Christopher Hughes MBE
@chrislinguist
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Translator, language teacher & linguaphile for over 25 years. Briefly discussed Basque with The Princess Royal. Author of 'A Course in Modern Geg Albanian'
Tewkesbury, England
Joined June 2017
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If you do French at school, you have a head start with Romanian & Catalan. If you learn German, you open the door to Swedish & Dutch. If you study Spanish, Italian & Portuguese are great sequels. Once you start, there’s no limit to where languages can take you, ‘linguist’ or not.
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If only Latin GCSE were more widely available. It’s not an elitist subject. It helps you understand grammar, it gives you a head start with so many languages (French & Spanish to Italian & Romanian) & it contributes to so many careers (medicine, law, etc.). Latin is relevant.
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German is an official language of 6 European countries, a sister of English, Dutch & Swedish, the most widely spoken native language in the EU, a language of science, engineering & technology, a common language in eastern Europe. If you have the chance to learn German, grab it.
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If you learn Spanish, you’re learning the 2nd most spoken native language in the world. French is the official language of around 30 countries (in 3 continents) & German is a hugely influential language across Europe. Languages expand your world & your options, whatever they are.
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If you lose German from the curriculum, you miss out on the benefits of family ties with English, the most spoken native language in the EU, a major language of engineering, business & science & a gateway to Dutch & Scandinavian languages. Don’t close the doors that German opens.
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If you have the chance to learn German, grab it. It takes languages to another level & makes sense of Danish, Dutch, Swedish & more. It explains English grammar. It's the official language of 6 countries & the 12th most spoken language in the world. It's well worth the challenge.
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When you choose a language as an option, you’re not just choosing a subject. You’re finding a new way to look at the world, a new side to your personality, a whole new people to get to know & a big advantage when applying for so many jobs. So much is even better with languages.
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When you learn a language, you’re also learning history, geography, religion, music, politics, sociology, sport, food & maths, amongst so many other things. Even if you’re not ‘into languages’, there will be something in any new language to interest you & broaden your mind.
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If you learn languages, you’re learning intercultural awareness, communication & negotiation skills, training & mentoring, empathy & even codebreaking & decryption - transferable skills to complement almost any other discipline. There’s no such thing as “just a linguist”.
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When you choose to study a language, you're not just opting for another subject. You're seeing life through other people's eyes, making your world a little bit bigger, discovering new films, books & songs, maybe even a new alphabet or strange new sounds. A language is for life.
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When you learn a language, you’re learning much more than one subject in school. You’re learning history, geography, music, art, religion, politics, literature, solidarity & shared humanity. Another language takes you to the next level, whatever else you’re interested in.
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When I was at school, German was the exciting new language you got to learn as well as French. It added Germany, Austria & Switzerland to your orbit. It brought Dutch, Swedish & Danish into view. It had words that looked like English. German was cool then and it still is today.
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Do you remember why you first learnt another language? Was it because your mum had an old French dictionary on the bookshelf or your nan’s family spoke Welsh? Was it because Croatia is beautiful or Basque is like a secret code? Everyone has a reason to learn another language.
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There’s no need to ask why languages matter. They make you better at whatever you do. They open your mind to new ways of thinking in medicine, music, religion, physics, history, maths, politics, law & so much more. Understanding matters. Communication matters. Languages matter.
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Another language is not just a language. It's people, culture, history, music, food, art, sport, film, literature, politics and all of human interaction seen through a different lens. That's why languages matter to everyone and make all of us even better at whatever else we love.
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If you think that languages don’t matter to you, consider how Spanish unlocks most of a continent, how Arabic lets you access at least 25 countries & how Mandarin gives you a share in the most spoken native language on earth. The world is bigger with languages, whatever you love.
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A language is not just another school subject. Learn Arabic or Mandarin & you’re learning a new way to read & write & a whole new way to relate to people & the world. French, German, Russian, Urdu or Yoruba, all languages broaden your mind, your outlook & your opportunities.
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Don't ever be afraid to make mistakes when you're learning a new language. I'd much rather my students stretched themselves, tried out new things & got some things wrong than stuck to a script & never really 'felt' the language. Mistakes are a vital part of language learning.
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When you choose a language at school, you're choosing music, food, history, science, literature, politics, sport, friendships & more. French unlocks Spanish. German is a sister of English. Who knows where Mandarin or Arabic might take you? Languages open doors, hearts & minds.
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When I was at school, German was the cool language that you got to learn after French. It explains how English grammar works. It makes sense of Old English & shows how closely related we are. It makes Dutch, Swedish & Icelandic much easier. That's why German's still cool today.
