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Pembroke Fellows and Academics Feature in London Centre for Languages and Cultures Videos
NEWS |
Last week, the London Centre for Languages and Cultures (LCLC) published educational videos featuring Dr Tim Farrant, Pembroke Fellow and Tutor in Modern Languages and Reader in Nineteenth Century French Literature. These are useful resources for both language teachers and for those considering studying languages at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
The LCLC, based in William Morris Sixth Form in Hammersmith, is a partnership between The Open University and Pembroke College.. The LCLC aims to enhance the subject and pedagogical knowledge of language teachers, and to encourage and promote the study of languages, which are traditionally less popular choices for university applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In a recent video, Dr Farrant answers the question ‘what makes Language Studies interesting?’ and shares aspects of student life that enhanced his studies. For Dr Farrant, it was ‘living in the culture and getting to know the culture first-hand which really made that big difference.’ In another clip, he explains the interview process at Oxford for languages and gives some tips on how to best prepare to study languages at university level.
The LCLC have also recorded Dr Farrant delivering several short presentations of French publications. For example, in ‘Le Père Goriot (Honoré de Balzac)’, he explains that this is a writer who is often considered to be the French Charles Dickens for ‘his relation of an everyday kind of world with a more visionary understanding of reality, which laid bare the real drivers in society.’
Videos uploaded earlier this year on the LCLC’s YouTube channel include interviews with Pembroke Associate Academic, Dr Matthew Reza, and Pembroke’s Stanley Ho Fellow and Tutor in Chinese and Professor of Modern Chinese Studies, Professor Henrietta Harrison.
Prof. Harrison explains her career route and a love for ancient languages that led her to learn Chinese. In other clips she explains the history of enigmatic Chinese objects, such as ‘What can you learn about Chinese history from a ration ticket?’
Dr Reza speaks about deciding to study languages at university; ‘It was after conversations with people who had done many different languages and who had taught languages– talk to your teachers, look at university websites and make an informed decision.’
Links to all LCLC videos featuring Pembroke Fellows and Academics are listed below.
Dr Tim Farrant (French)
What makes Language Studies interesting?
Le Dormeur du Val (Arthur Rimbaud)
Le Père Goriot (Honoré de Balzac)
Prof. Henrietta Harrison (Chinese)
Chinese history through the hole of a copper coin
How long is a piece of Chinese woven cloth?
Mixing Chinese and Western Medicine in the 19th century
Dr Matthew Reza (Italian)
Learning a language at university
What I like about languages, the importance of the year abroad