INTERLINGUA
ISSUE FOUR THE CAREERS ISSUE
EDITORIAL MODERN LANGUAGES - THE STATE OF PLAY Dr. Helen Laurenson Head of Modern Languages
The start of the third decade of the twenty-first century has been eventful for many reasons. The twin spectres of Brexit and Covid have dealt many blows, both personal and collective, encouraging a swelling sense of insularity and autonomy, from trade deals to vaccine nationalism. The irony is that languages are never more needed, but not for the reasons with which they have been traditionally associated in the United Kingdom. The rather unstable trajectory of language teaching, with its vacillation between traditional (translation, dictation and grammar), and progressive (communicative) methods, has never quite found its way, and is now in the unenviable sights of the canon that is STEM. A rapidly changing global panorama demands a change to the old-fashioned precepts of 'teaching in silos', with an unhelpful and frankly isolationist mentality. It was to this end that the Upper Remove Modern Languages Symposium was devised, and which took place on 3 November, in an attempt to provide practical examples of how languages provide a far-reaching skillset in a range of real life careers. Pupils were privileged to attend workshops chaired by successful Old Gowers and other speakers from the worlds of Journalism, Academia, Business, Diplomacy and Law. Pupils learnt first-hand how in an unstable world and a competitive jobs market, languages are crucial tools in giving candidates the edge in a range of vocational disciplines. The direction of languages at A-level and beyond does not terminate in a cul de sac of teaching (God forbid!) or translation work. But don't take my word for it...
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
THE INTERVIEW SIMON WILSON OLD GOWER Alexander Evers & Oskar Khan, Sixth
For Careers Issue of Interlingua, we are delighted to profile an Old Gower, Simon Wilson, who is Head of Journalism, Europe and America Region for the BBC World Service. Simon has held a variety of BBC editorial posts around the world, including as Bureau Chief in Washington, Jerusalem and Brussels. Simon, who studied French and German at Cambridge, was part of a BBC team that won an International Emmy Award for the coverage of the conflict in the Lebanon in 2006 and was a 2008 Nieman Journalism Fellow at Harvard University. Alexander Evers and Oskar Khan (Sixth) were lucky enough to interview Simon to find out more. AE/OK: How did languages help you with journalism? SW: Initially not at all – at least not on the surface. I spent my first three years as a reporter at BBC Essex in Chelmsford covering council meetings, murder trials, car crashes etc. So knowledge of 19th French poetry was not very useful! But I think there is a deeper sense that if you are interested in languages you tend to be interested in the people who speak them – and being curious about people and their lives is a basic requirement for a journalist. Later, I ended up having two separate BBC assignments to Brussels totalling nine years and languages were invaluable. Even speaking English, French and German pretty well was a minimal level but immensely useful when news was breaking at an EU summit and I could understand Macron, Merkel etc in their own languages.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
THE INTERVIEW SIMON WILSON OLD GOWER
I regularly came across people at work and socially in Brussels who spoke half a dozeI regularly came across people at work and socially in Brussels who spoke half a dozen European languages fluently. Katya Adler, the current BBC Europe Editor in Brussels speaks five languages and can interview in any of them, so my language skills seemed pretty tame.n European languages fluently. Katya Adler, the current BBC Europe Editor in Brussels speaks five languages and can interview in any of them, so my language skills seemed pretty tame. AE/OK: Why would you recommend languages at university?
Most language courses offer the option of a year abroad which is such a great opportunity– I spent my third year in Paris and significantly improved both my French and my understanding of France and its culture. It depends a bit on what sort of person you are. Languages require a lot of reading and occasional essay crises – some people might get stressed by that. I found that I could organise my academic work around my other interests – eg sports and theatre – and I could catch up on reading late at night and weekends etc whereas friends studying sciences or law were more tied to weekday lectures.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
THE INTERVIEW SIMON WILSON OLD GOWER
AE/OK: Which did you choose to do in the year abroad: to work, to teach English or to study at university, and why and where?
I wanted to go to France as in those days German was very much a second language. The rumour was that Paris was almost impossible to get to as everyone wanted to go there but I put it as first choice anyway and was thrilled when it came off. I chose to teach as a language assistant in a school on the outskirts of Paris. I really wasn’t very good as a teacher and the kids ran rings around me. But it was only for about 12 lessons a week and gave me a small income and the rest of the time I was living in Paris, meeting people, taking the bus around town (not the metro as any REAL Parisian knows). I ended up sharing a tiny flat near République with a post grad maths student from Morocco who spoke beautiful French and insisted we never spoke a word of English in the apartment – so that was very good for my spoken French. AE/OK: abroad?
How did you benefit from the year
My spoken French improved immensely – not just from speaking it, but from watching TV and listening to Radio, reading papers and magazines and generally immersing myself in the culture. Being a bit of a news addict already at that stage I found I learnt a huge amount of vocabulary by watching the nightly TV news at 8pm. Even if I didn’t understand every word to start with, the video reports meant there were good clues to the vocabulary. 4
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
THE INTERVIEW SIMON WILSON OLD GOWER
AE/OK: Which of the three above options do you recommend to do in the year abroad?
I think that’s a really personal thing – each option has something going for it. But I would make sure that you have time to just soak up language and culture and don’t commit all your time to one thing. AE/OK: How much did your knowledge of your fluency in your chosen languages improve in the year abroad?
At the time, very much. German was very much a second language and I hadn’t really enjoyed my few visits there. So I didn’t really consider Germany. Ironically, I ended up living in Germany much later and working there for the BBC for two years. And I met my wife there – who is German – so now I hear German everyday as Ulrike speaks to our kids in her mother tongue. I think it would be wrong to go somewhere “just” to improve a language, you really have to want to be there and immerse yourself in the culture. AE/OK: How did you find the experience of studying at Cambridge?
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Overall, I really enjoyed it. But it would be wrong to paint too rosy a picture. Like many students I found the first year a bit of a challenge. Although UCS had prepared me in many ways for university life, it can still be a challenge to find one’s own niche and I had times early on that I was quite unhappy. Although the collegiate system is good in many ways, I didn’t fit in that well with the main social groups at my college which seemed to revolve quite a lot around rowing and drinking. So I was happiest in my second and fourth years when I lived out of college in rented houses.
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
THE INTERVIEW SIMON WILSON OLD GOWER
The great thing about any medium to big university is that if you look hard enough you will find likeminded people with energy and ambitions that match your own. I had a slightly schizophrenic existence playing football at University level by day and putting on obscure French plays and helping to organise a Post-Structuralist Psychoanalytical Society by night (slight journalistic licence there, but you get the picture.). In other words, In the end I found what I needed to make the most of my time at University. AE/OK: Why is it important to learn about and experience foreign culture?
It may not be that important for everyone. But for me, I have always been really curious to understand what makes people – and their societies -- tick. Before University, I took a year out and backpacked around India for six months. This was in the 1980’s and it was quite an adventurous thing to do – no mobile phones, no email. Apart from very occasional long distance phone calls from ancient post office booths my girlfriend and I were on our own for half a year in what was then pretty much a third world country. Having grown up in Hampstead, seeing extreme poverty, death and disease all around was a really powerful experience and definitely helped me develop some skills for some of the demanding travelling I did later in life. On that trip and almost everywhere else I have travelled I have been met with near universal kindness by people I have come across, even in war zones and natural disasters. That is something incredibly powerful and precious if one is lucky enough to experience it. 6
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
THE INTERVIEW SIMON WILSON OLD GOWER
AE/OK: What do you think is the value of reading foreign literature?