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If you can speak English, you can learn German. You can count sieben, acht & neun, drink Milch und Bier, start your week on Montag and end on Freitag. And as a key language of business, science, engineering & diplomacy, it's a win-win. German makes connections & opens doors.
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A career with languages could be in translation, teaching or interpreting, or in law, medicine, policing, government, IT, tourism, hospitality, music or sport & so much more. Languages might not be your ‘thing’, but whatever your thing is, a language can make you even better.
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Brexit makes languages more essential to the UK, not less. Spanish opens up much of Latin America. French is a way in to North Africa & German is still the language of the UK’s 2nd biggest export market. If anything, languages are even more important now, whatever you want to do.
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When I’m asked, why learn another language when everyone speaks English? I reply, there are millions of people who don’t speak English & even if they do, their hearts & minds are in their own languages. You’ll find that connecting with hearts & minds takes you so much further.
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To all those Year 9s considering their GCSE options, I say, whatever interests you, languages add to it and open up the world to you. You don’t have to be ‘good at languages’. Doctors, scientists, chefs, musicians, games programmers all need languages. They go with everything!
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Spanish lets you access much of Latin America & leads to Portuguese & Catalan. You can use French in western Europe & north Africa & discover Romanian or Italian. Not only is German a sister of English, but also of Dutch & Swedish. A language is a stepping stone to so much more.
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When you learn French at school, you’re not just learning a language. You’re seeing life through other people’s eyes. You have a stepping stone to Spanish or Portuguese. German, Chinese or Arabic could come next. A language is your passport to a much wider & more welcoming world.
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Why is it that when you say you're a linguist in the UK, the first response you get is, "go on, say something in [insert language]"? Ignoring the fact that I could say anything and nobody would be any the wiser, when will languages be 'normal' and not a party trick?
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Why learn languages? Well, although they may be ‘happiness’, ‘kindness’ & ‘longing’ in English, you won’t experience real ‘bonheur’, ‘Herzlichkeit’ or ‘añoranza’ unless you’ve discovered French, German or Spanish. Languages change the way you feel about yourself & the world.
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What’s the point of learning languages? If you enjoy food, music, dance, sport, books, film, art, sociology, meeting new people, understanding other views, seeing life from different perspectives or just sharing the world, that’s the point. Life is richer with another language.
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Whether your school offers French or Spanish & German or Italian, Russian, Chinese & Arabic, grab that opportunity to relate to other people & learn how they live & think. Any new language is a passport to broader perspectives & more options in life. That’s why languages matter.
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If tu veux parler une langue but you weißt nicht all the right palabras, you will still imparare so much by dizer what you can say, even if it semble 很难 . In time your язык will improve and you will توانستن fill in the gaps. Focus on what you can say & not what you can’t (yet).
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Why learn languages? Because communication changes everything. Because languages foster empathy & respect for others. Because one language leads to another. Because there's a world beyond your own. Because everyone benefits from another language. Because it's joyful. That's why.
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My son wants to learn Spanish because I won't tell him what the lyrics of 'Despacito' mean in English. My daughter's learning BSL because she wants to "really speak" to a friend of hers.There's a wide spectrum of reasons for learning a new language & so many rewards to be had.
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To all those MFL students about to start their year abroad, I say, enjoy! I shared a flat in Spain with a French and a German student, we spoke Spanish, French & German all day, I learned Valencian and I’d never felt so European. It was one of the best years of my life.
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When I was at school, French was a gateway to another world, German was an exciting new adventure, Spanish was a multicultural revelation, Italian was a joyful choice & Latin was relevant & versatile. Languages in the curriculum make for a far richer all-round experience for all.
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You can learn French in primary school or Spanish or German when you’re 12 or 13, or you can learn Farsi when you’re 21 or Croatian when you’re 37 or Mandarin when you’re 49. You’re never too young or too old to learn another language & understand a little bit more of the world.
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Why learn a language? I learn languages to see life through other people's eyes, to appreciate variety in the world. Languages are about understanding different ways of thinking & making new connections that cut across any subject & every field of life. Level up with a language.
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Don’t ever be afraid of making mistakes learning foreign languages. If I worried about ALL my agreements all the time when speaking Basque, I’d hardly get a word out! You can make mistakes & still be understood & still achieve your goals. That’s yet another joy of languages.
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When you learn a language - any language - you’re learning how to relate to, respect & enjoy another culture, history & way of life. Whether it’s French or Farsi, Chinese or Chamorro, a language gives you a new perspective & broadens your mind - whatever else you want to do.
