"languages" blog posts

German Ambassador visits the Department of Languages, Cultures, and Film Group picture of the German Ambassador and Langauges Students at the University of Liverpool

German Ambassador visits the Department of Languages, Cultures, and Film

The Department of Languages, Cultures, and Film was visited the German Ambassador, His Excellency Miguel Berger, on 22 February 2024. Ambassador Berger met with staff and students from across German Studies to learn about the programme and range of activities on offer at Liverpool. He was also interested to hear about the experiences of students, given the declining numbers studying languages across the UK. Natalie Woodhead tells us about the visit.

Posted on: 4 March 2024

LCF Year Abroad Photo Competition: A celebration of cultural explorationA birds-eye view of the Andes

LCF Year Abroad Photo Competition: A celebration of cultural exploration

The annual LFC Year Abroad Photo Competition saw 23 entries this year. In this blog we go through a few of the prize winners!

Posted on: 11 January 2024

Taking part in the MiHi EurovisionA screen saying Eurovision song contest United Kingdom Liverpool 2023

Taking part in the MiHi Eurovision

We caught up with Modern Languages graduate, Poppy, to discuss the MiHi Eurovision project she took part in this year, what she got up to and how it has helped strengthen her confidence in her chosen career path!

Posted on: 6 November 2023

Looking back on Italian Week A group of people sit in the language lounge during an Italian Week event

Looking back on Italian Week

Last week, we celebrated Italian Language week! In this blog, we will delve into some of the wonderful activities our School hosted surrounding this year’s theme; ‘Italian and Sustainability’.

Posted on: 27 October 2023

From Liverpool to Westminster – How My University Experience Helped Me Find My Career.student careers post

From Liverpool to Westminster – How My University Experience Helped Me Find My Career.

In September 2018, I began my first year at the University of Liverpool. I had no idea then that after five years, including a global pandemic, a year studying abroad, and a semester-long internship, I would end up starting my career as a Parliamentary Assistant.

Posted on: 22 June 2023

Key lessons learnt from my Year AbroadStudent in Argentina

Key lessons learnt from my Year Abroad

July 2022. The UK is entering into its umpteenth heatwave of the year, with temperatures rising to above 40 and Argentina is in the depths of winter. I arrived in Argentina ready yet anxious to take on this next step in my life. After a difficult time adjusting to the education system and my new life in Argentina, I had a revelatory moment…

Posted on: 15 June 2023

Celebrating Chinese New Year of the Rabbit in Liverpool

Celebrating Chinese New Year of the Rabbit in Liverpool

Dr Penny Ding, deputy director of the University of Liverpool Confucius Institute, describes Chinese New Year traditions, and explains the significance of the Year of the Rabbit.

Posted on: 18 January 2023

Featured Project - The Romani Holocaust

Featured Project - The Romani Holocaust

'The Romani Holocaust' Project Success in REF2021

Posted on: 20 June 2022

Featured Project - Brews and Brows

Featured Project - Brews and Brows

'Brews and Brows' Project Success in REF2021

Posted on: 30 May 2022

Year Abroad Diary: December in LyonImage of sarah in front of a Christmas tree.

Year Abroad Diary: December in Lyon

My last month is Lyon was definitely one of my absolute favourites. Trying to cram all the remaining things I wanted to do into one month at the same time as final exam season was definitely tiring, but it resulted in such a fun few weeks. My month started off with a weekend trip to the snowy, magical, little town of Chamonix. The trip took 4 hours on a BlaBla Car bus and was only 40 euros for a return journey! In Chamonix my friend and I sledded, went on snowy walks and drank lots of hot chocolate (it wasn’t quite ski season yet hence the no skiing). It really was the most amazing start to December!

Posted on: 3 May 2022

Ana Bela Almeida Features in National Museums Liverpool Podcast National Museums Liverpool Logo

Ana Bela Almeida Features in National Museums Liverpool Podcast

Ana Bela Almeida, lecturer in Portuguese, was interviewed for the National Museums Liverpool on celebrated Portuguese artist Paula Rego.

Posted on: 20 April 2022

Year Abroad Diary: November in LyonPicture of Sarah in Lyon.

