"Ein Bier, bitte." "Posso avere un gelato, per favore?" "Je t'aime." "Gracias."
We are surrounded by languages but do we make the most of this? Recent research suggests that up to 81% of British adults regret not having learned another language, even just being able to ask for a beer in German or an ice cream in Italy, telling your new girl friend you love her in French or thanking a Spaniard in his own language.
The European Day of Languages is celebrated annually all over Europe on 26 September. Its aim is to emphasise the importance of language learning, increase awareness and appreciation of all languages and promote cultural diversity.
To mark the day this year, the European Commission's office in the UK is arranging an exhibition offering information on language learning, different countries and cultures. St Pancras Station, a communications hub between the UK and the rest of Europe, will provide the backdrop to the celebrations.
You are invited to visit St Pancras Station (near the main entrance) on 26 September to discover more about the languages you are teaching or could be learning. This is your chance to find out which courses are on offer at the French, Italian or Goethe institutes, how to kick-start your Spanish, Polish or Dutch, or what great destinations Slovakia and Turkey could be for your next holidays.
Find out more about the work of the European Union and what's in it for you, talk to people from Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR), the British Council and the National Centre for Languages (CILT). With so many language and cultural institutes assembled together for one day only, this is an opportunity not to be missed.
Judith Schilling has been the Publications Manager at the Commission's London Representation since July 2006. Prior to coming to London, she was instrumental to the EDL celebrations in Sweden, see photo above, as well as the programme of seminars, fairs, lectures etc. for teachers and librarians at the Stockholm representation. Before that, she arranged selection procedures for scientific staff at the DG Research in Brussels. She speaks English, German, Swedish, and French (although recently neglected). Having graduated from the German Federal Administrators College in 1987 she worked in various German administrations, leaving the German Foreign Service to join the European Commission in 1999. Judith.Schilling@ec.europa.eu
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