Archived February 2004 ebulletin

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This bulletin contains information on the following:

1. Workshop: Promoting and Evaluating the Use of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) in HE
2. Workshop: Pedagogic Research in Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies
3. Workshop: Securing Dissemination: Extending Good Practice in Less Widely Used and Less Taught (LWULT) Languages
4. Workshop: Developing materials for the University Language Learner
5. Area Studies Conference: Understanding the World: Developing interdisciplinary area studies to meet the needs of the 21st century
6. Scotland, Languages in Higher Education and the Future
7. Workshop: Teaching and Learning Africa 19 February 2004, University of Birmingham
8. Good Practice Guide - Your views
9. Publication: Survey of non-specialist language provision in FE and HE
10. Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning - Invitation to bid
11. LLAS Notes - Copies available

Subject Centre events

1. Workshop: Promoting and Evaluating the Use of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) in HE

Monday 09 February 2004 at CILT, London
There is still time to register for this one-day workshop focusing on the reporting and implementation of the European Language Portfolio in Higher Education. It will provide an opportunity for the 11 UK universities participating in the Project to present and exchange experiences and ideas on the trial. The workshop is of particular interest for those who wish to:

• Use the ELP in their own department/institution
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the ELP as a reflective and reporting tool

For more information on the ELP Project, click on: www.lang.soton.ac.uk/cls/elp.html

2. Workshop: Pedagogic Research in Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Friday 13 February 2004 at CILT, London
Area Studies Project Event - Wednesday 4 February 2004, Scottish CILT, University of Stirling
We are now taking bookings for this event. A programme and booking form are on the Subject Centre website or contact Marie Weaver m.weaver@soton.ac.uk

3. Workshop: Securing Dissemination: Extending Good Practice in Less Widely Used and Less Taught (LWULT) Languages

Friday 20 February 2004 at CILT, London
This workshop highlights the end of a one-year project examining and addressing the particular needs of departments teaching minority languages. The 7 mini-projects that participated in the LWULT Project present their findings at this workshop.

The workshop is particularly recommended to those interested in:

• materials development for independent learning, face-to-face or distance teaching in LWULT
• innovative use of technology in learning and teaching
• collaboration across languages and between institutions

There is still time to register for this workshop. Please complete the online registration form.

4. Workshop: Developing materials for the University Language Learner

Friday 27 February 2004 at CILT, London
This event is designed for colleagues in HE who are interested in exchanging expertise in the process of developing home-grown materials for a number of contexts. The event is free of charge and will cover:

• independent learning resources
• exploiting audio and video resources
• commercialisation of home-grown materials
• languages for specific purposes
• using the Internet and copyright issues

Speakers include Richard McKracken of the OU Rights Department (copyright), Cécile Tschirchart, London Metropolitan University (commercialisation), Pilar Delgado-Campbell (languages for specific purposes) and Kathryn Ronnau-Bradbeer, University College London (developing online materials).

A full programme is available on this website. To register for this event please use the online registration form.

5. Area Studies Conference: Understanding the World: Developing interdisciplinary area studies to meet the needs of the 21st century

Wednesday 24 March 2004, Woburn House, Tavistock Square, London
This event is part of the Area Studies Network - a collaborative project between six partner LTSN Subject Centres.

Keynote Speaker is Sir Harold Walker, former Ambassador to Iraq

Full information, a downloadable event poster, location map and online registration form can be found on the conference webpage. The conference fee is £40 which includes lunch.

6. Scotland, Languages in Higher Education and the Future

Thursday 18 March 2004, University of Stirling
The launch of the partnership between the Subject Centre and Scottish CILT will take place on Thursday, 18 March 2004 at the Management Centre, University of Stirling.

The morning programme will consist of talks and plenary discussion. There will be further presentations in the afternoon. although the main focus of the day will be on the present situation of and future possibilities for Languages, there will also be opportunities for discussion of all three areas of Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies.
Keynote speakers are Professor John Macklin, Principal, Paisley University and Professor Mike Kelly, Director, UK Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies.

There is no fee. Coffee, lunch and tea will be provided, but delegates are asked to cover their own travel costs. A programme, plus information on how to register will be available on Monday 9 February and will be posted on the Scottish CILT website at www.scilt.stir.ac.uk

7. Workshop: Teaching and Learning Africa

Thursday 19 February 2004, University of Birmingham
This workshop will discuss the evolving teaching of Africa and African Studies in higher education, and how these reflect the changing ways that Africa is perceived, both from within and without the continent. The day will focus on new themes, techniques and technologies in the teaching and learning of Area studies. The workshop will be held at CWAS - the Centre for West African Studies at the University of Birmingham, and is sponsored by C-SAP. It is organised under the auspices of the Area Studies Project.

Registration is now open. For further information, visit the conference webpage [www.c-sap.bham.ac.uk/csapfeb04.htm] or email Frances.Thompson@c-sap.bham.ac.uk

Other items

8. Good Practice Guide - Your views

The Good Practice Guide is a web based collection of commissioned articles written by recognised authorities in their field.

Have you browsed the Good Practice Guide? If so, can you reply to Jane Copland L.J.Copeland@soton.ac.uk answering the following questions:

• Which articles in the Good Practice Guide have you read?
• In what ways were the articles useful to you?

We look forward to hearing from you.

9. Publication: Survey of non-specialist language provision in FE and HE

This report was compiled by Ruth Pilkington as part of the FDTL Translang Project (1997 - 2000). The Subject Centre has a number of copies of this report. If you would like us to send you a free copy, please email the Subject Centre at llas@soton.ac.uk giving your full postal address.

10. Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning - Invitation to bid

There is information on the HEFCE website on the invitation to bid for recurrent and capital funds to establish Centres of Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Bids are welcome from both HEFCE-funded higher education institutions and equivalent higher education students. Go to www.hefce.ac.uk/Pubs/hefce/2004/04_05/

11. LLAS Notes - Copies available

Order your free copy now.

This is a reminder that free copies of the new LLAS notebook are now available. Simply complete the online order form. The notebook includes the updated "Why Study Languages?" CD, featuring new presentations on Linguistics and Area Studies, in addition to a directory of contact details for associations in each subject area, information on studying at university and statistical tables and graphs relating to the provision of courses in each area.

If you have already received your copy of LLAS Notes, the Subject Centre is interested to hear your views so please fill in the feedback form.

We would be grateful if your would forward this bulletin to colleagues and relevant mailing lists. Please do not hesitate to contact the Subject Centre if you have any queries regarding this bulletin.

Jane Copeland
Subject Centre Secretary
Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies
School of Modern Languages
University of Southampton
Highfield
Southampton SO17 1BJ

tel. 023 8059 4814
email ljc2@soton.ac.uk