Year Abroad Diary: November in Lyon

After a week back in England at the start of November I was very ready to get back to life in Lyon. Although November amped up the amount of university work I had, due to a few mid-term assessments, I still managed to explore many parts of the city and have lots of fun. Since I came back in the second week of November, the temperature in Lyon had really dropped but luckily the city is prepared for the colder weather with outdoor heaters and blankets at many restaurants, cafés and bars.

Posted on: 17 March 2022

Tales of the Holocaust Photo of Eric Cohen at the University.

Tales of the Holocaust

On the morning of the 8th of March 2022, guest speaker Eric Cohen delivered two talks about the Shoah and the personal ramifications it has had for him. Since retiring from his job as a head teacher, Eric has dedicated his life to educating the next generation about the Holocaust and spreading peace and tolerance.

Posted on: 15 March 2022

Scausländer Zeitung: Creating a German Language Student Newspaper in Liverpool!Photo of newspaper contributors.

Scausländer Zeitung: Creating a German Language Student Newspaper in Liverpool!

As students of Modern Foreign Languages, much of our time at university is spent writing: essays, articles, reviews, and the like. But very little of this writing is ever seen by anyone other than our lecturers, rather it remains buried on our computer hard drives never to be seen again. However, this semester we, a group of final year German students, decided that we wanted to change this. Plus, the focus on writing articles for a theoretical student newspaper in our German language module was the perfect opportunity to do this. What if we were to turn this theoretical student newspaper into a real one?

Posted on: 2 March 2022

Graduation – Five Years OnPhotograph of Eloise & Jessica

Graduation – Five Years On

Two friends from Liverpool talk about their different professional journeys from beginner's level German at our University as part of the Triple Subject T900 (BA Hons). Jessica tells us all about her experience this week.

Posted on: 6 February 2022

Graduation – Five Years OnPhotograph of Eloise & Jessica

Graduation – Five Years On

Two friends from Liverpool talk about their different professional journeys from beginner's level German at our University as part of the Triple Subject T900 (BA Hons). Eloise tells us all about her experience this week.

Posted on: 2 February 2022

Celebrating Chinese New Year of the Water Tiger in Liverpoola stuffed tiger with fruit

Celebrating Chinese New Year of the Water Tiger in Liverpool

Dr Penny Ding, Deputy Director of the Confucius Institute, explains the traditions surrounding Chinese New Year, and the significance of the Year of the Tiger.

Posted on: 31 January 2022

Year Abroad Diary: October in LyonYear abroad student Sarah, standing by a river.

Year Abroad Diary: October in Lyon

My October as an Erasmus student in Lyon started with a surreal trip to Paris for a weekend during Paris Fashion Week. One of the great things about Lyon is that it’s only a two hour train journey from Paris so if a visit to the capital city is on your agenda, it’s a relatively easy getaway to plan. As well as exploring the city I am based in on my year abroad, I think exploring different parts of the country is equally as, if not more, exciting, as they might not be as easily accessible in the future when living elsewhere. My friend Liv and I stayed in a little hotel near the Eiffel Tower for one night and spent two full days soaking up the Parisian lifestyle by visiting little cafés, doing a lot of window shopping, attending fashion shows and visiting the Eiffel Tower at night in a full on storm - that will always be a funny story to tell.

Posted on: 10 January 2022

Winning the Hispanic Studies PrizePhotograph of prize winner Tanisha.

Winning the Hispanic Studies Prize

I am a 23-year-old second year student who transferred to Hispanic Studies from Biological & Medical Sciences.

Posted on: 1 December 2021

Year Abroad Diary: September in LyonPhotograph of Sarah in a boat on a lake.

Year Abroad Diary: September in Lyon

As I prepared myself to move to Lyon at the end of August 2021, the end of UK summer, I can’t lie I was quite apprehensive. Although I’ve always been an adventurous person who loves travelling, the prospect of actually moving to a new country and leaving behind my friends, family and student life in Liverpool was daunting. However, as cliché as it sounds, within a week of living in Lyon my worries were melted away by the utter beauty, excitement and 30 degrees Celsius weather of the city. Moving to Lyon as the UK summer was fizzling out, I didn’t expect to be sucked into an even hotter, sunnier, French summer!

