Zoe Ford
Nelson Mandela once said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”
At SPEAK, we agree. We think communication is invaluable, that learning about the language and cultures of others is key. We are now nearly at the end of this semester of SPEAK courses, congratulations to everyone who has made the effort with their classes and is continuing to work hard on their language learning! This week we wanted to talk about inspiring all of you to continue with your learning inside and outside of the classroom.
Language learning can be a very frustrating process, especially if you have never before spoken any language like the one you are learning. Or, for those who are learning a language similar to their own, getting mixed up between the two can be infuriating! Occasionally it can feel like you are going week by week without improving, which can be discouraging during language learning. As a Spanish and Portuguese student, I completely understand this feeling of frustration, especially when you try to speak a different language to someone for them to respond in English. However we are here to remind you of how far you have come since the start of the course. If you think about your level of language in week 1 compared to now, almost 3 months on, I think everybody who has been participating in their classes will be able to see how much they have improved in such a short time! Well done to you all, you’re all SPEAK stars ☆
We hope that you have all had fun and learnt a lot about your new language and the culture behind it with SPEAK. Hopefully you’ve been able to meet lots of new and exciting people like yourselves, and made lots of new friends. But what now? After the end of the SPEAK course, what happens next? Well, firstly, keep in touch with all those lovely people who you connected with during your course! Meet up for a coffee, or go for dinner, or just a walk, anything to reconnect with these new friends you’ve made. Maybe you could make a short trip with a friend to a country that speaks the language you now speak to practise, and experience all of these cultural quirks that you learnt about in class. Also, don’t forget that you are always welcome at SPEAK events! If this is to meet up with those who you met on the course, or to join our Language Exchange Sessions to practise your language, we would love for you to continue to be part of our community! Don’t forget that a new year brings a new set of courses, so whether you want to go from sem to com bases, or try something new, you can keep in touch with the SPEAK community in this way. Keep an eye out on the portal and on our Facebook page for new courses and all the events that we are running!
