LLAS Event
Building the language base for research: the impact and future of Language-Based Area StudiesEvent date: 14 December, 2012
Location: Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre SOAS, London
Research in and for LanguagesEvent date: 27 April, 2012
Location: GH510, Graham Hills Building, John Anderson Campus, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
Life and work in academia: event for new and aspiring lecturers in languages, linguistics and area studiesEvent date: 12 April, 2012
Location: Conference Aston, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET
Life and work in academia: event for new and aspiring lecturers in languages, linguistics and area studiesEvent date: 15 April, 2011
Location: Jesus College, Ship Street Centre, Oxford
Life and work in academia: event for new lecturers in languages, linguistics and area studiesEvent date: 15 April, 2010 - 16 April, 2010
Location: Aston Business School Conference Centre, Birmingham
Agendas for research in modern languagesEvent date: 25 April, 2008
Location: British Academy, London
Conducting research in English language teaching (11 May 07)Event date: 11 May, 2007
Location: York St John University
Rough guide to MFL postgraduate research (20 Nov 06)Event date: 20 November, 2006
Location: CILT, London
Linking teaching and research (10 July 07)Event date: 10 July, 2007
Location: Avenue Campus, University of Southampton
Teaching philosophy and social theory in Area Studies (4 Feb 2004)Event date: 4 February, 2004
Location: Scottish CILT
News item
Call for papers: Language Learning JournalThis special issue of the Language Learning Journal will focus on Languages in Higher Education.
Début: The Undergraduate Journal : Autumn 2011 edition now availableDébut: The Undergraduate Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies is an online peer-reviewed journal for undergraduate students of languages, linguistics and area studies. It aims to showcase scholarship carried out by undergraduate students in these subject areas. The first issue was launched in June 2010.
Reinvention journal launchedThe Reinvention Centre is a CETL based at Warwick and Oxford Brookes Universities and in September last year launched a new undergraduate journal called Reinvention: a Journal of Undergraduate Research. Following the launch issue published last year, the journal will have two issues per year in April and October. The journal is a peer reviewed publication which accepts submissions from all subjects and is open to submissions from all undergraduate students
Internationalisation 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.
Study of transition issues between English Language A'Level and undergraduate degrees in English Language and LinguisticsThe English Subject Centre and the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies wish to commission a study of the teaching and learning issues for students (and their teachers) in making the transition from English Language at 'A' Level to studying either English Language or Linguistics at degree level.
Research review in Modern Languages The review will be conducted by a project team of senior academics under the auspices of the Subject Centre for Languages Linguistics and Area Studies, in partnership with the University Council of Modern Languages.
Open University survey on educational website design and usabilityFor several years, the Open University has been investigating educational website usability and design, and have found that few researchers have considered discipline-specific aspects. In 2004, their own studies pointed to there being some discipline-specific elements in the design of language learning websites. This led them to posit that there may be deeper issues involved than those that can be addressed by generic guidelines. The OU would now like to move this research forward by asking colleagues in different disciplines about their own experience of educational website design and development.
Research projects: Call for expressions of interestThe Higher Education Academy wishes to support evidence-based approaches to policy and practice and to pursue a scholarly, research-driven agenda to improve the quality of the student experience. One objective within this general aim is to promote and set up research programmes on key themes. The Academy Research Projects scheme constitute one activity to meet this objective.
Call for proposals: Pedagogic Research Fund 2005/06 (Phase 2)The Subject Centre has funds to support a second round of Pedagogical Research mini-projects in Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies in Higher Education. UK Higher Education Institutions are eligible to apply for up to a maximum of £4000 to support a small-scale project to commence by 1 February 2005 and ending by 31 January 2006.
Project
Web Guide (GPG)
New ways of teaching literatureThis article outlines my experiences in teaching the novels of the major nineteenth-century author Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920) to second-year students at the Department of Hispanic Studies, University of Sheffield. My course (HSS 264) aims to encourage students to think creatively and independently, to appreciate not only the stimulation, but also the enjoyment derived from the study of literature. It combines traditional literature teaching with innovative methods and multimedia resources, including an electronic critical edition of Torquemada en la hoguera (1889) and Buñuel's film of Tristana (1892). It is a venture that has enabled both the students and myself to benefit from the virtues of multimedia and 'research-led teaching' in its broadest sense (Brew 2001, McGuinness n.d.).
Research Assessment in Languages, Linguistics and Area StudiesThe Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is a form of peer review on the basis of which the UK Government allocates nearly £1 billion a year of funding, This article traces the origins, history, mechanisms, shortcomings, successes and possible future of the RAE.
Paper
Pedagogic research: Issues in Languages, Linguistics and Area StudiesThis article outlines issues about the status and nature of pedagogic research in the present intellectual and evaluative environment of Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies.
Justifying selected uses of the learners first language in the foreign language classroom within communicative language teachingThe main objectives of the paper are: to contribute to the current methodological debate about the use of the learners' first language in foreign language teaching; to base the discussion on the examination of teacher classroom practices; to advocate the introduction of a controlled use of L1 in the foreign language classroom, through a careful consideration of variables such as materials and linguistic targets.
Spanish students in British universities: developing a support resource to improve their academic writing skillsA substantial number of Spanish students enter British universities each year. Those students, like other international students, have to adapt not only to a new academic environment, but also to a new culture and a new way of communicating in a language that is not their native one. This piece of PhD research has analysed the difficulties that Spanish students have to face when studying in higher education in Britain.
Taking account of affective learner differences in the planning and delivery of language courses for open, distance and independent learningThe affective side of language learning has been attracting more and more attention in recent years. Results from studies carried out with undergraduate language learners in the late 1990s into affect in language learning have indicated 'substantial links among affective measures and achievement' (Gardner, Tremblay and Masgoret, 1997: 344) and have highlighted the 'interdependent role that linguistics, cognition and affect play in FL and SL learning' (Yang, 1999: 246). However, most research on affective learner variables concentrates on classroom-based learners, and there is very little on those learning in other contexts. This paper therefore: reviews the literature on affective variables and its relevance for independent language learning contexts; examines some of the interrelationships between affective variables, and their links with cognitive styles and strategies; explores briefly the issues raised with regard to pedagogic intervention in independent learning contexts and the development of learner autonomy.
Text Modification in Foreign Language TeachingThe key points to the paper: introduction: research in progress; the importance of reading comprehension; authentic vs. modified: previous studies; criteria for modifications; preparations for the first experiment; conclusions so far.
Area Studies Collection
Development StudiesThis collection comprises research materials, dating from c.1900, in the field of development, particularly in relation to Africa. It is a useful resource for those interested in development economics, agriculture, food policy, women's studies, race and colonialism. Materials are partially catalogued and in English, Portuguese, French, German, Creole Spanish, Arabic, Dutch, Afrikaans.
Resource
Humbox
The Humbox is a humanities teaching resource repository jointly managed by LLAS.