The best literature is both enjoyable and meaningful. I was (and still am sadly) rather underread in English. So I found a lot of the literature I studied at university really thought provoking – especially 18th and 19th century French writers like Voltaire, Flaubert and Balzac – as I hadn’t really had the chance to figure out what I thought about the big topics in life – Love, Family, God, Fate etc. Later, I really warmed to 20th century writers like Kafka, Joyce and Sartre who were playing with new forms of writing as well as making the content compelling. Although one can read these writers in translation – Kafka’s sense of alienation arguably translates particularly well for example – it is so much better if you can read them in the original and understand at least most of the meaning and cultural context. AE/OK: In preparation for your university interview, what was the time split between ALevel studies and extra-curricular study?
I was lucky that I belonged to a different era where many candidates applied to Oxbridge in their “7th term” – in other words they came back in the September after A Levels and had a whole extra timetable and sat special exams. My A Levels would not have been good enough to get into Cambridge in the summer, but I worked hard and made it by the end of the year.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
THE INTERVIEW SIMON WILSON OLD GOWER
AE/OK: When you arrived at Cambridge, what did a day’s work look like? How did this change in the second and fourth years?
Like some of the literature I have mentioned above, I am probably not a very trustworthy narrator of my own story! In my recollection, I would go to a couple of lectures a week about the authors I was particularly interested in , write an essay or two and have a couple of supervisions with 3 or 4 other students where we would be asked to talk through what we had made of a certain novel or play. In my memory, I used to get up late, let all the science students go off to lectures and then lie in one of the baths on our floor and read the newspaper before gently easing into the day at around midday. At the other end of the day, I would often be in the library until midnight or beyond – so the working hours would have evened out. I suspect that time and rose-tinted spectacles have influenced my memory. But its certainly true that the course at Cambridge was – and still is I believe – overwhelmingly based around literature. Other courses will have much more culture, film, sociology, linguistics options etc. In the second and fourth years, I was a lot more confident and on top of the work and I mainly remember reading, reading, reading in various locations I had found helped me concentrate. To give an example, I took a paper in 19th century French literature. Balzac was just one of several writers we studied and he wrote around 80 novels if I remember correctly, most of which seemed to be about 400 pages long. Obviously no one read them all – but I must have read ten or fifteen novels just by Balzac – so lots and lots of reading. 8
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
THE INTERVIEW SIMON WILSON OLD GOWER
AE/OK: To what extent do you decide the style of course you take in the second and fourth years?
I remember in the fourth year that I realised I could take some overlapping courses on subjects that I enjoyed and that would – coincidentally – help me manage the workload. So for my finals I sat papers in 20th Century French literature, 20th Century German literature plus a paper called ‘Avant-Garde movements in European Literature 1910-1945’. There was a lot of overlap which helped keep the workload down a bit and allowed me to study film and other related cultural movements.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO STEM + LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, SIMON HANASSAB Viraj Mehra & Louis Myers, Transitus
Old Gower, Simon Hanassab is currently studying for a Ph.D at Imperial College, London in Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare. He did a Year Abroad at the prestigious ETH Zürich. A firm advocat of STEM and languages, Viraj and Louis our Transitus Languages Ambassadors thoroughly enjoyed quizzing Simon on his career to date! VM/LM: How did German complement your other A-levels exactly?
SH: My other A-levels were Maths, Physics and Further Maths. German felt like a very different, yet complementary A-level and I think it was a good mix of subjects to take in terms of having the exposure to Maths and Physics which are obviously quite mathematically intense and rigorous. The content in German is completely different in terms of film, literature and language acquisition. VM/LM: Would you recommend doing a language along with STEM subjects to current UR pupils?
SH: Yes - 100%! I'd say that it really enhanced the experience for sure as a combination. The course that I applied for at university also incorporated a language as a valuable tool and combination to have. VM/LM: Was it a challenge to keep up with two contrasting disciplines once at university - in your case Engineering and German?
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO STEM + LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, SIMON HANASSAB Viraj Mehra & Louis Myers, Transitus
SH: It very much depends on the structure of your course. At Imperial it's very much promoted for undergraduates to take language courses forward for the multiple purposes - Year Abroad / Year in Industry, especially in Life Sciences and Engineering. This also reduces your module load, so that you can tailor your degree to your needs. It can also be done as extra-curricular credits. Also Summer Internships can serve to supplement your progress and employability in graduate programmes. VM/LM: Would you say that it is a popular choice that people do at university, STEM + a language?
SH: It is becoming increasingly popular - students are now much more conscious of the fact that we are living in a global society and that having an xtra language skill goes very far in terms of group projects, research, access to industry and a wider range of internationally renowned supervisors. Cross-cultural empathy is also valued - particularly of note at present are links to not just Spain, but Latin America. VM/LM: Could you give us an example of where languages were beneficial to you specifically?
SH: I was selected over other comparable (or even better!) undergraduates for my Exchange Year in Zürich and this was solely down to my linguistic skills in German. Similarly, my thesis during my Exchange Year was undertaken completely through the medium of German - at the University Hospital
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO STEM + LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, SIMON HANASSAB Viraj Mehra & Louis Myers, Transitus
SH: I was selected over other comparable (or even better!) undergraduates for my Exchange Year in Zürich and this was solely down to my linguistic skills in German. Similarly, my thesis during my Exchange Year was undertaken completely through the medium of German - at the University Hospital. It involved conversing and researching with clinicians and patients and my access to data via their mother tongue totally transformed the nature of my thesis.
VM/LM: Finally, would you feel comfortable not just studying but working abroad in the future?
SH: Absolutely! The opportunities and extended horizons that are open to me due to not just my technical and scientific knowledge, but also my language skills make emerging markets and startup cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Munich completely attainable and the exposure I had to this really began during my undergraduate Exchange Year.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO 'STUDY A LANGUAGE - YOUR FUTURE WILL THANK YOU' James Abrahams, Transitus
Well, you’re reading Interlingua, so you’re likely to be studying a language at either UCS or another school. In the past, wherever or whenever you have studied, I am sure you have listened to the perpetual prattle about why you should study, or continue to study languages. You nod along, perhaps even nod off, as the phrases ‘Languages can help you become a translator’ or ‘You can go into teaching’ reverberate through your school halls. These employment prospects, though immensely appealing for some, do not excite everyone. What is less talked about, however, is what languages can do for you, your employment prospects and your financials in other streams of work. When one thinks about where studying a language can get you in life, the image of thousands of £50 notes stacked in front of a multi-million pound mansion (usually) does not come to mind. This is a misconception however. Only 38% of UK citizens can speak two or more languages. This is a great shame, since 62% of the population is missing out a lot of extra gelt. The Economist estimates that workers with more than one language can earn an extra $67,000 - equivalent to a luxury car or 268,000 Cadbury’s Freddos - over their lifetime. And that is a conservative estimate, with estimates on the high end being closer to $150,000 over a language-lovers lifetime. Research from Euro London, a specialist recruitment agency, shows that learning a language adds between 10-15% to your wage.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO 'STUDY A LANGUAGE - YOUR FUTURE WILL THANK YOU' James Abrahams, Transitus
Wage bonuses are also impacted by language proficiency. If, like me, you’re a Germanophile, a 3.8% bonus is awarded, with French and Spanish also achieving 1.5% and 2.3% respectively. Having a language under your belt, despite many believing the contrary due to the recent bettering of translation software, makes you more attractive to those vernacular-vulture employers. 9 out of 10 European recruiters consider bilingualism critical in the hiring of new employees. Our friends, only a trans-atlantic flight away, tend to agree with us - 66% of North American employers believe that having a language will become increasingly important over the next 10 years. An increasingly globalised world requires an increasingly globalised class of workers who can travel to and effectively engage with foreign markets. Having enjoyed studying languages since the age of seven myself, I highly encourage anyone, of any age, to take a language up. It may just boost your paycheck and employability.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES FIONA BRUCE Evie Pereira Mendoza, Sixth
Fiona Bruce is a renowned journalist and broadcaster at the BBC, so words and language make up her life, but did you know that she studied Modern Languages at Oxford? She attended Hertford College, where she studied French and Italian. She said that ‘languages were what I was best at. I enjoyed talking and reading in other languages’. She studied Italian ab initio (as a new language), something that can feel very daunting and unknown, however after going to school in Milan for a while, Bruce had a ‘head start’. Oxford University is undoubtedly an incredible and unique experience. Fiona Bruce loved ‘the freedom to find my own ideas, research the authors I particularly loved ( trying – and probably failing – to find something new to say about them), and have access to great minds.’ These great minds, while fountains of knowledge, can be intimidating, leading Bruce to think that if she could redo university she would ‘ask more questions in my first year. I hadn’t a clue about some of what I was studying to begin with’.
