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Language Policy

Language Policy. UCML Winter Plenary 18 January 2019. Wendy Ayres-Bennett. Mapping the policy landscape. Modern Languages – one of the disciplines where relatively little policy engagement

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Language Policy

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  1. Language Policy UCML Winter Plenary 18 January 2019 Wendy Ayres-Bennett

  2. Mapping the policy landscape • Modern Languages – one of the disciplines where relatively little policy engagement • Engagement often restricted to Department for Education, campaigning about grading, availability of qualifications in the so-called lesser-taught languages, etc. • Unfocussed calls for more priorities for languages ‘Languages everywhere and nowhere in government’ • Need to map out where languages are important in government, and develop a national languages strategy • Relate language issues to key government priorities such as health and well-being, literacy, skills, industrial strategy… ‹#›

  3. Speaking to government and policy-makers • How do modern linguists currently speak to government and policy-makers? • Which are the most effective channels in your view? ‹#›

  4. National Languages Policy Workshop (October 2015) • National Languages Policy Workshop October 2015 in Cambridge, co-chaired with Baroness Jean Coussins, APPG on Modern Languages • Public-facing morning and round table in the afternoon under Chatham House rules • Difficulty of identifying relevant policymakers: • Civil servants don’t necessarily recognise the language dimension to their portfolio • Churn, especially in Whitehall • Silos/responsibility spread across different ministries • Time-consuming and undervalued work • Support of Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP), the Cambridge Strategic Research Initiative in Public Policy; use of networks such as PaCCS (Partnership for Conflict, Crime & Security Research), APPG ‹#›

  5. Bringing people together… • Representatives from MoD, FCO, GCHQ, Defence Centre for Language and Culture, BIS, UKTi, DfE, Ofsted, Hefce, Education Scotland, Welsh government, APPG on Modern Languages, BA • Timely for the devolved administrations because: development and implementation of Scotland’s 1 + 2 policy and Wales’s Bilingualism + 1 (Global Futures); Irish language issue in NI • The majority of these met for the first time – convening power, also decision to reinforce the small cross-Whitehall language group (and appointment of a languages champion in the FCO) • Need for more cross-government collaboration and champions in Government: call for a Chief Government linguist ‹#›

  6. The value of languages Recommendations and case studies Distributed via the APPG on Modern Languages to key government figures Media coverage Widely cited, e.g. in the House of Lords debate on Languages in the Armed Forces, 27 October 2016; by the European Commission; House of Commons Briefing Paper: Language Teaching in Schools (England), 19 December 2018 ‹#›

  7. Policy work embedded in MEITS “LSP publishes high-quality peer-reviewed language research in accessible and non-technical language to promote policy engagement and provide expertise to policy makers, journalists and stakeholders in education, health, business and elsewhere.” Launched BA May 2017 at an event chaired by Bridget Kendall Online policy journal with different types of papers: • Policy papers • Opinion articles • Dialogues • Research Lab Reports Channel for OWRI and the ML community ‹#›

  8. Languages Society and Policy The 10 policy papers published to date are achieving good reach: • 29,982 users • 59,179 page views • 38,427 sessions   • 193 countries worldwide (Top 5: UK, USA, India, Vietnam, Australia) Florence Myles: Learning foreign languages in primary schools: is younger better? David Adger, David Hall, Jenny Cheshire: Multicultural London English and social and educational policies Dina Mehmedbegovic and Thomas Bak: Healthy linguistic diet: the value of linguistic diversity and language learning across the lifespan Charles Burdett: Moving from a National to a Transnational Curriculum: the Case of Italian Studies ‹#›

  9. Collaboration with CSaP • ThreePolicy Fellows attached to the project through the Policy Fellowship Programme The CSaP Policy Fellowship programme ‘delivers opportunities for decision makers from government and industry to forge useful and lasting connections with researchers’. Intense exchanges at the beginning of the two-year association – co-creation of the research and pathways to impact • Maria O’Beirne (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government), Linsey Farrell (Northern Ireland Executive), Nicola Davis (FCO) • Presentation to Policy Leaders Fellows, all at Permanent Secretary or Directors-General level • Attendance at regular CSaP workshops and networking events ‹#›

  10. Collaboration with AHRC Leadership Fellow in MLs Janice Carruthers, AHRC LF in MLs is also Co-I on MEITS, providing opportunities for collaboration and ‘double badging’ of events: • Research project: Janice Carruthers’ project on the devolved administrations complements work I am doing on languages in Whitehall • Policy workshops: 3 workshops already planned by MEITS have been expanded to give greater emphasis to the devolved administrations ‹#›

  11. Policy workshops • 3 planned, culminating in a National Languages Policy Workshop in December 2019 at Westminster • December 2017: policy workshop on Languages and Social Cohesion • Focus on two aspects, the indigenous languages and community languages of the UK, led to a policy briefing on the Community Languages question (basic facts and figures and background information, together with a summary of the major policy issues, and some specific short-term policy ‘asks’) • Created opportunities for collaboration/piloting of best practice through the Policy Fellows, e.g. School of Sanctuary in Belfast ‹#›

  12. Policy workshops • December 2018: policy workshop on Modern Languages Educational Policy in the UK (part of 5 way collaboration) • Focus on both primary and secondary education, with crucially a comparative perspective comparing policy across the four jurisdictions of the UK → sharing of best practice as well as areas for improvement • Policy briefing published this week ‹#›

  13. Other workshops and meetings • Presentation of MEITS to representatives from the Department of Health, Department for Communities and Irish language education, NI (June 2017) • Thomas Bak: keynote lecture for the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture (January 2017) • APPG on MLs: presentation of MEITS work on cognitive advantages of multilingualism (January 2018), meeting at the Dept. for Health • Meetings with the Defence Academy, FCO, etc. • Meeting with the ONS about wording of the Census question • Meeting with DfE ‹#›

  14. Other opportunities • Developing web resources for policymakers linked to MEITS and the AHRC LF in MLs • Flexible funding award assessing success of e-mentoring in FLL in Wales; this has led to a pilot project funded by the DfE • Providing background information for politicians for a possible Irish Language Act ‹#›

  15. For more information ‹#›

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