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2020/2021 LANGUAGES CAREER GUIDE Languages2 Success at School is a national careers website for students aged 11-19, as well as their teachers, careers advisors, parents and other influencers. Young people can learn about their future career options through no-nonsense careers advice related to their own experiences. As well as covering topics such as career paths, industries, apprenticeships, university and employability skills, we connect schools and students to employers and universities through opportunities on our site and our interactive forums. Millions of young people and their influencers have visited our site for advice and information to help them plan for the future. Go to successatschool.org for more information. Copyright Success at School Ltd 2020 AboutSuccess at School The Royal Air Force is an organisation that makes a difference. Whether it’s in the skies above Britain or in airspace around the world, it is our job to protect the United Kingdom against any form of threat. Our aircraft aren’t our only line of defence. In the 21 st century, cyberspace and communications have become just as important to help fulfil this role. The RAF needs these skills more than ever before. We look for people who are passionate and excited about being part of a bigger organisation. Everyone in every role is vital to keeping our aircraft ready and flying 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have more than 20 different apprenticeship opportunities – and not just in IT and communications roles. We offer a guaranteed contract of employment from the moment you start your first day of training. Aboutour sponsor3 LANGUAGES CAREER GUIDE Contents 05 What are languages? 06 How will languages prepare me for work? 10 Should I choose languages? 12 T-levels 15 Job roles 18 How to future-proof your career 14 Why work experience matters 21 RAF profile 32 Everything you need to know about gap years 22 Spotlight job 34 University 24 Interviews 28 Apprenticeships4 Languages connect us all. Studying them at school not only helps improve our communication skills, it also help us see things from a different perspective. Research suggests that learning another language encourages us to think in new ways – because the way we express ourselves has a profound impact on the way we see the world. A command of foreign languages equips you for a career as an interpreter, translator or a diplomat. Studying languages also fosters cross-cultural understanding – an essential skill in any of these careers, and one which is important too if you wish to live abroad or work for a global company. Journalists, salespeople and marketers often work overseas or work with globally diverse audiences. Beyond this, languages lead to opportunities across industries and professions. Beyond that, languages teach skills as diverse as listening, adaptability, resourcefulness and self-confidence. With these skills, you could work as a counsellor, marketing officer, journalist or writer. As automation takes hold, the kind of high-level cognitive skills you develop through the study of languages will stand you in good stead in the world of work. Your adaptability, mental agility and ability to connect with people across cultures, continents and from different backgrounds will be attractive to employers in numerous sectors – even if you don’t use a foreign language in your job. Whatever you decide, we wish you the best of luck in your future career. Foreword Hallo Hola5 There are over 7,000 living languages in the world today. Some are spoken by just a few hundred people, while others, like Mandarin and English, are used by over a billion people around the world. Languages are about more than just how we communicate. They can teach us about a country or region’s cultural identity, history, art, society and much more. At school you’ll learn how to read, write and speak a foreign language such as French, Spanish or Bengali. But your language lessons are about more than just learning that language. They’ll teach you valuable skills such as listening, confident speaking and comprehension. Grammar and vocabulary are just some aspects of learning another language. You’ll also explore the culture and society of that country to help you understand and apply what you’re learning. Being able to speak another language could lead to opportunities to work abroad in many careers. If you want to focus on a career directly linked to your language, being an interpreter is one option. They need an excellent command of another language because they translate what’s being said in real-time. If you work as a business development manager for an international organisation, being able to speak another language and understanding different cultures will help you build relationships. The skills you learn in languages will translate to many jobs, even if you don’t use the language itself. Being a good listener will help if you work as a counsellor. Your excellent communication skills and confidence speaking will be useful if you go into a career as a solicitor or HR manager. What are languages? Bonjour Ciao6 5 workplace skills you’ll learn in languages Adaptability In school: You’ll learn to use a foreign language in different situations and for different purposes. You’ll need to adapt the way you speak or write to suit various scenarios, changing your vocabulary and grammar accordingly. At work: You need to be adaptable in all jobs. If you’re a project manager you’ll need to liaise with many groups of people, which may mean you need to alter your communication style to suit different people. If you’re a police officer, you have to adapt quickly to changing situations and you need to be comfortable working in many different environments and with people from different cultures. How will languages prepare me for work? Critical thinking In school: In the classroom you’ll read a wide variety of texts, listen to excerpts of recorded language and watch films and online clips in their original language. You’ll be encouraged to engage critically with what you’re reading, hearing or watching. You’ll identify creative uses of language and learn to understand these materials in their cultural and social context. At work: Being able to evaluate information with a critical and impartial eye is useful if you’re a lawyer who is examining the evidence associated with a case. If you become a data scientist, you’ll use your critical-thinking skills to analyse data and provide insights based on what you find. Cultural sensitivity In school: You won’t just be learning the words and structure of another language; you’ll be learning about the country(ies) it’s spoken in. You’ll explore the culture, societies and communities associated with the language and put what you’re learning into context. At work: Technology has made the world an increasingly small place. More and more organisations work across borders. Being sensitive to other cultures and communities is essential if you’re an international aid worker. If you’re a tour operator, you need