EDUCATION
OF LANGUAGES FOR THE LOVE WORDS BY ALEX FICE
FIND OUT WHY CAMBRIDGE HAS BEEN NAMED THE NUMBER ONE PLACE IN THE UK FOR LEARNING AND RETAINING A SECOND LANGUAGE – AND DISCOVER THE CITY’S TOP LINGUISTIC LOCALES!
Teaching via culture is also central to the approach taken by the Cambridge Chinese Community Centre, which offers Mandarin classes to adult learners. Sessions are taught by Professor Niu from Shandong University of Arts and visiting scholar at the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University. “For most people learning a new language, the very beginning is the hardest part,” she says. “Our Chinese for Beginners class aims to make the journey easier and fun. We teach practical Chinese conversation as well as Chinese characters, while telling related stories. This allows learners to experience the charm of Chinese language and culture during their learning journey.” Alliance Française is also a key player in promoting language learning here
as an Italian culture centre in 2010, it has evolved over 12 years to become a fully fledged European centre promoting Italian, Spanish and English language and culture. The latter is a core component in the teaching, according to its founder, Giulia Portuese-Williams. “Grammar is only taught within the context of the culture,” she explains. “We also try to teach languages with a 360° approach; not only do students learn the language, they are also exposed to Radio Dante podcasts, they attend monthly meet-ups and they can take part in free cooking classes in the language they’re studying! Normally, people go to a class, and then afterwards don’t know exactly where to go to practise or engage with the community. We definitely make a difference in that respect.”
he next time you’re walking through Cambridge, take a moment to tune into the many languages being spoken around
you; chances are, you will hear at least one that isn’t English. In fact, a recent study by Preply has revealed that Cambridge is the UK’s top cultural hotspot of 2022, with 18% of its residents speaking more than one of 12 foreign languages analysed in the study – including Mandarin, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. This study even goes so far as to say that Cambridge is the top UK city for learning and retaining a second language. If you are itching to refresh your linguistic skills or keen to learn something new, then you will find a wealth of options at your fingertips right here in Cambridge. Take La Dante, for instance: starting out
58 JANUARY 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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