PPLI Annual Report (2019) - Flipbook - Page 52
AWARENESS RAISING Campaign (3.A.1)
Action Progress
Student Events September/October
The Languages Connect team were busy during student events season this year and exhibited at four of the
big shows in September and October – School Summit, Higher Options, Transition Year Show and Zeminar. An
estimated 50,000 TY, 5th and 6th year students from around the country attended these events and the
stands were very busy and often crowded.
The Languages Connect stands were packed with
information and fun interactive foreign language games
and were manned by a new team of Language
Ambassadors. These ambassadors were young foreign
language students in university, and most of them had
recently returned from their year studying abroad. They
were all dressed in bright orange which helped to attract
the attention of the crowd and they did excellent work
sharing their experiences and language learning journeys
in order to promote the benefits of language learning to
the students.
At Zeminar, the team arranged for Ireland’s only
Professional Wakeboarder, David O’Caoimh, to give a talk
about the advantages and opportunities his French
language skills have opened for him in competing,
coaching and even creating and selling his own line of
wake boards.
"I was in Dubai when I was 21 and I was coaching these Tunisian guys who speak French. I decided to bite the bullet
and actually coach them in French and it changed everything. They were progressing so much more and it opened
so many more doors for me as well."
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School Summit
Transition Year Show
16 & 17 September
24 & 25 September
National Show Centre, Swords, County Dublin
Punchestown, Naas, County Kildare
Higher Options
Zeminar
18-20 September
8-10 October
RDS Simmonscourt, Ballsbridge, Dublin
National Sports Campus, Blanchardstown Dublin