to design tours and explain cultural differences and sensitivities to the people you’re leading. Resourcefulness In school: When you’re learning a new language, you won’t always know the words you want to say. You have to think of alternative ways to explain yourself. You might need to use body language and gestures to help get your point across. At work: An entrepreneur will need to be resourceful when they’re setting up a new business and willing to take risks. A logistics and distribution manager may need to be resourceful when working out how to coordinate every element of a business’s supply chain. Communication In school: Learning languages is all about how we communicate. You’ll focus on speaking and writing in the classroom and will learn to share your thoughts and knowledge in another language. You’ll practise speaking with a partner or in small groups to build up your confidence. At work: Salespeople need to be excellent communicators to engage with potential customers and explain the benefits of a product or service. A graphic designer needs to think about how to communicate concepts and ideas in a visual way. They also need to speak to clients to get a clear brief for a project.7 LANGUAGES CAREER GUIDE ...and 2 you may not have thought of Listening In class: In the classroom you’ll develop your listening and comprehension skills by listening to spoken recordings and answering questions about what you hear. You’ll also develop your listening skills by having conversations in a foreign language with your classmates and teachers. At work: Listening is an important skill to have in many jobs. If you’re a doctor, you’ll need to listen carefully to the symptoms your patient is describing to help you come to a diagnosis. An architect will need to listen closely to the brief they’re given to allow them to design a building that meets the developer’s needs. Self-confidence In class: The more you practise your language skills, the more confident you’ll become. You’ll also realise that making mistakes is part of learning a language, but that people will often understand you even if you make errors. Being able to speak confidently in a foreign language will also give you greater confidence to speak in English. At work: Being a confident communicator is vital if you become a team leader; you’ll need to have the confidence to lead your team and interact with other managers in the business. If you’re an advertising account manager, you need to be confident when you’re delivering pitches to clients. 8 Develop your cultural knowledge of the language you’re studying by exploring texts and films originally written in that language. You’ll study at least one book or film in the language you’re studying, which will not only improve your vocabulary, but will also put the language in its cultural context. In French, you might read works by Voltaire or Albert Camus. In Spanish, the writers you could study include Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende, and in German you could read texts by the likes of Bertolt Brecht or Franz Kafka. The literature and films produced by a society offer an insight into its culture and history. Developing this cultural understanding is important if you take a job that involves working overseas. If you become a diplomatic service officer, you’ll be liaising between the UK government and the government of the country you’re based in. Or if you work as a screenwriter you might find yourself writing about cultures and societies outside the UK. KnowledgeHow will it help me at work? Learn various research skills to help you undertake an independent research project. You’ll conduct research in the language you’re learning. You’ll explore how to select relevant sources for your project, including those from the internet. This will involve challenging the accuracy of your sources and analysing their significance. You’ll also discuss how to choose an appropriate theme or research question for your project. Being able to undertake independent research is useful in many jobs and being able to do so in more than one language could be especially helpful in a field such as linguistics or anthropology. As an academic researcher you’ll need to select relevant sources and reference them correctly. Genealogists may need to trace families across several countries and being able to carry out research in another language could be useful. Gain a thorough knowledge of the grammatical structures and systems of the language you’re studying. This will include being able to identify parts of speech, such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. You’ll also master how most tenses are formed and learn about the conjugation of irregular as well as regular verbs. You’ll learn how to check more challenging verb forms for accuracy. Every language has its own grammatical structure and rules. Understanding and using these is an important part of learning a foreign language. If you become a languages teacher at secondary school, you’ll need to be able to explain these rules to your students. If you work as a liaison officer with a multinational company, you’ll need to send emails and communicate professionally in your second language. 5 ways your languages know-how will help you at work un français9 LANGUAGES CAREER GUIDE Explore some of the ways in which society in the country you’re studying is changing. This can involve looking at family structures and how these are evolving. If you’re studying Spanish, you might explore the debate surrounding marriage and divorce in predominantly Catholic societies. In French and German, you’ll look at the changing nature of family, including different types of families, such as single-parent families and LGBT parenting. Looking at family structures in different countries can help you better understand the culture and society behind the language you’re studying. Being sensitive to any cultural differences you encounter is important if you’re a social worker who interacts with people from diverse backgrounds. Or you could become a youth worker where you’ll be helping young people with all kinds of cultural differences and upbringings. KnowledgeHow will it help me at work? Learn about how young people in the country you’re studying engage with politics. Explore some of the main youth political movements and find out more about what motivates or disengages young people when it comes to politics. A general knowledge of the history of politics in the countries you are studying will further develop your understanding of the current climate in the country where the language is spoken. Major political events in recent years, such as Brexit, have encouraged younger people to speak up about their political views. If you go into a career as a politician, understanding what motivates younger voters and how to engage with them can be very useful. This knowledge will also be handy if you take a job as an engagement officer with an organisation like the British Youth Council or Youth Politics that work to get more young people interested in and engaging with politics. Next >