Many people view the ability to speak multiple languages as a ‘special talent’ that comes from being especially smart. Her response to this is that it is ‘rubbish of course and we see the ease at which people speak English in so many other countries’. Her tops tips for learning a language?
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES FIONA BRUCE
Fiona Bruce Top Tips for Language Learning! There’s no substitute for memorising the vocab and grammar. Boring but necessary. Watch films/tv in the language WITHOUT subtitles. It’s much harder than if someone is actually talking directly to you but you will eventually get your ear in. If you keep the subtitles , it will take far longer. Try and get a sense of what feels right in the language, its rhythms and cadences. You’ll know you’re almost there when you don’t know why you ‘ve constructed a sentence in a particular way but it just feels right. And it is. One of the most amazing things about studying languages is the opportunity to spend a year in a foreign country. Bruce describes hers as ‘utterly brilliant’ and says she would ‘recommend it to anyone’. A great aspect of it is the broadness of what you have the opportunity to do. She did not want to be a teaching assistant, so managed to ‘get a scholarship to the British Institute in Paris to study and work there’. But that’s not all, she joined a band and ‘had a great time performing ( badly ) with them. Learnt lots of French though!’. When asked about feminism and how it affected her studies, she said that ‘it didn’t shape my studies as such, it was more of a distraction but an important and worthwhile one’. She also talked about how ‘University is partly about your studies but also about learning about yourself and what’s important in life’. This idea of learning about yourself and what’s important was accelerated by her year abroad. She learned ‘selfreliance and not being too afraid of the unknown’ and has said that since ‘it has been invaluable to me when I travelled around the world by myself as a researcher and assistant producer’. 16
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES FIONA BRUCE
Studying languages may not seem like the obvious degree choice for someone going into journalism, however the power of language, no matter which, is ‘critical’ in journalism. ‘Words can convey a negative or a positive view of a story , they can weigh something with emotion or maintain a cooler distance. It is something that I am on the lookout for all the time – that my choice of words doesn’t distort the truth of a story.’ Bruce joined the BBC in 1989, and the field has certainly changed a lot since then! She says that ‘it is far more equal for women now than when I started’. Change has occurred in more than just the social sense though, ‘huge developments in technology changed so much’ in her career and ‘have made reporting in the field far easier’ and ‘citizen journalism much more accessible’. Social media has had an effect too, allowing immediate responses ‘for good or ill’. Advice is invaluable, at any stage. Within journalism, the best advice she has received is ‘Talk as if you’re broadcasting to one person , not as if you’re talking to millions’. And her advice for her younger self? ‘Be confident. Believe in yourself. Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo’.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES ROBIN WALLIS
Robin Wallis former diplomat and teacher and current editor of the Bulletin of Advanced Spanish and tour guide reveals how Spanish was the key to it all! Robin's workshop gave pupils food for thought regarding the importance of dovetailing your work life, passions and homelife. Some people say Spanish is fun, but let’s be honest, it goes further than that. It’s sexy. Read on and I’ll prove it. Most people say that STEM is brainy. Thank goodness for STEM. It gives us vaccines, and when we get old it eases our way out. In the meantime, we feel the wonder as scientists reveal why things spin around each other, at both atomic and cosmic levels. Covid-19 has proved that the Brits do science well. The Age of Pandemia has been one long advert for STEM subjects. Many students will go with that flow: let’s be grateful for their commitment to human welfare. By contrast, if you’re a decent linguist, you’re becoming a rarity. You’ll get noticed. Even sought after.
Click on image above for link
I learnt Spanish at a time when Franco had made it unfashionable. As a result, I became a rare commodity. I was tapped to translate poems by a famous author, to interpret for visiting dignitaries and at hospital bedsides, to escort beauteous Latins (of either sex) to functions, to convey the dispositions of diplomats and armed forces, to brief clued-up people on Catalan secession and to herd paralytic people back to their hotels after their noche de barbacoa.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES ROBIN WALLIS
When I became a teacher in 2002 it wasn’t hard to spread the word about Spanish to new generations, especially after their first salsa or tango experience. Taking dance instruction in Spanish is a fantastic way to forge those synaptic pathways that allow spontaneous understanding. Being immersed in Spanish during your first hands-on dance with a partner is a formative association that will not put you off languages. Then there’s the freed imagination. The syllabus allowed me to teach the haunting Crónica de una muerte anunciada by Gabriel García Márquez (Chronicle of a Death Foretold) and the hilarious La tía Julia (Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter) - two of the most irresistible novels ever written, whose central characters, wracked by desire, were people my students could identify with. You want an education? Read this stuff. They used to ask me to make the case for Spanish to Year 11s before they chose their Sixth Form subjects. I kept it to about a minute: ‘You’ll understand me when I mention sunshine, swimming pools, salsa and sangría,’ I began. ‘You may think those are good enough reasons in themselves to sign up for Spanish. If I now mention people you may not have heard of, like Almodóvar, García Márquez or Joaquín Sabina, that might complicate matters. For now, I’ll keep them a secret between me and the Upper Sixth. But at the end of the course you’ll be telling me that they are as good a reason to do Spanish as all the sol y playa in Spain or Latin America. These aren’t just famous artists: they’re entertainers and confidants who will teach you stunning truths about life and love and men and women. What they reveal about yourself and others will put a skip in your step and infuse your time on earth with a lightness of being'.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
'HOW GOING TO THE SYMPOSIUM CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE'
William Abbott, Upper Remove
I went into the day of the Language Symposium unsure of whether I wanted to do a language at A-Level, because frankly I couldn’t see how it could be used to help me get jobs. This can be partly put down to the age-old narrative that runs “You can only become a teacher or a translator if you do languages”. A phrase that was consistently proven to be wrong multiple times throughout the day. The first instance in which I found this narrative to be disproven was when the BBC's Simon Wilson and Danny Wittenberg, both broadcast journalists, albeit with Simon Wilson in a more senior position, talked about how hard the application process was to get an apprenticeship or a junior job at the BBC was, with both speakers proceeding to mention how they thought that the reason they got the job was due to the fact that they could both speak different languages fluently. Their point being that knowing a second language to the point that you can easily converse with someone for whom said language is their mother tongue, gives you a certain extra amount of employability, an edge that cannot be overlooked especially when looking for foreign correspondence. This idea was repeated many times throughout the duration of the Symposium by many different speakers helping to accentuate the fact that taking a language for A-level, at university or even at a night class whilst at university can open up so many windows of opportunity that otherwise would not open, or if I applied to a job in the future that having a language A-level on my CV could be the tipping point that means I get offered a job as compared to the competition who might not have the languages card to play.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
'HOW GOING TO THE SYMPOSIUM CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE'
William Abbott, Upper Remove
Old Gower, Al Zucker was a corporate lawyer and in-house counsel who further helped to prove this point in a conventional way, in that he was a lawyer who became quickly integrated and Senior in a City law firm through his knowledge of German, he then went on to quit his job as a lawyer to become an entrepreneur, once again utilizing his language skills to help him broaden his horizons and to become more successful. Another entrepreneur who spoke was George Van den Bergh, CEO of thisislanguage.com, a website used frequently by this school (and many others!), he did many jobs before becoming a CEO, and said that although he didn’t plan his life to go as it did, languages played a key role in his success today, showing that although you might not plan on using languages frequently after school, they are always useful, not just to immerse yourself in foreign culture, but also to fall back onto if another degree doesn't go to plan. I would say that my main point from this article is that languages can only open doors, both in a recreational and in a professional sense. To further condense my point, and if there is one sentence that should be remembered from this article:
Languages can only help.
