The Languages Company is no longer listing current news items.
For up-to-date news on language policy & practice in the UK, go to:
• Association for Language Learning http://www.all-languages.org.uk/
• Speak to the Future, the Campaign for Languages: www.speaktothefuture.org
• All Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages – Twitter account @APPGFML
For a record of recent news please see the Language Company News archive:
News archive from The Languages Company:
The International Federation of Language Teacher Associations, who work closely with The Languages Company including as Association Partners on the LUCIDE project, will be holding their World Congress at Niagara Falls next year: 26-28 March 2015.
The Call for Papers is now open, and closes soon: 1 May 2014. Find out more at http://fiplv.com
The European Commission’s Erasmus programme of funding for cultural and work exchange between institutions and individuals has been relaunched with an increase of over 40% in its budget. It is called Erasmus+
Institutions & individuals can get funding for work, study or training abroad, and the money is available now.
Any individual or institution interested in study, training, work experience or volunteering abroad; or in organising a transnational partnership for their education, training or youth organisation, may be eligible for funding from Erasmus+.
Erasmus+ is the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport. Funding has been increased by 40% and we encourage everyone in the UK who is eligible to apply.
The UK national agency for Erasmus+ is the British Council and they have a specially-developed web portal for anyone in the UK who is interested in accessing this funding. Interested parties should:
For information about Erasmus+ from the European Commission itself, visit http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htm
The British Academy and the Guardian are holding a national Language Festival throughout November 2013 to celebrate the UK’s diverse cultural richness and raise the profile of language learning among learners of all ages.
The Language Festival website, hosted by the Guardian, provides a platform for schools, higher education institutions, policy makers and businesses from across the UK to debate and explore all the benefits of language learning.
It also includes useful resources, such as a series of downloadable packs for primary and secondary schools, and businesses, to provide ideas for organising events to celebrate languages.
The British Academy will also be hosting a series of public events.
Everyone is invited to get involved, and join the debate on Twitter using #languagesdebate
The British Council is promoting the importance of building an international dimension into the education of young people in the UK at primary and secondary levels. The IEW section on the British Council website has lots of information on how to get involved and how to promote language learning. For details see: http://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org
Not everyone will become a fluent linguist, but the aspiration for everyone to have 1000 Words in another language is realistic and achievable. The Speak to the Future Campaign is leading the way with the new 1000 Words Challenge. The key message is: Our society and our economic prospects will be vastly transformed for the better if everyone has 1000 Words of another language! For more information go to: www.speaktothefuture.org/
Join the national debate on the importance of language learning and help us put languages back on the agenda.’ The Guardian, supported by the British Academy, is running a series on the importance of languages in our society. Join the language festival on the campaign website: www.theguardian.com/education/series/the-case-for-language-learning