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Routes into Languages Sustainability Language Futures 2012 Conference, 6 th July

This report outlines the findings and impact of the Routes into Languages Sustainability Conference. It explores widening participation, employability, student language ambassadors, modules, resources, funding, teacher CPD, and collaboration for the future of language education.

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Routes into Languages Sustainability Language Futures 2012 Conference, 6 th July

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  1. Routes into Languages Sustainability Language Futures 2012 Conference, 6th July Mary Brittain Director, Routes East Midlands Sarah Schechter Project Manager, Routes East

  2. The Sustainability Report • Why? • How? • What?

  3. Why

  4. How • Audit • Report

  5. The Report • Responses from: • 46 universities • (from all 9 Routes into Languages consortia) • and 2 networks (interpreting and translation)

  6. The Findings • The areas for investigation: • Widening Participation • Employability • Student Language Ambassadors • Modules • Resources • Funding • Teacher CPD • The Future • Anything else?

  7. By March 2012, we’d engaged with… • 2,016 Schools • 2,623 Student Language Ambassadors • 228,652 Pupils

  8. Alignment with HEIs’ strategic drivers • Widening participation/OFFA • Student experience and employability • Collaboration and partnerships • Positive PR (annual reports) • “ The internationalisation of the university is one of the principle strategic drivers of the institution, which has increased its ratio of overseas students in recent years. This in turn has benefitted our work in the Region by enabling us to offer activities delivered by a vast and mixed array of SLAs. Routes is thus well placed to add to the internationalisation mission by influencing future intakes of undergraduate students” • Routes East Midlands

  9. Widening Participation (1)

  10. Routes activity included in institutional outreach?

  11. Widening Participation (2)Targeting and Engaging with Deprivation

  12. Employability (1)

  13. Employability (2): Engagement with businesses

  14. Student Language Ambassadors (1) • Nearly all unis include SLAs • Demonstrate a broad range of skills: • Mentoring…Teaching…Teaching support Presentation/public speaking skills…Engaging with businesses…Administration…Running workshops…Creating and developing resources…Event management…Research…Report-writing…Leadership…Communication skills…Motivating others…Time management, Networking…etc

  15. Student Language Ambassadors - as role models “Our students really enjoyed the festival and it has certainly made them reflect on the many opportunities that learning a languages can bring. The Student Language Ambassadors were really enthusiastic about the choices they had made and gave some really good advice to our students on the day. A really positive language experience that has opened our eyes to the vast possibilities that speaking another language can offer.”Routes Yorkshire & Humber (Teacher)

  16. Student Language Ambassadors - employability “As ambassadors we were able to develop really important communication, organization and presentation skills. The training we received at the start was also great … In terms of professional development, I’ve no doubt that the experience played a huge part in helping me to secure a full-time job as Undergraduate Recruitment Co-ordinator… ”Routes South East (Graduate SLA)

  17. Student Language Ambassadors Modules • 5 universities have credit-bearing accreditation • 3 universities working on it • 14 working exploring other forms of accreditation/recognition

  18. Resource Banks • Freely available – increases reach (HEFCE SIVs Evaluation, Curtis & Cartwright, 2011) • HUGE legacy • Reflects response to regional needs • Potential for much more

  19. Funding • Far beyond the initial sum through: • In-kind institutional contribution • HEFCE Widening Participation support/OFFA • Sponsorship • Grants • Income generation

  20. Teacher CPD • 17 universities (incidental or in response to demand) • One consortium has a specific CPD focus • Strong Links into Languages connection

  21. General • Partnerships • Collaboration • Impact • Attitudes & Confidence • Uptake of languages

  22. Partnerships

  23. Collaboration – uni uni • One of most striking successes of Routes (SQW) • Routes has brought people together for the good of the discipline (Curtis & Cartwright 2011) • Routes is supporting both interdepartmental and institutional collaboration (Worton, 2009) • Body of expert knowledge, which had previously not existed, developing round outreach and collaboration in languages (Curtis & Cartwright 2011) • Has facilitated availability of, ‘hard sell-free’, open, • diverse and impartial information, advice and guidance - of • increasing importance 2012 onwards (C & C, as above)

  24. Collaboration Uni -Schools • The (successful) model: • involves open access to large events • specific targeting of smaller numbers of schools • has enabled uni 2 uni/region 2 region support in overcoming ‘geographical anomolies’ • has enabled and fostered piloting and development of teachers’ creative ideas:

  25. “Routes has had a fundamental and sustained impact on teachers’ professional development…. If a teacher leads on a successful project in his/her own school, this represents a powerful opportunity to raise the profile of languages across the school… The part that Routes plays in all this is crucial. Many excellent, creative ideas for inspiring pupils to work with languages beyond the classroom would remain in teachers’ minds, if it were not for the professional and logistical expertise and support that Routes provides….It is quite simply, a brilliant collaborative partnership that works, and works for those for whom it is designed, the learners”. Rachel Hawkes, Comberton Village College

  26. Collaboration: Routes & New Opportunities • Opportunities arising for the Routes collaborative network to initiate new and innovative forms of collaboration • eg • JISC Community Café Project • 2012 “Why Study Languages” Calendar

  27. Impact-Attitudes & Confidence • Measured through pre-, post-event/activity evaluations • Indications of a longer-term positive impact on pupil motivation and confidence

  28. Impact – Language Uptake • Indications that Routes is influencing uptake on GCSE and P/G translating and interpreting • As per SQW recommendations, Routes Central collection and analysing of impact data (standardised evaluation forms) nationally. • Student employability perceptions (case studies) • See: http://routesintolanguages.ac.uk/impact

  29. Conclusions • The report provides evidence of: • the wealth of achievements that have been made • what would be lost • if funding were to cease • Also • highlighting what could be built on if funding continues • So….

  30. …what next? • Into (all) access agreements? • (want Langs, partnerships, WP – BINGO!) • Teacher CPD? • Part to play now Primary Langs compulsory?

  31. Over to you… • ?????

  32. For further info • Mary Brittain • Director, Routes East Midlands • Head of Schools, Colleges & Community Outreach • Nottingham Trent University • mary.brittain@ntu.ac.uk • Sarah Schechter • Project Manager, Routes East • Anglia Ruskin University • sarah.schechter@anglia.ac.uk

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