Article in Languages Today, spring 2024, issue 47
How to… Think Like a Linguist [transcript]
Imagine a classroom where students explore the languages they’re learning as dynamic tools for expression and understanding. In Rochdale, this became a reality through Think Like a Linguist, a fresh approach to tackling the decline in language learning, developed by a group of researchers and languages advocates from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Think Like a Linguist sets out to reshape how students perceive and engage with language learning. Through a series of 5 interactive sessions and collaborations with language professionals, university students and recent graduates, the initiative aims to empower students aged 12-13 to make informed decisions about language study at GCSE level. The sessions are held at a host school, and at the end of each course the students travel to Oxford or Cambridge for a graduation event. In this article we hear from those involved in the pilot year of the project in 2023, for schools in Rochdale.
Kei Patrick recently graduated with a Modern Languages degree from Oxford. Here she gives a sense from her facilitator role of how each Rochdale session ran and how student engagement developed.
We knew that it was a big ask to invite students from six different schools in and around Rochdale and ask them to work together, to sit with strangers, let go of some of the things they think they know about learning a language, and start sharing ideas. After the first activity a student confided to me, ‘I didn’t know the right answer so I haven’t put anything.’ But what began in nervous silence grew lively as the room got talking. ‘Stand up if you’ve listened to music in another language’. ‘Stand up if your parents speak a language you don’t use in school.’The students got to know each other and their own unique relationships to language. ‘Why is it called a ‘barm cake’ and never a ‘stotty’, if you know both words?’ ‘What words would you only use with your friends?’They enjoyed dealing with language as something personal, a topic of discussion and, in the second session on Linguistics, experimentation: ‘Put your finger on your voice box and go ‘buzz’. Now say ‘hiss’. How does one sound turn into the other?’
Students were surprised by what they could achieve once they had the tools – identifying vocabulary in Basque and Catalan – and to hear that this is what university learning is like: not memorising, but facing up to big questions with support to handle them. Language learning in this setting became decoding, guesswork, collaboration. By the third session, they were adapting a song by Cuban band Orishas, writing English lyrics and rapping about their hometown. This required a creative and critical approach. ‘You don’t know all the words, so listen to the instruments, watch the music video. We’ll give you a glossary later – what do you think this song is about?’ To translate the style of the song, students had to think about their own ways of speaking and make particular word choices.
Each session ended with some reflective time to note down questions or thoughts before a ‘pizza plenary’. My highlight was observing students ask those questions over pizza. ‘Miss, what’s the oldest living language?’ As we admitted we didn’t have all the answers, the questions got bigger and broader. And what an ordinary – and extraordinary – human experience this was: sitting down together to eat and to reflect on language and culture.
Jon Datta, Deputy Head of Widening Participation at the University of Cambridge, led the session on career opportunities. Here Jon explains how the session showcased the transformative power of language proficiency.
The session began by highlighting the broad spectrum of careers that a degree in Linguistics or Languages can lead to: from teaching and interpreting to using transferable skills for roles across just about any sector, the opportunities are vast and varied. Participants learned that language skills are not just valuable, but essential in a world where global connections are increasingly vital.
Students were shown that a Languages or Linguistics degree offers far more than just the ability to speak a different language. It opens doors to advanced studies, research opportunities, and specialised career paths. By highlighting the enriching experiences that come with language learning, such as an understanding of different cultures and communities, expressing oneself confidently, and developing transferable skills like communication and problem-solving, participants were encouraged to embrace their linguistic journey with enthusiasm and an open mind.
To further illustrate the real-world applications of language skills, we developed Careers Case Studies activities with Cambridge alumni and a member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL). Dr Kerri-Ann Butcher, a linguist fresh from her PhD at Cambridge, discussed the options open to Linguistics graduates:
“I wanted to emphasise the diverse and exciting career opportunities available to language graduates in the digital era and the wide array of transferable skills fostered by a formal education in linguistics. I shared my journey: teaching abroad, learning Korean, exploiting language skills in real-world situations, travel blogging, and managing various aspects of digital content creation like copywriting and social media campaigns. The activities I designed challenged students to put their linguistic knowledge to the test in practical and creative ways, e.g. solving the ‘crime’ of a missing pizza using clues like pitch, perceived age and vowel variation in the speech of suspected criminals (their teachers, in this case) who were part of a ‘voice parade’ line-up. The activity highlighted the importance of finely-tuned attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and an analytical mindset — skills that are crucial in many fields such as forensic linguistics or roles in intelligence agencies like MI5.”
Chloe Stout from CIOL discussed her work as a freelance translator and subtitler:
“I wanted to show students what the daily work of a translator looks like. I explained the differences between translators and interpreters before exploring the different possible specialisations a translator might have – e.g audiovisual, marketing, legal or medical translation – and how these specialisms can link to personal interests or other subjects. Then we got into my own experience with subtitling: I asked them to tackle some common challenges, such as where to split sentences onto new lines, and how to stick to character limits. I ended with a demonstration using professional software to give students an insight into the work that subtitlers do on a daily basis.”
At the end of the programme, the students and teachers travelled to Oxford for a graduation event. Rebecca Smithson, Access and Outreach Coordinator at St Edmund Hall, describes the events and atmosphere of the day.
Hosted at St Edmund Hall and the Queen’s College, students experienced a tour of the university buildings, lunch in the dining hall and some challenging but inspiring languages activities.
As well as a beginners Portuguese session, the young linguists met Dr Alex Lloyd, Fellow at St Edmund Hall, who led a session on the White Rose resistance movement in Nazi Germany. Students used their language skills to learn more about the pamphlets distributed by the students of the White Rose, as well as the cultural history associated with learning languages at university, and did a fabulous job in their teams!
At the graduation event at the Queen’s College, summarising their group projects from earlier in the year helped students bond over their common interests in languages, ranging from AI to travel to robotics! It is daunting to speak in front of peers, but the students did wonderfully to convey their complex and intriguing ideas.
Each Linguist received their own certificate before returning to Rochdale.
With its collective focus on the personal benefits of multilingualism, linguistics, creative translation, and career opportunities, this new collaborative approach with schools and the local area at its heart aims to inspire a new generation and make a powerful difference to the national decline in the study of languages.
This pioneering initiative is run by partners at the Queen’s College Translation Exchange (Oxford), the languages faculties at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Widening Participation at the University of Cambridge, the Stephen Spender Trust and Hollingworth Academy in Rochdale. Think Like a Linguist developed from discussions between University colleagues committed to widening participation in language learning and at university, and a shared conviction that cross-university partnerships, and partnerships between universities and schools are the best way to seed and sustain this change.