Students commended for commitment to languages
15 June 2018
Languages for All at Cardiff University provides students on a degree programme with the opportunity to learn a language for free.
Thousands have benefitted from the programme (which began in 2014), and last week, for the first time, a select group of language learners were rewarded for their commitment at a special awards ceremony.
30 students were presented with the Languages for All Outstanding Achievement award, having completed five or more modules in the same language. Most students chose to learn a language they had not studied before and, out of the nine languages that the programme offers, they opted for Spanish, German, Japanese, French and Mandarin Chinese.
A number of the students reached a higher-intermediate level where they are confident enough to enter unprepared into conversation on familiar topics and can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling.
Dr Catherine Chabert, Director of Languages for All, said “We wanted to recompense students who showed determination and studied a language alongside their studies for most of the duration of their degree at Cardiff. The programme has been designed to equip students with language skills which will enable them to pursue their goals and enhance their job prospects.”
The award winners came from a variety of areas across the University (18 Schools were represented) and are a mix of undergraduates and postgraduates. Like most Languages for All students, they took up classes for a variety of reasons.
Medic Natasha Harley said she planned to carry out her medical elective in Ecuador, which was something she “would never have thought would be possible” to do three years ago. Law student Lim Jian Hong would love to volunteer at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Archaeologist Tobias Heal has applied for a teaching post in China while Geography and Planning PhD student Owain Hanmer plans to utilise his Spanish whilst carrying out research in Latin America. Speaking of his Languages for All course Owain said, “I believe that it will open up a whole range of opportunities to work and travel in the future, so I’m excited to see how that turns out.”
Dr Siân Edwards, Academic Coordinator, said: “The attainment of these students demonstrates the value of language learning and evidences the international experience available at Cardiff University.”