Modern Languages: Challenges and Solutions
14 October 2021, 3:30 pm–5:00 pm
In this webinar we will be looking at the challenges faced by Modern Languages in Britain today. The discipline of Modern Languages find itself at a crossroads in 2021. On the one hand, schools and universities are facing increasing difficulties in recruiting students to take modern language subjects, even as, on the other, business employers report that they are crying out for staff with better language skills. In a recent business survey, 54% of employers said they were dissatisfied with their employees’ language abilities, while another study quantified the nation’s collective ineptitude in languages as costing the economy 3.5% of GDP! In this webinar you will have the opportunity to hear about the results of a survey of A-level and university students, and A-level and HE teachers in Modern Languages, co-ordinated by the Bulletin of Advanced Spanish, as well as hear advice and suggestions from three acknowledged experts – Professor Kim Bower, Oliver Hopwood and Tom Dearing – on how the Modern Languages can address some of the challenges it currently faces.
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
Stephen Hart
3.30-3.35pm
Dr Sander Berg, convenor (Spanish, French, German: Westminster School), ‘Introduction’
3.35-3.50pm
Professor Kim Bower (Chair in Innovation in Languages Education; Sheffield Hallam University; President, Association for Language Learning), ‘Thoughts on the Challenges Faced by Modern Languages in Schools’
3.50-4.05pm
Oliver Hopwood (Head of Modern Languages, Westminster School; Chair, Committee, ISMLA) ‘Planning for Growth in Modern Languages: Some Fundamentals’
4.05-4.20pm
Tom Dearing (Senior Consultant, Language Assistants Programme; Cultural Engagement, British Council), ‘The Language Assistants Programme: A microcosm of the challenges faced by Modern Languages’
4.20-4.35pm
Stephen Hart (SELCS, UCL): ‘Report on the Bulletin of Advanced Spanish Modern Languages A-Level Survey’; https://bulletinofadvancedspanish.com/ (Summer 2021 edition)
4.35-5.00pm
Roundtable: What is the Future for Modern Languages?
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[1] Ian Bauckham, ‘What is the future for languages?’, https://www.all-languages.org.uk/features/what-is-the-future-for-languages/
Convenor and Guest speakers at the Webinar
Dr Sander Berg teaches Spanish, French and German at Westminster School. He studied French and Linguistics in his native Amsterdam. In his late twenties he fell in love with Spanish and spent seven summers working as a tour guide in Latin America. He has also travelled widely in Spain. Fifteen years ago he moved to England, where he embarked upon a part-time BA in Spanish and Portuguese at Birkbeck. This was followed by a PhD on the seventeenth-century novella writer María de Zayas. His thesis was published by Legenda in 2019. He has also translated a variety of literary and academic texts, amongst others a book on El Greco, Candide, Chrétien de Troyes’s Lancelot and Elsschot’s novella Cheese.
Aim of this webinar
In this webinar we will be asking a number of questions such as: Is the knowledge of a foreign language seen as less relevant in today’s post-Brexit world? And we will conclude with an ‘open mike’ roundtable in which you are invited to contribute your opinion, your ideas and your suggestions.
This is a free event! All welcome!
How to Register and Attend
If you would like to attend, please register via Eventbrite at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/x/modern-languages-challenges-and-solutions-tickets-178045608207
And then log in using the following login details:
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Oct 14, 2021 03:30 PM London
Topic: Modern Languages: Challenges and Solutions
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://ucl.zoom.us/j/96981051234
Or One tap mobile :
US: +12532158782,,96981051234# or +13017158592,,96981051234#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 253 215 8782 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 929 205 6099
Webinar ID: 969 8105 1234
International numbers available: https://ucl.zoom.us/u/abLfx66Gr7
More Information?
If you need more information, please email the convenor, Professor Stephen Hart at
Stephen.malcolm.hart@ucl.ac.uk
Future Related Events
10.30am-3.00pm, 3 November 2021: ‘Modern Languages Symposium’, University College School, Hampstead; for information contact Dr Helen Laurenson (helen.laurenson@ucs.org.uk)
2.00-3.30pm, 1 December 2021: ‘Re-vamping the Modern Languages A-Level’, webinar; for information contact Professor Stephen Hart (Stephen.malcolm.hart@ucl.ac.uk)