Research & Policy

The latest and most relevant information on research and policy on language teaching and learning.

NICILT School Partnership

Leading Little Linguists- Piloting an evidence-based model

The School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work (SSESW) at �鶹�� is committed to developing closer and deeper relationships with schools in Northern Ireland. Funding was granted to establish a cross-phase school partnership and pilot an evidence-based model for primary languages in Northern Ireland. This was led by NICILT and ran between September 2016 and June 2019. The project has now finished and the research report is being completed. We will post news about the forthcoming publication in due course.

NICILT Research

TRANSITION IN LANGUAGES FROM KEY STAGE 2 TO KEY STAGE 3

In September 2017, NICILT published exploratory research into transition in languages from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3. The objectives of the research were to ascertain children's and principals' experiences of learning modern languages from primary school to post-primary school in Northern Ireland. The research contributes to wider debate on the lack of statutory modern languages on the primary curriculum in Northern Ireland.

Research

Items of external research relating to languages teaching and learning

Stranmillis University College

In March 2017, Stranmillis University College published its findings of research conducted relating to the current provision of primary languages in Northern Ireland. Its principal objectives were to gather information on the former Primary Modern Languages Programme (PMLP), evaluating possible improvements, as well as detailing what provision is currently being made and what can be done to develop primary languages further in Northern Ireland.

Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional

British Council / Centre for Better Teaching (CfBT)

'Language Rich Europe - Trends in policies and practices for multilingualism in Europe' was published in 2011. To view this click .
'Languages for the Future – Which languages the UK needs most and why' was published in 2013 and to view this click .
'Language Trends 2013/14 – The state of language learning in primary and secondary schools in England' (British Council and CfBT) is available to view .
'Language Trends 2014/15 – The state of language learning in primary and secondary schools in England' (British Council and CfBT) is available to view .
'Modern Foreign Languages in secondary schools in Wales – Findings from the Language Trends survey 2014/15' (British Council and CfBT) is available to view on the CfBT website .
'The Quiet Revolution: Transformational Languages Research by Teaching School Alliances' (CfBT) is available to read .
'Language Trends 2015/16 – The state of language learning in primary and secondary schools in England' (British Council and Educational Development Trust) is available to view .
'Language Trends 2015/16 – The state of language learning in primary and secondary schools in Wales' (British Council in Wales and Educational Development Trust) is available to view .
'Language Trends 2016/17 – Language teaching in primary and secondary schools in England' (British Council) is available to view .
'Languages for the Future – The foreign languages the United Kingdom needs to become a truly global nation' was published in 2017 and to view this click .
'Language Trends 2018 – Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools in England' (British Council) is available to view .
'Language Trends Northern Ireland 2019 – Findings from surveys of primary and post-primary schools' is available to view .
'Language Trends 2019 – Language Teaching in primary and secondary schools in England' is available to view .

University of Cambridge

All Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages

March 2019: A National Recovery Programme for Languages. Click .

To view the APPG Manifesto for Languages (2014) click .

For more information on the APPG for Modern Languages visit the British Council website .

Nuffield Foundation

The Nuffield Foundation published its report 'Languages: The Next Generation' in 2000, which you can view on their website .

Ireland – One Voice for Languages

For more information on this organisation, including the response to the Languages Strategy in Ireland published in December 2017, click .

Ireland – Foreign Languages Strategy

You can view the strategy and implementation plan .

Scotland

The Scottish Government published a report in 2012 entitled 'Talking the talk, so that Scotland can walk the walk' which you can view . Also in 2012 SCILT published the 'Modern Languages Excellence Report' which you can view . To view the report 'Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach' click .

POLICY

Northern Ireland

The former Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has published a number of policies/frameworks regarding languages in N Ireland:

The Department of Education has also published the following:

England

The Languages Company provides regular and up-to-date information on language policy in England and in other parts of the UK. On their website you can access a range of policies, including '', published in 2002, which set out the Government's 8 year plan to transform the nation's language capability. You can also read and access the on their website, which was published in 2007 and addressed the falling numbers of students taking languages to GCSE. Click to visit The Languages Company website.

The Education Development Trust can provide you with information on language policy for schools in England .

The British Council can provide you with information on the Department for Education's EAL policy .

Scotland

For information on the 'Language Learning: A 1+2 Approach' to language teaching for schools please click .

Wales

The Welsh government introduced its strategy entitled ‘Global futures: A plan to improve and promote modern foreign languages in Wales 2015–2020’ in 2015. You can view this .

The Welsh Government have published various policies regarding languages in education, including 'Languages Count: the Welsh Assembly Government's National Modern Foreign Languages Strategy', published in 2002, which you can view .

For information on the government's 'Minority Ethnic Language and Achievement Project' (MELAP), click .

Regarding the Welsh language, they have published 'A living language: a language for living - Welsh Language Strategy 2012-2017'. You can view this document . For information on the 'Welsh Language Scheme' click and you can view a brief overview of Welsh language policy .

Ireland

In December 2017 the Irish Minister for Education and Skills launched 'Languages Connect - Ireland’s latest Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017-2026' and Implementation Plan 2017-2022. You can view the strategy and related documents .

The 'Official Languages Act 2003' can be accessed .

In 2009 the Language Policy Division in Strasbourg and the Department of Education and Science in Ireland published the 'Language Education Policy Profile', which looked closely at the context of language education and outlined elements and guidance for a new, overarching language policy. To view this document on the Department for Education and Skills website click .

In 2010 the Irish Government published a document entitled '20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 – 2030' which you can view .

The Department of Enterprise, Trade & Innovation also published the 'Irish Language Scheme' which came into force in October 2010 and which can be accessed .

The '2005-2007 Language Education Policy Profile' produced and published by the Language Policy Division, Strasbourg, of the Council of Europe, together with the Department for Education and Science, is online .

Europe-wide

The aim of EU language policy is to promote the teaching and learning of foreign languages in the EU and to create an environment that is friendly towards all languages of the EU Member States. Multilingualism, in the EU’s view, plays an important role in the competitiveness of Europe and its citizens. Hence one objective of its language policy is that every European citizen should master two other languages in addition to their mother tongue. Diversity of languages is an integral part of European identity and culture. The EU is founded on ‘unity in diversity’, and therefore the ability to communicate in several languages should be a prerequisite for all its members.

The European Parliament provides more information regarding EU Language Policy on their website .

For information on Education and Languages, Language Policy from the Council of Europe, click .

To visit the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe, click .

To view the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, click .

European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages

EPOSTL- The European Approach which aids and supports Initial Teacher Training

The EPOSTL a document aids and supports Initial Teacher Training by encouraging self-reflection and assessment of the didactic knowledge and skills necessary to teach languages. It also helps student teachers record and monitor their own progress and experiences throughout their training course.

The EPOSTL was developed for the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML) by a team of teacher educators from Armenia, Austria, Norway, Poland and the UK. It builds on insights from the and the .

The main body of the EPOSTL consists of:

A personal statement section which help students at the beginning of their teacher education to reflect on general questions related to teaching.
A self-assessment section, which contains lists of ‘can-do’ descriptors to facilitate reflection and self-assessment.
A dossier, in which students can document progress and record examples of work relevant to their teacher education and their future profession.

At the heart of the EPOSTL lie the 193 competence descriptors which make up the self-assessment section, which are regarded as a set of core-competences which language teachers should strive to attain. These descriptors are subdivided as follows:

Context
Methodology
Resources
Lesson planning
Conducting a lesson
Independent learning
Assessment of learning

To access the full document please click .

Here is a video about the EPOSTL.