Discovering the power of languages: MLAC inspires the next generation through widening access events

Last week, the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (MLAC) at Durham University welcomed more than 140 pupils from local North East schools through two widening access and participation events designed to showcase the creativity, diversity and opportunities offered by language learning.

Both events were supported through pilot widening access funding, enabling MLAC to develop new opportunities for young people to engage with languages, experience university life and discover the many possibilities that language study can offer.

On Tuesday 30 June, Discover Languages at Durham welcomed five local schools and 62 Year 8 pupils to campus for a day of interactive language discovery. Hosted at the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) on Durham’s Lower Mountjoy campus, the event introduced pupils to the excitement and relevance of studying languages through a series of engaging, hands-on activities.

The day began with a welcome from MLAC Head of School, Professor Edward Welch, who introduced pupils to the School and highlighted the importance of languages in connecting people, cultures and communities. Pupils then used their own language passports to record their progress as they completed each activity. The programme featured taster sessions in Russian and Italian, a decoding and translation challenge that encouraged teamwork and problem-solving, and a final multilingual escape room where pupils put their newly acquired skills to the test. Two teams were awarded prizes for completing the final challenge.

The visit also allowed pupils to experience university life beyond the classroom. After exploring Durham’s historic campus, they enjoyed lunch at St Chad’s College, where they were welcomed by the College’s Vice-Principal, Victoria Brown, who spoke about university life and encouraged them to consider the opportunities that higher education can offer.

On Friday 3 July, Across Languages: A Multilingual Poetry Workshop connected with six schools and more than 80 Year 9–12 pupils online. Led by bilingual poet Michaël Vidon, the workshop invited pupils to explore multilingualism as a source of creativity, drawing on all the languages they know to write and perform their own poetry.

The session culminated in an inspiring multilingual poetry slam, with Michaël performing original pieces in French and English and demonstrating how languages can be combined to tell stories, express identity and build connections across cultures.

Together, the two events engaged more than 140 pupils from across the North East, demonstrating MLAC’s commitment to widening access to higher education and inspiring the next generation of language learners by showing how languages can open doors to new cultures, opportunities and futures.

Below, you can watch a highlights video featuring moments from both events, including pupils taking part in the decoding challenge, the welcome from Victoria Brown at St Chad’s College, and an excerpt from Michaël Vidon’s multilingual poetry slam performance.

The events were organised by Dr Luca Malici, Widening Access and Participation Lead for the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, together with Dr Penelope Johnson, Outreach Officer for the School. Schools interested in taking part in future widening access and language engagement initiatives are encouraged to contact the team to explore opportunities for collaboration and co-development of future events.