Leeds Loves Languages

The Leeds Loves Languages Festival, a joint venture with the University of Leeds, is now in its fourth year and aims to show the benefits and excitement in learning languages and exploring foreign cultures. This was the secondfestivalheld this month following a successful event on Friday 7 March.

The event forms part of the nationwide 'Speak to the Future' campaign which aims to promote the learning of foreign languages in the UK from primary school to university level and is supported by Routes into Languages 2, a HefCE funded initiative, aiming to enthuse and encourage people to study languages.

Sixty pupils from year 12 had the opportunity to engage with speakers of other languages as well as students and tutors from both universities. As well as taking part in conversation classes in languages they are already learning, students participated in taster sessions in lesser-taught languages such as Japanese, Arabic, Greek, Thai and Russian. During the day pupils learnt about the experiences of current modern language students, the benefits of a year abroad and also found out about the value of languages in the workplace and for future careers.