Robbie Norval heads up social enterprise Lingo Flamingo and believes Life is Beautiful - just don't ask him to make you a cup of tea

What makes a good day at work?

A good day at work involves either teaching, meeting new people or training up tutors. I like being part of a team and meeting new and interesting people.

Lingo Flamingo sounds like a bizarre dance, is that right?

Haha, I hope that in some countries it could be a bizarre dance. We are in fact a foreign language outreach enterprise. Research shows that speaking a second language can postpone the effects of dementia by up to five years as it builds up cognitive reserve making our brains’ more resilient. We therefore use language learning as a social type of cognitive therapy to empower older ages through the knowledge of languages.

Research shows that speaking a second language can postpone the effects of dementia by up to five years as it builds up cognitive reserve making our brains’ more resilient

Robbie Norval

What’s the best thing that’s happened in the last month?

I think the highlight was being listed of one of the "new radicals” by Nesta and being published in the Observer. It was great to see us on the list with such creative and innovative ideas.

Who is your hero?

I like to think that any individual can make a positive impact in our society and along this line of thinking I really admire Rosa Parks and the role she played in the Civil Rights movement

What turns you into the office Victor Meldrew?

Haha, technical problems! They seem to happen to me quite a lot and my limited knowledge of “switching it off, then on again” sadly does not always work.

What was the last thing you did that scared you?

Changing a light bulb. It really should not have scared me but it took 30 minutes with assistance from my flatmate. You could almost write a joke about it!

What’s your favourite film?

Life is beautiful is a really lovely Italian film. I like European Cinema and that is one of my favourites.

Would your 16-year-old self be impressed with where you are now?

Haha, I think he would be impressed that he would one day have the courage to start his own social enterprise. Being a son of a health and safety advisor I have always been slightly risk adverse.

If you were your boss would you like you?

I like to think so. I always try to treat others as I would like to be treated and as I am not a morning person, I try to avoid meetings before 10am!

What’s the worst thing that’s happened in the last month?

Milkgate. I had quite an important meeting recently and whilst making the tea, I did not realise that the milk was off so provided them with the world’s worst cup of tea! It was not quite the first impression that I wanted to make.

Why social enterprise?

I love the spcial enterprise concept that making a social impact is equally as important as being sustainability, I also think it’s a very creative and rewarding thing to do.

Why would someone with dementia want to learn a language?

Studies link mental activity to better cognitive performance for older adults. These studies demonstrate a measurable improvement following mental training with larger effects in those who learn a “novel, cognitively demanding activity” than in those doing less taxing, familiar activities. Therefore, we make language learning challenging yet accessible providing a fun, social work out for the brain.

Is this a rung on the ladder to success or your final destination?

I guess you never really know. It is a lot of work as I am sure anyone starting a new project can testify but I really love what I do and I hope it continues for a long time yet.

Are flamingo’s really your favourite animal?

I actually really like sloths – I think they have great attitude towards life! Since starting Lingo Flamingo I only get flamingo gifts so I am embracing the flamingo but not quite at the flamingo tattoo stage yet.

Which Brian Cox?

The Dundonian actor!