Local Outreach in County Durham

In collaboration with Durham County Council, the Durham-based members of the Cross-Language Dynamics team are carrying out a range of outreach activities in the local community as a way of developing new ways of increasing interest in and takeup of foreign languages in the North East of England. The coordinators of the relevant activities are: Dr Marcela Cazzoli and Dr Penelope Johnson from Hispanic Studies, who have been coordinating work in local schools, including the training of student language ambassadors and volunteer tutors; and Dr Polina Kliuchnikova who has been carrying out activities related to the promotion of Russian language and culture among schoolchildren, Durham County Council staff, and the wider local community. Tutors of other languages taught at Durham University’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures are also taking part in these activities.

This work is organised with the help of Brian Stobie, International Officer at Durham County Council, and the heads of several local schools - namely, St Margaret's Church of England Primary School (Durham), Greenfield Community College (Newton Aycliffe), St John’s School & Sixth Form College (Bishop Auckland), Langley Moor Primary School (County Durham), Whytrig Middle School (Whitley Bay), and Seaham High School (Seaham).

The core objective of this wide-ranging outreach activity is to promote in the local community of County Durham and the North East of England more generally, greater engagement with languages and cultures other than one's own, and to generate interest in, knowledge of, and empathy with the wider world.