Language Swap event was a great success!
Making friends & learning language!
"As social programme coordinator, I get to do a lot of fun things with the students of IH, but yesterday evening was the most fun I’ve had on a social event for a while. Yesterday, I ran IH Bristol’s first language swap of 2016. We used to do them last year, but after our venue closed down, I struggled to find a new one.
Anyway, I’ve found it. I don’t know why it took me so long, it’s been there for years and I’ve been there before, it’s The Mall; a great pub in Clifton. They have a huge downstairs space, with a separate bar, and lovely low ceilings and comfy oddly matched chairs that make the large space feel cosy & inviting, perfect for meeting new friends.
That’s what I discovered last night; that amongst the language swapping, the learning to write your name in Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew or even Phoenician (the world’s oldest alphabet I discovered last night) and The Mall’s fantastic burgers (only £9 with a free pint on Mondays!), people were making new friends. Isn’t that the reason most of us are even interested in language, to enable us to meet new people, explore the world and make friends? Of course, IH Bristol, with its excellent teachers & facilities is a great place to start, but it is so important to get out of the classroom, and practice on some real people!
So, if this sounds fun to you, put it in your diary. Tuesday 28th June will be our next Language Swap event at The Mall pub in Clifton. I’ll be there from 8pm, practising my Arabic and making new friends!"
Sophie, Social Programme Coordinator, IH Bristol
Don’t just take it from me, here’s what other people had to say!
Matteo, Italy, 19, IH student studying English
“I have really enjoyed myself; if you did this once a week I would come! Everyone is here to learn a language and I like meeting new people & speaking English. I have lived & worked in Bristol since September 2015. I am electrician and I come to the evening classes to improve my English so I can go to Australia!”
Sami, Greece & Jordan, 26, FL student studying German
“Even though I haven’t met any German people this evening, I’d come again! I like the guys I’ve met here!”
Gabriele, Italy, 25, non-IH attendee
“I found out about the language swap from Facebook. I’m not sure how, it was on my newsfeed. You could definitely do this once a week. I came here to speak English and to meet new people.”
Lea, Germany, 19, non-IH attendee
“I’m here in Bristol on my gap year. I am working for the Terrance Higgins Trust. I found out about this event on Facebook, and came along as I am interested in languages generally and thought it was a good way to meet people!”.
Abdulrahman, Kuwait, 18, IH student studying English
“It’s really exciting to meet people who speak other languages. I think we should do this every month. I came with my friends this evening but I’ve met new people from countries we don’t have at IH. People should come along and learn new languages!”
Vivienne, China, 19, IH student studying English
“I came to language swap to practice my English & meet people of other nationalities, but actually I’ve spoken to Lewis all evening. He lived in China for 4 years & his Mandarin is very good. We actually only spoke one sentence of English, but it’s OK, I’ve really enjoyed it!”