Year 9 discover languages at work

Year 9 pupils learned about careers where a foreign language is vital in the third successful ‘Make Languages Work’ event held at Priory.

Head of Languages, Mrs Scully, split the day into two parts with the aim to show how languages can be used in a range of careers. 

“I started with an assembly where I talked about languages and links to different careers,” said Mrs Scully.

“I spoke about how Manchester GCHQ outreach programme is looking for linguists which will provide opportunities in the future and is always good to know.

“It’s the third year we have run this event and every time it gets better.

“The pupils are so engaged, they really buy into it, asking a lot of questions and the relevance of languages to different jobs.”

One half of the day included presentations in Chinese from the Confucius Institute at UCLan as well as a presentation from Médecins Sans Frontières where they talked about the value of different languages and the need for translators in the Third World.

The second part was a career speed-dating session which was popular. The hall was filled with tables and the Year 9 pupils moved around to engage with each of the visiting organisations.  There was a huge range of people available to chat to about their jobs and the importance of different languages to their roles. 

They included: Sarah Cutts Translation, who specialises in Spanish and French to English translation of legal, academic and commercial documents. 

A magician talked about how he had to speak four different languages for his shows while Mrs Bailey held a drink tasting session where pupils could question her in languages about the drinks, using authentic phrases.

Mr and Mrs Taylor are involved with food and wine from Europe and they chatted about the importance of languages for their business among others.

“There was a varied range of jobs to show the Year 9s,” continued Mrs Scully. “We also had good feedback saying how engaged the children were and how well-behaved they were. 

“There was something to grab everyone’s attention.” 

Thank you to our Year 11 pupils who supported the event and made our visitors welcome:

Connie B, Geetha D-R, Ella G, Imogen H, Darcey K, Charlotte M, Emily P, Olivia Grace S, Navah T, Sophia T, Jolie T, Summer W & Chloe W.