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Why learn a language? Because there's a whole world beyond your own. Because Spanish, Arabic & French let you communicate on most continents. Because Chinese, Urdu & Swahili create exciting new perspectives. Because whatever else you're interested in, a language makes you better.
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If I teach Spanish & Portuguese or Albanian & Basque, I don’t consider any to be “more useful.” If you’re drawn to Russian or Mandarin, go for it. If Catalan or Welsh is for you, that’s great too. Learning anyone else’s language brings people together & we all need that nowadays.
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You don't learn a language in isolation. You'll learn a little geography, art, music, history, sociology, sport, drama, religion, politics, literature, culture and a lot more about humanity. All of that makes you even better at whatever else you love and do.
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Languages are about expressing yourself, understanding & being understood. If you forget your subjunctive, make your feminine masculine or go dative when you should have gone accusative, you’ll still make a connection. Your world has already grown. The rest will come in time.
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I'm not a fan of 'ranking' languages. If you want to learn Basque because it introduces you to new people & traditions, that's great. If you go for Mandarin because it opens up new markets, that's great too. There are as many reasons to learn languages as there are languages.
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If I hadn't learnt Spanish, I might not have discovered Portuguese & Catalan. If I hadn't learnt Albanian, I might never have written a book & might never be teaching & translating a language I love. Learn a language - any language - & it will take you in so many new directions.
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Languages are about interaction, communication, understanding, discovering new people, ideas, cultures, thinking, food & drink, music, film, books, sport & everyday life. Languages might start in the classroom, but the directions they can take you in are endless.
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I remember my father asking me years ago why I wanted to learn Albanian. Now, I teach, translate & interpret it for a living. I've written a book about it. I've felt like an honorary Albanian in Albania & Kosovo. Don't let anyone tell you that languages don't lead anywhere.
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I’ve just watched the Spanish Foreign Minister being interviewed on BBC News, speaking assuredly in fluent English & it made me wonder, could a UK cabinet minister give an interview in fluent Spanish to Spanish TV? If not, why not? It shouldn’t be any different, surely.
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Making mistakes is a vital part of language learning. Be adventurous & try to say things that you haven't learnt yet. You will get things wrong, but you'll learn so much more from your mistakes. Your grammar & vocabulary will improve. You'll be glad you didn't hold back.
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Languages may start in the classroom, but they lead to those friendships that last for life, those songs you can’t stop singing, that dish you long to recreate, that film or book that changes your life. Another language makes a huge difference, wherever life might take you.
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I’m often asked in schools, why do I have to learn French? Well, you learn French & you can speak to people in 3 continents, you understand how other people live, think & enjoy themselves, you get a head start with many other languages & then there’s even more world to discover.
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The reward for learning a language - any language - lies in that excitement you feel when you’re understood & you understand the reply, when you can connect with other people & they can connect with you. So many barriers collapse with another language, whatever field you’re in.
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French is an official language of 28 countries across virtually every continent. German is one of the 3 procedural languages of the EU & a cousin of English. Spanish is the fourth most spoken language on Earth. Learn a language in school & you have a ticket to a much wider world.
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I was asked if I get bored teaching a language from scratch again at the start of a new school year. I replied, no! How can it ever be boring to share your love of languages & introduce new students to a whole new world? So much can begin with ça va?, wie geht’s? & ¿qué tal?
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Don’t think that you can’t do languages just because French & Spanish aren’t for you. Basque might have been spoken in the Stone Age. Farsi is a beautiful language that blends east & west & Navajo was a secret code in WW2. There’s a bit of mystery & excitement in every language.
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It doesn't matter how prominent, widely spoken or commercially 'useful' a language is. If you're drawn to Mandarin, Arabic, French or Spanish, that's fantastic. If you love Latin, Maori, Berber, Esperanto or Basque, you're broadening your mind & your outlook. It's all good.
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Languages are about expressing yourself, making new connections, enjoying diversity in the world & opening up new opportunities. They're not all about weird grammar & strange pronunciation. The world is bigger & better with another language, whatever direction you want to take.
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If you’re lucky enough to learn French, German or Spanish at school, you’ll also learn diversity, empathy & friendship, communication, debate & expression. Plus, you’ll have opened up other languages & cultures. Another language is a whole new life experience & a new worldview.
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French is not just another subject. It sparks a lifetime’s love of other cultures, people & mentalities. You can use it to learn more about so many other subjects, get a head start with Spanish or Romanian, go on to German, Russian or Chinese or just feel part of a wider world.