Click on image above for link
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
'HOW GOING TO THE SYMPOSIUM CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE'
Louis Otvos, Upper Remove
Having not yet looked at my booklet that was filled with the names of the people giving the talks, I looked up at the first speaker, and I immediately recognised his face. I couldn’t quite put my finger on who he was, until he proudly announced that he was “the founder of thisislanguage.com”. Of course I recognised him, he had famously featured in hundreds of grammar videos that I had watched with his signature catchphrase “Do the exercise!”. George Van den Bergh’s talk was filled with detail on his backstory, and how he had used all the languages that he knew to his advantage in jobs, such as when he worked as a chef in a Brazilian restaurant where he put his Portuguese into place. He then spoke about how others could use languages to their advantage, as learning other languages requires the skill of problem solving. He highlighted that knowing other languages provides you with an edge on others in a future job, such as being able to work abroad or speak to clients from other countries. The entire symposium provided countless examples of advantages that learning languages offer, and I have definitely been persuaded to take a language at A-level and maybe even at University.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
'HOW GOING TO THE SYMPOSIUM CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE'
Felix Evers, Upper Remove
I attended the Modern Languages Symposium undecided on whether to pursue Modern Languages further to A-level. In contrast, now, I am certain that I will take at least one Modern Language at A-level - possibly even two - thanks to the informative and enjoyable talks from the many well-respected speakers in a variety of fields such as one from the entrepreneur and founder of the educational, yet engaging website named thisislanguage.com. His talk enlightened me on how his foreign languages knowledge aided him practically in starting up a company and provided him with the skills to think on his feet as well as the ability to effectively communicate his ideas. I was also struck by just how many enormously successful entrepreneurs are multilingual such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, evidencing the favourable edge that being multilingual gives you above others.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
'THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTIC COMPETENCIES'
Oskar Gershfield, Upper Remove
In order to access the intricacies of a culture, you must first know its language. The poetic genius of Pablo Neruda is illustrious, with the global dissemination of his works facilitated only by translation. It is through precise translation that he is a household name, that his works have been appreciated and recognised with Nobel Laureateship. Without translation, we would be confined to the exploration of only our own cultures. Without translation, we could not benefit from the heterogeneity that gives humanity added salience. It is through translation and a global understanding of different languages that we can communicate and hence cooperate. Think of the necessity for international cooperation in attenuating the pandemic, climate change- and the responsibility of translators in all political environments. Lack of knowledge of another culture may cause confusion, misunderstanding or even offense during the communication process: whereas a thumbs-up is a sign of approval for us, in many countries (such as Russia or Greece) it’s probably best to avoidhaving simmilar connotations to a middle-finger. So shortcomings in linguistic competency can make the conclusion of international or bilateral agreements difficult or impossible. Yet its importance is too often overlooked. “Without journalism, the world would be ignorant.” [American Press Institute]. And without linguistic competencies, a journalist is “amputated” in their professional capacity [Jon Henley]. So what does that say about language? It enlightens.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
'THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTIC COMPETENCIES'
Oskar Gershfield, Upper Remove
International commentary marks history as it happens, whether in sport or political affairs. Live Aid, a benefit concert held on 13th July 1985, was watched by 1.9 billion worldwide and its dramatic efforts to aid the Ethiopian famine crisis of 1983 were broadcasted to 160 countries. Its coordination involved the cooperation of the international community on a vast scale, likely impossible without the inter-translation of languages. This is the value of linguistic competencies on a cultural, or more existential level. Though its worth is transferable to a vocational context, too.
In the unorthodox words of Mr George Van den Bergh (founder of thisislanguage.com), linguists are entrepreneurs.
Or, rather, language skills will cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset. The process of learning a language to fluency requires spontaneity of thought. Not only must you be able to comprehend the response of your interlocutor, but must then formulate a response of your own, speaking with the paralanguage and intonation, unique to this extrinsic language. All within seconds. Perhaps your interlocutor throws you off-guard with an idiom or idiosyncrasy, you must adapt your response to suit the conversation. And when your response is inevitably corrected from time to time, you must be openminded to utilise the feedback to better your knowledge of the language and apply it to the next conversation. This cognitive flexibility will supplement all areas of life, from the innovation and problem-solving abilities required vocationally, to the clarity of communication required in all types of relationships. In a world changing perpetually as technology evolves and transforms, linguistic competencies are an anchor in a volatile sea. As an industry is revolutionised, as a company’s requirements change, linguistic competencies will be necessary in any field, in any position (as long as it involves communication with others). We will always need international mediators, translators and interpreters.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
'THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTIC COMPETENCIES'
Oskar Gershfield, Upper Remove
Linguistic competency is one of the greatest sources of vocational opportunity. It facilitates the transfer of one’s knowledge or findings from one sphere or culture to another. As an employee with fluency in another language, you could act as an international representative, disseminating and acquiring information, while- of coursebeing able to travel. However, this notion of increased opportunities extends also to domestic or family life. The natural disparities in different cultures are often said to be a source of attraction: the adventurous seek unfamiliarity in order to stimulate their curiosity, so perhaps cultural peculiarities make for more interesting relationships. Without delving into the psychology (and becoming quickly out of my depth), fluency in another language means greater opportunity to enrich one’s life by cultivating relationships with speakers of another ‘demolect’. Within that, it allows for greater immersion in one’s international travels. Able to interact meaningfully with the culture of a TDR [tourist destination residence], polyglots can immerse themselves in it, rather than just marvelling. Linguistic competency is accessing the interconnections of cultural, political, legal, economic, and ethical systems within the international community. It’s bettering one’s skills of communication; enhancing one’s mental acuity. It’s an invaluable ticket for the exploration of international cultures and the privilege to ascertain their intimate workings and differences. In both vocational and domestic contexts (and anywhere between these polarities):
“you live a new life, for every new language you speak” (Czech proverb).
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
'IF ALL THE WORLD SPEAKS ENGLISH, WHY LEARN LANGUAGES?' THE SHELL RESPONDS...
