CIOL Brazil Network’s Mark Thompson will present an informative and entertaining history of his life, travel and professional experiences and how languages, dialects, accents, jargons and sociolinguistics have been present every step of the way, from the early days in the west of England to his current home of southeastern Brazil, with a brief look at everything in between.
Language takeaways:
- Opening the ear – sponging up everything around you
- Acquiring Vs. learning languages
- Situational & sociolinguistics – jargon and vernacular while working in different organisations
- The “awakening” to language learning
- Independent travel and acquiring languages
- The Cambridge CELTA diploma course
- 5 years as an English teacher in Brazil
- The transition to translation, interpreting & project managing
- Later-in-life qualification (CELTA, DipTrans)
- The benefits of networking, with examples
- References to French, German, Spanish, Quichua and Portuguese, and to various accents & dialects of the UK and English-speaking world
Q&A to finish
Mark was born in Gloucestershire, and has extended family from the Forest of Dean, with its peculiar accent, dialect and sociolinguistics rooted in the region’s rich history.
Exposed to this and dozens of regional accents from around the UK and wider English-speaking world from an early age, Mark developed an ability to impersonate TV celebrities and local characters, along with a love for word play.
Indifferent to “inside-the-box” foreign language learning at school, the passion for languages was ignited over 5 years’ British Army service in West Germany during the Cold War, and later during UK police service and a 12-month solo backpacking trip around Latin America.
This adventure resulted in a permanent move to Brazil in 2003, where Mark is currently based. Before leacving the UK, he obtained the Cambridge CELTA English teaching certificate, and taught English and acquired Portuguese over the years, subsequently transitioning into the world of interpreting, translation and project management.
Mark is an MCIL Chartered Linguist and holds the DipTrans in Portuguese > English, and founded the CIOL Brazil Network in 2020.
This event will be held on zoom – log in details will be emailed to attendees who contact the network via Brazil@ciol.org.uk.
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