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Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/493117
thelinguist.uberflip.com APRIL/MAY The Linguist 21 FEATURES support from the devolved administrations, the UK Strategy is also part of a wider network that promotes the value of language learning. While another Hefce-funded programme, Routes into Languages, focuses on promoting languages and the year abroad to pre- university students, the IU's Go International campaign aims to build capacity in the HE sector to promote study and work abroad. It does that by providing central resources, such as information on funded opportunities, and promoting the benefits of study and work abroad – from two-week summer schools to a research exchange as part of an MA. Most importantly, it is able to provide a collective voice for universities on how government policy affects international student mobility. Go International builds on the excellent work that the sector (and the British Council, as the National Agency for Erasmus+) has done to increase numbers on the Erasmus programme and to help the HE sector to diversify the type and location of international opportunities offered. It is working with the sector and with government to enable students from a wider range of disciplines and backgrounds to access mobility programmes. It is also working with the British Council to support the implementation of the new international credit mobility, which opens up possibilities to send small numbers of students to non-European destinations under the Erasmus+ funding scheme. Breaking barriers Language capacity is seen by many as one of the major barriers to mobility. As Head of Go International, I am frequently asked how students can access overseas opportunities if they don't speak the language. I counter that universities need to give a clear message that all students can go overseas. A lack of language skills is just one of many factors, including finance and curriculum constraints, that might come into play. If a student has another language it facilitates travel. But for non-linguists, going abroad can foster confidence and provide an incentive to learn a language when they come home. The programme's web portal, www.go.international.ac.uk, hosts personal testimonies from students from more than 35 countries and 5 continents. Many are not studying a language. In fact, the number of English-taught programmes across Europe has proliferated in order to attract students from outside Europe who have English as a second language. These English-taught programmes are also available to UK students, which has contributed to the continued increase in Erasmus participation. There has been lots of press coverage about the English-taught programmes in the Netherlands, but many other countries, including France, Germany and Spain, are now offering undergraduate and postgraduate modules and programmes in English. This opens up new partnership possibilities for UK universities that want to develop exchange agreements across Europe. There are also more English-language opportunities outside Europe, particularly in Asia. Even if they are taught in English or have a placement with an English-speaking company, students travelling to a non-English-speaking country will need some language skills. They need to buy groceries, talk with neighbours and colleagues, read signs, and understand something of the culture. Consequently, many universities include a language element in a year abroad, even when the programme is taught in English. The new Horizon programme at the University of Leeds allows non-linguists to study abroad in Argentina, Japan, Thailand, Israel, China, Korea and Morocco but requires them to complete an in-country language course. Other universities are working collaboratively to ensure that all non-language students going overseas receive some form of language training before they leave. The language department at the University of Southampton, for example, offers free tuition to all students going on a mobility programme organised by the university. Outward student mobility may not have been an obvious part of the Government's strategy for stimulating language learning, but it is proving to be an inspiring experience that whets the appetite for language learning. Many students report that their experiences have given them a desire to learn a language on their return. So we see them signing up for Danish, for Dutch, for Mandarin – all contributing to that upturn in language learning reported by AULC. And inspiration can come from the most unlikely places: in one case, a Mathematics student spent a year in California, then came home and signed up for a Spanish course. It's never too late to learn a language, after all. For non-linguists, going abroad can provide an incentive to learn a language when they come home MOBILITY BENEFITS An international student at Saint Louis University in Madrid (left); and (opposite) overseas students at Birkbeck University in London during an orientation session. There are still many more international students in the UK than British students overseas 22/10/10 VIA FLICKR (CC BY-ND 2.0) 'I NTERNATIONAL STUDENTS' ORIENTATION 2013', BIRKBECK MEDIA SERVICES, 23/9/13 VIA FLICKR (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)