2024 Winter Term Week 8

Fred Halliday language awards are one of the benefits of being a Language Centre student. We named this language award in honour of Professor Fred Halliday to honour and remember his commitment not only to the languages as central to the study of International Relations, but his enormous contribution to the LSE and his field of research. You may wonder how we finance these awards, which total approximately £50,000 per annum. Each summer, we run courses as part of the LSE Summer School, and we get a share of any surplus. We choose to use this surplus to help Language Centre undergraduate students with the costs of study abroad and study trip travel. For those of you studying abroad in 2024/25 or going to Fudan University this summer I will be writing to you soon with details on what award we can make to you. We use the LSE Financial Support Office to deliver these funds to you and they use the LSE Finance Hub. You may have used the Finance Hub before but do not worry if you have not, as I will send you instructions when I contact you.

Please make sure to check your Hub calendar!

Drop-in appointments with Bryony (LSE Careers)
Friday 17/05/2024, 3-5pm, 20KSW.G.08 (The Little Huddle)
Language Centre students on campus

LSE Language Centre: End of Year Event
Thursday 06/06/2024, PM, more details to be confirmed
Language Centre students on campus

Some happy words for you that I hope are apt as we come to the end of a very busy Winter Term at LSE and look forward to the Spring Break. Enjoy!

Finifugal: Have you ever wished that something didn’t have to come to an end? Perhaps you’ve been reading a hopefully positive book that you wish could go on forever. There is an old word to describe exactly how you are feeling: ‘finifugal’. It is based on the Latin for ‘fleeing the end’ and means that you dread the end of something so much you almost don’t want to reach it! The next time your favourite TV programme comes to its final episode, or you are turning to the last page of a book you adore, you can pause for a moment and realize you are ‘finifugal’. Remember, though, that this emotion only comes at the end of something really, really good.

Retrouvailles: Imagine two lovers reuniting at the end of a film, or families hugging at the airport after a long time apart. Many of us have experienced the sadness of being away from family and friends. How much sweeter is it when you see them again after a very long time? The French have a single word for the happiness we feel when we are reunited with someone we love - 'retrouvailles'.

Finally, we have ‘gruntled’ to be gruntled, as opposed to ‘disgruntled’, is to be very content, and ‘eucatastrophe’ a eucatastrophe is the opposite of a ‘catastrophe’ and means a happy ending.

Taken from the ‘Roots of Happiness: 100 words for joy and hope’ by Susie Dent. Puffin Books 2003 (pages 89, 98, 101, 116).

As well the internship scheme for Year 2 BSc Language, Culture and Society students that we fund via LSE Careers, we also offer a Research Internship opportunity to all Year 3 students. The aim of the Research Internship is to produce a publication for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. Neil guides in terms of literature and methodology and he will submit the publication. The project detail will be designed depending on which of you are interested. We have recently invited expressions of interest, and these will be reviewed by the Language Centre Director. The form to submit your interest closes on 14 June 2024.

Dr Catherine Xiang has a new publication out. ”Bridging the Gap – An Introduction to Intercultural Communication with China’. This essential guide unravels the nuances of effective communication in China. It introduces the basics of intercultural communication, highlighting cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic factors that shape how people in China communicate. Readers will learn how to navigate cultural differences, making their intercultural interactions more successful and rewarding.

Catherine invites Language Centre students to join her at the lanch party on Thursday, 21 March 2024 in the Alumni Theatre, Lower Ground Floor, CKK.

Please register here if you wish to attend this event.

Established in 1923, the Grimshaw Club has been the beating heart of international affairs at the London School of Economics (LSE) over 100 years. ​

Throughout the academic year, they organise engaging academic and social events for members.

These include upcoming elections (hustings are on Friday, March 15 in CBG.1.05); a visit to Reuters Office; a visit to the Bahrain Embassy.

You can find details on upcoming events on their site and on Instagram.

Help us create a more #SustainableLSE by taking some time to fill out the Travel Survey. Please scan the QR code or follow the link:

LSE Travel Survey 2024 (research.net) for a chance to win! (There is one voucher available for staff and one available for students).

We’ve built up quite a following via lselanguages and, you may have heard, we are currently working on a small project with LSE Communications.

Please do follow us and whilst studying abroad send us your pictures (to Language.Centre.Teaching.Learning@lse.ac.uk) so we can all see what you are up to!

If you have not done so, download the Student Hub and follow the Language Centre channel, as well as your group, Language Centre BSc students 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 or 2023/24.

You still have time to take the UGS or the NSS. These important surveys are still live, UGS until 31 March and NSS until 30 April. Year 1, 2, and 3 students will have received information on the Undergraduate Survey (UGS) and Year 4 students on the National Student Survey (NSS). If you have not yet completed, we would very much appreciate it if you would. You know you will receive reminders from LSE until you do! You can find details on both surveys are here.