British Council (Schools) hosted thousands of young people online today at their “Where can languages take me?” webinar. This is the last in our series of Festival languages and careers webinars designed to inform and inspire young people to think about how speaking another language can open doors to a world of opportunities.
Around 5,000 Year 8 and 9 pupils from North East and UK schools attended live or will be accessing the recording of the webinar and using the accompanying pupil booklet to carry on discussing how languages could change their lives, education and careers.
- Click here for the recording of the ‘Where can languages take me’ webinar
- Click here to download the pupil booklet that accompanies the webinar
Sharing experiences of languages, travel and careers
Vicky Gough from British Council hosted the session, which introduced three young professionals who had made the choice to study languages and whose lives had been transformed as a result.
Rich, Senior Language Analyst, Intelligence Analyst with GCHQ, joined as an avatar, as the work he does with the security services is sensitive. Originally from the North East, he had a passion for languages from a young age, learning French and Spanish and then going on to study Korean at University. He worked in Korea and then for a Korean company in England, before joining GCHQ.
He told young people that he loves his work as a language and intelligence analyst, mentoring others and speaking to schools about the opportunities available to join GCHQ. He said that it is a very diverse workplace, with people from all backgrounds, with a wide range of skills, including languages. His work has taken him all across the world, working with other agencies to prevent threats to the UK.
Young people asked why he chose to work there and what other languages would be useful to learn. Rich said that GCHQ is a fun place to work, with lots of fascinating people and the chance to use languages every day. He said that GCHQ is particularly interested in people who can speak Russian, Chinese and Arabic, as well as a wide range of other languages.
Mhairi MacDonald works on the Language Assistants Programme for British Council. She studied French and Spanish at school and University, adding Italian. She told young people how she spent a year in Madrid as part of her degree and met people from all over the world world, as well as spending another year as an English Language Assistant in Nantes, France – building her confidence and finding out about the people and cultures. She also spent time teaching English in Colombia, which she said was a really different experience, but was able to use her language and teaching skills, as well as meeting lots of new people and learning about the country.
Mhairi said that going abroad had enabled her to make a lot of international friends, visit lots of places and also practice her languages. She said that there are so many doors that open for travel and careers when you speak another language, as the world is so interconnected.
Louise Cantillon is the Consul General Sydney for the UK and Trade Commissioner for Australia. She represents the UK in discussions, looks after British nationals in Australia (e.g. lose passport) and helps to develop education and trade links as part of the bilateral relationships between the UK and Australia. Originally from Manchester, she saved up to travel abroad, learned French, German and Spanish at school. but after attending a University open day, decided to study Mandarin Chinese and spent a year abroad there.
When she graduated, she went to work at the British Embassy in Beijing and spent 12 years in China. She said her current role is interesting and Chinese is seen as a core skill, as there are so many Chinese communities in Australia. Her career has taken her all over Asia and she said to young people that if they don’t know what they want to choose as options, to build in languages, to keep these open – languages are useful for all careers.
Q&A – Louise and Mhairi
In the Q&A young people asked Louise and Mhairi a range of questions – these are a sample:.
- What’s your favourite language? Mhairi – French – she watched youtube and listened to music in French as a girl
- What was Colombia like? Louise said it was very different, humid and stormy and the weather is always the same every day. The school started very early and finished early. She said it is very mountainous and beautiful
- Would you recommend teaching overseas? Mhairi said definitely and that it is a great way to learn the language and also earn money at the same time. You also get to make friends and socialise with locals.
- Was there a big difference between schools in France, the UK and Colombia? Mhairi said that the days were longer in France, but with 2 hour lunchbreaks when children went home, whereas they were shorter in Colombia starting earlier and finishing earlier due to the heat. In terms of exams, she said that the UK is very exam focussed with exams at the end of the year. In France it is continuous assessment and there in Colombia they don’t have many exams, but they learned outside, which was a really nice way to teach.
- How does learning one language help you learn others? Mhairi said that it does. In Spain, she said her listening and comprehension got better in French as well – you learn the skills whatever language. Learning grammar is a skill that you can apply to different languages. Louise agreed and said that you understand more about how to put sentences together, grammar, tenses – using the same concepts. She said that grammar in Chinese is easy and there are no tenses, just today or tomorrow.
- How long did it take you to get fluent in the language? Mhairi said that once she had spent time abroad, she felt that she was fluent, but it depends on what you think it is. She said that being able to speak without anxiety and being understood, being able to have a conversations about complex things is the most important thing. She said she became fluent more quickly in Spanish than French. Louise said that the younger you are the better – you can absorb languages and your brain adapts to think in different languages.
- What advice would you give people listening about languages? Louise said just give it a go – it can change your life – you don’t need to be fluent and you don’t need to be perfect. Mhairi agreed and added that everyone has their own learning style and just go at your own pace.
Vicky thanked the speakers and everyone listening and said that she hopes it inspires their own language learning and helps them to think about going to university to study languages and spending time overseas. She said that if you can take part in a school exchange, that is a great first step and can inspire you to carry on.
Further information and links
- 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. Read more about how we can support the teaching of languages in your school here: Support for language teaching | British Council
- Follow the link for more information about British Council’s programme for teaching abroad as an English Language Assistant
- Find out about the work of GCHQ here and find out more about GCHQ’s Education and Outreach programme here, as well as GCHQ careers here.
