The Business Language Champions programme, supported by the DCSF,  sets out to arrest the downward trend in take up of modern foreign languages in our schools. This is done through partnerships with businesses or business people who use different languages in the workplace – or in some cases who wished they had learned more at school! The standard ‘menu of opportunities’ envisages your help through simple presentations to language-based enterprise challenges and classroom projects.

However, we also have a very special menu in the East Midlands, which includes some very exciting region-wide projects. Here are some great opportunities to inspire school students by sharing your expertise and knowledge within a team of people.  These are just 2 examples:

Young Enterprise International Challenge Day

Young Enterprise encourages school students to set up a company, sell shares, develop a product and sell it. They liquidate the company at the end of the school year. As it is an international organisation, there is a European Trade Fair every year. In 2010 this will be in Lisbon. In December, 10 Young Enterprise companies from 10 different schools will battle for the prize of attending and taking part in the Lisbon Trade Fair. We are looking for 10 Business Language Champions to mentor them on the day. People with an international trade background would be ideal. Whether you have a smattering of another language or are fluent will not matter as much as your enthusiasm to help these young people improve their international communication skills.

Japanese Musubi Project

Did you know that the Japanese Olympics team will be training at Loughborough University from now until 2012? We are working with the Olympics Legacy Lead to help facilitate a project led by the South Wolds Language College.

Every term from now until the Olympics, they will be hosting a special Japanese language and cultural day at Loughborough University for other Language Colleges around the region. The school students will have the opportunity to meet the Japanese team. Language Colleges taking part will be asked to cascade their learning to other schools in their area.  

We will be involved with the Olympics Legacy Team to help bring in businesses trading with Japan to make this a very real learning experience for all involved. So if you speak Japanese or have business dealings with Japan, then we would love to speak with you!

So if you, or anyone in your organisation, is working internationally and would be able to offer a little time and enthusiasm to improve the international communication skills and the cultural awareness of our next generation, please do make contact. In return, we’ll give you and your company as much PR as we can. But we believe that your main reward will be the satisfaction of knowing that a few hours of your time could possibly inspire a young person for a lifetime!

Sally Fagan

Business Language Champions – East Midlands

Mob. 07967 699614 Email: fagan@dircon.co.uk

www.cilt.org.uk/blc