Angela Gallagher-Brett

Teaching languages in higher education

Across a number of anglophone countries, there seems to be a crisis in language learning. Falling numbers of students studying languages have become a major preoccupation for language educators (Doughty 2011). In the UK context, where education is devolved to the four constituent countries, there are widespread perceptions of a lack of public value attached to language learning (e.g. Coleman 2009; Worton 2009). Declining uptake in languages at the ages of 14 and 16 in the UK has been well documented (e.g. various Language Trends surveys, CILT, ALL and ISMLA 2006, 2007, 2009; McPake et al. 1999). The sense of crisis appears to be particularly marked in higher education. The UK has witnessed falls in undergraduate student numbers which have resulted in threats to provision and to actual department closures in universities (Footitt 2005; Barclay 2011). This in turn has led to concerns about shrinking national capacity in languages (Footitt 2005), threats to the UK’s research base (British Academy 2009, 2011) and to the ability of UK firms and UK citizens to succeed internationally (Worton 2009). Similar downward trends and concerns have been reported in higher education in Ireland, Australia and the United States. A recent Australian survey of university language departments (White and Baldauf 2006) echoed the findings of Footitt’s (2005) UK survey, highlighting a widespread belief that languages at university were ‘under-valued and under-resourced’ to such an extent that this was ‘becoming a serious national problem’ (35). This in turn prompted the prestigious Group of Eight leading Australian universities to publish in 2007 a ‘rescue plan’ for languages which calls for ‘urgent action [. . .] to avoid the serious educational, national security and economic consequences of becoming monolingual’ (Go8 2007: 1). Their report notes that the percentage of Australian final-year secondary school students graduating with a second language had fallen dramatically from 40% in the 1960s to 13% in 2007. In the Republic of Ireland, there is no requirement to study a ‘third’ language (i.e. other than the second national language, English or Irish) at any point in mainstream education system. In the wake of the publication of a National Language Strategy for Ireland, the Irish Times reported that ‘Ireland is miles behind’ other countries in promoting languages (Kerr 2011). The National Strategy itself highlights ‘the lack of coherent language policies at both institutional and national levels [which] means that Irish citizens are often denied high-quality language learning experiences and opportunities’ (RIA 2011: 7). More specifically, the Strategy singles out the threat implied by the erosion of the ‘third language’ entry requirement for the constituent colleges of the National University of Ireland (NUI):

‘Inspiration, ideas, encouragement’: teacher development and improved use of technology in language teaching through open educational practice

This paper describes a study undertaken with language tutors who were engaged in a project to publish and create open educational resources. We sought to investigate how far working with open content could offer language tutors opportunities to develop professionally and acquire new technical knowledge for language teaching. Language educators face particular motivational challenges, and often have a lack of training in the use of technology for teaching. We applied a self-efficacy theory of motivation to understand the extent to which tutors felt confident and capable about open practice, and whether they perceived development benefits. On the whole our findings suggest that open practice may be an effective vehicle for professional development, for enhancing knowledge of technology in teaching and for alleviating some specific motivational barriers faced by language educators. However, they also revealed significant issues which challenge tutors’ likelihood of continuing with open practice, which would need to be addressed for the benefits of open working to be fully realised.

Disciplinary Disjunctures in the Transition from Secondary School to Higher Education Study of Modern Foreign Languages: A Case Study from the UK.

Discussions of student transition from the study of languages in UK high schools to the study of languages at university usually focus on the vertical transition, comparing the differences in curricula and approach to languages taken in each sector. Whilst acknowledging that this aspect of the student transition is important, this article explores the transition in a broader disciplinary context by raising questions about how other subjects students have studied before entering higher education may help or hinder the transition. As well as drawing on relevant literature in the Arts and Humanities field, we also discuss the findings of a case study, which investigated the views of students and teachers in one English university and one English high school.

Innovative language teaching and learning at university: enhancing employability

Welcome to the second volume in this series of papers dedicated to Innovative language teaching and learning at university. This publication follows in the footsteps of Cecilia Goria, Oranna Speicher and Sascha Stollhans, who hosted the 2015 conference at the University of Nottingham and edited the very first proceedings in the series, dedicated to the theme of “enhancing participation and collaboration” (Goria, Speicher, & Stollhans, 2016). InnoConf, as it has now come to be known, is a series of annual symposia primarily aimed at languageteaching practitioners in Higher Education (HE).

Employability for languages: a handbook

The newly formed Linguistics and Modern Languages subject area at University of Huddersfield sought to revamp our curriculum to embed employability into our teaching so that students could understand the relevance of their subject to life outside and after university. To this end, we decided to adapt and specialise the generic placement module that was compulsory in the School of Music, Humanities and Media for our particular students to service their specific needs and linguistic skillset. The result is an innovative second year placement module called Language in the Workplace. With the help of funding from the Higher Education Academy (HEA), we carried out a research project to ensure our placement module is as effective as possible. This involved assessing our students’ employability skills and needs, gathering the opinions of placement providers and employers, and putting together case studies on our graduates’ employment experience.

Building a bridge to pedagogic research: teaching social science research methods to humanities practitioners

Disciplinary differences in approaches and methodologies to research present an important challenge to humanities practitioners wishing to engage in pedagogic research. This article outlines the development of a social sciences research methods workshop as an example of an intervention to provide a bridge for modern languages practitioners to engage with pedagogic research. The workshops have also raised questions about the capacity of UK higher educational institutions to provide research training for their staff at introductory levels, as well as identifying barriers to languages practitioners contributing to “generic” pedagogic research. Overcoming these barriers is a long term process, but in the shorter term the workshops are good way of raising awareness of social science research methods and offering a possible route into publishing pedagogic research which has an audience beyond the languages community.