Language Show Live 2013

All newbies in the language industry share one essential worry: where to start?  Many papers have been devoted to elaborating on that question. Having participated in an exciting event two weeks ago, I would be happy to share with you a very simple tip as to where to commence your research and professional network building: the annual event in London Olympia – the Language Show Live.

Regardless whether you are still searching  for your own professional path and considering a language career, or if you wish to travel abroad to seek adventure, if your dream is to learn Chinese [or Arabic/French/Spanish/Telugu – pick your own!], if you want to add a few positions to your heavily laden bookshelf, if you wish to join the team of the European Union translators and interpreters, or if you just want to collect tons of freebies, such as pens, bags, maps or conjugation tables – you can be sure you will find something suitable!

Apart from being a somewhat messy collection of stalls with people trying to – as you might assume after hours of wandering around – sell something to you or make you enrol on a language course in Valencia (possibly as a year abroad where you could teach English as a volunteer), the whole event proved to be very beneficial. One just had to know where to look! It turned out that not only could I participate in language classes, but I could also listen to various speeches organised in short blocks throughout the whole day. Before attending any of them, however, I had to make sure I chose well from the abundance of the said speeches or conversation panels, as some of them were taking place simultaneously. Divided into three categories: Modern Foreign Languages, Teaching English as a Foreign Language and Languages in Action, the speeches and presentations touched on many aspects of various language careers. My personal favourites were the ‘Languages In Action’ speeches presenting good ways of starting a career as a translator or interpreter, or explaining what a life of such a professional may look like. As per the ‘Teaching English’ part, even though giving classes is definitely not my cup of tea, the speech about how film and theatre accent coaches train accents was very entertaining and enriching!

One of the most interesting points of the whole event was the presence of the European Union representatives, encouraging young (or just young-spirited) people to join the team of EU translators and interpreters. Not only could you talk to actual professionals (some of them speak 9 languages!), ask questions and share your own experiences, you could make an attempt to simultaneously interpret a speech in an authentic interpreting booth. Hopefully none of the would-be interpreters were taken aback by this quite a breakneck enterprise!

Dear linguists, people passionate about languages, young people considering a career in languages, searching for an idea for a gap year or learning a new language: do not miss the next year’s Language Show! Coming up on 17-19 October 2014 in Olympia London, and definitely worth attending.