Open Educational Resources in Modern Languages - Kate Borthwick, LLAS

On 20th September, the School of Modern Languages at the University of Bristol is hosting a one-day conference on teaching and learning languages through the use of online open educational resources (OERs).I am lucky to have been invited as a keynote speaker to this event and I’m really looking forward to attending and sharing my experiences of how language teachers have engaged with OERs and the benefits associated with doing so.

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Forthcoming events in the LLAS community

September 2013

IN FOCUS Thriving for the public good 
11 September, 2013 - The British Medical Association, London

5th Annual workshop for Heads of Department and leaders in languages, linguistics and area studies

This event is supported by the University Council of Modern Languages (UCML).

Impact and public benefit are key priorities for the public funding of higher education. For example, the 2014 Research Evaluation Framework (REF) requires universities to demonstrate that their research has benefits outside the university as well as within the academic community. The strategies of AHRC and ESRC emphasise the commitment to interact with public life and bring benefits to the country. The Finch report has called for all publicly-funded research outputs to be open access so they can be read by anybody who wishes to read them without payment or library subscription. The Open Educational Resources (OER) movement promotes the free sharing and re-sharing of teaching resources without copyright restrictions and MOOCs (Mass Open Online Courses) attempt to reach new audiences all over the world. The public benefits universities provide to their local communities through outreach work, continuing education and public engagement is a key part of demonstrating impact outside academia. Universities also need to have access agreements in place to promote university study to groups who have traditionally found it difficult to access higher education.

Heads of Departments of languages and related studies face some well known challenges and some new ones. Student numbers and staff-student ratios persist as a key concern. Tightened immigration policies have made the recruitment of (non-EU) international students more difficult and in England changes in the constraints on student numbers have added further complexity to recruitment process. Technological developments and school curriculum changes mean that student expectations change more rapidly than ever. Changes in student funding, demographics, and the school curriculum have introduced great volatility, and longer term shifts in the patterns of international political and economic relations raise existential challenges for languages and other studies dealing with the wider world.

This workshop will cover :

Impact and public engagement
Strategic issues in languages and related studies
Student recruitment, numbers
Profile-raising within the institution

Register here

IN FOCUS Teaching in higher education through the medium of English
23-27 September, 2013 - University of Southampton

This is a five-day course designed for academics in universities across the world whose first language is not English and who are delivering degree programmes and presenting research through the medium of English. 

Key areas to be covered during the course are :

• Using English in the lecture theatre and the seminar room
• Supporting the language needs of your international students
• Giving papers and presentations at conferences
• Raising your profile through English
• Building your confidence to deliver through English

The course will consist of a dynamic mix of presentations, discussion, group work and individual support. It will include an initial analysis of participants' needs so that course activities can be tailored, as far as possible, to individual requirements.

Register here

November 2013

FREE ELF and multilingual practices in professional contexts
7-8 November, 2013 - University of Southampton

Making Video for Language Learning and Teaching
16 November, 2013 - Centre for English Language Teaching, Vanbrugh College, University of York

January 2014

CALL FOR PAPERS e-learning symposium 2014
23-24 January, 2014 - University of Southampton

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