2026 Winter Term Week 1
Happy New Year!
We hope you have had a relaxing and enjoyable winter break. Welcome to the third Newsletter of this academic year. In this edition Inés Alonso García discusses the concept of Blue Monday and the value of (re)connecting. The Spotlight is on Jim Pavitt, academic mentor and Coordinating Language Teacher - EAP. Where is his favourite place in London? Also - would you like to create content for the Language Centre? Read on and find out how!
Helen Mayer
Language Community and Communications Manager
Key Dates and Events
Dr Alex Free continues his Drop in advice sessions every other Friday from 23 January (2-5pm). LSE Careers offers a wide range of events/workshops this term covering professional development skills, interviews and assessment and volunteering, as well as applications and recruitment events. You can check out the full range on the CareerHub and below you can find a few highlighted events.
Thinking about doing a Masters? (Online)
Thu 29 Jan 2026, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Seminar: Intercultural communication & UK interviewing (online)
Fri 13 Feb 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Ask Me Anything: About Internships
Wed 4 Feb 2026, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Welcome Back 2026 🗣️🏃♂️➡️📚
21 to 28 January: A week of events and activities around LSE
New Conversation Circles, Bitesize Speaking sessions 📚
Week 1: LSE Language Community
All LSE Students
Burns Night Celebration 🗣️
Friday 23/01/26, 6-10pm SCR: (if you haven't yet booked please contact Maggie)
Language Centre students on Campus and alumni
Friday Social Special (with Careers)🗣️
Friday 06/03/26, 5-6pm: The Huddle
Language Centre students on Campus and alumni
GO LSE: Preparation for Outward Study Abroad in China 📚 Time TBC
Date TBC but working date is (04/03/26): The Chinese Embassy, 50 Portland Place, London, W1B 1NQ
1st and 2nd year Language Centre students
Language Community Get Together 🗣️
Wednesday 04/03/26, 3-4pm: LSE Life Workspace 2
All LSE Students
Ongoing
Careers Drop-ins with Dr Alex Free 📚
Every other Friday starting 23/01, 2-5pm: The Little Huddle
Language Centre students on campus
Features
I have just learned about Blue Monday: the third Monday of the year is considered by some to be the most depressing day of the year, and I am trying to look back and remember how I have felt those third Mondays of the year throughout my life.
My attempts have been hopeless; I don’t even recall how I felt on last year’s Blue Monday! What I do know is that at this time of the year, I am always happy that the days are getting brighter. Personally, I prefer the idea that we all have our ups and downs at different stages, otherwise, how can we be there to support each other if we are all feeling down at the same time? And I wonder if, or how, our mood is conditioned by knowing that we are approaching a "depressing" day. Do we allow ourselves to be taken in by it or do we pro-actively do something positive to avoid the sinking feeling? Do you have a preferred way of lifting your spirits?
Studying at university can be one of the most intense and fascinating times of our lives: filled with fun, steep learning curves and challenges. The feeling of speeding through it is inevitable and there may be times when we will need to pause, ground, recharge. Or we can shelter in JOMO (Joy of Missing Out, opposed to FOMO - Fear of Missing out), another new term for me, but indeed an old concept and friend: the peacefulness of disconnecting from others, from screens, from the rush of our days, even if just for a short while.
Do you have a go-to tool, in order to help (re)connect with yourself? It can take the shape of a space, physical or mental, an activity or a non-activity, such as regular exercise or meditation practice or simply walking; anything that requires all your focus and that gives you joy.
If you already have your go-to place or activity, use it regularly. If not, it is never too late to try something new! There are several possibilities at LSE: meditation, yoga, taichi, peer support, professional counselling, sports… Explore or delve deeper into what you already like doing. Make the most of your time here, make it work for you!
Here is a reminder of what you have at LSE:
- Firstly, the Huddle, your home at LSE, we are here for you!
- LSE Life has many ways to support your academic and personal development, including workshops, events and 1-2-1 appointments with an LSE Life adviser.
- If you would like some support, the Student Wellbeing Service offers trained peer supporters and counselling, as well as workshops and groups.
- For sports, societies and activities, the LSE Student Union has a wide offer to choose from.
Inés Alonso García
Teaching & Learning Facilitator
- What’s your favourite part of London? Marylebone High Street - it has a great mix of shops and people.
- What’s your favourite spot on campus? Senior Common Room café - very comfortable chairs!
- What is the most useful advice you can give to a new student? Sign up to a society - it's a good way to meet new people and expand your horizons.
- What is the best thing about your job? My colleagues and meeting people from different parts of the world.
- How do you relax at the weekend? Reading and walking - there is a lot of great countryside near to London that is worth seeking out.
- Do you prefer the sea or the mountains? The Mountains - particularly in the Italian Dolomites.
- What’s your favourite season and why? Autumn - the colours of the leaves.
- What was the last book you read? Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon - perhaps the last novel from one of America's great novelists.
Jim Pavitt
Academic Mentor and Coordinating Language Teacher - English for Academic Purposes
Would you like to contribute content to the Language Centre's Instagram account? Perhaps you could interview your fellow students about their course or cover a social event such as the Friday Social or Burns Night. We offer £25 Amazon vouchers for any video we can use.
If you are interested, please send us your content. If you need any further information or guidance please also contact us at Language.Centre.Teaching.Learning@lse.ac.uk
If you enjoy content creation, be sure to apply next year to be an LSE Student Content Creator, which is a paid position. You will be able to create content for the Language Centre or more general content for LSE. We especially welcome content from students on their year abroad.
Updates
After a successful Autumn term and the introduction of our new super flexible Bitesize Speaking format, sessions begin again in Week 1. These include Mandarin Bitesize Speaking and a Mandarin Conversation Circle (Level B2 and above) on Wednesdays 5-6pm, as well as sessions in Arabic, French, German, Russian and Spanish.
Tandem Learning is also on offer - what better way to practise your languages than with a language buddy? Meet them for lunch or coffee and chat with them in the languages you are learning.
Our termly Get Together is on Wednesday 4th March in LSE Life (3-4pm), which aims to connect language learners around LSE.
As always, there is a lot happening around LSE; here are a few events you may not be aware of:
Lunchtime Concert Series
LSESU Movie Night
LSE Chill
Universities in the age of polarisation: A discussion series at LSE in 2025/26
And some workshops:
The Undergraduate Student Survey will be launching on 2 February - this is your chance to have your say and to help shape the future of your LSE experience. From 2 February please go to the the survey link (it will take around 10 minutes) - you’ll also be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win up to £500!
