Community education - the value of language learning

Josie Parkhouse, former head of languages at Exmouth Community College (Image: Josie Parkhouse)

I see myself as a global citizen; I studied abroad for 4 years, learnt foreign languages and travelled whilst working remotely as a‘ digital nomad’. But this identity has been challenged recently.

COVID cut my travels short, and coupled with Brexit, easy travel abroad is unlikely in the short-term. Additionally, the climate crisis has made cheap, frequent flights a moral issue in the long-term.

But all is not lost. Even in our various forms of isolation, language learning can be a gateway to another culture. I have had the honour of spending the majority of my lockdown teaching English as a foreign language online. I taught 900 lessons to nearly 150 students over a period of 10 months. Accessing English language and culture has the potential to allow those students to see their lives in a different context.

This was my experience when my language learning became more serious at university where I studied Mandarin Chinese intensively, including a semester in Nanjing, China. Although I struggled to learn Chinese characters and use tones when speaking, I was excited to discover a whole new culture and way of looking at the world.

While doing my recent teaching I talked with students of all ages with varying levels of English, sharing British language and culture with them. Around the world many people found themselves in lockdown with lots of time on their hands, eager to apply themselves to language learning… and I was ready to teach them!

This experience taught me a lot. It made me realise how lucky I was to my different languages learning in school.

I attended Pilton Community College in Barnstaple, a comprehensive school and a Specialist Language College where I learnt French and German. My late Granddad, Rodney Dingle, played a role in this language learning. As a former head of languages at Exmouth Community College he was a passionate linguist. As grandchildren we were able to draw on his expertise even after he retired by preparing for language exams together.

But according to the European Commission just 34 per cent of Brits can speak a foreign language. This time of national isolation is perhaps an opportunity for us to renew our commitment to language learning.

There are plenty of free resources available these days like Apps, YouTube videos, and podcasts! I take inspiration from my mum who despite being furloughed from her retail job and living alone, has taken up Russian, a completely new language to her with the help of a Russian colleague.

The final lesson I learnt is how difficult it is to teach online. Communication is such a key part of the teaching process; slow internet can make a simple concept impossible to grasp for the student.

Working for a private company I taught students one-to-one and it was a prerequisite for the lesson that the student at least has access to the internet and a device with a camera and microphone. So my frustrations were more manageable than local teachers who have to teach a classroom of children online with different internet speeds, on different devices, and often with short attention spans.

Language learning is a commitment, it takes time and resources, something that this lockdown has been plentiful for some of us. Unfortunately for some people resources are even more scarce. Therefore, it’s even more important that language learning starts at school, and that language teaching remains a valued, and well resourced part of our school curriculum.

I take my hat off to parents juggling home schooling and working full-time and our local teachers who have remained committed to their students.

Teachers haven’t stopped working during any of the lockdowns. As a society it would be great if teachers started to receive a salary commensurate with the service they provide, a life-long love of learning and languages is surely priceless.