It’s safe to say that Bridget Kendall MBE has encountered some extraordinary people and places on her journey between the bright lights of broadcast journalism and her newest role as the Master of Peterhouse. It was therefore with great enthusiasm that Gabrielle Palin met with the former BBC Moscow Correspondent at her home to chat about all things language!
One of the most extraordinary things that struck me about Bridget was her obvious gratitude for the experiences that language learning has made possible. After listening to her extraordinary stories full of weird and wonderful encounters, it’s her interaction with a homeless man that particularly resonated with me – and it still does as I write this article…
“If you just go through a country without being able to speak the language… you might draw completely the wrong conclusions”
When living in Russia, Bridget liked to travel in the hinterland. Away from the big towns and cities, it was a great way to investigate what was really happening in the outer reaches. On one particular occasion, when exploring the North of Russia, the roads were too muddy and messy for any form of transport. As a result, the only way to access the local villages was to trample through forests, on foot!
One day, Bridget happened to stumble upon an old communist headquarters. With a rusty sign and no electricity or running water, the site was in a state of disrepair. It therefore came as a great surprise to learn that someone was actually living there.
By Bridget’s own admission, had she not have spoken Russian, she would never have been able to interact with the man who resided in the building. Nor would she have been able to discuss his plight in such detail. As an educated, philosophical individual who just so happened to find himself in a politically fraught era, the homeless man could easily have been you or I. Which got me thinking: If we all embraced language learning, how many more people would we be able to have great conversations with? How many more memories could we make?
That day, Bridget not only learned a lot about the man, but she also learned some important things about herself.
“If you’re feeling comfortable in the environment you’re in, you do much better”
So, if you’re feeling inspired and want to embark on your own language learning adventure, Bridget stresses that it’s important to put yourself in a comfortable environment. It’s paramount that you feel as though you can afford to make mistakes and experiment… that’s what enjoyable language learning is all about, after all.
You have to be in the right frame of mind so that you’re receptive and willing to take a few risks. You’ve got to invest: invest in the time and effort it takes to get to grips with the shape of the language – it’s important to get the right muscles and instincts working!
“Have the adventure of learning more than one language”
Linguistic knowhow has not only enabled Bridget to travel and explore, but it’s also empowered her to experience the world; not as a tourist, or as a journalist, but as somebody who can fully engage with the people in whose surroundings she finds herself. And it’s now, after a lifetime brimming with exploration, that she’s finally come home to enlighten us as to her experiences – using the power of the very device that kick started her journey in the first place: language.
Where in the world could language learning take you? I hope you’re inspired to find out!
Take a look at the full Bridget Kendall interview below.