Archived ebulletin: June 2006

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This bulletin contains information on the following:

1. Subject Centre Questionnaire
2. Supporting students' learning in modern languages
3. Intergrating an e-portfolio into the languages curriculum
4. Enhancing your interpersonal skills across cultures
5. Subject Centre Conference 2006: Crossing frontiers: languages and the international dimension 06-07 July 2006
6. Disciplines in Dialogue II: interdisciplinary teaching and learning 13-14 July 2006
7. New Subject Centre CD - Why study languages
8. Area Studies e-bulletin
9. HEA: Education for sustainable development: call for funding
10. Graduate entrepreneurs wanted!
11. Linking teaching and research: call or case studies
12. Internationalism of the Curriculum and support for international students
13. Curriculum innovation for diversity
14. Subject Centre website update
15. Events, call for papers, news from other institutions or organisations

Ab initio language teaching

1. Subject Centre Questionnaire

The Subject Centre is interested in identifying the extent and nature of ab initio language teaching in Modern Languages degree programmes across the HE sector. We would be very grateful if you could take a few moments to answer the following questions and email us the responses. We will be publishing the results of the survey on the LLAS web-site.

Name:
Role:
Institution:

a. In your institution, which language degree programmes (and which languages) allow ab initio or sub A-level entry (please name all relevant programes)?

b. Do you also take A-level entry students on the programmes named above? Yes/No

c. What prior language learning experience do you require of ab initio entry students (e.g. good A-level in another langage)?

d. What resources do you make available to support ab initio classes in Year 1and beyond (e.g. additional contact hours)?

e. If you have ab initio and A-level entry onto language programmes, when are the beginners deemed to have caught up with the rest of the cohort?
Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4

f. Is there anything else that you would like to mention that will help us gain a more complete picture of ab initio provision. Please also tell us if you would be happy to be contacted to provide a more detailed case study.

Many thanks for taking the time to fill in the survey. Please email it to llas@soton.ac.uk.

Subject Centre June events

2. Supporting students' learning in modern languages

08 June 2006
University of Westminster
This workshop provides an opportunity to explore practical examples of how language teachers can support students'learning inside and outside the classroom. Places are limited so early registration is encouraged. Please contact Pilar Teran at : pilar@pasarela.co.uk for further information. To register please go to the Subject Centre website. This event is organised under the Subject Centre's Workshops to go scheme.

3. Intergrating an e-portfolio into the languages curriculum

16 June 2006
Coventry University
This workshop will illustrate how an e-portfolio can be integrated within the languages curriculum both for the specialist undergraduate language provision and for the UWLP programme. For more details and to register please go to the Subject Centre website. This event is organised under the Subject Centre's Workshops to go scheme.

4. Enhancing your interpersonal skills across cultures

21 June 2006
CILT London
This workshop will provide a personal development course for individuals, who seek to enhance their interpersonal communication skills across cultural boundaries. The workshop allows participants to investigate their own communication patterns and begin to identify and acknowledge the communication style of others, at three levels: the interpersonal, the inter-group, the intercultural. For more details and to register please go to the Subject Centre website. This event is organised under the Subject Centre's Workshops to go scheme.

Subject Centre July conferences

5. Subject Centre Conference 2006: Crossing frontiers: languages and the international dimension

06-07 July 2006
University of Cardiff
There are still some places available at this conference. Please visit the Subject Centre website for all the information and registration details of this third biennial conference for Languages in Higher Education, jointly organised by CILT, the National Centre for Languages and the LLAS Subject Centre. Places are limited so an early application is advised. For further details, please go to the Subject Centre Conference 2006 website.

6. Disciplines in Dialogue II: interdisciplinary teaching and learning

13-14 July 2006
University of Birmingham Conference Centre, Birmingham
Organised by the UK Higher Education Academy Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning Group, this conference will provide a unique opportunity for discussion about this important, though long neglected, issue in higher education. It is open to practitioners in all disciplines. Details and programme now online at the the Subject Centre website.

Publications

7. New Subject Centre CD - Why study languages

The Subject Centre has launched a new CD designed to excite, educate and encourage young people to continue with their language learning in KS4 and beyond. The CD is divided into two parts:'The Language Lab' is aimed at pupils in KS3 and KS4 and 'Why study languages' is aimed at pupils in KS4 and post-16. There are quizzes, powerpoint presentations and much much more AND it comes with its own poster! Further information about the CD and ordering procedure can be found on the Subject Centre website.