Posted on: 18 November 2021

3 year Research Funding Awarded to Eve Rosenhaft and Tamara West

3 year Research Funding Awarded to Eve Rosenhaft and Tamara West

Eve and Tamara receive funding for three years to develop and expand their study, with a project entitled Romani Migration between Germany and Britain (1880s-1914): Spaces of Informal Business, Media Spectacle, and Racial Policing.

Posted on: 18 November 2021

A look back at Iberian and Latin American Week - Feb 2021Seville Metropol Parasol

A look back at Iberian and Latin American Week - Feb 2021

Following this semester’s Peers-Iberian and Latin American Week (#Peers-IBLAW21), let’s look back at February 2021’s week-long events celebrating Iberian and Latin American languages and cultures. As ever, they were wide-ranging and included a variety of activities from the very popular Galician language and culture taster to academic and literary talks and the workshop Un Museo para Mi. We had amazing contributions from our students, Hollie and Laura. Both were active in the Modern Languages Society and went above and beyond in designing and running the Teleparty watch along evening and the Quiz night, which were both tremendous fun.

Posted on: 12 November 2021

Winning the Jose Oropeza PrizePhotograph of Grace Gaynor.

Winning the Jose Oropeza Prize

I was thrilled to receive the prestigious Jose Herrera Oropeza Prize in 2019-20 for my PhD thesis, entitled ‘‘The memory that is inherited from all […] in geometric progression.’ The shared geometric visions of Jorge Luis Borges and William Butler Yeats.’ As the title suggests, my research focuses on the Argentinean writer Borges and his interest in the Irish writer Yeats. I am specifically interested in Yeats’s use of geometric imagery in his writing, and the ways in which Borges appropriated this imagery to explore his own interests in geometric systemisations of time, history and memory.

Posted on: 20 October 2021

Winning the German Language PrizeImage of language grammar books.

Winning the German Language Prize

During my three years at the University of Liverpool, I was awarded three prizes for the best overall performance in German, which were great achievements for me.

Posted on: 20 October 2021

Grace Brown Prize for ItalianRebecca throwing her cap on graduation.

Grace Brown Prize for Italian

When I graduated in the summer of 2019 with a BA in Modern European Languages, I had the privilege of receiving the Grace Brown Prize for Italian. I am now in the process of completing my MA in Translation and Interpreting Studies whilst working as a translator for an international retailer. I have been lucky enough to experience first-hand a number of opportunities that have come about as a result of receiving the prize and have been asked to share these here on the blog.

Posted on: 28 September 2021

Welcome to the Department of Languages, Cultures and Film!Languages Students sitting and chatting in the Language Lounge

Welcome to the Department of Languages, Cultures and Film!

We are delighted to announce that from 1 July 2021 the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures will change its name to the Department of Languages, Cultures and Film.

Posted on: 28 June 2021

3VP at MLC – Translating memory – Hannah’s storyCollage of posters and images from A Museum for Me Research

3VP at MLC – Translating memory – Hannah’s story

Hannah Wilson (BA Modern Languages: Triple) spent Semester 1 on a Year 3 Virtual Placement or 3VP with the MLC research project ‘A Museum for Me’ led by Prof. Claire Taylor with Dr Lucia Brandi, which works with the National Museum of Colombia to produce educational materials on memory and representation.. Here, Hannah talks to the MLC blog about A Museum for Me product range, and her role as a 3VP intern.

Posted on: 28 April 2021

A Talk with Eric Cohen: Son and Grandson of Holocaust Victims a zoom call between son of holocaust victim Eric Cohen and final year German students. The image is split into nine sections with each individual in their own Zoom screen

A Talk with Eric Cohen: Son and Grandson of Holocaust Victims

On 8th of March 2021, German final-year students were fortunate enough to talk to Zeitzeuge Eric Cohen, a son and grandson of victims of the Holocaust.

