November 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 November 2012. Click here to see this email on the LLAS website.
Message from the Director 
We continue to live in uncertain times as each day brings a crop of good news and bad. The future could turn either way both for the country as a whole and for languages and related subjects. We could be on the road to recovery or on the brink of further decline. No doubt we have learned to stop holding our breath in the hope that things will get back to normal, and begun to understand that uncertainty is going to be normal for the foreseeable future.
In these circumstances, we may be best served by focusing first on what we can control or influence, whether it is the teaching programmes we offer, or the projects we undertake. This is where we have some degree of certainty and can make our most effective contribution. But we also need to keep a sharp eye on our environment, both to be prepared for the most likely areas of change and to take advantages of opportunities as they arise.
In the area of languages, there are changes in many dimensions, including the changing profile of learners, new areas of social and economic need, rapid advances in the technologies of language and communication and shifting government priorities. All of these offer opportunities as well as threats and place a premium on inventive responses. The languages community is relatively battle hardened in the face of threats and nimble in pursuit of opportunities. These will continue to be precious assets for the interesting times in which we live.
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 - November 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: E-learning symposium 2013, 24-25 January 2012, University of Southampton - the programme has now been released! - & Building the language base for research: the impact and future of Language-Based Area Studies, 14 December, 2012 - Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre SOAS, London - FREE event!
In the news
LLAS E-learning symposium 2013
The 8th annual e-learning symposium will take place on 24 and 25 January at the University of Southampton. The programme is now available and can be found at http://www.llas.ac.uk/elearning2013. You can also download the e-symposium poster here.
The latest edition of the Language Learning Journal is out
The latest edition of the Language Learning Journal may be of particular interest – it is a special issue devoted to teaching languages in HE and is co-edited by Angela Gallagher-Brett, from LLAS, here at Southampton. Find out more at http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rllj20/40/3
iTunes and You
LLAS has received funding from the HEA for a new iTunesU project ‘iTunes and You.’ The project will take existing materials, which have been published as open content for research and teaching by humanities staff at the University of Southampton, and work with the university marketing department to repackage it as learning modules in the form of iTunesU course packages. This will be an innovative way to showcase how research and teaching resources can be combined in bite-sized ways which maximises their use by a global audience of learners. Follow project work at: http://itunesandyou.wordpress.com
New languages resources online and ready to use 
University language tutors working on the FAVOR project are busily publishing their work as open resources on the LanguageBox. The project has now ended but more resources appear every day for a range of different languages from EAP, Spanish, Finnish, Hungarian to German, Italian, French and many more. The LanguageBox is good for finding ideas and materials for your own classes but also for sharing your own work with the community. Set up a free account today!
Master Dissertation with best potential for impact on ELT
The British Council is pleased to announce the new British Council ELT Masters Dissertation award for work with the best potential for impact on ELT practice. This award recognises and promotes the achievements of Masters students on UK universities Masters programmes. The scheme is an opportunity for institutions to promote their programmes and for recent graduates to establish themselves in the field. Click here to find out more.
Deadline for applications: 12 November 2012
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.
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 blog 
The SPEAQ project - where has this first year gone? - Alison Dickens and Laurence Georgin, LLAS
What is SPEAQ?
SPEAQ is a project funded by the European Commission to address issues related to quality assurance in HE. It stands for ‘Sharing Practice in Enhancing and Assuring Quality’. It is managed by Alison Dickens, Laurence Georgin and John Canning at the LLAS Centre and involves 9 partners across Europe.
What is it for?
We aim to connect three key quality circles, i.e. teacher, student and quality manager in order to share and enhance quality assurance practice in HE. We want to address a real concern that quality assurance can become ritualised rather than embedded in learning and teaching practice. We are hoping to develop new ideas on how to approach quality assurance within the institution providing evidence of how bringing together stakeholders in the quality process can lead to a wider and more meaningful interpretation of quality assurance.
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 November, Welsh is featured. Quiz questions and answers are also included.
This is the fifteenth of a 16-month series lasting until Dec 2012. Look out for another language next month. Please visit : http://languagebox.ac.uk/3131/
You can find all months so far at http://languagebox.ac.uk/1991/.
Forthcoming events in the LLAS community
November 2012
Making Video for Language Learning and Teaching
17 November, 2012 - University of York
December 2012
Enhancing the community of practice: training provision for PSIT FREE event
5 December, 2012 - Aston University, Birmingham
IN FOCUS: Building the language base for research: the impact and future of Language-Based Area Studies FREE event
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.
Click here to register now
The LOC tool for teachers: authoring your own online learning materials
19 December, 2012 - University of Southampton
January 2013
IN FOCUS: E-learning Symposium 2013
24 - 25 January, 2013 - University of Southampton
This popular symposium is a 2-day event which combines practical activities and guidance with inspiring ideas to fuel the imagination!
Main themes for this edition are:
- Innovative tools for teaching
- Digital literacy for staff and students
- QR codes in teaching
- iTunesU
- Augmented reality
- Innovative grammar teaching
- MOOCS and language study
Click here to register now and take advantage of our early bird rate!
March 2013
Teaching in higher education through the medium of English
18 - 22 March, 2013 - University of Southampton
April 2013
Residence Abroad, Social Networks and Second Language Learning
11 April - 12 April, 2013 - University of Southampton
June 2013
Teaching in higher education through the medium of English
10 - 14 June, 2013 - University of Southampton
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