Languages are a n important part our life. Th ey represent who we are and wh ere we come from. To be able to speak a language differen t to your own is something amazi ng and skill for life! - Jared Morr is
is as I I have a few opinions on th that am Japanese. I think people made languages . In the UK there are a lot ue iq un Felix Evers, Upper Remove erent of people from diff unity countries living in a comm Vincent Davies
Many more job opportunities will be availale to you if you are fluent in another language. Although it's not all about gaining money as it's actually quite an interesting skill just o learn as a hobby. In addition there is also a lot of history involved when learning a language and how different countries were colonised and why a certain country speaks a certain language. Charlie Harris
Learning languages is important for multiple reasons, but a very important reason is communication. Languages could also be the exact skill you need to get promoted or find a good job young. Diversity is a very important part of the modern world and it is important to have a good connection with people from diverse cultures Alex Mazzuca
are a If you want a job in another country and there same dozen other people who want that job, all at the level, you might get it! Charlie Wade
If all the world spoke English there would be no cultural diversity or difference and none of the thin gs that are associated with this, su ch as cuisine which is an amazing way to experience other cultur es Conall Cawley 27
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, MAKAR ROZKHOV
I am currently in my penultimate year of an LLB Law with French Law at UCL, undertaking a year abroad in Paris at Université Pantheon-Assas. This degree is a variant of the traditional undergraduate law degree, which requires proficient French skills (both written and spoken), and is 4 years rather than 3. If you are indeed proficient in French, I would argue the course is less competitive than the basic law degree, as you are only competing with other French speakers. It is definitely something I would recommend: while it does have an additional interview stage where you are tested on French skills, it is beneficial both in terms of having an enjoyable social experience, and gives you an advantage in terms of careers that should not be underestimated. Firstly, with regards to the social experience, it is important to understand that university students tend to spend the first year adjusting to a curriculum that is extremely different to high school (as well as partying, but this is beside the point). Then, the second year is when the realisation comes that you need to be looking for internships and jobs, and in third year it is often a bit too late, as you are bombarded with difficult assignments and complex modules. Having an extra year will mean you will be able to afford not rush into job-hunting, and take everything at your own pace. Secondly, career-wise, you may have already heard of ‘spring schemes’ or ‘first-year insight schemes’ that many reputable companies do. These are imperative to apply to, and being in a four year course, you can apply in first AND second year, giving you a massive advantage over first-year applicants with little knowledge of any industry. 28
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, MAKAR ROZKHOV
Assas itself offers a good contrast to UCL in terms of teaching methods and university experience. Typically, you can choose to do the challenging (but rewarding) ‘L3’ degree, which gives you two university degrees instead of one, or the easier alternative of ‘Certificat’, which offers a more laid-back degree that allows for a decent social life and gives you a singular combined ‘Law and French Law’ degree. The distinction to bear in mind when choosing to do this degree is the following: Do you plan to use French in your professional career / pursue further studies in France, or do you just want a fun year abroad in Paris? If it is the latter, I would highly recommend doing Certificat (as I am currently). This offers the opportunity to experience a total of 10 modules over the course of 2 semesters, 4 of which are compulsory (‘Droit des Obligations’ and ‘Droit Constitutionnel’). You will have a total of two 90-minute long tutorials and 15 hours of lectures, which is easily manageable. Overall, my year abroad has been highly enjoyable so far, despite the unfortunate COVID conditions, and has made for an experience I would highly recommend.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES PROFESSOR DUNCAN WHEELER, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS Maruf Samad, Upper Remove
Maruf, a budding linguist himself, took advantage of the opportunity to interview Professor Duncan Wheeler, Chair of Spanish Studies at the University of Leeds where he is also Director of International Activities. His most recent book is “Following Franco: Spanish Culture and Politics in Transition” (Manchester University Press, 2020). In addition to my teaching and research, he enjoys writing for and appearing in the media both in Spain and in the UK. Born in Birmingham in 1981, Duncan studied Spanish and Philsophy at Wadham College, Oxford. MS: You studied Medieval and Modern languages at Oxford. Would you be able to tell us about your experience in studying Medieval and Modern languages at Oxford? DW: Yes, I read Spanish and Philosophy at Wadham College, Oxford. To be honest, it was quite a shock to the system going there and it took me a while to get used to it. I wasn’t, for example, used to living in a small city and steadfastly refused to ride a bike! I actually found acclimatising to living in Madrid for my Year Abroad much easier. That said, I ended up staying in Oxford for nearly a decade and returned as a Visiting Fellow in 2016. The quality of both the libraries and the ability to have access to leading figures in their field, who are generally very generous with their time and expertise, is a luxury. MS: Would you be able to describe your application to Oxford? For example, what did you have to do? DW: My application to Oxford probably wasn’t typical. Until the age of 16, I had studied at a stuffy but, in all honesty, pretty mediocre selective boys grammar school that lived off its reputation. I then went to a mixed sixth form college school and wasn’t initially attracted to the idea of applying to Oxbridge. It was only after getting my A-Level results that I decided Oxford might be the way to go. Interviewing Felipe González, Prime Minister of Spain, 1982-1996 30
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES PROFESSOR DUNCAN WHEELER, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
To be honest, I didn’t get much help with the application as nobody had gone from my VI Form College although my parents and friends were good at reading the draft application. I then went to Wadham College for an interview (one in Philosophy and one in Spanish) and also sat their internal exams. MS: What exactly are Oxford professors looking for in candidates in Modern and Medieval Languages (and in general)? DW: More than anything else, what they are looking for is potential and intellectual curiosity. I received a very low mark on the language entrance exam, but Dr Robin Fiddian, the Fellow in Spanish at Wadham College, was of the opinion that this was due to me not having had the high-quality teaching that other candidates had received. This interpretation obviously flatters me, but the fact I subsequently received an Exhibition for Spanish language and a distinction in spoken Spanish suggests his faith wasn’t entirely misplaced. I suspect they saw me as something of a rough diamond. I received no training for the interview, but had done plenty of my own reading and was able to talk about films and books not included on the A-Level syllabus that had piqued my curiosity for one reason or another.
MS: What are the skills required to be a successful languages undergraduate? DW: A combination of curiosity, discipline, adaptability and empathy. With increased connectivity, we should be living in a Golden Age of language learning. I think it’s unfortunate that a lack of curiosity and empathy sometimes makes British people reluctant to learn languages. Said reluctance has sometimes led to us over-emphasising the fun side of language acquisition. There is a fun side, and I never regret my decision to have learnt Spanish, but it’s also hard work. 31
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES PROFESSOR DUNCAN WHEELER, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
For all the innovations in pedagogic delivery, I’ve never met anyone who has written and spoken the Spanish language well who hasn’t invested serious legwork in grammar and learning vocabulary. Whilst there is a degree of natural aptitude, much of it is like training for a marathon. You have to put in the hours. MS: What was your life in academia like at Oxford? DW: As I said, I was there for nearly a decade in very different capacities: as an undergraduate; then for my Masters and doctorate; and, finally as a lecturer. The routine and discipline of doing the research for and writing two essays a week as an undergraduate has stood me in good stead for writing journalistic pieces on a tight deadline. Beyond the specific content, this was a fast-track course in how to structure arguments and express ideas with concision and precision. These are obviously good life skills in and beyond academia. Having been lucky enough to receive this personalised feedback as an undergraduate, I felt a duty to do the same as a lecturer. The time where I had maximum freedom was, I suppose, during my doctorate where I spent hours in the library researching what would become my D.Phil. and later first book. I maintain a great fondness for The Taylorian Library and Radcliffe Camera. MS: Finally, which A-levels did you study and what was the secret of your success? DW: I took Mathematics, English Literature, Spanish, Media Studies and General Studies. One of the attractions of going to Oxford was the fact that it’d push me to work harder, whilst I think socially I sometimes found it a bit difficult because the college bops and other university events didn’t seem very exciting in comparison to the nightlife of a big city. That said, I was fairly disciplined when it came to preparing for exams and I think curiosity and interest got me a long way. In retrospect, I am proud of my 18 year old self not so much for getting one of the highest marks in Mathematics in the country but for ignoring advice that I should then go on and study it at University. I was conscious of the fact that the mark was attributable to me being disciplined and having a logical way of thinking, but that at some point I’d get bored with the subject, and that my tricks for doing well in it would cease to be effective.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, NEIL TAYLOR UCS 1961-1966
