Posts by John Speak
Happy New Year from the John Speak Language Trust
The John Speak Language Trust and the Trust Committee would like to wish you a wonderful and prosperous New Year. New Year Language Resolution – There is no better time to turn your dreams of learning a foreign language into a reality, new year, new start! Happy New Year …
Read MoreMichelle Dalgety – Case Study, Bilbao, northern Spain (1986)
The year was 1986; I was 21 years old and had just finished a Business Studies Course at Bradford College. I had taken a linguistics option with advanced French and beginners Spanish so when I learned about the John Speak Language Scholarships I was eager to go to Spain to bring both languages to a…
Read MoreDerek Peters – Case Study, Ascq, near Lille in France (1949)
Opening a recent news bulletin from the Leeds Chamber of Commerce, a reference to the John Speak Trust immediately caught my eye. I grew up knowing about the scholarships because my Dad was a fortunate recipient 65 years ago and the photographs and his tales about time spent in Northern France were a magical…
Read MoreW. Brian Moeller – Case Study, Belgium & Germany (1963 & 1965)
At age 21 I travelled by train to Belgium to begin a six month John Speak Language Trust Scholarship. I studied French, stayed with a local family and worked for no pay whilst studying. In return for submitting a report each month (written in French) to the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, I received the princely…
Read MoreFrank Clayton – Case Study, 1949 (Tarn, France)
“Thanks to the language skills I gained following my scholarship and my time in France, I was involved in the export trade for many years throughout my career”. At my school it had been compulsory for ‘A stream’ students to study French and Latin. Ideally, I would have preferred to study French and German but…
Read MoreStruan Rutherford, Beijing, China – October 2014
过去的一个月，我在北京大学习惯我新的生活和定期班。我享受我在北京的生活但是一个我还没习惯的地方是污染。污染最近如此厉害，很多参加北京马拉松的运动员需要放弃，以免他们损伤呼吸系统。幸亏，我有口罩所以它能保护我免受大部分空气污染。尽管污染，北京天气最近非常好。冬天天气还没来到所以我不应该抱怨！ 最近有兴趣的新闻是中国对应对印度成功火星卫星的反应。有些我阅读中国报纸头条的报道称赞印度卫星的成功，祝贺印度人。我最初没想到中国国家媒体如此愿意恭维印度科学家因为印度（周边一个与中国有相似数量人口的发展国家）是中国的竞争对手。不过，我最初对中印关系和中国人对印度火星意见的视角是错的。 这些报纸表达这个态度：不仅是印度的胜利，还有是亚洲的。印度火星卫星的工程是每个发展的胜利，特别是亚洲的。印度现在树立了一个榜样，所以其他有航天项目的发展中国家想仿效印度。因为中国正在发达它自己的载人航天工程，另亚洲国家成功第一发送卫星到别地球的尝试肯定鼓励中国推行更多太空工程。我新中国反应的解释是一个“友好的太空竞赛”。中国和印度都为了实现新成功竞争但是互相祝贺，支持对方的努力，也许来跟有太空项目历史的国家竞争，包括美国和俄罗斯。 ENGLISH TRANSLATION: In the past month, I have been settling into my new life in Beijing and regular classes at Peking University. I have been enjoying life in Beijing but the one thing I have not yet adjusted to is the pollution. The pollution was so serious recently that many…
Read MoreDerek Platts – Case Study, Brussels (1954)
“It was wonderful to see that the Trust is still going and providing the same opportunities to young people after all this time. May it long continue to do so”, Derek Platts. Sixty years ago in 1954, I was 23, had recently completed my national Service in the RAF and was working in my…
Read MoreOliver de Planta, Munich, Germany – September 2014
Munich by bike Wenn man denkt über Fahrräder und Städte vielleicht denkt man über das Straßenpflaster in Amsterdam voll mit Radler, neben die Kanäle mit einem Korb am Fahrrad. Aber München ist auch einen sehr freundlich Stadt mit große Fahrradwege daß Linie und Ampel haben. Es war echt gebaut und nicht nur eine Nachlese. Und…
Read MoreAshton Lily-Woolley, Spain – September 2014
Una de las cosas más buenas de vivir en otro país es que todos mis amigos y mi familia quieren venir a visitarme. Hace pocos meses mi novio estaba en Madrid el fin de semana y como no le he visto en mucho tiempo queríamos hacer tantas cosas mientras que estaba de vacaciones entonces tan…
Read MoreParma, Italia – Febbraio 2014, Esther Bokuma
Dopo una lunga pausa in Inghilterra, sono finalmente arrivata a Parma la domenica scorsa nel pomeriggio, per iniziare la seconda parte del mio anno all’estero. Il mio alloggio era 12 minuti dall’aeroporto, quindi non ci volle molto per stabilirsi nella mia nuova casa. Vivo a Carlotta e Jessica. Carlotta è Italiana, lei è una…
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