"Languages are so much more than just the words themselves" - An Interview with Dr. Caroline Gray

Written by Natalie Moore

18.05.21

I've been a student at Aston University for almost 4 years now and until working with Routes into Languages, I'd never even considered what my lecturers might be doing in their spare time.

You know, as a student, sometimes you get a giggle out of imagining your teacher watching Netflix in fluffy pyjamas with a hot chocolate or dressing up in something other than work attire and hitting the town for a fancy meal - but believe it or not, they do have lives outside of helping shape the minds of the younger generation.

A few months ago, if you'd have asked me if my lecturers do anything with their languages outside of the classroom, I wouldn't have a solid answer for you. I would probably say something along the lines of 'yeah probably, but I have no idea what'.

In the 3 months that I have been working with Routes into Languages West Midlands, I have learned so much; one thing being that my lecturers are even more wonderful than I thought. Not only do they come to university all day and give their time and energy into teaching us every aspect of language and culture but they also dedicate their time to languages when their day of teaching has ended.

Dr. Caroline Gray, Lecturer in Spanish and Politics

This week, I have had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Caroline Gray, a lecturer in Politics and Spanish at Aston University, who specialises in the politics of Spain and wider Europe. Dr. Gray was recently invited to present her work on the Spanish party system to the UK Civil Service Languages Network. Her talk was delivered in Spanish and formed part of the Network's series of guest lectures on the culture, politics and history behind a country. These events are held primarily in the target language to give UK government representatives the opportunity to practise their foreign language skills.

Read below our chat with Dr. Gray:

Routes: Can you please state your name and job role?

Dr. Gray: I’m Caroline and I’m a Lecturer in Politics and Spanish at Aston University in Birmingham. I do research on and teach topics in Spanish and wider European politics, economy and society.

Routes: What languages do you speak?

Dr. Gray: English (native), Spanish (fluent) and French (a little bit rusty!).

Routes: Do you have any examples of languages helping you in a way you didn’t expect?

Dr. Gray: Actually, I’ve always actively sought jobs that I knew would let me use my languages as that for me was important, but what surprised me was the variety of jobs that need knowledge of languages other than English, even if they aren’t always immediately obvious! I knew I didn’t really want to be a translator or interpreter, but there are plenty of other options out there.

Not long after studying languages at university, I got the opportunity to work in a couple of different roles reporting on Spanish politics and the economy in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. In fact, I was hired for a role as a financial reporter for a specialist financial publication because of my in-depth knowledge of Spain and my Spanish language skills, and then I learnt the financial and economic information that I needed on the job. I became so interested in what I was reading and writing about that I wanted to be able to research and write about it more at length, so then I ended up returning to university for more postgraduate study with a view to becoming a university lecturer.

Routes: Other than the language itself, how has language learning helped you in either your career or personal life?

Dr. Gray: Languages are so much more than just the words themselves. Through them, you gain invaluable insights into different cultures and different ways of doing things. All of that helps you to see different perspectives on the world, which is invaluable both personally and career-wise.

I can remember once having to explain to a monolingual colleague why Spain did things differently in the particular sphere we were reporting on, why certain practices meant the particular market we were covering in Spain worked differently to the UK one, and I realised just how much that person was missing out on by seeing things through one UK-focused lens.

Routes: Recently, you were invited to present your work on the Spanish party system to the UK Civil Service Languages Network. That is such an amazing opportunity, how did you feel to be invited and can you tell us a bit more about the purpose of the event?

Dr Gray: I was delighted to be invited as what I most like about doing academic research on Spain through my role as a lecturer is getting the opportunity to share that knowledge and talking to people about what’s important to know about Spain and what implications that might have for us here in the UK and elsewhere. Well over 100 civil servants from across a range of government departments, from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), turned up online for the event and asked lots of great questions! This shows the importance that civil servants working across a range of government departments attach to understanding how other countries work.

The talk formed part of a series of guest lectures on the culture, politics and history behind a country given by invited academics, ambassadors and journalists. The events are held primarily in the target language to give civil servants the opportunity to practice their foreign language skills.

