Audio

Video Production

Shot List

• Establishing Shot – Time lapse
• Worm’s Eye View
• Medium Close Shot
• Bird’s Eye View
• Wide View
• Full Shot

Creative Writing

Poem

Khaled Hosseini claims “if culture is a house, then language was the key to the front door; to all the rooms inside“
With that in mind, how could I aspire to be anything other than a polyglot?
Monolingualism is en vogue – not.

It all started from infancy, with two languages juggled about,
Twi at home and English out of the house,
With a couple of visits to Ghana strengthening my command,
I’ll commend my grandma making other spoken languages in her house banned,
Since children learn like sponges,
My retention of the language has stayed to this day,
Easing my visits back as if I was never away,

My father spent some years in France,
So there was a francophone element to my days growing up,
What a shame most of it never stuck!
That was until GCSE,
When the choice of a modern foreign language really pushed me,
Having to work on conjugation, accent and grammar
To deliver a speaking assessment without a stammer,
Developing it into A Levels the bar was set high,
Consuming media, learning about French society & politics
And even a week long visit too
Il n’y avait pas un moyen pour échouer en plus

Now that my appreciation for language learning had been cemented,
I realised how much cultured doors opened once interest is shown,
Polyglot content creators such as laoshu505000 and Yuji Beleza make this very well known,
It is with this I set off on a journey to now learn a language independently on my own,

As the second most language spoken in the world,
With a growing popularity in recent times,
I thought to make Spanish my chosen mountain to climb,
Now in the process of making playlists, watching telenovelas and the like,
Apps such as Tandem have sped my learning process making friends across national lines,
Hopefully to meet in-person one day via airlines,
Monthly visits to Spanish language meetups have also become a habit,
Allowing me to familiarise myself with learners also in my vicinity,
All contributing to my growing affinity,

My thoughts now turn to Africa,
Recalling a quote from the illustrious Nelson Mandela,
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.
If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart“
Being extensively in language learning spaces,
I have personally definitely noticed African languages are often left on the back burner,
Ignored, forgotten or even just outside many people’s radars,
But considering my passion about learning about diasporic cultures and the Black Atlantic,
Neglecting these languages would quite frankly just be subpar,

In a full circle motion I found a new love,
In francophone parties I heavily enjoy soukous, sebene and French R&B,
What in common is shared by all of the above?
Heavy use of Lingala.
Having a rich online presence
additionally one if its features being a very melodic cadence,
Every time I have demonstrated my knowledge,
It has been met with nothing but reactions ever so pleasant,
Shock! Confusion!
How and why have I taken the time to learn such a seemingly inconspicuous language?
Especially within anglophone spheres,
However see how a simple GCSE choice has now throughlined into establishing long-lasting connections?
Unlocking the metaphorical house,
With the walls down,
Language learning has eased the ability to strengthen to build a stronger cultural understanding,
Granting me access to the rooms,
All in all it has left me nothing but appreciative for this place where linguistic and cultural diversity abounds,
London, my hometown

Word Count: 591

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