On Tuesday, 23 April, Savremena’s Year 10 students visited the Cervantes Institute where they participated in the public reading of what is considered the greatest work of Spanish literature, the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.

The Spanish institution, present in 86 countries all over the world, promotes the Spanish language and Spanish and Hispanic culture through events such as this one.

Savremena’s students – part of the global reading public

World Book Day is an annual event celebrated on 23 April, on the day in which two literary giants, Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, died in 1616. This is why the Cervantes Institute traditionally organises events gathering the lovers of Spanish literature, including Savremena’s students.

Savremena’s students listened to numerous representatives of the Serbian academic and cultural life read parts of what’s considered the most significant novel in Spanish literature. In addition to Spanish, excerpts from Cervantes’ Don Quixote were also read in Portuguese, Catalan, Quechua, Nahuatl and French.

Savremena’s students had a tour around the Institute and learnt about the way the library operates and its catalogue. Along with the opportunity to see a plethora of literary classics, Spanish teacher Jovana Vidović showed them the course books, films and additional reading materials they can use to expand their vocabulary and enhance their Spanish skills.

Expanding knowledge outside classrooms

At Savremena, we know that in order to improve knowledge, it is necessary for the lessons and
activities to be not only educational, but interesting and fun, as well. The proof that this approach to education is effective lies in the fact that, after the visit to the Cervantes Institute, the students expressed the wish to sign up for the membership at their library and visit it more often, so that they could find new interesting things and useful information about the Spanish culture and language.