Last Saturday, 18 language students from Year IV and Year V went to Hull University for a Going Global day.

After arriving, we were given a talk by the Head of Languages at the university and we learnt of the value and importance of studying a language as 300 languages are spoken in England, 104 in Scotland and 98 in Wales. We were also told that it is not enough to just speak English and that those who do, face a bleak economic future.

The speaker highlighted the skills that learning languages provides: communication skills, team work, listening skills, interpersonal skills, presentational skills, problem solving skills, organisation skills, and good learning strategies. She also spoke of a need for more English people who can offer foreign languages in the workplace.

Throughout the day we were given one hour lessons in either French, German or Spanish and then later were given taster sessions in different languages such as Chinese, Portuguese, Italian, Russian and Japanese. We were also shown round the university by the student ambassadors and for many of us, this was our first time walking round an university.

We would like to thank Senorita Leclerc, Senora Debenham and Madame Leaf for taking us on this trip. It was a fantastic day and we learnt just how important learning languages really are.

Report by Lucy Hyland (Year V)