native language, it shows a degree of respect that would be unattainable with a language barrier ... They're paying extr
Why should I learn a language? ‘Nowadays many young people, in the UK, simply don’t see the point in learning a language. After all, we can already speak, write and understand English, we even think in English, which is a very well established global language. With so many places across the globe speaking a language that young people in the UK already know, what’s the point in learning a new one?’ Secondary-school student Ariella Holdcroft interviewed a diplomat, a journalist, an entrepreneur and others to find out.
Jonathan Dunn British Consul-General Rio de Janeiro
Jonathan Dunn has been the British Consul-General of Rio de Janeiro since August 2014. He studied Geography at the University of Sheffield. During his time in Brazil, he has also worked as the Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Brasilia where he had particular responsibility for making sure making sure his team across different cities (such as São Paolo and Rio de Janeiro) were coordinated. Dunn also has a keen interest in economics and was previously the Economic Counsellor in the Embassy in Brazil. In his current post, he deals with consular, visa and trade activities in Rio de Janeiro. What languages have you studied? I learnt French and Russian in school, continuing with French to subsidiary level in sixth form, and did a couple of modules at university. I learnt Vietnamese for my job in Vietnam, that was full time language training at the Foreign Office, since then I’ve learnt Portuguese for my job in Brazil. Why do you think it’s important to learn languages? The way different people speak, the way language has evolved and where people have come from, the fundamental bases of culture, become far more easily understandable when you can speak a language.
How do you use your languages in your job? In my job, I cannot assume that everyone I will meet across the world can speak English. It has been vital for me in what I do, which is engaging, discussing and understanding a country. You can’t do that with somebody translating for you: you have to do it directly yourself. More fundamentally still, I love that point when you get to a certain level of confidence and skill in a language where you can fit into the culture and see the way people think differently. English is not the only global language and not everybody speaks it. Why do you think we have such a difficult situation in this country in terms of getting young people to learn languages? I think that there is a downside to the fact people in the UK have English as their first language, in that, we can be a little lazy when it comes to learning new languages. From your experience, how do you think languages can benefit people’s lives? When we do go abroad, and if we do make the effort to speak a few simple phrases in the native language, it shows a degree of respect that would be unattainable with a language barrier. I’ve made friends I wouldn’t have made, I’ve had experiences I wouldn’t have had, all of this has come from my ability to speak to people in more than just English. How can languages benefit young people’s job prospects? Young people going into the workplace should learn a language simply because it is a skill; it sets you apart from the crowd and can benefit you in almost any industry. The fact we live in a globalised world, means young people are more likely than ever to travel and live all over the world and one of the key skills needed to do these things, is to be able to communicate.
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Why should I learn a language? Martyn Heather Head of Education Premier League
Martyn Heather is the Head of Education at The Premier League. In the past he has worked as a teacher in the east end of London. As part of his job, he works with the youth academies of the Premier League clubs and often he takes teams abroad to play against foreign clubs. He studied French and German at school, and is a firm believer that languages are the only way that you can really engage with the culture and people of another country. What was your experience of language learning at school? You’re asking me to go back a long time! I think it was very much rote learning. We didn’t have the most exciting lessons. Now we do a lot of work with schools. We took all our youth department into a school for a day a few months back because we wanted them to see what good learning was like. I sat in a French lesson and it was absolutely unbelievable – I really enjoyed it! It was so much more interactive – you could see from how the pupils reacted that it was bringing languages alive, which I don’t remember from my experience at school So why do think we still have the problem in this country where so many young people don’t want to learn a foreign language? English is such an international language – you go on holiday and you don’t need to speak the language. The fact that the rest of the world is so good at speaking English makes us very lazy. If you look at football, I always say to young players that these overseas stars are absolutely fluent in our language and you can see this when they’re conducting interviews. I say if you were to play abroad, you’d be expected to do the same and they say that they’ll just speak English. It’s trying to change that perception and say that you actually need to speak a language. I think Roy Hodgson speaks five or six languages – there are a lot of multilingual people in the game now and yet we just expect them all to speak English and I think that’s the problem.