Posted on: 7 April 2021

Li Qingzhao (1084 – 1155) and her Ci’ (Lyric Poetry)red traditional chinese temple with cherry blossom against a blue sky

Li Qingzhao (1084 – 1155) and her Ci’ (Lyric Poetry)

Dr Penny Ding shares the story of Chinese female poet Li Qingzhao.

Posted on: 9 March 2021

Iberian and Latin American Week 2021Seville Metropol Parasol

Iberian and Latin American Week 2021

Taking place from Monday 8th February to Friday 12th February, #IBLAW21 will bring you a taste of the languages, literature, visual arts, and musical traditions of Iberia and Latin America through online events and workshops.

Posted on: 4 February 2021

Video: Learn Italian with SubtitlesThe Italian flag

Video: Learn Italian with Subtitles

BA in Modern European Languages graduate Alix Beagley introduces the Learn Italian with Subtitles module, newly available to final year students in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures.

Posted on: 4 November 2020

GALLERY: Marking thirty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

GALLERY: Marking thirty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

Berlin has just concluded a ‘festival week’ of art installations, performances, exhibitions, talks, tours, workshops and concerts to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago: over 200 events in total. One of the main attractions was the installation ‘Visions in Motion’: a fluttering overhead carpet of 30,000 coloured ribbons, on which Berliners and visitors, young and old, had written their wishes, hopes and visions for the future. It was a mesmerising sight, providing spectacular scenery for the main evening extravaganza at the Brandenburg Gate on 9 November. But what does this tell us about 1989? Is this not too gimmicky – too light on history? Professor Anna Saunders, Head of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, examines the history of this anniversary.

Posted on: 11 November 2019

Iberian and Latin American Week 2019

Iberian and Latin American Week 2019

Taking place from Monday 28 October to Friday 1 November, the Iberian And Latin American Week will bring a taster of Iberian and Latin American Studies’ shared knowledge and interest in the Hispanic and Lusophone world to students.

Posted on: 14 October 2019

Why are early modern French female writers so fascinating? Hélisenne de Crenne

Why are early modern French female writers so fascinating?

For Women’s History Month, academic Pollie Bromilow explores the work of Hélisenne de Crenne, a French female writer from the sixteenth century.

Posted on: 25 March 2019

Austrian translator Michaela Pschierer-Barnfather visits to host translation workshopMichaela Pschierer-Barnfather

Austrian translator Michaela Pschierer-Barnfather visits to host translation workshop

On 6th March 2019, Year 2 students of German were treated to a glimpse of a translator's life and work in a session hosted by Austrian translator Michaela Pschierer-Barnfather.

Posted on: 21 March 2019

Student delivered Portuguese taster sessions offered to local schoolsStudents delivering a Portuguese taster session to secondary school pupils.

Student delivered Portuguese taster sessions offered to local schools

Ana Bela Almeida, Lecturer in Portuguese at the University of Liverpool reflects on the benefits of the ‘Portuguese language taster’ presentation as an assessment for final year Portuguese students and as an opportunity to increase school pupils’ knowledge of languages at University.

Posted on: 18 December 2018

Young speakers of Mexican indigenous languages: contesting language ideologies and policiesColegio Paulo Freire and MLC students

Young speakers of Mexican indigenous languages: contesting language ideologies and policies

Based in Mexico and situated within the broad area of sociolinguistic inquiry into languages in situations of endangerment, Lucia Brandi's research investigates how the institutionalisation of language rights is reconfiguring discourses of indigeneity, reframing cultural and linguistic diversity as state patrimony, and embedding generic notions of indigeneity into Mexican national identity. Such discourses are contextualised as policy responses to increasing unrest and mobilisations which Lucia argues have effectively instrumentalised linguistic and cultural identity in the pursuit of social goals since the late 20th century.

Posted on: 10 December 2018

Outsider Insiders: Francis Alÿs and Melanie Smith at Liverpool BiennialSeries of 3 small landscape paintings

Outsider Insiders: Francis Alÿs and Melanie Smith at Liverpool Biennial

As the Liverpool Biennial draws to a close, Dr Niamh Thornton highlights the work of two artists who moved from Europe to Mexico, and considers Mexico as a place with a long tradition of welcoming outsiders.

