@Linguist_CIOL
FEBRUARY/MARCH The Linguist 33
INSTITUTE MATTERS
Meet our members
FORMER RAF INTELLIGENCE OFFICER PAUL HUGHES FCIL REVEALS HOW HIS LANGUAGES HAVE HELPED HIM
TO SAVE LIVES, LAND HIM A PART ON CELEBRITY HUNTED AND INSPIRE PUPILS TO TAKE UP LANGUAGES
What was your first encounter with
another language?
It was in my early teens on my first overseas
holiday; I encountered the joys of Majorca
and the frustration of not knowing Spanish! I
felt vulnerable and ashamed that I couldn't
converse. My mother felt the same and went
on to study Spanish. I stuck with French at
school but the teacher couldn't control the
swathe of troublemakers in my class, and
that was the end of my language-learning
journey until just prior to joining the RAF.
Why did you join the Royal Air Force?
As long as I can remember I was always
fascinated by aviation and had cousins who
had travelled the world doing disparate
engineering roles for the main international
airlines. After completing a modern language
aptitude test as part of my selection process
for the RAF, I was finally selected for a role
within the Intelligence sphere; it was
wrapped in secrecy and after approximately
18 months of language and applied training I
was earmarked for a posting to West Berlin
(prior to the demise of the USSR).
What was the biggest challenge in that role?
Overcoming my fears! In the military, FEAR
stands for 'False Expectations Appearing Real':
it's your choice if you want to feel positive or
negative about a particular situation.
Which languages do you speak?
My military career saw me learn Russian,
Arabic and Pashto. Learning Pashto in a
three-month timeframe was the most difficult,
as we had to reach nigh on A-level standard.
Does being dyslexic mean you approach
language learning in a particular way?
Oh yes! I absolutely attack a new language.
I'm a stickler for flash cards and making up
nonsense rhymes to make difficult words
more memorable. I set a time to learn and
factor in downtime. I was in my mid 20s
when I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and the
myelination (i.e. white matter development
of the brain) had already provided
workaround solutions from learning
languages. Language learning has been
proven to be a catalyst for this, so if you
don't learn another language you will never
reach your full cognitive potential.
Who has most inspired you?
Professor Avi Shivtiel; I had the pleasure of
studying under his guidance during my Arabic
course at the University of Leeds. The
encouragement and manner of his teaching lit
the touch paper of curiosity in my head that
started me on a postgraduate path, which
has seen me attain several Master's degrees.
We met up for the first time in nearly 27
years when I was delivering a talk in Leeds
recently; let's just say it was emotional!
