It’s National Careers Week 7-12th March and we want to highlight why speaking and learning other languages is so important for careers, as well as the wider benefits of understanding other cultures and developing transferable skills which can have a positive impact on life choices and opportunities.
As well as our ongoing work on Newcastle City of Languages, there are a range of free activities in the Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages this month, which International Newcastle hosts, with a range of activities and resources to enable children, young people, teachers, careers advisers and parents to find out more about the positive impacts of language learning.
The priorities of the Our Newcastle Our World plan are:
We work with partners in the city, region, UK and abroad to:
- support international connections and links to help young people gain positive life experiences and help raise aspirations and open up new opportunities
- support the take up, learning and teaching of languages to build skills and widen perspectives and career opportunities
- to celebrate diversity within the city and value and support the wealth of difference within our communities
This is what young people and those who work with them said we should work together on, during our 2019-20 consultation on the Our Newcastle Our World youth priority:
In 2021 and 2022 International Newcastle has been hosting a regional festival of Languages in March to promote and celebrate languages spoken in the region, their cultures and our connections to the world. With contributions from a wide range of partners, this Festival enables children and young people across the region to have fun and participate in a wide range of free events and activities, express themselves in their own language and languages they are learning and to find out more about different cultures and traditions.
Why are languages so important?
Learning and speaking another language:
- Helps you appreciate other cultures and diversity
- Helps you gain insights into widens your perspectives and understanding of the world
- Builds your confidence. interpersonal and communications skills
- Opens up new opportunities for travel and making new friends and connections
- Improves your career opportunities and your choice of employment – across all sectors – employers want people who can adapt, who understand how to work with people in other countries and from different backgrounds and who can build lasting working relationships
Free festival events and resources: how languages can impact on lives and careers
Speaking and learning languages has many benefits from boosting confidence, widening perspectives about the world and how we interact with others, our awareness and appreciation of other cultures and ways of life, as well as the positive impact on raising aspirations and influencing opportunities for future careers. The Festival has incorporated a number of activities and resources with real life examples for schools and young people. We hope to:
- inspire young people and demonstrate the benefits of language learning and the positive impacts this can have on their future life and careers
- celebrate our diverse languages and cultures
- inspire people to take up languages
1,933 young people in years 8 and 9 in schools across the region attended this British Council hosted online event on 8th March about languages and careers, with guest speakers who use languages in their work and their lives. Click on the link to find out more (videos of the event will be shared when available)
How languages changed my life stories (Available anytime). We are gathering and sharing stories of people from or who came to live in the North East about what languages mean to them the impact on their lives, opportunities, choices and careers. Stories include a journalist, MP, lecturers, teacher, students, photographer, police officers and broadcaster, amongst others
Podcast: Stories from Newcastle (Available anytime). This podcast explores why speaking and learning different languages is so important. Hear how languages can open up a world of opportunities for young people and adults. With contributions from British Council, International Newcastle, Newcastle Schools MFL Network, a student, MP, artists and performers and children from St Paul’s Primary School.
Other resources
Click on the links below for more resources around promoting positive messages about language learning:
- Newcastle City of Languages priorities, resources and activities
- Watch ‘How languages help in your career‘ on you tube (football, poet, musician, lawyer, army, documentary maker, communications and PR, vlogger) from Creative Multilingualism (9 minutes)
- British Council provides a lot of resources and support for schools to enrich the quality of education in schools and equip young people to live and work successfully in a global society.
- British Council All Party Parliamentary Group’s report and recommendations: The value of international experience, skills and connections for young people in the UK
- Durham County Council (International) and Durham University have produced a range of materials about languages and careers.
- Association of Language Learning (ALL) resources for making the case for studying languages
- ALL research and articles on why learning languages is a good thing
- Supporting Modern Foreign Languages in your School: A guide for governors (British Council, NGA)