National Foreign Language Week

Each year, the Cambridge Public Schools World Language Department celebrates National Foreign Language Week. National Foreign Language Week is a celebration of World Languages and the importance and benefits of being multilingual. Schools around the city participate in the week in a variety of ways: student announcements in different languages; Welcome Walls with greetings in languages from around the world; Food Services created a menu that highlighted dishes from around the world; a language trivia photo montage, and other fun activities.

CRLS culminated the week with the Student Government sponsored Culture Night during which families, students, and staff had the opportunity to experience the diverse community of Cambridge through an “Around the World” interactive experience. Classrooms on the first floor of the Arts building were transformed into “mini countries” where there were presentations and activities that gave everyone the opportunity to experience the various cultures of CRLS. During Culture Night, the World Language Department had a “red carpet” experience where families/students/staff could write a greeting in a different language and have their photo taken “red carpet” style; the Arabic and Spanish clubs sponsored games and music. See more photos from the night >>

We also launched the first “Tell Your Story” event during Culture Night, where the CRLS community had the opportunity to record their family’s heritage story, share a family memory, or a cultural tradition. We have begun a World Language audio archive; click on this page to listen to a few samples.