New Routes, Old Roots

The My Languages and Me competition set out to celebrate the linguistic diversity of our region, and we have definitely succeeded! Children from primary and secondary schools across the Eastern region presented work to celebrate 14 different languages (Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Turkish) that are part of their everyday life in the Eastern region of England. We received emotional and personal stories, moving poems, beautiful drawings and even a joyous song — all to celebrate the multilingual life that our participants are proud of. 

The standard of the competition entries was extremely high and choosing the final three winners was an exceptionally challenging task. We loved every single entry, and all of the participants did a fantastic job! We judged each submission against four criteria: creativity, content, artistic value, and overall impression. After counting our points, we were able to reveal the winners. 

1st Prize goes to  Maja Kamieniecka for her song called Jestem Polakiem [I am a Pole].  

2nd Prize goes to Thea for her creative translation of a Hebrew book.

3rd Prize goes to  Charlie Michael Gao for the artwork called Niu Nian da Ji [The Year of the Ox].

On this occasion, we would like to congratulate all the participants on taking part in the competition! You are all winners for us! 

Check Out All of Our Brilliant Entries Below!

Maja Kamieniecka, Year 5, St, Jadwiga The Queen Polish Saturday School, Forest Gate – 1st Prize! Jestem Polakiem [I am a Pole].  

Maja Kamieniecka

Słowa piosenki w Języku Polskim i Języku Angielskim/Lyrics of my song in Polish and English Language

Jestem autorką tekstu piosenki, którą napisałam kiedy zobaczyłam informację o konkursie i zdecydowałam, że chcę w nim uczestniczyć i napisać swoją własną piosenkę. Jestem też autorką linii melodycznej. Ta piosenka jest cała moja.

I am the author of the lyrics and this song was written for this competition. When I saw the information about the competition, I decided to take part and write my own song. I am the author of the melody too. This song is an original. 

Polish Language /Język Polski

Ja jestem Polakiem

Moje miasto pełne kultur

Wiele języków słyszę co dnia

W szkole koledzy z całego świata

Mówią do mnie “Jak się masz?”

Sobota dla mnie to polska szkoła

Tam o Polsce uczę się

Gdy ktoś zapyta kim ja jestem

To z uśmiechem powiem że…

Ref.

Ja jestem Polakiem,

Moja rodzina mieszka tu.

Lecz moje serce jest w Polsce

I tęsknię do morza, jezior, gór.

Ja jestem Polakiem,

Moja rodzina mieszka tu.

Lecz moje serce jest w Polsce

I tęsknię do morza, jezior, gór.

Jestem rozdarty między krajami,

Bo nie wiem gdzie moje miejsce jest.

Mama powtarza mów po polsku,

Po angielski łatwiej jest.

Odliczam dni już do wakacji,

Bilet zakupiony jest.

I gdy odwiedzę dziadków w Polsce,

To wtedy czuję że…

Ref.

Ja jestem Polakiem,

Moja rodzina mieszka tu.

Lecz moje serce jest w Polsce

I tęsknię do morza, jezior, gór.

Ja jestem Polakiem,

Moja rodzina mieszka tu.

Lecz moje serce jest w Polsce

I tęsknię do morza, jezior, gór.

English Language/Język Angielski

I am Polish

My city is full of culture

Many languages I’m hearing every day,

At school my friends from around the world

Ask me “How are you?”

Saturday is polish school

There I learn about Poland

When someone asks me who I am

Then with the smile I answer…

Chorus:

I am Polish

My family lives here,

But my heart is in Poland

And I miss the sea, lakes and mountains.

I am Polish

My family lives here,

But my heart is in Poland

And I miss the sea, lakes and mountains.

I’m torn between two countries

Because I don’t know where I belong

My mum repeats speak in Polish

But it is easier in English

I’m counting down days till vacation

My ticket has already been bought

And when I visit my grandparents in Poland

Then I feel like…

Chorus:

I am Polish

My family lives here,

But my heart is in Poland

And I miss the sea, lakes and mountains.

I am Polish

My family lives here,

But my heart is in Poland And I miss the sea, lakes and mountains.