When I look through The Gower, I am amazed at the variety of activities available during the lunch-hour. However, when I was at the school in the 1960s, that was the only time when Chinese was taught. It was not of course on the curriculum, nor would it be at any school until the late 1970s, and then it would still be very rare. The Vice-Master at the time, Geoffrey Carrick, had learnt it during his national service, and was keen to keep up his knowledge by passing it on to the occasional boy who was interested. I was very happy, and reasonably successful, in my French and German A level studies, but it was the completely new world offered by Chinese that really intrigued me. In my weekly classes, we looked at texts from 2000 years ago and simple modern phrases from an introductory textbook. I was in a dilemma in the year between being accepted by Cambridge to read Chinese (1966) and when I was due to begin there (1967) I spent two months at Göttingen University on a summer course thoroughly enjoying myself (and learning more German as well!) . I had previously had equally enjoyable holidays in the French Alps and the thought of a term at say Grenoble University as part of a course in the UK certainly appealed. When China tore itself apart in early 1967 as the Cultural Revolution raged across the country, I had to wonder whether I should not return to my comfort zone and continue with French and German. In the end I found a good compromise: I would study Chinese but as far as China’s history was concerned, I would read as many books as I could in both those languages, rather than the English-language ones. After two years, when I had completed Part I, there was a chance to take a new course for Part II, Social and Political Sciences which enabled me to study Chinese, French, German and Russian history – a perfect combination of my various interests. The course did not assume any knowledge of foreign languages, but what an impression it gave, that I could quote from French and German books, and so ensured a much better final result than would otherwise have been the case.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, NEIL TAYLOR UCS 1961-1966
I am now coming to the end of a fifty-year career in the travel business, having run my own company for 25 years from 1975 and, more recently, worked with a cultural tours company. My company took advantage of firstly, China’s tentative opening to the West in the 1970s, and then the vast expansion of the tourism business that it witnessed in the 1980s.Competitors thought it odd that I would expect most employees to have a working knowledge of two foreign languages, and normally a degree in one of them. „Everybody speaks English“ they would say and wonder why I just did not take on school leavers at 17. The answer would come at any business meeting or at a hotel reception. I would often go to a meeting in Germany or Austria and just three words introduced me „Er Spricht deutsch“ (He speaks German) A rapport was immediately established, since the situation was so rare. At conferences, I would be known as „der Engländer der deutsch kann“ (the Englishman who can speak German). As my company expanded into Eastern Europe, my business opposite numbers were more than happy to speak German rather than Russian, the language of the country they saw as their occupier. When leading tours, there would inevitably be issues to resolve at reception and sometimes I would be in competion with another operator for say dinner at a more convenient time or for rooms that looked over the town square rather than over the dustbins. Who did better, the linguist or the monoglot? I do not need to tell you. In Xian in China there used to be a fixed fare of ten RMB (about a £1) for any journey within the city limits. I wanted to ensure my clients paid that fare and not five or ten times as much. Four simple Chinese syllables „chengnei shikuai“ (within the city, ten dollars) spoken as firmly and as often as necessary impressed the clients and saved them a lot of money. (It of course greatly annoyed the taxi drivers looking for an easy killing.) Now I have to make a confession. My wife is Estonian, and I have written two books about the country but have still not mastered the language. (There are too many good books in German which I can use as source material.) With my grandchildren aged four to five already speaking it well, should not a UCS education, even if 60 years ago, stimulate me to equal them?
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, DOUGLAS PATERSON UCS 1958-1962
Why study other languages – doesn’t everyone speak or understand English? One could be forgiven for falling into this trap given the ubiquity of English spoken, heard and written courtesy of modern pervasive media. Permit me to describe what languages did for me. At school I studied French, German and Latin to A level and in 1962 both French and German to S level. My principal subjects at university were French and German, graduating in 1966. I qualified as a chartered accountant in 1968 working for a major accounting firm with an international network. My firm wanted to experiment with a UK member of staff working in Germany and in 1970 I went to the Cologne office for 2 years, working exclusively with German colleagues and German clients. In those days international transfers to Europe were rare. In 1977 I was sent to the French speaking part of Switzerland to open an office in Lausanne and later to run that office and the office in Geneva. On my return to partnership in London a significant amount of my professional work was with European clients and I was the liaison partner for the relationship with our large German firm. I travelled extensively in Europe on business. It was my language skills which helped to earn a partnership and I retired in 2001 having a continuing network of former colleagues and clients in Europe with many of whom I remain in touch. I acknowledge that since my time many more people abroad speak English but that does not detract from my firm belief that knowing someone else’s language is a gateway to their way of thinking.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, DOUGLAS PATERSON UCS 1958-1962
Most languages have a common root but over the centuries languages have developed differently and have affected how words are used and how thought processes work. One just has to look at French and German grammar and the respective sentence structures. The way a French or German person constructs a sentence or uses phrases and words betrays how that person is thinking and that in turn helps the English speaker react appropriately or respond correctly. I have witnessed scenes where the literal and correct translation of a word still does not convey what the speaker intended. I chaired a European professional committee of senior accountants and there were three working languages – English, French and German – and committee members could speak in any one of these and be understood. These meetings revealed differences in logic and expression but knowledge of the language involved helped the outcome of discussions. On a personal level the study of French and German opened my eyes to a much wider body of literature and knowledge thus gained also helped dealing with French and German speakers and gained their respect. German colleagues could not believe I had read the entire works of Heinrich von Kleist. Later in life I chose to learn Italian and the adage that each additional language learned is easier to learn was true. Not having lived and worked in Italy my Italian remains elementary. Whilst the UK has left the European Union we are still European and need to communicate with our closest neighbours. No matter how good the English of another European is, speaking in their language demonstrates sincerity and can earn the respect of others. The Germany I worked in in 1970-71 was only 25 years after the end of the second world war when British people might not have been that welcome. My willingness to speak exclusively German won me respect from my colleagues. When I moved with a young family to Switzerland the Swiss had a reputation of being cold and unwelcoming to foreigners. We stayed in a village outside Lausanne with only Swiss neighbours and the family’s willingness to speak French, which even our three children under the age of 6 did, won us many friends and some with whom we remain in touch. Anyone who asks me about languages is told enjoy them and you have no idea where they can take you.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, TATUM KEMSLEY
Dancing past ‘Las Setas’ with my morning cáfe con leche in one hand, tostada in the other and Joaquin Sabina blasting through my headphones on my way to school was my daily reality that felt almost too much like a dream. Passing along the beautiful Guadalquivir river and witnessing the city’s Mudéjar architectural wonders almost allowed me to escape our current Covid dominated world. A city with so much historical density allowed my mind to drift away from the streets of anxious, masked Sevillanos, and to wonder atthe building tops tracing back to the 8th century. Driving through rural Andalucia, the visuals seemed like a García Lorca poem come to life, adding an intense vitality and truth to my Pre-U studies. Having arrived in Sevilla, late September, 2020, for my first time, the bustling streets and animated tapas bars conjured up an essence of normality, translating me into a pre-Covid era which I had forgotten existed.
