I first heard French spoken live by a mother-tongue speaker in my Glasgow secondary school, thanks to the British Council’s Languages Assistant scheme. My whole studies and career were sparked by this initial taste of ‘real’ French. As a first-generation university student, I was able to spend a year living and working in France thanks to the British Council. I wouldn’t have been able to do my job, or build the life I have, without their expert support. As a lecturer in ML and translation, I’ve seen up close how the British Council has supported 100s of students to live, study and work abroad, whatever their background. Losing the British Council now would harm the UK for decades to come, at a critical moment in our history.
Jo Drugan, Professor of Translation, University of East Anglia