Thea, Year 2, Park Street Primary School, Cambridge – 2nd Prize! (Hebrew)

The video shows Thea reading in two languages from a hebrew book she translated. She is reading her own translation which she pasted onto the pages. 

Charlie Michael Gao, Year 7, Dereham Neatherd Highschool – 3rd Prize (Chinese) Niu Nian da Ji [The Year of the Ox] 

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Sanjeevani, Year 7, Frances Bardsley Academy (Tamil)

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Front Back

Thulasi, Year 7, Frances Bardsley Academy (Tamil)

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Maria Filipino, Year 7, Frances Bardsley Academy (Portugese)

‘My Languages and Me’

My languages are like my best friends when I travel, they help me to communicate differently now let me introduce you to my languages, first is Filipino, second English and last Portuguese.

The Filipino language or also known as Tagalog, is the dialect that I speak and use more often at home, for it is the language that I grew up speaking and much comfortable speaking with. The Filipino language also helps me to represent the Filipino culture more to other people especially in school, I want to represent the Filipino culture because I feel like other people also needs to get to know about the Philippines.

The English language wasn’t really hard for me to learn, it was easy for me to learn because it is the second language spoken in the Philippines, fun fact the Philippines is on the list of the top most English speakers in the world! This is the dialect I use in school. The English language helps me to speak with foreign people, although sometimes I am not straight and don’t know some words in English, but I try my best, I also get help from Miss Spinks from my school, she is the best! And I am thankful to have a teacher like her as someone who is helping to improve my English.

The Portuguese language is the last European language that I learnt, I know the Portuguese language very well and I am fluent in it. I know the Portuguese language because I studied and lived in Portugal for five years, me and my parents were really surprised how I learnt it in under a week or so, it was really fast, but I started to practice it more so I could be more fluent and be able to communicate with Portuguese people. However at the beginning it was a bit hard to understand the Portuguese culture and also the maths, because in Portugal the way that they do maths is very different. Furthermore, I managed to learn it at the end and understand it more clearly. This is the dialect that I often use to speak to my parents and my friends in Portugal through social media.

This is the story about how I learnt all the languages that I can speak today, it was really fun to make this story. When I was writing this story it felt like I was traveling and writing in a diary about my journey of how I can speak these amazing languages, I also wanted to give advice. ‘Even when you feel like you want to give up on doing something, please don’t, just keep trying over and over again until you get to the point where you actually want to do, do not listen to other people and believe in yourself. Follow your heart and chase your dreams.’

I also want to learn three new languages like French, Italian and Japanese, I am also currently also learning Spanish! Hopefully one day I am able to be fluent in these languages as well.

Ashley Bell, Year 9, Dereham Neatherd Highschool (German)

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Maria Popescu, Year 3, Milton Road Primary School, Cambridge (Romanian)

My name is Maria Popescu and I am in year 3 at Milton Road Primary School in Cambridge.I was born in Cambridge, but my parents were born in Romania and most of my family still live there. In my drawing I tried to show a few things about the country. I hope you like it and it will help you to learn more about Romania. 

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Student at Sprowston Community Academy (Greek)

Please click on the link below:

Sara Alfonsín Pascual, Year 6, Milton Road Primary School (Spanish)

¡EXTRAÑO ESPAÑA! (I MISS SPAIN!)

La última vez que fui a España nunca supe lo que pasaría.

Mi prima de 4 años pronto cumplirá 6.

Extraño España, la playa el sol mi familia.

¿Por qué me lo quitaron?

Ahora estoy aquí en esta prisión.

¿Alguien me salvará?

¿Qué hacer? ¿Qué hacer?

Mi mente está hecha un nudo y no puedo deshacerlo.

Ahora Zoom es un gran éxito.

No es lo mismo. ¿Lo es?

¿POR QUÉ? ¿POR QUÉ? ¿POR QUÉ?

Eso es todo en lo que puedo pensar.

Lo que me hizo ser así, bueno, se fue.

Como flores sin agua.

O la Antártida sin frío.

Todavía tengo recuerdos como:

la vez que estábamos tratando de hacernos reír el uno al otro

hasta que nos salió agua por la nariz.

¡EXTRAÑO ESPAÑA!

English Translation:

I MISS SPAIN!