As quite an impatient person with an irritatingly short attention span, taking a gap year was never something I had properly considered. For these reasons I had always deemed a gap year to be a mere delay in beginning my life. I was under the impression that to take a gap year was for those seeking a break from formal learning and the expected order of events (school to university). Whilst this is a legitimate and brave choice, this was not something I had imagined myself doing. I had been itching to start university, to jump into a degree and to have more autonomy over my studies but to also have a clear goal and a rigid plan of how to achieve it. For these reasons, I did not believe a gap year was for me, I found the idea of being out of education for an entire year terrifying. However, roughly half way through my gap year, my mind has never felt more energised and my current perspective could not be more different from my previous reservations.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, TATUM KEMSLEY
Simply sitting outside a cafe in Sevilla, with my ears and eyes wide open and my hand occupied with a caña (in true Andalusian style), I could feel my Pre-U Spanish studies come to life. I still feel continually amazed by the power of just sitting, observing and listening as a means of enhancing my cultural understanding and improving language skills. In spite of this, it wasn’t a completely effective way to learn the language primarily. It is commonly accepted that in order to learn a language, it is most helpful to go live in a country with its native speakers. This is not to say simply breathing in Andalucian air would bring instant fluency. This seems rather obvious, although, in my case at least, I was certainly not aware of how difficult language development can be. It is certainly not a passive process and my challenges in Sevilla, induced by language and cultural barriers, instilled profound admiration for all those learning languages other than their mother tongues. Having superficially forgotten vast amounts of the Spanish I had learnt in school, upon arriving in Sevilla, my first few weeks were challenging. Only being able to remember chunks from Pre-U speaking presentations, I found myself peculiarly diverting the most casual of conversations into lengthy discussions about the Chilean Coup in 1973. Surprisingly, for the first few weeks this didn’t result in me getting invited out too often… My first attempt to improve my speaking, outside my classes, was to simply walk around the city and take photos of as many different menus as I could find. I would then try to use the new vocabulary in conversation with waiters and waitresses, to cement it in my head. Additionally, I enjoyed roaming through bustling markets, observing Sevillanos with their 10am caña’s and asking locals the names of unfamiliar objects in sight. Furthermore, another interesting learning experience for me was, in my first few weeks, locking myself out of my room not once, or even twice for that matter, but three times; it is fair to say I will never forget the word ‘cerrajero’, meaning ‘locksmith’ in Spanish. 38
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES OLD GOWER, TATUM KEMSLEY
Furthermore, through exploring culture in Sevilla, I discovered the practical power of art: whether it be through bonding over the beauty of a poem by García Lorca, or singing Joaquin Sabina and Silvio Rodriguez in a bar with strangers. The power of Spanish music and poetry in forming connections and aiding learning development was evident. In addition to the language and cultural insight that my friendships in Sevilla gave me, they also showed me the extraordinarily unique and deeply personal bonds one can form studying abroad and how a once foriegn city can become a home away from home. In Sevilla, learning also took place within the home I was staying in: from being woken up by the lady that I lived with every morning thumping at my bedroom door and screaming ‘!Tatum despiértate!’, to ensuring I was deadly silent entering the house during siesta time and to trying to explain my period cramps in Spanish, my experiences, although stressful on occasion, all contributed to a wider grasp of the language and culture. Discovering the fascinating symbiotic relationship between gaining an otherwise inaccessible insight into culture through speaking the native language and gaining a deeper understanding of the language through the culture, highlighted the benefits of learning through immersion.
After her Gap Year in Seville, Costa Rica and Mexico, Tatum is now in her first semester of Spanish and ab-initio Portuguese at the University of Edinburgh
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES HEAD OF FRENCH, SOPHIE TOBERT Interviewed by Aaryan Wadhwani
AW: What is Bloomberg? ST: Bloomberg is a world-leading financial information company, created by Michael Bloomberg. You might have come across their financial news channel, but the main part of their business is the Bloomberg terminal - a complex computing system that provides live financial market data to traders, hedge fund managers and market analysts all over the world. You have probably seen a Bloomberg terminal on TV and in films, when they show bankers following flashing black and orange screens. AW: Had you studied finance in addition to languages prior to applying for this job? ST: Not at all! I had never studied Economics or Finance before, and in all honesty, I knew very little about that world. My entry into finance came through my knowledge of languages. I started at Bloomberg as soon as I graduated from university. I had a degree in French and Spanish from Cambridge and I knew it was important to me to have a job that would allow me to use my language skills, but I had no idea what I wanted to do or which sector I wanted to work in. I saw that Bloomberg was looking to recruit linguists for a graduate scheme, and I decided to give it a go. I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some experience working for a large company, to learn about a sector that I knew nothing about, and to finally earn some money! I was surprised and delighted to get the job, especially seeing as many of the applicants had worked in finance or had degrees in Finance or Economics. At the time, Bloomberg was prioritising language graduates as they needed to sell their terminals all across the world. AW: Did your lack of knowledge of finance prove to be a hurdle and how did you overcome this? ST: It definitely meant that the learning curve was steep when I first joined. I had to learn not only how the company worked and how to do my job, but also what all my clients did in their jobs and understand how market information helped them to do their jobs better. That was a real challenge - there was a lot that I needed to get my head around and quickly. 40
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES HEAD OF FRENCH, SOPHIE TOBERT Interviewed by Aaryan Wadhwani
Luckily, my team was amazing - I was working alongside some highly specialised people, who were always on hand to help when needed, and Bloomberg provided everyone with a month of advanced financial training, starting from the very basics. After this, I felt confident holding my own in conversations with clients. AW: What did your job involve? ST: I spent a year working on the help desk, answering clients’ questions in French, Spanish and English, either on the phone or by instant messaging (we had 6 chats on the go at any one time, which was very challenging!) During that year, you learn everything there is to know about the intricacies of the system, and you get a month’s intensive financial training by Finance and Economics experts. I then progressed into the French sales team, where I became an account manager and salesperson to some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in France. I was based in London, but I travelled to Paris every week for 3-4 nights, and spent all day every day, travelling around Paris from client to client, providing training on the Bloomberg system, discussing strategies to grow Bloomberg’s business in these banks with senior managers, and offering seminars to groups of up to 40 professionals. The clients ranged from hedge fund managers, to traders, to portfolio managers, to wealth managers, to private investors. All communication was done in French and my team was mainly made up of French people too. AW: What was it like working there?
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ST: I feel really fortunate to have experienced working there. Employees were treated really well - we would stay in the best 5* hotels in Paris, travel business class by Eurostar, and visit some of the most beautiful parts of Paris, not to mention the amazing 3 course dinners with the rest of the team! It was really sociable and there was a fantastic team spirit. In particular, I loved the fact that you could hear so many languages spoken around the office - I was in the French team, but there were teams based in London who would travel to all different countries, and the majority of employees could speak at least one language. People came from diverse backgrounds, different countries, and it was one of the things I loved most about the company.
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES HEAD OF FRENCH, SOPHIE TOBERT Interviewed by Aaryan Wadhwani
AW: Were there any other things that you liked about the job? ST: One thing that is really important to me is that I am always challenging myself and learning something new. That was definitely the case at Bloomberg. I started the job having never heard of a Bloomberg terminal and knowing absolutely nothing about Finance and Economics. By the end, I was having hour-long conversations with traders and portfolio managers in French, showing them ways of doing their jobs more efficiently. It was really satisfying to see my French improve, and to discover Paris. It really gave me a lot of confidence to see myself doing things that I never would have imagined I would be able to do - if you had asked me when I was at university if I could ever deliver an hour long seminar in French in an auditorium to 40 financial professionals, I would have said ‘absolutely no way’!
AW: Did speaking foreign languages give you an advantage over others when you were working in this sector? If so, how? ST: It was a huge advantage. Speaking French and Spanish helped me to get into the sector in the first place - I never would have thought that a job in finance would be attainable without studying Economics or Finance at university, but I was wrong. Once there, it allowed me to quickly progress into the sales and account management teams as the French team was a shortage of French language speakers in the company. In order to sell to French or Spanish customers, Bloomberg insisted that you spoke the language. This was different from most other teams, such as the Scandinavian or Eastern European teams, where most business was conducted in English. Whilst many of my clients spoke very good English, the reason why Bloomberg insisted on employees communicating with them in French was because they knew that a better rapport could be established if they were able to speak in their own language. Clients were impressed with the effort made to speak their language, they were better able to communicate their needs and problems, and it was amazing to see how clients opened up and were willing to trust what I was saying, simply because I was making the effort to communicate with them in their own language. Colleagues who did not speak other languages had to have a really in-depth understanding of finance when they joined, and they were limited in terms of the sales teams they could join. 42
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES HEAD OF FRENCH, SOPHIE TOBERT
AW: Did being able to speak foreign languages help further your understanding of finance within the countries you worked in? ST: Absolutely. Each country operates under different financial regulations and has different ways of working. An important part of my job was to understand how the French market worked, and that involved reading and listening to a lot of French. I also got to understand a lot about the challenges faced by my clients by attending their meetings and lunches. All communication was carried out in French and it really gave me an insight into their priorities. It’s also amazing how much you can pick up just by listening to the conversations that take place in the office. I was working there during the financial crash, and there were a lot of conversations about redundancies and policy changes taking place between colleagues.
