LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Thriving for the public good
Event date: 11 September, 2013
Location: The British Medical Association, London

Supporting students’ learning outside the classroom: promoting independence and autonomy in LLAS disciplines
Event date: 27 May, 2010
Location: Leeds Metropolitan University, Rose Bowl

A Common Framework for Chinese
The authors look at the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF) and posit that a complementary Europe-wide framework for Chinese is much needed. They claim that this is necessary as the CEF is politically, linguistically, socio-culturally inadequate for the issues facing the teaching and learning of Chinese. A number of ways of taking this idea forward are introduced.

Go forth and multiply: the University of Ulster (UU) experience of extending language provision at Magee Campus
Magee Campus has developed new diplomas and undergraduate degree courses in modern languages in response to the perceived decline in demand for language places at university level. This article will assess circumstances prevailing in Northern Ireland with regard to language provision, then examine the specific experience of language provision at UU, the Magee campus in particular: previous language provision, centred around one course, has been extended to combine with new options from subjects within Arts, Business, Social and Health Sciences. It will reflect on the reservations of some languages staff and others to this new association. It offers an insight into the changes and pressures imposed on languages staff UK-wide, within - as reflected in the title - an environment of adapt or perish.

Storm 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.

New contexts for university languages: the Bologna Process, globalisation and employability
So far, the Bologna Process is changing university studies in all countries except the UK. However, the author posits that the globalisation and commercialisation of HE may overtake the Bologna agenda and goes on to discuss this paradox. Prior strategies for emphasising employability have perhaps been badly-implemented and so suggestions for future improvement are included.