The last time I went to Spain I never knew what would happen.

My 4-year-old cousin will soon be 6.

I miss Spain, the beach, the sun, my family.

Why was it taken from me?

Now I am here in this prison.

Will someone save me?

What to do? What to do?

My mind is in a knot and I can’t undo it.

Now Zoom is a great success.

Is not the same. It is?

WHY? WHY? WHY?

That’s all I can think of.

What made me, well me, is gone.

Like flowers without water.

Or Antarctica without cold.

I still have memories like,

The time we were trying to make each other laugh

Until water came out of our noses.

I MISS SPAIN!

Sophia Payne, Class 5, Milton Road Primary Cambridge (French)

‘I Never Read Nursery Rhymes’

Have you ever heard the rhyme oh that nursery rhyme of the cow the lion and the ring?
And the bat and the song where they all sing along? Oh sorry tey aren’t a thing!
Varieties, varieties, oh what to choose? Why dont we start with the monkey with the bruise! 
The flie and the flea and the cabbage who’s free! And the blue cheese with a tune!
But my favourite rhyme of-all-time! Has to be the cow who jumped over the moon.

‘Je n’ai jamais lu les comptines! ‘

Avez-vous déjà entendu la rhyme oh cette comptine de la vache, le lion et la bague?
Et la chauve-souris et la chanson ou ils chantent tous ensemble? Oh désolé, Ils ne sont pas une chose! 
Variétés, variétés, oh que choisir?Pourquoi ne commencer par le singe avec l’ecchymose.
La mouche et la puce et le chou qui est libre! Et le fromage bleu avec une mélodie.
Mais ma rime préférée de tous les temps!Doit être la vache qui a sauté par-dessus la lune. 

Harriet Flack, Year 4, Milton Road Primary School, Cambridge (Multi-languages)

Please click on the link below:

Boris Vrantsaliev, Year 5, Milton Road Primary School, Cambridge (Bulgarian)

България

Аз съм роден в малка държава,

за която хората малко знаят.

Там е много различно-

има много слънце и сняг.

Там плодовете и зеленчуците

са най- вкусните.

Там хората са много гостоприемни.

И прирадата е прелестна.

Там има древни традиции,

като сурвакане и мартеници.

Знам, че няма да го разберете,

но аз съм много горд че съм българин.

Bulgaria

I was born in a small country

which people know little about.

It is very different, because

there is lots of sun and snow.

There are fruits and vegetables

that are the most delicious.

The people there are very hospitable.

And the nature is lovely.

There are ancient traditions there

such as survakane and martenitsa,

I know you won’t understand it,

but I am proud to be Bulgarian.

Mika Breitel, 8 years old, Avenues Junior School,Norwich (Hebrew)

Mika prepared a drawing with ilustrating objects from different Israeli and Jewish holidays – A Menorah for Hanuka; An apple dipped in honey for Rosh Ha’shanah (Jewish new  year); A crown for Purim (for the costume); A date for Tu B’shvat (the “trees’ and nature’s new year); The flag of IsraelThe Star of David.

Please click on the link below:

Tamara Breitel, 10 Years old, Avenues Junior School, Norwich (Hebrew)

Tamara prepared flash cards with the Hebrew Alphabet. Each card illustrates a Hebrew letter, its phonics in English, a drawing of an object that starts in that letter in Hebrew, its written word in Hebrew and translation in English. 

Please click on the link below:

Manar Orabi, Year 10, Notre Dame High School, Norwich (Arabic)

‘My Inspirational Journey’

Please click on the link below:

My Inspirational Journey by Manar Orabi

When I was in Egypt I was taking private English lessons to develop my English. Unfortunately I had no interest in the language because I was ignorant about English culture – I was only going to the lessons for entertainment and to show-off to my friends. I wanted them to think that I was clever and could learn another language easily.

On the 10^th of October 2017 my life changed forever. We moved from Egypt to England. My exhausting but essential journey to learning English began. I had to learn English because I had to go to school and help my family adapt to life in a new country and a new beginning. The thought of going to school made me feel anxious and frustrated. Because I wasn’t fluent in English and didn’t know very much about England, I didn’t know how to make a friendship, participate in lessons or how to learn the language properly.

