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The Multi-lingual Mirage - reality or reality check?

The Multi-lingual Mirage - reality or reality check?. Nick Byrne, Director LSE Language Centre London School of Economics and Political Science. LETPP.

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The Multi-lingual Mirage - reality or reality check?

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  1. The Multi-lingual Mirage- reality or reality check? Nick Byrne, Director LSE Language Centre London School of Economics and Political Science

  2. LETPP • Multilingualism has been described as an "asset for Europe and a shared commitment". This may, however, be more a vision of what might be than a description of reality. Reality is mediated not only by the vision (what people think), but by policy decisions (laws and regulations) and by performance (what we actually do). • Survey www.letpp.eu • Manifesto http://www.letpp.eu/images/stories/docs/argument/letpp_manifesto.pdf • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kysPj10RQbY

  3. Bad news just got worse? • The UK is the paradigm of the monolingual euro-state, its reluctance to embrace foreign languages sits at heart of its cultural detachment from the ‘babelian’ mainland. • http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/article/35174/english-baccalaureate-languages-drop-schools-gove.html

  4. “That” letter of 2006 • Language crisis facing UK schools • Nick Byrne, director of the LSE Language Centre and lead signatory of today's letter, said reversing the decision would show that learning a language was a core skill like English and maths: • 'Compulsion may not generate hundreds of linguists but it is symbolic. It is about what we want a rounded person to be.' • http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/dec/03/schools.education?INTCMP=SRCH • http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-the-insularity-of-our-national-curriculum-2061013.html

  5. Why a language policy now? • British Academy: • Language Matters • http://www.britac.ac.uk/reports/language-matters/index.cfm • Language matters more • http://www.britac.ac.uk/policy/Language-matters-more-and-more.cfm • Feeling that we should have a policy is shared by senior management andlanguage centre

  6. The quote of the year (2009) • David Lammy MP, Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property: • “A university without languages is a university without universality.” Taken from David Lammy’s introductory speech at British Academy, 3rd. June 2009 • http://www.davidlammy.co.uk/da/101469

  7. Why a Language Policy at HE level? • To create a policy you have to engage with a variety of stakeholders • Senior Management • Middle Management • Academics • Academic-related • Administrative • Students • Business • The local community • Schools

  8. Why a Language Policy at HE level? • The importance of the process • By creating a policy you have to get it approved • To get it approved you have to go through official channels • To get it approved the visibility and status of language centres are enhanced • Once approved it has to be formally embedded or listed • Once listed it can only be removed by formal procedures thereby (hopefully) stopping or delaying changes to provision brought about by changes of senior management

  9. Why a Language Policy at HE level? • It is a tool which can both protect and promote • To protect… • Language provision • Languages • Jobs • People • To promote… • Mobility • Employability • Intellectual growth • Intercultural communication

  10. The Wulkow Memorandum • Memorandum 1: • http://www.aulc.org/documents/Wulkow_Memorandum1.pdf • Memorandum 2: • http://www.aulc.org/documents/Wulkow_Quality_memorandum_2010.pdf • Memorandum 3: • http://www.sz.europa-uni.de/de/startsite_news/linke_spalte/news1/Newsdoc/Wulkow_Memorandum_III.pdf

  11. What is the UK picture? (1) AULC www.aulc.org survey on students taking language courses • 2007/08: 49% take a language as an extra-curricular activity • 2007/08: 51% take a language as an assessed module • 2007/08 (56 institutions) • Degree module: 33257 • Extra-Cur: 31965 • Total: 65222 • 07/08: Female 66% Male 34% • 07/08: PG 25% UG 75% • EU-UK: 75% EU-other: 14% • Non-EU: 11% • 07/08: 49% • take a language as an extra-curricular activity

  12. What is the UK picture? (2) Most popular languages taken as an extra-curricular activity in across UG & PG in English HEI’s in 2007/08 • French 23% • Spanish 24% • German 13% • Chinese 11% • Italian 7% • Japanese 7% • Russian 6% • Arabic 5% • Others 4%

  13. What is the UK picture? (3) Usefulness of a knowledge of languages in career goals (2007/08) • A great deal • 28% • Quite a lot • 21% • Some help • 39% • No difference • 12%