Posted on: 24 October 2018

Music, cinema, language... Introducing Iberian and Latin American Week 2018IBLAW 2018

Music, cinema, language... Introducing Iberian and Latin American Week 2018

Taking place from Monday 29 October to Sunday 4 November, the Iberian And Latin American Week will bring a taster of Iberian and Latin American Studies’ shared knowledge and interest in the Hispanic and Lusophone world to students.

Posted on: 23 October 2018

‘Beautiful world, where are you?’ - film director, Agnès Varda, at Liverpool BiennialThree screens showing films

‘Beautiful world, where are you?’ - film director, Agnès Varda, at Liverpool Biennial

French and English student, Paige Johnson, explores the work of pioneering French New Wave director, Agnès Varda at Liverpool Biennial.

Posted on: 16 October 2018

Art in the city - what to see at Liverpool Biennial 2018 Someone holding the Biennial Guide with an exposed brick background

Art in the city - what to see at Liverpool Biennial 2018

More than 40 artists from 22 countries will participate in this year’s Liverpool Biennial which invites artists and audiences to reflect on \"...a world in social, political and economic turmoil\". It's the largest festival of contemporary art in the UK and this year's theme is 'Beautiful world, where are you?'.

Posted on: 20 July 2018

Was there a World Cup without Italy?Buffon reacts after crashing out of World Cup qualifying.

Was there a World Cup without Italy?

The 2018 World Cup came to an end on Sunday having seen many surprises: the elimination of top teams, such as Germany, Spain and Argentina, in the early stages as well as England reaching the semi-finals, and Croatia their first final, losing to France, who won their second title after twenty years.

Posted on: 19 July 2018

InnoConf18: a celebration of language teaching and learningMatthew Philpotts addresses the delegates at InnoConf18

InnoConf18: a celebration of language teaching and learning

On Friday, 22 June, we hosted the InnoConf18 Innovative Language Teaching and Learning Conference, titled “New Trends in Language Teaching and Learning at University”.

Posted on: 17 July 2018

Exploring translation, diversity and genderThe Odyssey - Homer book cover

Exploring translation, diversity and gender

In light of Emily Wilson's translation of the Odyssey, which is the first translation into English by a woman, Niamh Thornton and Lyn Marven reflect on translation and diversity.

Posted on: 11 July 2018

Filming the Footy

Filming the Footy

If you’re reading this, I guess that, for you, watching big football moments like the Euro Championship or the World Cup, is a cinematic experience. A story told on a screen. At just over an hour and a half the narrative arc of a game plays out across much the same timescale as an average feature film. And although the constraints are very different, cameras are cameras and their vocabulary is structured by their capabilities: to come in close, to sweep across space, to focus on everything in their field or to blur out all but the centre of interest. What is a football game, considered as a film?

Posted on: 29 June 2018

Children at the Mexican-US border: '...a long, dangerous, and harrowing journey'Children sitting on a train

Children at the Mexican-US border: '...a long, dangerous, and harrowing journey'

The uproar surrounding the detention of children at the Mexican-US border has brought attention to the migration of Central Americans to the US.

Posted on: 21 June 2018

France and football since 1998France 1998 World Cup

France and football since 1998

France’s World Cup victory in 1998 was seen not only as a sporting triumph, but as a political, social and cultural one as well. In one of the lectures I give on the French Fifth Republic, as part of our first-year Introduction to French Studies module, I always include some discussion of France’s World Cup win. It’s always at this point in the lecture when I start to feel old, realising that our students are either too young to remember the World Cup of 1998, or weren’t even born!

Posted on: 18 June 2018

Germany and the language of footballFrank Beckenbauer (AP)

Germany and the language of football

Veronika Koeper-Saul discusses the linguistic idiosyncrasies that have arisen from perspectives of the beautiful game in Germany: from 1954 World Cup winning manager Sepp Herberger's blunt motivational words, to former Bayern Munich manager Giovanni Trappatoni's infamous press conference rant.