You said that you still use your French a little now, so how do you actually use that in your job? I was in France for the celebrations for the commemoration of the Somme. We went to the German commemoration at Fricourt. We took some players from Liverpool and some players from Hertha Berlin and they played a little game beforehand and then they were part of the German ceremony. When I got there before the teams arrived, there were only people there who spoke French so it was actually quite good until they started speaking really quickly. So wherever I can, I try and I just feel that people are much more receptive to you when you speak in their language. What would you say to your under 15s, for example, about the benefits for them of learning languages for their future career? I think if we want players to develop in the way we want then we want more of our players to play abroad at some stage in their career in order to extend their career or even if they don’t get an opportunity here they might get it abroad. In fact, the biggest growing league at the moment is the Chinese one. They’re paying extremely high salaries to attract players over there and they very much want to challenge the Premier League at some stage so there could be some amazing opportunities in the game over there but not many people in China can speak English. So there are all these examples of leagues that are growing around the world that weren’t there ten years ago so I think it’s saying to the young players that in terms of their careers, it isn’t just about playing in this country. Would you say languages are a necessity in football? Definitely. A lot of the foreign players that come here have to learn English because that’s the language of the changing room. If you go to France, it will be French and so on. So it’s understanding that you’ll need it as well. As a manager, if you’re trying to put your point across and someone’s translating, it loses impact. It was this that didn’t help Gary Neville at Valencia. He was learning the language but I think he should have tried to learn it before he went. Have you any aspirations to learn any other languages? I’d love to learn Icelandic and not just because they beat us ! I actually spent a lot of time in Iceland. I was a guest speaker at their FA conference last year and I was doing it all in English. I have got some friends there and so it would be so good to get up and give a few sentences in Icelandic. To be honest, I’d just like to be able to speak another language fluently. I get annoyed with my wife sometimes because I don’t think she uses her languages enough. She might go to an Italian restaurant and start in Italian but then she stops and I’m telling her go on go on because if it was me I would be showing off all the time. It’s about getting across that confidence barrier.
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Why should I learn a language? ‘Nowadays many young people, in the UK, simply don’t see the point in learning a language. After all, we can already speak, write and understand English, we even think in English, which is a very well established global language. With so many places across the globe speaking a language that young people in the UK already know, what’s the point in learning a new one?’ Secondary-school student Ariella Holdcroft interviewed a diplomat, a journalist, an entrepreneur and others to find out.
Carolyn Davidson British Ambassador to Honduras
Carolyn Davidson is the British Ambassador to Honduras. In her time at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), she has had many high-profile roles including British High Commissioner to Zambia and she has also worked in a wealth of cities from Tokyo to Bratislava. At the FCO she has also worked on international energy issues. In her current post, she is responsible for political work, economic activity, cultural relations and consular work between the UK and Honduras. How would you say languages can help you broaden your horizons? Though useful in any path in life, languages are particularly valuable if you wish to work overseas. If you want to live in a country, in my opinion, the idea of living in a country where you cannot speak the language is unjustifiable. Not least because you don’t understand what is happening and you cannot relate to the people around you, as when you study a language in depth it tells you a lot about the culture and how the society works.
How have languages been useful in your job? For me, particularly as a diplomat, understanding the country in which we are working is key to being able to engage with its residents. It is only when you get to grips with a language that you understand being part of a group is really important, as it defines who you are and how you relate to everybody else. There’s no way I would’ve been able to do my job without speaking a language. It is amazing, the knowledge and expertise that you can miss out on if you cannot connect with people and speak their language. What sparked your initial interest in languages? I knew I wanted to learn foreign languages when I heard my French teacher speak with such confidence and panache, and I thought that’s what I want to do. I did French and German at A Level, and then went on to do them at university. After I joined the Foreign Office, I studied Japanese full time for two years and I also learnt a bit of Thai when I lived in Bangkok, then I learnt Slovak and Spanish due to my placements in Slovakia and South America. How would you say languages can benefit English speakers? Everywhere you go in the world people will speak English, therefore if you make the effort, no matter how small, to converse with someone in their own language, the payback from that is disproportionately large because people don’t expect it. It’s making a gesture, making an effort to engage with people in their own language, so it can reap huge rewards in terms of the connection you will be able to have. What do employers think when they see an applicant you can speak a foreign language? A young person going into the workplace who can speak a language shows an ability to learn, to be flexible and to be able to converse with customers, suppliers or partners overseas, thereby making them a better candidate for any career path.
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