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Berkhamsted Group, Boys, Girls, Sixth Form | 28.11.2022

Adventure, Excitement, Inspiration: Languages Conference 2022

Adventure, Excitement, Inspiration: Languages Conference 2022

Learning a language, at any point in life, is a vital skill that opens opportunities and possibility.

The truth of this was clearly demonstrated on Friday 25th November, as Berkhamsted welcomed six visiting speakers to deliver a fascinating and inspiring Languages Conference for pupils between Year 8 and Sixth Form who are currently studying Modern Languages.

“What I wanted from the event was to demonstrate that learning Modern Languages is a gateway to a hugely interesting and successful career in many fields, and also the enormous fun and adventure that can be had along the way,” said Mrs Stanforth, who organised the event.

Each of the visiting speakers – several of whom were Old Berkhamstedians or parents of old Berkhamstedians – showed the pupils the wide range of experiences that languages can open up, from gap years in France and China to careers in marketing, analytics, trade, finance and stand-up comedy. They emphasised how learning a language enabled them to go on adventures, gain vital skills – such as resilience, independence and confidence – that they could transfer to other areas in life, as well as the variety of workplace options and careers available to them. These were vital lessons for pupils to hear – wherever their future takes them – and the morning provided plenty of interest and inspiration.

As Mrs Stanforth pointed out, “languages will make you vastly more employable in almost any field, and will give you confidence, tolerance, empathy and resilience, whilst enabling you to travel and enhance your life and your personality. Several of the speakers mentioned the phrase ‘living the dream’ – how many people can say that they have done that?”

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