  14. What is the UK picture? (4) Planning to work abroad? (2007/08) • UK-EU students • Don’t know: 31% • No: 8% • Yes: 61% • Other-EU students • Don’t know: 14% • No: 0% • Yes: 86% • Non-EU students • Don’t know: 20% • No: 0% • Yes: 80%

  15. What is the UK picture? (5) EU goal of mother-tongue + 2 (2007/08) • Necessary • UK-EU: 30% • Other-EU: 49% • Non-EU: 43% • Achievable • UK-EU: 44% • Other-EU: 63% • Non-EU: 83% • Desirable:96%

  16. UCL and Worton report • UCL has grave concerns about the situation in modern language learning in the UK, but it is taking a somewhat different position from simply calling for the government to reverse its policy. On 12 December 2006, UCL’s Academic Committee voted on a proposal that will ultimately require all applicants to have a qualification in a foreign language at GCSE or equivalent. This requirement will be phased in gradually over the various disciplines, thereby allowing schools time to make appropriate changes to their teaching provision. • http://www.ucl.ac.uk/vice-provost/worton/myimages1/worton_report.pdf

  17. Language policy at SOAS • Language Entitlement Programme • The Language Entitlement programme offers all current SOAS undergraduate students the chance to take one term of a non-accredited SOAS Language Centre course free of charge. • http://www.soas.ac.uk/languagecentre/file54075.pdf

  18. Language Policy at LSE • ‘The new Language Policy is a good example of the way you can tailor a policy to fit not just an institution but also a company, a town or even a country. The main thing is to make sure that the ideas fit the target group and not simply force things through'. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jiTa4qhLaU • http://www2.lse.ac.uk/language/LSELanguagePolicy.aspx

  19. LSE – the international dimension • 9000 students • 30% UG • 70% PG • 50/50 UK and non-UK • International • Multinational • Students • Workforce • Multi-lingual • London

  20. The present situation for languages at LSE • 300 students study a language as part of their degree: French, German, Mandarin (from 2010/11), Russian, Spanish • 1700 learn a language as a certificate course (as above + Arabic, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Turkish) • www.lse.ac.uk/languages

  21. £££ measures… • Language awards • Study trip bursaries • Language Week • Free language courses for any UK student who doesn’t have a GCSE…highly recommended but not compulsory

  22. Zero-cost measures… • Endorsement from the top • Buy-in from academic departments • Buy-in from employers • Greater profile in all publicity • Advantages more clearly shown • Multi-national branding extended to multi-lingual • LSE language champions

  23. Towards national policies? • Yes and No… • Universities are developing policies which fit their own profile • Momentum to get this done now • Competitive edge • Positive picture could emerge • AULC will place all policies on their website

  24. Language Policy at UCLAN • Languages 2017 • http://www.uclan.ac.uk/schools/languages_and_international/languages_2017.php • School of Languages and International Studies • http://www.uclan.ac.uk/schools/languages_and_international/index.php

  25. Grand Vision • The European Indicator of Language Competence • http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2005:0356:FIN:EN:PDF • Languages 2010 and beyond • http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/languages-of-europe/doc4021_en.htm

  26. Grand Policy • EU Languages and Language policy • http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/languages-of-europe/index_en.htm • The European Commission outlined a detailed strategic approach for the creation of a European Survey on Language Competences in 2005. • http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/languages-of-europe/doc4003_en.htm

  27. UK…is the mother of invention 1 • HE • http://www.speaktothefuture.org/ • http://www.ucml.ac.uk/shapingthefuture • http://www.llas.ac.uk/ • http://www.llas.ac.uk/700Reasons • http://pledge.languageswork.org.uk/

  28. UK…is the mother of invention 2 • Schools • http://www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk/ • http://www.whystudylanguages.ac.uk/ks4/video • Teachers • http://www.linksintolanguages.ac.uk/

  29. Videos – policy made pictorial! • Videos • http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/library/doc4296_en.htm • http://www.languageswork.org.uk/learner_zone/the_laftas/2010_winners.aspx • http://www.thinkgerman.org.uk/lafta_film_hairdresser • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzALn6OCwYU&feature=related

  30. contact • Nick Byrne • LSE Language Centre • Houghton Street • London WC2A 2AE • +44 20 7955 6899 • n.byrne@lse.ac.uk • www.lse.ac.uk/languages

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