LEARNED RUSSIAN ON ARMY SERVICE

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30980, 9 February 1966, Page 18

LEARNED RUSSIAN ON ARMY SERVICE

The accident of nominating foreign language training for national service in the British Army 15 years ago has led to the appointment of Mr J. D. Goodliffe as lecturer in Russian at the University of Canterbury. Mr Goodliffe had taken an honours degree in French at Nottingham University when, in 1951, he was called up. The War Office and Air Ministry were inaugurating a scheme to train about 1000 interpreters, and Mr Goodliffe was chosen in the first intake of 100. He chose Russian simply because he recognised Russia as a major Power. , His two years’ national service were spent in the School of Slavonic Languages at Cambridge University.

"It was a solid and concentrated course, and we probably had to work harder than any undergraduate,” Mr Goodliffe said in Christchurch yesterday. On demobilisation he read Russian on his own and took an honours degree in Russian at London University. In 1958 Mr Goodliffe became foundation head of modern languages at the new Frederick Gough Grammar School in Lincolnshire. A year later, because of his own interest, he introduced Russian to the 700 girls and boys enrolled, and ever since about 100 each year have begun the language at the age of 12 or 13 and carried it through for the general certificate of education at either ordinary or advanced levels. “I regard myself as a bit of a pioneer in this,” Mr Goodliffe said. “Few schools in Britain have as many pupils taking Russian.” When his work was known, Mr Goodliffe was chosen for a five weeks’ exchange visit to Russia in a party of teachers organised by the British Council. In 1963 he took a party of 36 from his school on a fortnight’s visit to Russia. Asked what status he gave to Russian language study today, Mr Goodliffe said it was a good intellectual exercise, Russia was a leading nation which commanded attention, and learning of its people gnd culture in their own language should “help mankind to get on better.” Mr Goodliffe has come to

New Zealand because he has long hoped to take up university teaching and believes there is more scope in New Zealand. Mr Goodliffe is accompanied by his wife and two sons, aged 10 and six.