October 2012 e-bulletin - LLAS Centre for languages, linguistics and area studies
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News Bulletin |
Dear colleague,
Welcome to the LLAS e-bulletin for October 2012. Click here to see this email on the LLAS website.
Message from the Director 
The changes afoot in the world of higher education pose particular problems in languages, linguistics and area studies, where the spectre of closing degree programmes and even whole departments continues to lurk. But creativity and innovation are born of necessity, and the evidence is that our subjects are becoming adept at finding new ways of navigating the treacherous waters of university strategic planning.
This was clear from the subject leaders who attended the LLAS/UCML workshop on ‘Thriving in uncertain times’. Alongside the insights into the current context in schools and in higher education, they developed inventive approaches to difficult meetings and imaginative routes to influence and impact. No doubt their ingenuity will be tested in the months ahead.
The students are now crowding into classes, though perhaps in smaller numbers than planned, particularly in our areas. The issues of recruitment are visibly preoccupying universities. Colleagues realise that ‘upstream’ issues are going to become more important, as we strive to persuade young people to study our subjects in the senior levels of secondary school and on to university. We must understand what is happening there and engage with teachers and school students. Fortunately, there is a rich fund of experience in the Routes into Languages programme, which provides a clear framework for engagement with schools and a large number of ideas and strategies.
At a more conceptual level, we are also being urged to engage with the reform of the A level curriculum. All of the exam boards are establishing panels to which HE members are being urgently invited. This will seem an ‘out of area’ experience for many colleagues, but unless we are willing to be involved, we will have no influence in what the next generation of our students have studied at school. As ever, change is in the air and we are being challenged to play our part in shaping it. LLAS very much supports the efforts of UCML and the Speak to the future campaign to carry the arguments to policy makers.
Mike Kelly (follow Mike on Twitter at @ProfMikeKelly)
Director, LLAS Centre for languages, linguistics and area studies
This month's e-bulletin in brief
- In the news
- LLAS Why study languages? calendar FREE downloads - September 2012
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LLAS events : Our events programme in full can be found at www.llas.ac.uk/events
IN FOCUS this month: Building the language base for research, LBAS conference, 14 December 2012, SOAS, London REGISTER NOW
In the news
Training provision for Public Service Interpreting and Translation
A Routes into Languages report about training provision for Public Service Interpreting and Translation in England is now available to download. The report has been compiled for Routes into Languages by Anne Marie Graham at Arqueros Consulting and is one of the outcomes of a broader project funded by Routes into Languages. Click on here to download the report.
Visit the website www.psit.org.uk to join the PSIT online community!
New repository for language learning and teaching 
IRIS is a free, searchable, up- and downloadable collection of instruments, materials and stimuli that are used to elicit data for research into second and foreign languages. This includes research into the effectiveness of different types of experimental treatments and instructional techniques; linguistic development and how languages are learnt; the contexts in which second languages are used and learnt; and stakeholders' (learners', teachers', policy-makers') opinions about language use and how these impact teaching and learning.
Order your free copy of the LLAS magazine Liaison!
An online copy is available to view here. To order your FREE hard copy, just email us at llas@soton.ac.uk . This issue includes articles on the year abroad, social media, OERs and a piece by Lid King, the Chair of Speak to the Future, the campaign for languages.
LLAS E-learning Symposium 2013 - Call for contributions extended to 22 Oct 2012 
The 8th annual e-learning symposium will take place on 24 and 25 January at the University of Southampton. Registrations are now open. The call for contributions has been extended to 22 October 2012 and details can be found at http://www.llas.ac.uk/elearning2013
International Translation Day - 5 October 2012 - Save the date!
‘Save the date’ for this year’s International Translation Day. The event will take place on Friday 5th October. For more information, click here. The programme is also available to download here.
Juvenes Translatores competition, 27 November 2012 
This year's European Commission competition for young translators Juvenes Translatores will take place on 27 November and is open to pupils born in 1995. Schools can register online from 1 September to 20 October. The prize for the UK's best young translator will be a trip to Brussels. Click here to register.
LLAS blog 
New open resources published as part of FAVOR project - Kate Borthwick, LLAS
The LLAS-led FAVOR project is drawing to a close this month and is celebrating the publication of over 340 new open educational resources for language teaching and transition on www.languagebox.ac.uk.
LLAS Why study languages? calendar 
FREE calendar download: This calendar was produced by LLAS Centre for languages, linguistics and area studies. It was created with help from teachers working on the JISC-funded Community Cafe project. In October, Hungarian is featured. Quiz questions and answers are also included.
This is the eleventh of a 16-month series lasting until Dec 2012. Look out for another language next month. Please visit : http://languagebox.ac.uk/3105/ You can find all months so far at http://languagebox.ac.uk/1991/.
Forthcoming events in the LLAS community
November 2012
Digital literacy in the humanities: what open practice can do for you
7 November, 2012 - University of Southampton
The LOC tool for EAP teachers: authoring your own online learning materials
9 November, 2012 - University of Southampton
Making Video for Language Learning and Teaching
17 November, 2012 - University of York
December 2012
Enhancing the community of practice: training provision for PSIT
5 December, 2012 - Aston University, Birmingham
IN FOCUS Building the language base for research: the impact and future of Language-Based Area Studies
14 December, 2012 - Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre SOAS, London
This one-day event will address the achievements, and future challenges, of the Language-Based Area Studies (LBAS) initiative in developing provision in the languages of Central & Eastern Europe & Russia, China & Japan, and the Arab World.
Showcasing some of the success stories of LBAS since its launch in 2006, the conference will also look to the future challenges of training and research in Languages of the Wider World. Building the necessary language base remains essential both for UK research to achieve world-leading impact and for graduates of UK universities to succeed in the global job market. The conference will ask how language training for research can be taken forward over the next decade and discuss the future of LBAS from the perspective of UK language policy.
This conference will be of interest to:
• Language teachers
• Organisations interested in UK language policy and higher education
• Area Studies researchers
• Postgraduates with an interest in language learning for their research
• People involved in the promotion of a country’s language and culture
• Language training providers
Register here
January 2013
E-learning Symposium 2013 - call for contributions extended to 22 Oct 2012
24 - 25 January, 2013 - University of Southampton
April 2013
Residence Abroad, Social Networks and Second Language Learning
11 April - 12 April, 2013 - University of Southampton
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LLAS Centre for languages, linguistics and area studies
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