LLAS Event

llasevent icon£9000 a year for what? Languages and area studies under the new fees regime in England
Event date: 20 May, 2011
Location: Goodenough Club, 23 Mecklenburgh Square, London WC1N 2AD
llasevent iconLanguages in higher education 2010: raising the standard for languages
Event date: 1 July, 2010 - 2 July, 2010
Location: Etc venues, London, SE1 1GA
llasevent iconPreparing languages students for the world of work (9 Mar 07)
Event date: 9 March, 2007
Location: Woburn House, 20 Tavistock Square, London WC1
llasevent iconReaching out in Languages (1 Mar 06)
Event date: 1 March, 2006
Location: Leeds Metropolitan University, Headingley Campus, Cavendish Hall, Room G09
llasevent iconSpecialist language degrees (25 Nov 05)
Event date: 25 November, 2005
Location: Goodenough College, London
llasevent iconHigher Education and the National Languages Strategy (28 Sept 05)
Event date: 28 September, 2005 - 28 May, 2005
Location: Senate House, Malet Street, University of London
llasevent iconPromoting languages through cross-sector collaboration (6 May 05)
Event date: 6 May, 2005
Location: Woburn House, 20 Tavistock Square, London WC1
llasevent iconThe place of Languages in the curriculum (6 Dec 2004)
Event date: 6 December, 2004
Location: Room B202, 2nd floor, Russell Square Campus, Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies,
llasevent iconSelling Languages: Challenges and solutions (12 Nov 2003)
Event date: 10 November, 2003
Location: The Women's Library, London Metropolitan University
llasevent iconLanguages marketing and recruitment
Event date: 15 March, 2002
Location: British Academy, London

News item

news iconThe LAFTAs are back!

The Language and Film Talent Awards (LAFTAs) is a competition for 13-21 year olds, run by CILT, the National Centre for Languages.

news iconEuropean day of languages 2009 / Journée européenne des langues 2009

A revamped version of the Council of Europe's European Day of Languages website, including a restructured EDL calendar of events, has been launched.

news iconReview of Modern Languages in Higher Education - Invitation to Heads of HE Modern Languages departments

A review has been commissioned by HEFCE to investigate the health of modern foreign languages provision in English higher education (HE).

news iconELAN: Effects on the European economy of shortages of foreign language skills in enterprise

CILT, along with its research partner, InterAct International, have now completed their research into the effects on the European economy of shortages of foreign language skills in enterprise.

news iconDearing Review into Languages

In September 2006, the Secretary of State asked Lord Dearing to advise him on how a recovery from the falling take-up of Languages at Key Stage 4 might be achieved. The interim consultation and final report have now been published.

news iconRoutes into Languages: £4.5 million programme for languages

The Routes into Languages Programme is a HEFCE funded initiative to increase and widen participation in language study in higher education. It also aims to support the national role of HE languages as a motor of economic and civic regeneration. The Programme has been developed by the University Council of Modern Languages (UCML), the HE Academy Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies (LLAS) and CILT, the National Centre for Languages.

news iconIcelanders speak up for languages
An article on the BBC news website reports that an academic behind one of the UK's more unique courses has condemned the policy of foreign languages being optional in schools after the age of 14 (31st August, 2005).
news iconForeign assistance: working in a French school for a gap year
What is it like to work in a French school during a year abroad? Katie Phipps reports in the Guardian Newspaper, 23rd August 2005.
news iconWorld's your oyster
Numbers of language students have dropped dramatically over the past decade, so now rarity value is added to the many assets you gain from taking a language course. Donald MacLeod reports in the Guardian Newspaper (23rd August 2005).
news iconLanguages exam plea
Britain's economic future will be 'compromised' unless more students study science and foreign languages, the director general of the CBI fears (14th August 2005).
news iconLanguage teaching pilot 'working'
An article on the BBC News website, 13th July 2005, reports that a pilot scheme promoting modern languages in primary schools is proving successful.
news iconStruggling courses 'will merge'
An article on the BBC website, 28th June 2005, reports that university subjects which are struggling to attract students will have to be taught in larger, national centres.
news iconWill the Olympics help languages?
What will the London Olympics 2012 mean for education, asks Mike Baker, the BBC News education correspondent (9th July, 2005).
news iconCutbacks in languages at Oxford Brookes
The cutbacks in languages at Oxford Brookes are the subject of an article in the Education Guardian, 11th July, 2005.
news iconLanguage learning gains popularity
An article on the Guardian newspaper website, 21st June, 2005, reports that more pupils are opting to take GCSEs in Arabic, Chinese and Spanish as the traditional allure of French wears off.
news iconMinister to offer cash for languages
The Times Educational Supplement, 26th November 2004, reports that secondary schools could be given more money to persuade them to become specialist language colleges as new evidence emerges of the subjects' decline.
news icon'Fewer pupils' studying languages
An article on the BBC news website, 24th September 2004, reports that the education watchdog Ofsted has found the number of teenagers studying foreign languages at schools in England has fallen.
news iconLanguage students to help army in Iraq
An article in the Guardian, 18th February 2004, reports that students of Arabic are being encouraged to put their degrees on hold to join the British army as interpreters in Iraq.