8. Area Studies e-bulletin

In our recent Subject Centre Evaluation some Area Studies colleagues indicated that they would like to receive a separate Area Studies bulletin.
If would like to receive this instead of or as well as the monthly LLAS e-bulletin, please contact Marie Weaver. Hard copies of the Area Studies Bulletin Atlas 1 and Atlas 2 are still available. If you wish to receive a copy, please email Marie Weaver@soton.ac.uk giving your postal address.

HE Academy

9. HEA: Education for sustainable development: call for funding

The Academy Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) project has set aside 40k to fund at least 10 small projects during 2006/7, with a maximum of 4k per project. Since both subject centres and subject communities are at very different points of development with regard to ESD, bids are welcomed from subject centres themselves; or through subject centres from people within their subject communities. In the first instance only one bid per subject centre will be funded. Deadline for bids is noon on July 14th. See the Subject Centre website for further details.

10. Graduate entrepreneurs wanted!

LLAS would like to identify about ten languages, linguistics or Area Studies graduates who have built careers as freelancers, started their own businesses, been self-employed or mixed any of these with paid employment in a 'portfolio' career. We would like to interview these graduates as part of a Higher Education Academy study of enterprising careers amongst humanities graduates. Please contact llas@soton.ac.uk if you are able to help.

11. Linking teaching and research: call or case studies

The Higher Education Academy Supporting New Academic Staff (SNAS) project is seeking case studies from disciplines including Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. After 25 case studies have been entered from across all the Subject Centres in the project, one will be randomly drawn out of an electronic hat and win the voucher. The same will happen every time 25 more case studies have been submitted up to the time they total 200. We expect you will like to win - but first you have to send a case study! Please send your case studies BY 30 JUNE 2006 to John Canning. Once edited the case studies will be displayed on the LLAS Web Site and there will be a direct link from The Academy SNAS Project Web site. For further details please go to the Subject Centre website.

12. Internationalism of the Curriculum and support for international students

As part of our programme of activity on the internationalisation of higher education the Higher Education Academy has commissioned a literature review and is putting out a call for case studies of practice in the areas of internationalisation of the curriculum and support for international students. The HEA welcome contributions from colleagues to both these initiatives which are being undertaken to build resources for the sector and to facilitate debate on the enhancement of the student learning experience through internationalisation. For further details please see the Academy website (www.heacademy.ac.uk/International.htm) OR contact Jane Berry.

13. Curriculum innovation for diversity

12 September 2006
York St John University College,York
This event organised by Higher Education Academy in association with the University of York will offer academics from across the disciplines a space to share both innovative and practical approaches to the enhancement of student learning through the embedding of equality and diversity in curriculum content and delivery methods. A key part of the programme will be three disciplinary symposia covering the following cognate subject areas: Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences and Science & Engineering. For further details and to register go to the HE Academy website (www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/List_4421.htm).

Subject Centre website

14. Subject Centre website updates

New teaching materials:

University Challenge: a short orientation and listening course for international students
Authors: Roger Smith and Jo Parsons

New Good Practice Guides:

How can key skills "sell" Linguistics to students and employers?
Author: Richard Hudson

Inside-out: Student criticism of "foreign experts" in universities in the P.R.C.
Authors: Hu Hua Ouyang and Ewan Dow

Promoting and evaluating the use of the European Language Portfolio
Author: Vicky Wright

Events, call for papers & news from other institutions

15. Events, call for papers & news from other institutions

Please visit the Subejct Centre other events page for events, calls for papers, news which are not organised by LLAS Subject Centre.

Press Release: Full Steam Ahead for Languages in Skills Agenda
See News section of the Subject Centre website.

Information requested for UK-Russia HE Mobility
The UK Socrates-Erasmus Council is involved in a project, which is looking at student mobility and collaborative projects/partnerships between the UK and Russia at the HE level.
If you would like to contribute some information, please contact Melanie Siggs, Project Officer (Information) UK Socrates Erasmus Council.

We would be grateful if you 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.

Marie Weaver
Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies
Modern Languages,
School of Humanities,
University of Southampton,
Highfield,
Southampton,
SO17 1BJ

Tel: 023 8059 4814
Fax: 023 8059 4815
Email: M.Weaver@soton.ac.uk