Towards a Language Policy at LSE

Nick ByrneAcademic and Professional

Development/Language Centre

Why a language policy now?

• British Academy: Language Matters http://www.britac.ac.uk/reports/language-matters/index.cfm

• Worton Review: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2009/09_41/

• Feeling that we should have a policy is shared by senior management and language centre

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

LSE – the international dimension

• 9000 students• 30% UG• 70% PG• 50/50 UK and non-UK• International• Multinational• Students• Workforce• Multi-lingual• London

The present situation for languages at LSE

• 250 students study a language as part of their degree: French, German, Mandarin (from 2010/11), Russian, Spanish

• 1500 learn a language as a certificate course (as above + Arabic, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Turkish)

• www.lse.ac.uk/languages

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

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%

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%

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%

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%

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

£££ 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

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

Towards a European consensus

• Wulkow Memorandum http://www.sz.euv-frankfurt-o.de/de/startsite_news/news1/Newsdoc/The-Wulkow-Memorandum.pdf is being adopted by national associations of university languages centres and by CERCLES www.cercles.org

• European universities could start to cross-market their language offer based on or using existing models such as UNIcert or agreed “kite-marking” accreditation procedures http://rcswww.urz.tu-dresden.de/~unicert/e/index.htm

LSE commitment to language projects

• CMC • Communicating in Multilingual

Contexts The project is designed to cater for the needs of mobility students prior to exchange programmes with particular focus on academic language skills development.

• EXPLICS • The aim of the EXPLICS project is

to improve language competence of students by preparing models of best-practice in how to exploit Internet case study and simulation templates

Contact details

• Nick Byrne

• n.byrne@lse.ac.uk