Routes: The talk was delivered in Spanish and must have been a very specific vocabulary - do you ever get a bit nervous before such a big talk in your non native language?

Dr Gray: Not really, no, as actually when I speak in Spanish, I think in Spanish! I got to that stage when I was on my year abroad – the third year of most undergraduate languages degrees. I spent that year studying at a university in Spain as an exchange student and I made sure that I shared a flat with Spanish students and did activities to make Spanish-speaking friends to really immerse myself in the language and become fluent. I even got to practise my French at the same time by making friends with some of the French exchange students! It was a fantastic year that really changed my outlook on life.

Nowadays, this kind of immersion is even feasible to a degree for people learning a language from the UK, given all the online materials you can use to immerse yourself in a language, and the possibility of meetups and conversation groups with native speakers, wherever you are based. So, don’t feel you have to wait to go abroad to jump in!

Routes: Some people tend to think when you are an educator of languages, all you do is teach that language but this proves that isn’t the case; have you ever done anything similar to this before or had other opportunities to use your language without being in the role of educator?

Dr Gray: I have actually had various other opportunities in recent years to engage with UK government departments to share my knowledge of Spain. One of the highlights a couple of years ago was being asked to brief a senior diplomat on Spanish politics before she took up her role as Counsellor for UK-Spain bilateral relations!

Dr. Caroline Gray appearing on BBC news

Beyond that, I have also had lots of opportunities in recent years to do media interviews, both nationally and internationally, about developments in Spanish politics. For example, when Catalonia, a region in north-east Spain, attempted a referendum on independence in 2017 that was deemed illegal under Spanish law, the news even hit the front pages of some UK newspapers, and I got lots of calls from journalists. I ended up being invited to the BBC studios for various interviews, as well as doing some online or by phone for other outlets!

Most recently, I’ve been interviewed a couple of times for The SobreMesa Podcast, an English-speaking podcast series about developments in Spanish politics and society for anyone interested in learning about Spain. You can listen to any of the episodes that might interest you on Spotify or Apple Podcasts - dig in!

Routes: Do you have any advice for people learning languages?

Dr. Gray: My main advice is that different things work for different people. Some with a more mathematical mind might like to think about how grammar structures fit together in a very technical way (almost like an equation), others who hate maths and are more into the arts subjects might learn a language more easily by getting a feel of how it fits together. Find what works for you, and don’t be shy or embarrassed! Jump in and practise! Nobody expects you to get everything right first time around (or even second or third time…).

Another important thing to remember is that different languages don’t always say things in exactly the same way; certain expressions that work in one language might not work in another. So, if ever you can’t think of the exact word, there’s usually a way around it by just phrasing things a bit differently.

Routes: Thank you so much for your time Caroline!

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"Languages are so much more than just the words themselves." I truly think that sums everything up perfectly. Languages are culture, they are part of someone's identity and to be able to share languages with the rest of the world is beautiful. Here at Routes West Midlands, we have the ability to share our love of languages with one another and with everyone we meet through the organisation - I hope that by sharing these language stories, you, our readers, can feel a part of our language community too.

If you enjoyed this interview, please reach out and let us know! DM us here or via our socials, whether it's a response to this article or you want to share a fun language fact or foreign word with us - we'd love to talk to you!

We say one big, final thank you to Dr. Caroline Gray; for taking the time to talk to us, for all the amazing work she does and for being a brilliant lecturer! Caroline started at Aston University in 2017 and her first cohort of first year Aston students are now graduating, which is such a wonderful and special moment for them all.

Caroline, firstly congratulations! This is a big moment, and all of us at Routes are so happy for you. Finally, some of your students reached out and asked us to share some words for you:

"The class of 2021, who were Caroline's first class of first years at Aston, would like to thank her for her support, knowledge, and kindness throughout our time here. Thank you Caroline for setting us off on a flying start which has allowed us to be successful throughout the duration of the degree. We will fondly remember Mondays at 11am in MB753".

Published 18.05.21

by Natalie Moore for Routes into Languages West Midlands