Exhibitions and art

I went to a fantastic free exhibition at the Verdant Works in Dundee yesterday. It is called 'Patterns of Migration' by Laura Darling and was inspired by her experience of working at the Dundee International Women's Centre. This picture in particular caught my attention. It is a native speaker talking to a non-native speaker and all the brain processing that goes on when you speak to someone in a different language. I recognise this process very well from my days of living in Germany and struggling with accessing services, speaking in formal situations and the 'mental load' which goes on all the time. I would constantly be translating and working out how to say things. I remember just getting to the point where I couldn't listen and take anything else in, my brain was full. I liked this picture as it helps remind me, as a teacher, that this is occurring each day for my students, and really, how exhausting the entire process is for them. I liked it so much that I bought it and will hang it around my desk.