How languages changed my life:
I grew up in the North East in the 70s and 80s in a monolingual environment. At school, it’s fair to say that languages were not seen as my strong point. I then went through university education without picking up a new language.
After graduating with my MA in Museum Studies, I was unemployed and facing the notoriously difficult prospect of competing for a post in the museum sector. I took what felt like a radical decision to make the best of my unemployment by experiencing life in another country.
A life changing decision
Having no funds, I approached the Italian Cultural Institute in London and somehow persuaded an official there to award me a tiny grant to take an immersive language course in Italy. It wasn’t enough to survive on, but I made extra money by teaching English. Learning Italian was hard, but before too long I was fluent enough to do some basic museum work as a volunteer. Shortly afterwards, a friend suggested I apply for a PhD scholarship at one of the top Italian universities, and I was astonished and delighted when I was awarded it.
Four years on, I had done some of my growing up in another country and in another language. I spoke fluent Italian, had a PhD, considerable experience of museum work in Italy because of a year out to work for a local museum, and had built up some pretty good cooking skills!
This was a transformative time, helping me to see and think differently, to begin to understand cultural differences and commonalities and to reflect on where I started.
As Dean of Global at Newcastle, I still draw on this experience. It drives my thinking about the value of mobilities, cultural extroversion and understanding for our scholarship, our students’ experiences and our global engagement.
I still try to make time for new languages now (I’m learning Turkish), however full the diary.
Professor Chris Whitehead
