We are thrilled to share this podcast, ‘Stories from Newcastle: The importance of languages and language learning‘.
Since November 2019, International Newcastle has been working with British Council and a wide range of local, regional and national partners to promote and celebrate language learning and support language teaching in the city with our initiative Newcastle City of Languages and hosting Express Yourself North East Festival of Languages in March 2021 and again in March 2022.
This podcast, funded by British Council and produced by local audio artist Chantal Herbert, shines a light on why it is so important, sharing stories and poems from children, young people, a teacher, artists, politician and teacher in Newcastle, as well as International Newcastle’s Director and British Council’s Head of Internationalism. Please listen and share!
The podcast features stories from:
- Julia Handelman-Smith, Head of Internationalism at the British Council
- Declan Baharini, Director of International Newcastle
- Alex Reid Milligan, Teacher at Throckley Primary School and Convenor of the Newcastle schools Modern Foreign Languages Network
- Jess Olenburg, Student and Au Pair
- Pupils from St Paul’s Primary School reading some of their poems ‘I am’, written as part of the Express Yourself North East Festival of Languages 2021 Mother Tongue Other Tongue project
- Chi Onwurah MP, Labour Member of Parliament for Newcastle Central and Shadow Minister
- Yuvel Soria, Bolivian dancer and GemArts artist and performer
- Wambui Hardcastle, Writer and Poet performing an original poem
The podcast is hosted by Alicia Gerez and produced by Chantal Herbert
Special thanks to Sarah Edgar from St Paul’s Primary School and Newcastle City Council lead for international links and languages in schools and to Asya Robins, British Council (Internationalism Team) for their help and support.
The Internationalism Alliance is a group of 80 organisations that all share the ambition to offer every child and young person, whatever their background or interest, the opportunity to learn from – and connect with – other people worldwide.
At the British Council, we believe that languages, and other international experiences and connections, have a transformative impact on the lives of young people. This podcast explores the multitude of benefits that language learning has for young people.
Focusing on languages and language learning in the city of Newcastle in North-East England, we speak to young people, politicians, educators, and organisations to understand why it is essential to promote languages in communities and how language speaking and learning have changed their lives.
Recording and editing this podcast has been an enjoyable learning experience, and it has been fascinating speaking to so many people.
As someone who only speaks one language, I have been inspired to make sure that my son keeps up with his language learning, which will benefit his future horizons. I have also been persuaded to go back to learning Dutch (I used to live in Rotterdam) as I hope to live back in the Netherlands again.
Chantal Herbert: Sister Shack CIC Founder and Director, Audio Producer