Language Theatre Comes to Kendrick
On 6th and 7th March, Year 9 and Year 10, language students had the opportunity to watch a play during the school day in either German or French, depending on the language/s they are learning. The plays were performed by native speakers in that language, which was a great opportunity for us to hear the pronunciation in daily conversation and to visualise how certain vocabulary we had learnt would be applicable in day-to-day life. During the lesson before each of the plays, we went through some of the more specific vocabulary needed for us to understand them, so we learnt from the plays whilst being entertained!
In French, we watched a play called “Le Cours d’Art”. It is about a prank where students are convinced that they have been locked in a classroom after school. The actors were able to play six different characters between the two of them through the use of props and contrasting ways of speaking, which taught us some more casual French. It was funny and well-acted as well as engaging for the audience. The actors picked a student and then asked the audience questions about her personality, allowing us to revisit all the adjectives we first learnt to describe people.
In German, we learnt some baby specific 
vocabulary as this play was about someone babysitting. We also learnt some modern phrases which people our age may use when the babysitter referenced her own thoughts and relationships. The good thing about these plays was that they occasionally used modern-day slang, which is less likely to be used in a textbook. The German play also involved many different members of the audience who had to “deliver messages” to another character, making it an engaging experience. Even if we did not fully understand what was being said by the actors, they helped by sometimes miming what they meant, and so we were taught without even realising.
By Lisa, Year 10