Care Home Residents Seek Pen Pals To Support Language Learning

Care home residents have put out a call for their foreign care home counterparts to get involved with an engaging new pen pal scheme.

This cross-cultural endeavour aims to promote language learning and build meaningful friendships among seniors in both communities.

The call comes after residents at Renaissance Care Group homes engaged in foreign language lessons with Glasgow based charity, Lingo Flamingo.

Residents are now eager to expand their horizons and delve into the language learned through correspondence with pen pals from a care facility across the globe.

The initiative not only provides an enriching language learning experience but also creates an opportunity for residents to share stories, experiences, and foster lasting connections across borders.

Two residents of Renaissance Care’s Glencairn Care Home, Edinburgh, Tom Caskie, 83, and Charles Menzies, 86, started German lessons three months ago, building on a lifelong love of languages.

Tom, 83, a retired civil engineer from Islay, first developed his love of languages after emigrating to Canada to pursue a career in civil engineering. He became fluent in French and picked up a good understanding of Italian and Spanish as he travelled the world, living in a variety of exotic locations, including East Pakistan, Tanzania and Nigeria.

Joining Tom on his language learning mission is 86-year-old Charles Menzies. For Charles, the Lingo Flamingo sessions are a refresher on the German language, which he originally picked up while working in Germany as a teacher.

A true language aficionado, Charles is also fluent in French and Russian, along with having a strong understanding of Spanish and Polish.

Jozi Stables, care home manager at Glencairn said: “Charlie and Tom are proof that it is never too late to learn a new skill.

“At Glencairn, we pride ourselves on catering to residents’ actual interests and hobbies. It’s all about creating meaningful activities that residents can fully engage with and feel fulfilled by. We try and facilitate any activity that our residents would be interested with – even if that is creating new friends across borders. No ask is too big or small for us.”