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Proof (if any were needed) of why learning a language is a good thing

  • Writer: Cate Taylor
    Cate Taylor
  • Feb 24, 2023
  • 3 min read

… and why we should think carefully about what would be most useful for us to learn in that language


Speaking French on a chairlift

I was privileged to use my languages and help others several times last week whilst on a skiing holiday in France.


On the first day of our holiday when we were queuing for the télécabine to take us up the mountain, a young British girl fainted. She did not recover quickly and it turned out that she had an underlying heart condition. I was able to help the family by getting the ski lift people to call the ambulance, explaining the urgency of the situation and to keep the family informed of what was going on. I was also able to explain to the impatient crowd of French skiers waiting to buy their lift passes why there was a delay; as you can imagine, nobody minded waiting once they knew what was going on. I’m pleased to say that all ended well.



Speak Spanish if you've lost your passport

This is not the first time that this has happened to me. I have translated for fellow travellers in South America after pick-pocketing incidents, accompanied fellow Brits to the police station in Spain after they lost their passports, discussed the drugs haul found on the bus I was travelling on with military police in Bolivia (nothing to do with me, clearly, and I was very grateful to be able to explain this to the guards in their own language!)



children studying and speaking French and English

If you can converse with others in their own language, not only can you communicate on a deeper level, but you are also able to facilitate communication between others.


I love a chairlift in France: several minutes where I can chat happily in French to my French fellow passengers without them being able to escape! On one occasion last week, my fellow chairlift companions were a 9 year old French boy and a 7 year old English boy who were in the same ski school group, desperate to communicate with each other but didn’t quite know how. “I know lots of French,” said the 7 year old: “I know the word for cow, dog, cat…” Not the greatest starter for an actual conversation. I always make sure that I teach my students the words and phrases that will allow them to get talking. We discovered that they both knew the song “Alouette” (the slightly disturbing ditty about a lark having the feathers plucked from different body parts in turn which I’m sure many of you will be familiar with.) After a quick verse, the ice was broken and after a few suggestions from me, they started to communicate. I left them at the top of the chairlift teaching each other different words in French and English.



learn a language

As a final thought, at the very least, learn a few words: please, thank you, “can I have..?” and even, “do you speak English?” are all obvious starting points.

Yes, in a tourist resort many people working there will have a certain amount of English. Yes, they might talk back in English to you when you’ve tried out your best French. Yes, you should continue speaking French to them; they are just used to going into English straight away as soon as they realise you are a Brit (they may even have been told to by their employers), but I’ve found that people are always happy for you to continue speaking French to them.


Do get in touch via our website if you are interested in learning functional French or Spanish for an upcoming holiday or to converse with colleagues.




 
 
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