UK Language Policy: Future Directions and Challenges
Dialogue Papers in this Collection:
In this article, Baroness Coussins, co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages, outlines the current priorities for language policy in the UK, highlighting inconsistencies and fragmentation in approach, and making the case for coordination across government.
In this article, Wendy Ayres-Bennett, Principal Investigator of the MEITS (Multilingualism: Empowering Individuals, Transforming Societies) research project, argues for the urgent need for a national languages policy and for a more holistic and coherent approach towards languages across Whitehall and the devolved administrations.
In this article, Diana Sutton, Director of the Bell Foundation, explores the current policy and practice framework for supporting children with English as an Additional Language in the UK and how the available research evidence can be used to improve it.
In this article, Bernardette Holmes, Principal Investigator of Born Global, the British Academy policy project on languages and employability, reassesses the role of languages and intercultural understanding for Britain’s global position. It draws on the findings of the Born Global project and identifies the language skills that are most in demand now to establish new global relationships, and locates language skills firmly within the matrix of wider employability skills for the 21st century.
In this article, Charles Forsdick, AHRC Theme Leadership Fellow for ‘Translating Cultures’, presents the policy issues revealed and addressed by research carried out under the theme, and highlights the challenges and potential of ‘translating’ academic research to policymakers.
