Article written by Daniel Mitchell, Careers Consultant (Finalists & SLL)
I recently attended The Languages Show in Olympia (London) – a 3-day event for language professionals, language teachers, languages speakers and generally anyone that loves languages! The event is free to attend with more than 100 exhibitors and a fairly extensive workshop programme.
Having now reflected on the day, here are five things that I learnt:
1. There is a real demand for Language teachers
This came up in a number of workshops and discussions I had on the day and essentially – good language teachers are in demand. This is largely because of the government’s commitment to increasing more pupils in schools to take a language. If you want to share your enthusiasm for languages with others, find about more about teaching and the scholarships available with Get into Teaching.
2. Students get FREE membership with the Chartered Institute of Linguists
Yes, that’s right – free! Anyone student (undergraduate or postgraduate) studying a language in the UK or overseas is eligible for a free Student Affiliate membership. This will give students great opportunities to network, a subscription to The Linguist, access to a wide range of webinars, certain discounts and savings and much more. Find out more here.
3. There are lots of different pathways to work as an interpreter or translator…
…but being personable is going to help you whatever path you take. If you’re interested in this kind of area, take a look at the Interpreter or Translator job profiles online. On the day, I heard from and spoke with a number or organisations including Clear Voice, Surrey Translation Bureau and TranslatorinLondon. There are also a number of good twitter accounts to follow – @EP_interpreters or @translatores, for example.
4. When you are at an event like this – ask good questions!
I heard some great questions in some of the workshops and this really encouraged those leading the workshops to get across some quite specific and useful information and opened up the discussion wider. However, I also heard some not so good questions. If you’re using this event (or any event) to grow your network or get yourself out there – do your research and think about what you are going to say! When you’re with exhibitors, you might even want to have an elevator pitch ready so you feel a bit more prepared!
5. People LOVE languages
No matter who I spoke with – academics, students, professionals – the passion and enthusiasm the languages they speak and the role that they have was clear. If you didn’t make it this year… catch up from 2019 by viewing the full list of exhibitors and speakers here and definitely consider booking a free space this time next year.