Translation and Linguistics Research Group Seminar: Dr Ursula Lanvers [Open University] 'SPEAKGLOBAL: Raising awareness of global linguistic issues, changing attitudes towards language learning in secondary schools: a research-based teaching pack'

Over the last decade, the UK has seen many initiatives and interventions to foster language learning motivation to counter the downwards trend in uptake, including Routes into Languages, the success of which remains to be evaluated. No such initiatives have foregrounded Global English as a demotivator. 

This talk reports on a BAAL-supported project bringing together academics, secondary school teachers and students. Ursula Lanvers & Kristina Hultgren (OU) developed a new Routes into Languages (https://www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk) programme, focusing on global linguistic issues and cognitive advantages of mutilingualism. The aim is to raise awareness of multilingualism and change students’ attitudes to language learning. The SPEAKGLOBAL Routes into Languages teaching pack, available for any Secondary teacher to download and deliver themselves, focuses on a) spread of Global English b) global language diversity c) benefits of multilingualism, thus thematises the ‘Global English as demotivator’ problem directly, but also draws attention to other lingua franca. The teaching pack was trialled in six Year 8 & Year 9 classes, and was proven to change attitude towards language learning and multilingualism, tested via pre/post questionnaire. 

This talk will present some extracts of the teaching pack and both qualitative and quantitative student feedback.

Contact m.a.goeta@durham.ac.uk for more information about this event.