The Linguist

The all-party group and the British Council considered positive developments in schools Inside parliament The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages (APPG ML) co-hosted an online webinar with the British Council. Aimed at school teachers and leaders, the 'Good News in MFL' webinar presented a series of initiatives aimed at increasing language uptake in schools. The session was chaired by Baroness Coussins, Co-Chair of the APPG and a CIOL Vice-President. Katharine Carruthers, Director of the UCL Institute of Education (IOE), spoke about the intensive Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP), which now has more than 5,000 pupils from 75 state schools in England on track to fluency in Mandarin Chinese. It is funded by the Department for Education and delivered by the IOE in partnership with the British Council. Five years after its launch, it has been independently evaluated and the report was presented at the webinar. The MEP has generally been a great success, with strong GCSE results predicted for the first cohort of pupils, who joined in September 2016. Schools interested in joining the programme can contact the IOE for more information. The second presentation was an appeal to mainstream schools to help their bilingual students get their 'home language' GCSE qualification this year (see page 14 for an analysis of the crisis facing these students). The speakers were Suzanne O'Farrell, MFL Consultant for the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Bernadette Clinton, a languages consultant working across a number of schools, and Andy Jackson, Head of MFL at Gladesmore Community School. They gave key messages from the point of view of schools leaders, including guidelines for what schools, teachers, exam boards, parents and students can do; and explained how local authorities and multi-academy trusts can work in a coordinated way to facilitate these exams. The final presentation came from Eva McManamon, Senior Qualification Manager at Pearson, about the new Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) in languages. A stand- alone qualification, the EPQ is often taken alongside GCSEs or A levels, and is worth half an A level (up to 28 UCAS points). It can be an attractive option as it is based on independent learning through extended project work, and can be delivered online or in blended learning, as well as face to face. 6 The Linguist Vol/60 No/2 2021 thelinguist.uberflip.com NEWS & EDITORIAL In the media PHILIP HARDING-ESCH The year began with confirmation that the Erasmus+ programme would be replaced in the UK by the new Turing scheme. "Turing will have big shoes to fill", wrote Paul Harrison in Schoolsweek, while in the TES headteacher Rob Ford advised schools on "fostering an international mindset". The Guardian reported UK universities' fears for the future of language degrees if Turing fails to replicate key elements of Erasmus+. At the same time UCAS figures showed undergraduate numbers in STEM subjects soaring while language entries "slumped". The Evening Standard ran an opinion piece warning: "languages mustn't become the preserve of the rich." Language students face a more immediate problem on their year abroad, with The Guardian highlighting the "onerous" new paperwork needed to travel to the EU. Some have to pay extortionate fees for visas, hire solicitors or remain stuck at home sorting things out. Andreas Buerki of Cardiff University wrote an interesting piece in The New European analysing "new patterns" and terminology which have emerged in the English language during the Brexit process: "perhaps a new awareness that language is a battleground". The effects of lockdown continued to make language news. The Bell Foundation published a report showing English as an additional language (EAL) pupils are "among groups likely to suffer the most learning loss during lockdown", partly due to the language barrier in accessing remote learning. The TES shared the foundation's recommendation that they be allowed to study the curriculum in their own language. A fascinating insight into language issues in healthcare came from Nursing Times, as the author described her discovery of a bedside 'interpreter machine', enabling vital interpreting via an iPad. She was "blown away" by the availability of such a service: "Translators are available in most trusts, but obviously they cannot stay by the bedside for the duration of the patient's stay." 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 MANDARIN EXCELLENCE Chinese class at St Mary Magdalene Academy © MEP

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