Rugby students learn value of foreign languages at work 23 January 2008
Students at Harris School in Rugby learnt the true value of language skills recently when they were visited by a local bilingual director.
Gisèle Pellegrini, director of Rugby-based Positive G, which helps businesses to trade with France and communicate effectively with French companies, visited the school on 18 January to talk to students about the importance of languages in the world of work.
Pictured: (from left to right) Gisèle Pellegrini, Stephanie Anderson, Chris Everall and Terry Edmonds with students from Harris School.
After listening to presentations in French about Gisèle and the company, fifty-nine Year 10 and 11 students prepared e-mails, translated telephone conversations and conducted interviews in French.
Gisèle spoke about her involvement in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France and set students the task of writing French e-mails to organise a visit to Menton, South France, where William Webb Ellis, founder of the game of rugby, is buried.
Terry Edmonds, who works for French company Norbert Dentressangle, also took part in the morning’s activities, encouraging students to pursue their language studies further by explaining, in French, his experience of using languages throughout his career and conducting mock interviews alongside Gisèle.
This project is part of the Business Language Champions programme, which is co-ordinated by the RLN. It is designed to bridge the gap between school and the workplace and to reverse the recent decline in the take up of modern foreign languages. The ‘Champions’ bring language skills alive by highlighting the problems local companies have recruiting staff that can speak more than one language and helping pupils to see how important these skills are in the workplace.
The talks were well received and enjoyed by all, as Gisèle commented:
“The day was well planned and the students engaged in the activities offered with enthusiasm. They were clearly interested to hear the needs of businesses and be assured that their future skills were in demand. I would urge companies to come forward and participate in such events to help the RLN achieve its task.”
Click here to find out more about the Business Language Champions programme.
Back to RLN News