Resource

Paper

paper iconKeep Talking
"Keep Talking" is a project aimed at motivating KS3 pupils to retain an interest in language learning and to support their teachers. This paper will describe the rationale for the project, how it is organised and funded and will report on evaluation of the impact of the project in local schools in Manchester.
paper iconResearching 'Languages Work': Why don't teenagers pick languages?
With the removal of languages from the compulsory curriculum for 14-16 year olds, the post 16 decline in language learning is starting to affect numbers taking GCSE as well. Public debate centres on the importance of pupil choice, and the alleged unpopularity of the subject among teenagers. The 'Languages Work' project has produced materials designed to improve careers guidance in languages, and so increase take up. This paper outlines findings from our development work which sheds light on teenagers' attitudes towards languages and how to address their misconceptions.
paper iconBridging the Gap: University of Manchester
The University of Manchester's Bridging the Gap project to help students transition between GCSE, As and A2 level is described. Various forums and committees were set up to identify gaps in their respective syllabuses and events days were run at a Language College to help fill these gaps. Feedback on the events was good and it is hoped that this type of event will encourage more students to take languages at university level.
paper iconArousing an interest in school students for the take up of "new" languages at university: the ATLAS project
This presentation will report on the experience of designing and piloting a website which offers an introduction to the culture and language of five less taught languages to 14-19 year olds in nine partner schools in London and the South East. It is part of the work of the ATLAS project (A Taste of Languages in School), jointly funded by the Nuffield Foundation, CfBT and UCL, addressing the decline in numbers of students taking languages at university. The project aims to arouse an interest in language study and to spur consideration of study opportunities at university, especially ab initio courses in languages not studied at school. A survey of students' attitudes towards learning languages explored the reasons for discontinuing the study of languages after the compulsory stage and also investigated students' tastes in websites. It revealed there is much interest in learning 'new' languages.
paper iconBefore navigating: Grief and the new landscape for Languages
This paper engages critically with the futures we are presently imagining in terms of the language of 'employability', 'service teaching', and 'skills'. It engages the energy of grief as of key structural import and argues that for us to learn to navigate anew, for us to be people who language and who bring the intellectual delight and the trouble of languages to life, in the university, then collective grief and the sense of loss are not marginal affairs. Indeed, the authors argue, this is the ground from which innovation, hope and imagination grow.
paper iconUndergraduate Language programmes: A personal perspective
Undergraduate language programmes that lead to qualified teacher status may be an interesting, alternative route into teaching, especially for students who do not match the typical profile. Such students, who tend to be older and to have interesting work and life experiences, are a valuable addition to our languages classrooms
paper iconStorm clouds with a silver lining: New opportunities for language programmes
Although university language programmes have undergone many difficulties during recent years, there have also been success stories. In this paper, the author balances the negative and the positive, encourages institutions to face the commercial argument head-on and provides a list of perspectives which language course providers can use to promote take-up.
paper iconProvision of 3-year degrees in Languages: An overview
Language degrees (degrees in which a modern foreign language is a named component) have often been one year longer than honours degrees in other arts and humanities subjects, as students have usually spent the third year of the course aboard. This article overviews the increasing provision of three year language degrees.

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