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Learn another language & you’re learning how other people live, what other people think & believe in, how other people enjoy themselves & how other people relate to the world. Learn a language & you’re learning skills you can transfer to so many fields with so many new people.
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When you hear a song in Spanish & understand some of the lyrics, read a newspaper headline in Arabic or Korean, write your first sentence in Mandarin or raise a smile in Polish or Yoruba, you've found the thrill of learning another language & the joy of broadening your world.
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When it comes to learning languages, it's never too late. For me, school languages were just the start. They led to others at university & beyond. And now, I've just collected my C1/B2 certificate in Mandarin. It's never too late to enjoy the magic that a language has to offer.
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What does a career in languages look like? Maybe you’ll interpret on TV for a Premier League footballer or translate best-selling books or subtitles for the latest Netflix series or whisper in the ear of a world leader or teach soldiers in war zones. Where can languages take you?
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One of the many great things about learning a language is that you’re never too old to learn another one, whether it’s your 2nd, 6th or 16th. Refresh your school French, learn BSL, find a Spanish or German class or start Mandarin, like me. Go for it. You’ll be so glad you did.
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You have to love German when you discover that it has a word - ‘Verschlimbesserung’ - meaning an ‘improvement’ that makes things worse than they were already - & you think of how many things in today’s world that could apply to.
#lovelanguages
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Wouldn’t it be helpful if the British media showed 'celebrities' who did well at languages, rather than joke about 'scraping high school French' or 'having enough trouble with English'? I’d be all for a celebrity language 'speak-off' & the potential role models it could showcase.
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When you learn a language at school, you're learning communication, empathy & solidarity & sociology, history, geography & politics from different perspectives. Your world view is wider. Your understanding is broader. Without a language, there's so much you're missing out on.
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Everyone can appreciate the little joys of learning a language. Booking a room in a French hotel, reading a whole paragraph in Chinese, singing a Spanish song or writing your first sentence in Arabic or Russian, there’s no need to be ‘good at languages’ to know how good it feels.
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I will always be thankful to have gone to a (state) school where I was able to learn French, German, Spanish, Italian & Latin & have the head let me sit GCSE & A Level Portuguese there. Everyone should still have that opportunity. English, maths & science are not everything.
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If you can say bread & milk, you can say Brot & Milch, because English & German are sisters. Your mother & brother are mādar & barādar in Iran, because Farsi is a cousin. We commence & finish thanks to our French half-sibling. Languages aren't scary. They're part of the family.
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If you can learn, hear, see & speak, you can lernen, hören, sehen & sprechen. Not only is German a close relative of English with a shared history, but it's a stepping stone to Swedish, Danish, Dutch & more. It's a language of business & technology. German opens so many doors.
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French is an official language of the UN and the EU. German is your passport to 6 European countries. Spanish is spoken across 3 continents. Chinese is the mother tongue of a billion people. When you learn a language, there's a much larger world for you to discover & explore.
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When I hear students say that “languages are difficult”, I say, is the subjunctive any more difficult than quadratic equations in maths, or are cases more difficult than the periodic table? Languages are no more ‘difficult’ than any other subject. Difficulty is relative.
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If you have a ‘Mutter’ or a ‘Bruder’, you have a ‘madar’ or a ‘baradar’ in Iran. If you can ‘comprar’ in Spain, you can ‘cumpăra’ in Romania. And if you can count ‘un, deux, trois’, Welsh ‘un, dau, tri’ is a doddle. Who knows where your German, Spanish or French will take you?
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Languages are for you if you like to meet new people, eat new food, play new sports, listen to new music, discover new ideas, dance new dances, laugh at new jokes or understand new perspectives. French, Mandarin, Arabic or Spanish, another language is a new outlook on life.
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If I hadn't fallen in love with Spanish, I might not have learnt other languages. And if that had not led me to Albanian, Basque, Persian & Romanian, I wouldn't have such a varied career. When a language sparks something in you, pursue it. It can take you in so many directions.
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There’s something magical about German. It’s both prosaic and poetic, conservative and innovative. Its shared roots with English mean that it’s not quite as challenging as you might think and it opens so many doors in so many fields. Give German a try. It'll reward your efforts.
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I fell in love with Spanish when I was 8 years old. That led to a fascination with French, German, Italian & Latin at school. When I then learnt Albanian, Basque & Persian, I was told, you’re wasting your time, but now my career is based on them. Languages open doors & minds.
