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/933479
22 The Linguist Vol/57 No/1 2018 www.ciol.org.uk FEATURES JUST REWARDS (Clockwise from top left) members of CIOL staff; CIOL Royal Patron Prince Michael of Kent talks with CIOL CEO Ann Carlisle and IoLET Chair Chris Pountain; Threlford Cup winners Lucy Jenkins (l) and Claire Gorrara (r); Prince Michael presents the awards; and Ann Carlisle introduces the event curiosity about the experiences of other people. It asks them to question their identity in relation to languages: Who am I? What do languages mean to me? Mentors are trained to listen to their mentees and encourage discussion. A typical session would involve activities that subtly draw on the existing multicultural experiences of the students, such as talking about food likes and dislikes, travel and film. Discussing these common interests helps students realise that they are already participating in a multilingual and global society. One mentor commented on this unique aspect of the project: "It is different, getting pupils to work out examples rather than giving them the answers – it certainly had an effect on the way the mentees thought about things." This self-reflexive approach encourages pupils to consider their relationship with their national identity and to connect with wider global communities. The Welsh linguascape Wales finds itself in a challenging situation where languages are concerned. Languages are marginalised by an overloaded secondary school timetable, often competing in GCSE option blocks that limit student choices. In many schools, languages have seen a significant reduction in teaching hours, and the subject is under threat of closure in some schools. The effects of these systemic challenges are reflected in the findings of the latest Language Trends Wales Report: 2 • In more than a third of Welsh schools, less than 10% of Year 10 (ages 14-15) are studying an MFL. • 44% of schools have fewer than five pupils studying a foreign language at AS level and 61% have fewer than five foreign language pupils at A level. • 64% of MFL departments have just one or two full-time teachers, with one third depending on non- British EU nationals. • Take up of MFLs is continuing to fall in Years 10 and 11, indicating that the numbers taking GCSE languages will decrease again in 2017 and 2018. As a bilingual nation, Wales should be at an advantage, striding ahead in terms of language acquisition and pedagogy. The reality is quite different. The MFL Student Mentoring Project aims to nurture and sustain a culture where languages enjoy a more prominent position within school culture. The new curriculum, which will be rolled out from 2022, features international languages as one of six core Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE), providing some hope that language will enjoy a more privileged position in new national teaching strategies. What are the benefits? Asking teachers of other subjects to give up teaching time to support a mentoring project for MFL can be daunting when they are already under pressure to cover an extensive syllabus in a set time. The mentoring project does not target syllabus content because it aims to take languages beyond the school walls. Mentoring differs from the formality of the student-teacher relationship, allowing mentees to ask different questions and to make mistakes in a non-assessed environment. They have the IMAGES © CHRIS CHRISTODOULOU