The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/1099780
The all-party group considers a decline in school exchange trips. Philip Harding-Esch reports Inside parliament At its February meeting, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Modern Languages looked at the challenges schools face in organising exchanges abroad, and invited two schools to share their experiences. In many cases, an exchange or educational trip abroad is what makes a student's love of languages 'click', setting them on the path to future study. Recent moves away from school exchanges are therefore of great concern. As early as 2014, the British Council launched its 'Bring back school exchanges!' campaign after its research showed that only 39% of state-funded secondary schools were running foreign exchanges, compared with 77% of private schools. Many schools have since abandoned their exchange programmes following Department for Education (DfE) guidance that they should request a police (DBS) check on the families that host foreign pupils. The burden is simply too much for schools struggling with the recruitment of modern foreign languages (MFL) teachers, low student uptake and (anecdotally) negative attitudes to MFL following the EU referendum. The APPG has been recording instances of international school partnerships being wound up, sometimes after decades. It therefore welcomed the DfE's announcement in January that it will provide £2.5 million in funding for schools to set up exchanges. It heard from two students of the Anglo European School (pictured), a comprehensive school in Essex where all students go abroad – without their mobile phones – for a week in their first year, as preparation for an increasingly demanding series of exchanges in countries as diverse as France, China, Lesotho and Russia. These students are about to embark on ambitious degrees and their thoughtful comments showed how important their international experiences have been in their personal development. Shirebrook Academy in Derbyshire are about to welcome their first cohort of students from abroad and they are looking forward to the positive impact this will have in this former colliery town with one of the highest Brexit votes in the country. While great care is taken over the selection of participating families, the school leaders are taking a sensible approach to DBS checks. The enthusiasm and energy of Shirebrook teachers demonstrated how a school ethos can be transformed, while the experience of the Anglo European School shows that students respond strongly to such an ethos. 6 The Linguist Vol/58 No/2 2019 ciol.org.uk/tl NEWS & EDITORIAL In the media PHILIP HARDING-ESCH The year began with the dismal news that Hull University was scrapping much of its languages provision, despite an outcry which made it to The Guardian and BBC News – the latest university to reduce or eliminate languages. There was better news for schools, as the Department for Education (DfE) announced a new £4.8m Centre for Excellence for Languages Pedagogy with nine 'hub' schools to lead a "renaissance" in modern foreign languages (MFL). Less widely reported was Cardiff University extending its digital mentoring project, encouraging MFL uptake, to 10 English schools. The TES ran an investigation into "the schools reversing the languages decline", with some brilliant insights from teachers and students. Should interpreters be worried by the launch of Google Assistant Interpreter Mode? "Cancel your children's Spanish lessons!" joked The Telegraph. Although some reviewers called this real-time translator "world changing" (Tech Radar), the devil was in the detail: "it worked nine times out of ten – we only had to repeat phrases twice." Similarly, Reuters' report on a study into the use of Google Translate in hospitals serving multicultural populations revealed that although investigators were "cautiously pleased" with results, one translation "could have led to a life-threatening medication error". Meanwhile, The Daily Mail's campaign supporting Afghan interpreters continued. Nazir Ayeen, who had interpreted for visitors including Prince Charles, was allowed to stay in the UK. However, it is still difficult for these interpreters to bring their families to join them (BBC). Roma's triumph at the Oscars was a cultural milestone not only because it is a 'foreign language film' but because it was produced by Netflix, which is instrumental in increasing non-English TV consumption. Could this herald a more multilingual culture in the UK and US? Philip Harding-Esch is a freelance languages project manager and consultant. Philip Harding-Esch works on behalf of the British Council to support the APPG on Modern Languages. TL