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Why do I teach languages? Because I remember asking my teachers, why are there 2 verbs 'to be' in Spanish? Why do 'fils' & 'temps' end in 's' in French and why is a girl neuter in German? I teach languages because it's a joy to be able to answer those (& so many other) questions.
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Your school French might lead you to Spanish or Italian, or it might inspire you to go on to Arabic or Ukrainian. You might love history, science, music, maths, art, politics or geography. A language is not one subject. It's every subject seen through another people's eyes.
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When you understand your first news headline in Mandarin or Korean, have your first (however brief) conversation in French or German, listen to (& sing) your first song in Spanish or Italian or write your first sentence in Persian or Russian, you know how exciting languages are.
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You'll make mistakes when you learn a new language, but you'll learn more from them. You'll meet new people with new ideas, beliefs, interests, culture, music, food. You'll never understand everything, but you'll have fun trying. A new language is an adventure that never ends.
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Why do I want to learn new languages? Because humanity is so diverse & wonderful, I want to communicate & find common ground with other people, however weird their language might seem to me. Scientist, mathematician, politician or historian, languages matter to us all.
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When you choose French at school, you’re choosing all that comes with a major world culture & another outlook on life. You’re choosing a head start with Spanish, Italian or Romanian & a way in to German, Albanian, Persian or Mandarin. You’re choosing a world of opportunities.
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French, German & Spanish are rich, fascinating languages, but if you speak Hindi, Mandarin, Polish, Swahili or a whole host of others, at home or learnt, languages can make a difference to you too. Any language is a skill that sets you apart, whatever future attracts you.
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German opens doors in eastern & western Europe & led me to Dutch. Without Spanish, I’d never have come to Catalan & Portuguese or appreciated Latin America. Speak French & much of western Europe & north Africa are within reach. Your world & your options are bigger with languages.
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Learn a language (any language) & you’re boosting your communication, negotiation & analysis skills in life & for a variety of jobs, not to mention intercultural awareness, decryption & ability to learn another language. Whatever your skills are, languages raise your profile.
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If you’ve received French, Spanish, Chinese, German or any MFL A Level results today, look forward to the many opportunities ahead of you, the wider world that’s opened up to you, the stronger connection you have with other people & the lifelong advantages of another language.
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Multilingual can mean saying hello to your Polish neighbour, trying out some Chinese at the takeaway, understanding a Latin phrase or saying diolch to a Welsh friend. Just things that put a smile on people's faces. We can all be multilingual.
#multilingualisnormal
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When you learn to express yourself in another language, you unlock another little piece of the world, share new perspectives with new people, discover new stories, traditions & opportunities. French or Frisian, Chinese or Chechen, there'll be a language that opens doors for you.
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Don't worry if your verb is not quite in the right place or your masculine should be neuter or numbers above 5 take the wrong case or your tones need some honing. You'll still be understood. Learning languages starts with communication & connection, not precision & perfection.
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Languages are about the thrill of understanding other people & being understood. They’re about communicating what you love & discovering new things to love. Wherever your interests lie, languages let you reach a much wider audience. Another language opens doors & opens minds.
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You don't have to be 'good at languages' to learn the German that puts you ahead in business in Europe or the French that makes you a more accomplished chef or the Italian that makes more sense of opera & music. Combine languages with other subjects & you can go so much further.
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It doesn't matter if your school 'only' offers French, or French & German or Spanish & Italian or Mandarin or Welsh or Sign Language. Any new language is a new outlook on life, a new relationship with other people, a stepping stone to other languages, a celebration of diversity.
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When you learn a language at school, you're learning history, music, geography, politics, sociology, sport, science, literature & more. French leads to Spanish & Italian. German opens up Danish & Dutch. Languages add value to every subject & take your world view to another level.
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Languages have given me 2 careers, the joy of teaching others the world beyond English, a Portuguese lady's smile when I spoke her language, a Romanian doctor's thanks for translating his certificates, writing a book about Albanian & a year working in Spain. Languages matter.
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It doesn’t matter if it’s Chinese or Esperanto that’s sparked your interest. There is no Champions League of languages. When you find a language that you love, pursue it, enjoy a new culture & open your mind. Any new language will give you a new outlook on life.
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I loved learning German at school. It was the cool language that French 'unlocked'. It had fantastically long words & wacky word order, but often looked reassuringly familiar at the same time. Take a chance on German and you'll be glad you did.
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Languages are about communication & interaction, not perfection. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. You'll still be understood & appreciated & you'll learn from them. Whether it's your speaking exam or a chance encounter in Paris, Berlin or Barcelona, you'll be glad you tried.
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