Resources

We were recently included as part of the panel for the Language at Leeds Showcase!

Language is everywhere – it’s how we connect, understand, and navigate the world. But it can also be a hidden barrier to access, especially in places like universities.

It is something I hear often in student interviews: “No one looked or sounded like me.”

When language and representation are absent, so is belonging – and that feeling of being lost in the system becomes all too familiar for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

We were recently invited to sit on the panel at the language at Leeds showcase, and what a fab event is was!

Language at Leeds is an interdisciplinary network for language research at the University of Leeds encompassing expertise from the arts and humanities, social sciences, computing and engineering. They work to maximise the positive impact of language research on society. Their collective aims include reducing inequities through education, making language more accessible, building more inclusive societies, enhancing cross-cultural communication, and optimising language education.

Find out more

One thing that really struck a chord with me from the event 👇👇

“The first part of language is listening – so we can truly understand someone else’s frame of reference.” as iterated by Nick Plant.

It reminded me that language isn’t just a tool for communication. It’s a tool for change and that starts with listening.