1992 and everyone wants to learn a language!

The signing of the Maastricht treaty in 1992 inspired a wave of enthusiasm amongst many companies for their staff to learn a foreign language to greet the new European dawn symbolised by the treaty.

For Anglia, located at the heart of the vibrant, knowledge and scientific economy that is Cambridge, this thirst to learn a language brought new and interesting challenges. Having rather tentatively sent out mailshots (1992, remember?) to various local companies, we were more than a little surprised and delighted by the response we got. Pretty quickly we had to assemble relevant course material and devise a structure for the various courses we were offering. Mostly, we stuck with old favourites, FIGS to be precise – French, Italian, German and Spanish. I did have a lot of experience in adult education so devising a course structure for the various levels – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced – was not especially difficult but it was incredibly time-consuming. Selecting appropriate text books proved more of a problem. Most were designed for holiday tourists and consisted of endless variations on ordering drinks and sandwiches, deciphering a menu or asking for directions.

Right from the start we decided that what was needed was practical business courses, so we developed a wide range of realistic scenarios enabling even beginners to make polite contact with overseas customers. Making contact by telephone was one of the most popular starter courses, running through some 50 separate modules, mostly based on the actual requirements of individual clients. “Business meetings” was another hot topic, from initial greetings to delivering a presentation about your company and its products.

Academia then began to catch up and our modules were quickly supplemented by useful course material including videos and cassette tapes (still 1992!).

A key element in the success of these courses, which ran for 8 years or so, was the dedication of the tutors we recruited to deliver them. Most came from an adult education background but they had real life business experience. The combination of our specially written material and the tutors’ experience helped Anglia to make a significant contribution to the European fervour that seemed to grip business at the time.

Would that it had continued!

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