Do you consider yourself a linguaphile? A lover of languages? An aspiring polyglot or just a curious soul? One of the benefits of being a Trinity student is the language opportunities.

Trinity campus is home to plenty of cultural hot spots* and its location means that you’re never too far from discovering a different world through the lens of another language.

Societies

There are several Trinity student societies associated with a specific country or area, (French, An Cumann Gaelach, Modern Languages, Germanic, Japanese, Hispanic, Korean, Italian, Sign Language, South East Asian, Eastern European, Russian, South Asian, Filipino, Ukrainian societies and more!).

These societies seek to promote their respective languages by offering their members classes in various different languages or providing a space where members are encouraged to speak or practice a language with others in a relaxed, casual setting. No judgement, no pressure, but lots of language speaking fuel (tea and biscuits!)

Outside campus

Although this is a pricier option, it is an option nonetheless and there are plenty of language schools within a 20 min bus ride from Trinity, and a proliferation of English language schools. All you need do is type your target language into Google, followed by Dublin and take your pick.

Shop!

If you are looking for something more student budget friendly, I recommend finding a shop manned by staff that speak your target language. This method is a bit more hit and miss than the others, but Dublin is home to a cornucopia of multicultural shops. If you happen to stumble across someone who speaks your target language then you’ve hit the jackpot.

I personally have had success speaking Korean to the staff in White Rabbit (when I muster up the courage). I recommend you look up your target language followed by ‘shop’ in Google Maps for the best results and always preface by asking ‘Do you speak (insert target language here)?’

Library

Did you know Trinity library is a copyright library for Ireland and the United Kingdom? This means that for every book published here or in the UK a copy is given to Trinity!

Don’t confine yourself to academic works, you have access to cooking books, language books and books simply written in other languages! Head over to Stella search to browse and if the book you’re looking for isn’t held on campus you need only select the ‘Click and Collect (Storage)’ button to soon have the physical copy in your hands.

Learning Irish

Having taken part in these classes as someone who wants to study Irish again years after the Leaving Cert I can attest to their usefulness. Classes are provided at a range of skill levels and all Trinity staff or students are welcome!

Every year Gaelchultúr, the biggest provider of Irish classes in the world, sends out an email offering Trinity students and staff free Irish classes.

Remember if you want to speak a language, you have to actually speak it! So don’t be afraid to try out some of the methods above.