I started my lessons with Miss Weal. I began to understand how to learn languages step by step. Through these lessons, I noticed that I learned English quickly and well. This was also helped by the support of my other teachers and the motivation that my family gave me.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t learn any English outside of school as learning English wasn’t on my list of ambitions, but I needed to learn the language to understand what was going on around me and to help my family. Sometimes people asked me how I learned English so quickly and my answer always was that “I don’t know”.

I still don’t really know.

Over time I noticed that learning English was easier with the help of my teachers and the people around me. My start in learning English was difficult because I faced people who smashed me with their negative words and made me compare myself to other people, but I did not hear them. I wanted to show them that they were wrong. I put learning English at the top of my list of goals. Thank God I managed to achieve that goal and I am still learning. My first step was to make friends with people who were confident in English language. This helped me a lot.

My writing skills improved and when we were in school we talked a lot which also helped my ability to speak fluently. The most important thing in learning any language is the establishment of basic rules. Rules make a big difference to any language you want to learn. This is because they form the foundation of learning language and that means it is easier to learn.

If you want my advice, it’s better to keep people around you that really want to help you develop and not people who destroy you and give you negative energy. One of the most important things is also to be confident because we are human beings and we make mistakes. One of my tips in learning any language is to listen to yourself before anyone else. Develop yourself and try not to compare yourself to anyone else who may be better than you are because we are all different from each other and each one of us has our own strengths. It’s very natural not to know everything. Don’t blame yourself.

Nobody was born ready!

Derin Aura Geyik, Year 1, Milton Road Primary School (Turkish)

Küçük Kuzu (The Little Sheep)

Küçük Kuzu dünyaya gözlerini açtığında çok heyecanlıydı ama kuyruğu yoktu.

Büyük gözleriyle etrafına bakıyordu.

Çevresinde bir sürü kuzu daha vardı.

Bu kuzular zıplıyor ve neşeyle oynuyorlardı.

Küçük kuzu onlara katılmak ve oynamak istedi.

Onlara usulca gitti.

“Merhaba arkadaşlar, ben de sizinle oynayabilir miyim?” dedi.

Kuzular, “Hayır, sen bizim arkadaşımız değilsin, bizim gibi kuyruğun yok, bizimle oynayamazsın” dediler.

Bunu duyunca küçük kuzunun gözyaşları aktı.

Hemen annesinin yanına gitti.

Olanları anlattı.

Annesi, “Üzülme canım, farklılıklar çok güzel. Hayatımıza renk katıyor.” dedi. Ve onu tüylerinden öptü.

Bunu duyan ve mutlu olan küçük kuzu tek başına oynamaya başladı.

Bir gün kuyruğu olmayan başka bir kuzu daha gördü ve o da tek başına oynuyordu.

“Merhaba arkadaşım, bana benziyorsun” dedi

Birlikte çok iyi oynadılar.

Diğer kuzular onların mutlu bir şekilde oynadıklarını görünce onlarla oynamak istediler.

Sonra hepsi birlikte oynadılar, zıpladılar, zıpladılar.

Böylece hepsi çok iyi arkadaş oldular.

Farklılıklar güzel, bunu unutma 🙂

The Little Sheep

When the Little Sheep opened his eyes to the world, he was very excited but he had no tail.

He was looking around with his big eyes.

There were many sheep around him.

These sheep were jumping and playing merrily.

The little sheep wanted to join them and play.

He went to them softly.

He said, “Hello guys, can I play with you too?”

The lambs said “No, you are not our friend, you don’t have a tail like we all do, you cannot play with us.”

Hearing this, the tears flowed from the little sheep.

He immediately went to its mother.

He told what happened.

His mother said, “Don’t be sad my dear, differences are very beautiful. It adds color to our lives.” And kissed him from his feathers ..

Hearing this and being happy, the little sheep started to play alone.

One day, he saw another sheep with no tail, and he was playing alone too.

He said, “Hello friend, you look like me”

They played very well together.

Other sheep saw them playing happily and wanted to play with them.

Then they all played together, jumped, jumped.

So they all became very good friends.

Differences are nice, don’t forget that 🙂