Current opportunities for Businesses
We are always looking for new Business Language Champions to join our growing army of helpers.
Here are some specific areas where we need help but we would also love to hear from you if you have your own ideas for activities and/or partners.
Our current opportunities for businesses include:
Leicester - French
A
school in Leicester has had a very successful longer term partnership
with a small company, which has now relocated to France. So we are
looking for another company working with French and able to replace
them.
Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire - French/German
A
school in Melton Mowbray is seeking a business partner for workshops
with their Year 8s or 9s (aged 13 – 15). They teach French and German.
Belvoir High School, (between Nottingham and Grantham)
We
are organising a Languages and Science seminar day here. Details still
to be determined but we will need a number of Business Language
Champions to help run it. If you have a science background, or have
been working in a science or engineering field, and would like to help,
please let me know.
Regional requirement for Grove School, Newark
Our
Business Language Champion Jo Small, from Optima Training, will be
launching a language challenge for Year 9 at the Grove School on 24th
September 2010. Small teams will have a main aim to promote the
importance of learning a language to a target market – they have to
choose between business people, primary schools and the general public.
They will have to put together a presentation and leaflet or poster.
They
are encouraged to do more than just research on the internet, through
interviews, for example. So if you’d be happy to be interviewed to help
their research, I’d be happy to hear from you! Let me know a) if you
prefer telephone or email interviews, or you don’t mind, b) How many
interviews you would be able to do, c) Which target markets you feel
able to answer questions on (ie out of business, Primary schools or
general public). This is a great opportunity for those Business
Language Champions who have not yet been able to get involved because
of timing or location.
Japan contacts
We
are looking for companies all around the region who trade with Japan,
and especially any that have Japanese speaking staff (you don’t have to
be fluent!). This will link in with a project emanating from the
Japanese Olympic team using Loughborough University as their training
camp
Mansfield
This school has very low take up of languages and would really appreciate any inspirational help that you can give.
Lincoln
At
this Business and Enterprise School they are planning a virtual
international trade fair with partner schools in Romania, Poland, Italy
and Turkey. They are looking for business partners to help with their
project starting in the Autumn term. If you trade with any of these
countries, or better still speak any of the languages, then we’d really
like to involve you with this one.
The Bulwell Academy, Nottingham
This
new academy opened in September 2009 on two old sites, and this summer
has moved into its brand new building. It is a specialist Business
& Enterprise school. The Academy is currently building a network of
business partners and would like to establish as many business links as
they can so that they can expand the students’ horizons. The Academy
would be delighted to hear from any business person who can share their
experiences of using languages to develop their career with young
students.
Nottinghamshire
If you are
in Nottinghamshire, use languages at work and are able to offer a
school student a work experience placement for a week to show how
languages are used, please let us know. We are particularly keen to
find work placements where Russian is used.
Lincoln and Kettering
I
have enquiries from schools in these areas for enterprise type days
where we will need several Business Language Champions. No details or
dates yet.
Regional requirement for Bishop Stopford School, Kettering
This
school would like to set up an e-mentoring scheme for their students
interested in progressing their language skills. I have been
investigating how best this can be done. Progress is rather slow
because of security implications, but I’m sure we’ll get there. Again,
this is a great opportunity for those of you who have not yet been able
to get involved. If you have already notified me of your willingness to
be a mentor, many thanks and there is no need to let me know again. I
will contact you when I have made progress.
REGIONAL EVENTS 2010/2011
Many
of these are still in the planning phase, but if you are particularly
interested then I will send full details as they become available.
Venues will be central, mainly around Nottingham.
European Challenge, 14 January 2011:
This
is a repeat of a great event that we held last year for 10 teams from
around the region. This year, the prize will be a trip to the Young
Enterprise European Trade Fair in Slovakia. BLCs with European language
expertise, or export trade experience and in particular anyone with
knowledge of Slovakia will be welcome. Note that a Young Enterprise CRB
check will be necessary.
Language Masterclass, 11 February 2011:
This event, sponsored by Routes into Languages,
is aimed at gifted and talented students within the 14 – 18 age range
from across the region, who will be working in mixed age and school
teams. The challenge will aim at pushing their applied language
ability, so any BLCs with reasonable language knowledge will be welcome.
Olympic Challenge, 11 March 2011:
Whilst
we did an Olympic Challenge in the last academic year, this will be
slightly different. 15 teams from around the region will compete on a
single day for the prize of a visit to the LOCOG offices and the
Olympic Park. They will do a presentation in a target language aimed at
an overseas Olympic squad. BLCs with an interest in sport, and/or
particular knowledge of languages taught in schools (French, German,
Spanish, and also potentially Japanese, Russian, Arabic or Chinese)
will be needed.
Russia Day, 21 March 2011:
Long
Eaton will be hosting this year’s Russia Day together with an Ensemble
from St. Petersburg singing Russian folk songs. We don’t have an exact
date for this yet, but it will be at the end of the Spring Term (March)
or very beginning of the Summer Term (April). We will be looking for
Business Language Champions to run 15 minute activities linked with
Russian Culture, Language or Business. For those that came last year,
we will be running it along the same lines in the morning, with groups
from a number of schools attending, and then the afternoon will be with
the complete Year 9 from Long Eaton.
Languages and Art/Journalism:
Teaming
up with The Mighty Creatives, which aims to stimulate creativity in
young people, we hope to introduce two new projects, one linked to the
UK Young Artist exhibition and another linked to the Cultural Olympiad
Journals project. We will probably be looking for BLCs with experience
in the art world (any of the visual arts including photography and
moving image) and BLCs with an interest in sport and good language
knowledge (enough to be able to facilitate a discussion between
non-English speaking native and the school team)
Please contact us if you would like to get involved in any of these current opportunities for businesses
 Back to Business Language Champions
|