Posted on: 14 June 2018

Five things to do in Merseyside for anyone interested in languages and international cultures this summerChinatown banner

Five things to do in Merseyside for anyone interested in languages and international cultures this summer

With summer now upon us, you might be looking for things to do in Merseyside before the start of the new term (trust us, this will come around very quickly!). While teaching may be over until September, there’s still plenty of things to do and see in the area that relate to languages: from Chinese to Brazilian culture.

Posted on: 5 June 2018

Slaves of Fashion: Indian textiles, new artwork and French colonial historySingh Twins

Slaves of Fashion: Indian textiles, new artwork and French colonial history

It was in January 2014 that I first met The Singh Twins. They had conceived a project for a number of new artworks that would explore the history of Indian textiles and, having read my work on the French colonial presence in India, wanted to discuss British and French rivalry in India before 1799 as well as the role that Indian textiles played in revolutionising European fashions in the eighteenth century.

Posted on: 9 May 2018

Join us for a celebration of French culture with Francophone WeekFrench flag

Join us for a celebration of French culture with Francophone Week

May 1968 was a period of significant civil unrest in France, with widespread protests across the country causing a temporary shutdown of government. The mouvement sparked an explosion of French music, art and culture which still resonates with the public today. Fifty years on, we're hosting a Francophone Week series of events to celebrate the best in French culture: from art to fashion, cinema to music.

Posted on: 26 February 2018

Three things I love about 'Call me by your name'call me by your name poster

Three things I love about 'Call me by your name'

We're looking forward to the Oscars! Here's Italian language assistant, Margaret Petrarca, to tell us why she loves 'Call me by your name' - nominated for four awards and directed by Italian director, Luca Guadagnino.

Posted on: 31 January 2018

"After music, languages have always been my second love" - Dan Haggis, The WombatsThe Wombats - drums

"After music, languages have always been my second love" - Dan Haggis, The Wombats

Les Wombats? It could have happened! We caught up with Dan Haggis, drummer with indie rockers The Wombats, about his memories of studying languages at Liverpool and the tough decision to say au revoir to his degree and kick start his career as a professional musician.

Posted on: 28 March 2017

"I ask my dreams to come back home" - Spanish poet, Luis Garcia MonteroIllustration of a man with his head in his hands

"I ask my dreams to come back home" - Spanish poet, Luis Garcia Montero

How does a poet produce their work and how does their poetry fit into the lives of the public? Our Hispanic Studies students got under the skin of acclaimed Spanish poet, Luis García Montero, during his recent visit to Liverpool.

Posted on: 7 March 2017

From rainy Belfast to sunny Madrid - Conor's flying start to a new careerMan standing in an office

From rainy Belfast to sunny Madrid - Conor's flying start to a new career

Studying a language because you're passionate about it is a great place to start - but how can it help your career? Hispanic Studies graduate Conor Wilkinson tells us about his flying start to a career in marketing, in sunny Madrid.

Posted on: 15 February 2017

An alternative to the awards season: three Latin American films to watchThe Oscars and statue

An alternative to the awards season: three Latin American films to watch

It's awards season, so we asked Dr Niamh Thornton to choose her top three Latin American films released in 2016, as an alternative to the Hollywood heavyweights!

Posted on: 25 January 2017

Bittersweet - artist Sebastian H-W on his live art showHands serving hot chocolate

Bittersweet - artist Sebastian H-W on his live art show

In this guest blog, Sebastian H-W, artist and residence for Iberian and Latin American Week, talks to us about the ideas and creative process behind his work.

Posted on: 3 November 2016

"Music needs poetry" - interview with Catalan electro band, JanskyMale and Female duo

"Music needs poetry" - interview with Catalan electro band, Jansky

This week we spoke to Catalan band Jansky about electro music, troubadours and Catalan culture, as well as finding out more about their improv workshop for Iberian and Latin American Week 2016.

Posted on: 1 November 2016

A ghostly and shadowy world - why we love NosferatuVampire next to a bed.

A ghostly and shadowy world - why we love Nosferatu

There's no doubt that vampires continue to be a fascination in the world of film. (Remember that tiny movie called 'Twilight'?) But this Halloween we are thinking back to where it all started: F. W. Murnau’s 'Nosferatu' from 1922.

Posted on: 24 October 2016