BCC language fair draws students

Students from 15 public and private secondary schools got a glimpse into other parts of the world when they turned up for a foreign language fair hosted by the Barbados Community College (BCC) Language Centre on Thursday.

French and Spanish tutor Lamar Smith told Barbados TODAY the enthusiastic participation of the students was reward enough for the hard work in staging the event.

“Last year we had 16 [schools] but because of the environmental challenges with The Lodge School, they weren’t able to organise themselves accordingly. Nonetheless, what we were able to do is to increase the number of students that could come from each school. So we had a maximum of 40, and instead of just using the courtyard, we expanded to the building as well,” she said, noting that students could move around freely, and be exposed to a greater number of activities and experiences.

A significant focus of this year’s fair was tourism.

“Last year, we explored general topics surrounding foreign languages and resources that you could use. But this year, we zeroed in on tourism because students need to understand that learning a foreign language does not put them at a disadvantage, it puts them at a distinct advantage in life and makes them more marketable,” Smith explained.

“We wanted to expose them to various options for study but also for education and training. To do that, we’ve partnered with the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) and they led a variety of presentations from some of their members, coming from accommodation, coming from aviation, and so on. They also manned a booth.”

In another highlight of the fair, Smith’s tourism group created and promoted an imaginary Spanish-speaking country. The students were able to apply their language skills and knowledge while showcasing their creativity in developing the country’s culture, symbols, and even national dress.

The event also aimed to address the broader challenge of language literacy in Barbados, with Smith highlighting the frequent feedback from former students about the advantages of language skills in their professional lives.

“I have had several students who I’ve taught over the years, come up to me afterwards and say ‘Ma’am, would you believe I’m working as XYZ right now and we worked with Latin America markets and I have to speak Spanish?‘. Or ‘I’m doing this course in Spanish, or I’m exposed to French speakers and I’m so sorry that I didn’t pay attention in class’. It happens regularly so we want to help students to understand that there is scope out there for foreign languages. It doesn’t limit you to being a teacher or an interpreter or translator.

“That’s what this [fair] is all about. It’s really about options, it’s really about helping people understand that you’re not stuck, you’re not stagnant but there’s all of this scope for you.”

In addition to French and Spanish, the fair offered Japanese and Chinese with support from the Cuban, Venezuelan, Argentine and Japanese embassies and the Confucius Institute, the Chinese language and culture centre at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.

(RG)