Rationales for Language Learning: what’s in it for Area Studies?

1. Rationales for Language Learning: what’s in it for Area Studies? Angela Gallagher-Brett & Alison Dickens Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

2. Why Rationales? • Repeated calls for investigation of rationales (Kelly & Jones 2003) • Concern about utilitarian rationales in schools • Learners are unaware of the benefits of language learning

3. Scope • Includes different levels of language learning • Includes a wide variety of languages (excludes English) • Includes Linguistics and Area Studies

4. Deliverables (summer 2004) • Report (literature review, methodology, data analysis and discussion) • Taxonomy of rationales (printed and online) • Exemplar programmes • Promotional materials for languages

5. Methodology • Identification of research base • Data collection • Initial classification and taxonomy • Consultation • Revision and final taxonomy

6. Initial Findings • Emerging categories • intercultural competence • employability • cognitive development • citizenship – global multilingualism – travel – transferable skills

7. Initial Findings • Very tentative identification of rationales applicable to different areas of society • Individual – UK – EU – Anglophones

8. Initial Findings • Individual • personal development • enjoyment • employability • cognitive development • confidence – interpersonal relations – travel – transferable skills

9. Initial Findings • UK • foreign policy • business • fill skills shortages • national security

10. Initial Findings • EU • citizenship • social cohesion • multilingual/plurilingual Europe • international cooperation

11. Initial Findings • Wider Anglophone world • resistance to English • preparation for life in a multicultural society • anti-racism • international cooperation • global markets • changing place of English in the world

12. Potential Uses • Contribution to curriculum development • Greater breadth to the outcomes of language learning • Enhancing the role of language learning across the curriculum • Promotion of language learning to the wider society

13. So what is in it for Area Studies? Three broad types of Area Studies • Language essential e.g.French Studies, Middle Eastern Studies • Language not essential e.g. someEuropean Studies, African Studies • Anglophone e.g.American Studies, Australian Studies

14. Language Essential Rationales depend on: • Language studied, e.g. French may use different rationales to Arabic • Level to which language is studied, e.g. is the target outcome proficiency or basic? • Whether a period of residence abroad is involved and what form it takes • What other disciplines are being studied, e.g. do key texts need to be read in the target language?

15. Language not essential Rationales depend on: • Whether there is contact with the target community • Issues of power, e.g. what is the relationship between the student and the culture being studied? • Cultural relativism, e.g. is it important for students to relativise their own culture? • What purpose for language learning is identified, e.g. basic conversation, access to cultural artefacts, understanding of key texts?

16. Anglophone Rationales depend on: • Whether there is likely to be contact with other linguistic groups within the target community • Importance of multicultural issues in the target culture • The place/changing face of English in the world • Cultural relativism, e.g. is it important for students to relativise the target anglophone culture?

17. Warning! Rationales for a particular language may change over time depending on the status of that language. ‘A language becomes an international language for one chief reason: the political power of its people – especially their military power’ (David Crystal, 1997: 7)