AW: It must have really helped you improve your language skills then? ST: It was brilliant for my language skills! I actually only studied Spanish in my final year of university, so I was a bit daunted when I was placed in the French team - I was worried that my French was a bit too rusty! But it was the best thing I ever did to improve my French. Even when I was in London, I was surrounded by colleagues speaking in French and I was calling clients and speaking to them in French; by the end of my 3 years in the French sales team, I was thinking and dreaming in French! 43
INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO CAREERS WITH LANGUAGES HEAD OF FRENCH, SOPHIE TOBERT
AW: Why did you leave? ST: After 4 years of working for Bloomberg, I decided that it was time to experience something new. I had loved my time there, but it was time for me to learn something new, and I had taken a particular interest in Psychology and decided to return to university to study for a Psychology Diploma.
AW: What did you carry with you from your time at Bloomberg? ST: Confidence. I had always been incredibly shy and unsure of myself, but my job at Bloomberg made me do things that were out of my comfort zone and I learnt a lot about myself by doing it. I made a lot of friends at Bloomberg and my love of Paris will stay with me forever. Although I did not end up pursuing a career in finance, my time at Bloomberg opened a lot of doors for me afterwards. I later worked for BT’s Leadership Programme and as an Innovation Consultant, and it was my experience at Bloomberg that helped me to get those jobs. AW: Would you advise people who are thinking of working in finance to learn languages? ST: Absolutely! Of course, that’s not to undermine the importance of studying Finance, Business or Economics if you know for sure that you want to get into this sector, but my main message would be to consider the less obvious career options that languages open up for you. You do not have to be a languages teacher, an interpreter or a translator if you study languages - businesses in all different sectors value language speakers, and fluency in a foreign language could open up doors that you had never thought possible.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS DENNIS SPORTS JOURNALIST
Our Head of French, Sophie Tobert took the opportunity to interview broadcast Sports journalist, Chris Dennis.
ST: How did you get into sports journalism? CD: I made a major career change at the age of 38. After graduating in French and Mandarin Chinese I worked in the language and cultural training industry for around 15 years. I became the director of a consultancy which helped UK and international companies do business around the world more effectively by training their employees in foreign languages and cultural awareness. Unfortunately I was made redundant unexpectedly and decided to take the opportunity to do something completely different. I took a whole year off, secured a place on the Post Graduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism and, on completion, decided to specialise in sport. I started working in local BBC radio in London as a freelance broadcast journalist, first reading sports bulletins, then going to press conferences and live sporting events as a reporter. In 2021, I celebrated 20 years as a sports broadcaster and now work primarily as a commentator and presenter, specialising in athletics and tennis.
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PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS DENNIS SPORTS JOURNALIST ST: Was it always what you wanted to do? CD: No, as outlined above. Having said that, I had always been passionate about news and the media and in particular radio. Many of the core skills I developed in my first career in corporate training were readily transferable and having a foreign language background helped enormously in learning how to become an effective broadcaster: use of language, tone, pace, diction and so on. Sport has always played a large part in my life, from football and cricket at school, to tennis and squash at university and throughout my working life, running marathons, cycling and skiing. ST: What does your job involve? CD: Lots of different things! I work as a presenter, commentator, reporter (on both television and radio) and also as a stadium announcer at various sporting events. I specialise in athletics and tennis and am part of the world feed commentary teams for the Diamond League (athletics) and the ATP (the professional men's tennis tour). In non-Covid times, I travel the world to major sporting events and tournaments and have covered multiple Olympic Games, Asian Games, World Championships and all four tennis Grand Slams. The job involves an enormous amount of preparation. The motto "fail to prepare: prepare to fail" is certainly apt for my job. It also involves having to write scripts, often under great time pressure, being able to ad lib and fill air time with no script at all, and to be able to deal with frequent unforeseen technical problems whilst on air. ST: Who has been the most interesting person you have interviewed and why? CD: Of the hundreds of people I have interviewed over the last two decades, the French football manager Arsène Wenger is one of my favourites. I interviewed him almost every week for three years when he was manager of Arsenal FC in both English and French. He is intelligent, engaging, generous with his time and always tried to answer my questions, however awkward. He was a refreshing antidote to the often bland, cliché-ridden interviews journalists often end up with.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS DENNIS SPORTS JOURNALIST
ST: What would you say are the best things about being a sports journalist? CD: Travelling the world, watching live sport and using the art of communication to convey the drama, excitement and sometimes tragedy of what is happening to a global audience. For television, carefully choosing words which will complement the pictures the viewer can see; for radio, painting the picture with words for listeners who cannot see what I can see. ST: Are there any aspects of the job that you don't like? CD: Having to get up at 04:15 to present the sports slot on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 never gets any easier! Even after 15 years of doing it, I never sleep well the night before. There's always the chance that a major story will break overnight and that all the plans you have in place for the morning will have to be redone. ST: How have languages helped you in your career? CD: Hugely. In practical terms I am able to do a large part of my job in French and some of my job in German, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin Chinese. I am able to interview elite athletes, coaches and other people in French and I have secured a number of exclusive stories where the main subject was not able to tell their story in English. I am also able to attend press conferences and understand those sections which take place in the foreign languages I speak; I can translate postmatch interviews and presentations live on air without the need for an interpreter; I can read press releases, newspaper and online articles in foreign languages as part of my research and, when I am commentating or announcing in a stadium, I am able to correctly pronounce the names of many foreign athletes.
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INTERLINGUA, AUTUMN TERM, 2021
PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS DENNIS SPORTS JOURNALIST
ST: Where has your career taken you? CD: Geographically, all over the world. To Africa, and in particular to Ethiopia and Kenya where I have been several times to make radio documentaries about elite marathon running; to China and Korea to cover World Athletics Championships and the Asian Games; to Brazil for the Paralympic Games in 2016; to Russia, the USA and the Middle East for numerous athletics events and of course frequently to continental Europe. More figuratively, my career has taken me to a place where I feel fulfilled professionally. With hindsight this is not something I ever fully felt in my first career. Being able to say I am a broadcast journalist gives me a sense of belonging and identity that I didn't have before. ST: Do you have any advice for our current language students in terms of their decisions about future study and careers? CD: Whatever path you decide to go down, do not underestimate the importance of language ability and cultural awareness in the marketplace. These skills can provide a clear professional advantage and an important point of differentiation - even more so as we move into a post-Brexit world. Being a French-speaking lawyer, a German-speaking scientist, a Spanish-speaking doctor, for example, could give you the edge over other mono-lingual candidates at a job interview and open up many more possibilities for employment overseas. Proven ability in one language is often seen as an indication that other languages could be added later. Sadly in a world where the vast majority of British, American and Australian native English speakers have no foreign language ability whatsoever, being able to offer even some such ability will make you far more interesting - and employable.
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NEXT NUMBER THE FRENCH ISSUE, EASTER 2022
Call for Articles! Have you an interest in French Language, Society & Culture? All pupils from Entry - Sixth are welcome to submit articles, review or work of any length on any aspect of Francophone culture, including: - Art - Language Study -History of Art - History - Politics -Travel Please email to helen.laurenson@ucs.org.uk or sophie.tobert@ucs.org.uk