LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Life and work in academia: event for new and aspiring lecturers in languages, linguistics and area studies
Event date: 12 April, 2012
Location: Conference Aston, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET

New directions: how languages promote research and internationalisation in higher education
Event date: 23 April, 2010
Location: University of Glasgow - Gilmorehill G12 cinema - 9 University Avenue - G12 8QQ

Linguistics in Applied Linguistics MA programmes (24 May 2004)
Event date: 24 May, 2004
Location: CILT,

PG certificate in teaching languages of the wider world

From October 2009 (SOAS) the School of Oriental and African Studies in association with the Languages of the Wider World CETL will be running a new Postgraduate Certificate in teaching languages of the wider world.

Centres for Excellence in language-based Area Studies

Funding targets greater understanding of China, Japan, Eastern Europe and Arabic-speaking world.

Training the trainer: language teaching assistants
Quality requirements mean universities must ensure suitable training for all language teaching staff. Courses for language assistants are most effective when divided into two parts, with a combination of initial intensive input and subsequent reflection on practical experience in the classroom. Foreign language assistants, part-time tutors and postgraduate teaching assistants have differing developmental needs which can be met through modular elements. All assistants can qualify for membership of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education via one of two routes.

Training the trainer: staff development for language teaching
Support for the professional development of full-time staff teaching languages in higher education is poor, particularly because universities' initial training programmes tend to be exclusively generic. Furthermore, most academics' expertise is in non-language areas and there is no real culture of language pedagogy. The DELPHI programme offers a completely free online distance-learning programme in language teacher development, suitable for all university teaching contexts.