to visit the
Roman ruins of Valencia.
“It was excellent because we had to use our Spanish to order the food
and we experienced Spanish culture first hand.” Year 13 student.

Experiencing Salamanca

The highly anticipated annual Modern Foreign Languages trip to Salamanca took place once again in
February, with 39 eager Year 9 students exploring one of the most historical capitals of Spain.
For 5 days, students took part in a wide range of lessons and cultural activities at ISLA, an award-winning
Spanish Language School, where they tested and put into practice all that they have learnt in College.
The opportunities they had to practise their language skills on various situations were many and our students

made the most of it. This is what some of the students had to say about
the trip:
“I really enjoyed my time here. Nothing I have done before has given
me the experience that I have had over these 5 days. It has been a very
educational and fun trip and my grades will definitely be higher.”
“For me, the highlight of the trip was the salsa lesson on Wednesday night
and the Spanish cooking lesson on Thursday afternoon because we
could fully understand the lives of Salmantinos.”
Both the College staff and the teachers at ISLA were very impressed with
the level of effort and commitment from the students, with many showing
great progress as strong future Spanish linguists.