Conversation across barriers

I’ve said goodbye to another lovely group of teenagers today.

I hope I taught them some language for saying what they think, for persuading, reaching consensus, finding hidden information, for defending themselves. I hope I taught them how to listen for who isn’t speaking and how to make sure all the voices get heard.

I was pleased to hear a few of them say, ‘And what do you think?’ and although I’ve spent a week saying, ‘In English please,’ I hope they can translate that back into their own language too.