Modern Foreign Languages Celebrate Pride Month

The School’s MFL department were excited to celebrate Pride month with a focus on the issues surrounding gendered language in the two foreign languages that they study; French and Spanish.

We take it for granted that in the English language we can use inclusive pronouns such as ‘they/them’ without much thought however both French and Spanish have specifically gendered versions of the word for ‘they’ making it difficult to use gender inclusive pronouns. MFL teachers took the opportunity to encourage discussion with the students about the difficulties of being a non-binary or gender fluid person in the Francophone or Hispanic speaking worlds, and were greatly encouraged by the open-mindedness and thoughtful contributions from their Year 7 and 8 pupils, in particular, during these lessons.

Students considered how language would be if they were not able to indicate gender – both the advantages and disadvantages. MFL teachers had them working to decide who should have the biggest influence on how languages change and develop as society changes.

The discussion about gender inclusive language in the MFL classroom is one that is coming up more and more, and most often the question is asked by a student which  demonstrates that those at CDS have a desire to be inclusive and welcoming to all genders and people.

The school is proud to support its LGBTQ+ community and the languages department will continue to develop in this area.