Language Transfer Centre

Coming 2025!

Language learning is magical.

It’s easy to forget just how magical it is when you get used to bi- and multilingualism, it’s an easy thing to take in your stride when you’ve lived half your life (as I have now) straddling social, cultural, political and personal realms. Luckily, though, it’s easy to remember too, or at least it has been for me since coming back to the UK, which is where I grew up - monolingual and trapped within the confines not only of a particular language, but of language itself. Language really can be the be-all-and-end-all of everything when you only have the one to work with. There is no other reference, no platform to step out onto and look in, your translation of the world into language and the translation of your language into the world is something that just ‘is’. Or at least that’s how I experienced it. Before.

Learning a new language offered me so much that I couldn’t help myself but create Language Transfer. It gave me a way out of my own mind, a golden opportunity to reprogram, to self-govern, to notice and fix things in myself I was unwittingly defending. It’s an unexpected type of healing, language learning, but an entirely sensible one. I may have suffered with the project since then, so overwhelmed with work that I could forget the point of it all, but being back in the UK I’m remembering all too well what a gift this is and how privileged I am to give it. I realise that this all has never felt less like an obligation than it does now, and so I’m running with it.

The way LT puts out content is about to change forever but don’t worry, formalised Intro/Complete courses will still be a thing! Only now, there’ll also be an endless stream of live events in addition to the formalised material - of which we can also expect more.

Small or large scale, this is what the new space will be about:

-Regular 90-minute open public free workshops for languages, music and anything else the Thinking Method gets applied to! These will be live streamed.

-Presentations, classes, social and cultural events in the target language. Anything from cooking to dance classes with invited guests, and a teacher on hand to help take advantage of the new language exposure. Also live streamed.

-Debate events in the target language! Not only does discussing issues in a new language help us to rethink things we think we think(!), but it’s also a great way to internalise new words and structures, in the heat of debate which is when they feel most relevant. Target language debates with linguists on hand to help the flow will be revolutionary for language learners. Also live streamed.

-Language exchange cafe. In these events people can come to practice languages they are learning in an informal social environment, with games available too to help the conversation flow! Possible online community integration.

-In-house musical ensemble. The ensemble will allow new-starters in music to begin playing and creating music from the get-go, and will generate original music as well as play publicly in order to promote musical education for the young and late-starters alike.

-Thinking Method co-working hours. This will allow new course writers (using the Thinking Method Guidebook) to connect and work together as well as host classes, there’ll also be digital integration where course writers abroad can chime in.

Of course this is a great moment to ask you to join the Patreon campaign (and please do if you’re feeling generous, or just watching your money evaporate in inflation) but I’m refraining from asking for more funds in order to begin this because I still have the remainder of the bitcoin which was donated a few years ago (and which I’ve been saving for something like this). That’s not a massive amount of money here in the UK either, but it’s enough to start small for a year and see what happens. The exciting thing about LT is that support, and massive support, could show up at any moment, that’s the nature of being generous and inviting generosity. Still, I’m not waiting on that! I’m going to start building this thriving centre all-in from now, so stay tuned!