King’s Lynn linguists put through their paces at Cambridge

King’s Lynn language students had a taste of undergraduate life – and the chance to hone their linguistic skills – when they took part in an outreach event at the University of Cambridge.

The Year 10 students from Springwood High School attended the Cambridge German and Film Taster Day at the world-famous university.

The group spent the day at the famous academic institution, where they enjoyed an exclusive screening of a German film, and put their foreign language expertise to the test with a creative translation workshop.

“I had the pleasure of accompanying 15 Year 10 students as they watched the German film Cleo (2019) in German with English subtitles,” said Harriet Andrews, Head of Key Stages 4 and 5 German at Springwood, a member of the West Norfolk Academies Trust.

“We watched it at the Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge. It was about a young woman who goes on a treasure hunt throughout Berlin. Our students really enjoyed the film and were proud of how much of the German dialogue they were able to understand.”

The film was followed by lunch at Trinity Hall, after which the visitors had the chance to experience Cambridge student life and explore the university, before taking part in a German language workshop.

The event was  organised by Dr Leila Mukhida and Dr Matt Hines of the German Section at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in association with the Deutsche Akademische Austusch Dienst and the Goethe Institute.

“In the afternoon, Dr Hines led a workshop in which students had to translate a piece of dialogue from the film with the help of a glossary,” continued Miss Andrews. 

“Students were then able to write a ‘creative translation’ of the dialogue, in which students could use their creativity to make the dialogue fit in with the action and mood of the film.”

The session closed with a question and answer session, where the Springwood contingent were able to find out more about the benefits of studying German and the possible careers that might follow.

“The students were very enthusiastic about studying at university after the trip, and I hope this continues for a long time,” added Miss Andrews. 

“I was so proud of how polite, inquisitive, and confident our students were, and I hope to be able to enthuse more students to study languages in the future.”