Modern Languages: Challenges and Solutions

3.30-3.35pm    
Dr Sander Berg, convenor (Spanish, French, German: Westminster School), ‘Introduction’

3.35-3.50pm    
Professor Kim Bower (Chair in Innovation in Languages Education; Sheffield Hallam University; President, Association for Language Learning), ‘Thoughts on the Challenges Faced by Modern Languages in Schools’

3.50-4.05pm    
Oliver Hopwood (Head of Modern Languages, Westminster School; Chair, Committee, ISMLA) ‘Planning for Growth in Modern Languages: Some Fundamentals’

4.05-4.20pm    
Tom Dearing (Senior Consultant, Language Assistants Programme; Cultural Engagement, British Council), ‘The Language Assistants Programme: A microcosm of the challenges faced by Modern Languages’

4.20-4.35pm    
Stephen Hart (SELCS, UCL): ‘Report on the Bulletin of Advanced Spanish Modern Languages A-Level Survey’; https://bulletinofadvancedspanish.com/ (Summer 2021 edition)

4.35-5.00pm    
Roundtable: What is the Future for Modern Languages?

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[1] Ian Bauckham, ‘What is the future for languages?’, https://www.all-languages.org.uk/features/what-is-the-future-for-languages/

Convenor and Guest speakers at the Webinar 

Dr Sander Berg teaches Spanish, French and German at Westminster School. He studied French and Linguistics in his native Amsterdam. In his late twenties he fell in love with Spanish and spent seven summers working as a tour guide in Latin America. He has also travelled widely in Spain. Fifteen years ago he moved to England, where he embarked upon a part-time BA in Spanish and Portuguese at Birkbeck. This was followed by a PhD on the seventeenth-century novella writer María de Zayas. His thesis was published by Legenda in 2019. He has also translated a variety of literary and academic texts, amongst others a book on El Greco, Candide, Chrétien de Troyes’s Lancelot and Elsschot’s novella Cheese. 

Kim Bower is Professor of Innovation in Languages Education at the Sheffield Institute of Education and President of the Association for Language Learning (ALL).  A Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a National Teaching Fellow, Kim is an experienced lecturer and researcher in the field of languages and teacher education and an expert in bilingual education. Her career as an initial teacher educator began in 2000 at the University of Hull. Prior to this, Kim taught French and German for 16 years leading exchanges and residential visits as well as a number of national curriculum projects. In her current role she has established a community of academics and practitioners of CLIL in Anglophone countries and is the conference chair of the Biannual International CLIL conferences hosted at the Sheffield Institute of Education.

Oliver Hopwood is Head of Modern Languages at Westminster School. He teaches French, German and Arabic, and he is also Director of Widening Access.  In January 2021 he became Chair of the Independent Schools Modern Languages Association (ISMLA). Oliver is particularly interested in curricular reform.

Tom Dearing is a Senior Consultant at the British Council. He is Head of the Language Assistants Programme for the UK. This is a large international mobility programme which sends 2000+ people overseas each year to 15 territories to teach English, and places 750 incoming participants into UK schools, colleges and universities. In his previous post as Consultant for HE and Science he managed the world’s largest open forum Higher and Further Education conference which brings together over 1000 ministers and leaders of education from around the world to discuss the role of education in tackling a range of global issues. 

Stephen Hart is Professor of Latin American Film, Literature and Culture at UCL. He is the PI of the HEIF/UKRI-funded project, ‘Developing a Partnership Between Universities and Schools in Order to Enhance the Student Experience of the Spanish A-level’; 15 March 2021-14 March 2022: KEI2021-01-32. This project is designed to improve the links and knowledge exchange between schools and universities in the field of Language Learning, and it is based on a partnership between University College London, the Instituto Cervantes, University College School, the University of Glasgow, Westminster School, Canford School and City of London School. 

Aim of this webinar 

In this webinar we will be asking a number of questions such as: Is the knowledge of a foreign language seen as less relevant in today’s post-Brexit world? And we will conclude with an ‘open mike’ roundtable in which you are invited to contribute your opinion, your ideas and your suggestions. 

This is a free event! All welcome!  

How to Register and Attend 

If you would like to attend, please register via Eventbrite at:
 
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/x/modern-languages-challenges-and-solutions-tickets-178045608207

And then log in using the following login details:

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Oct 14, 2021 03:30 PM London
Topic: Modern Languages: Challenges and Solutions
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://ucl.zoom.us/j/96981051234

Or One tap mobile : 
US: +12532158782„96981051234#  or +13017158592„96981051234# 
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 253 215 8782  or +1 301 715 8592  or +1 312 626 6799  or +1 346 248 7799  or +1 669 900 6833  or +1 929 205 6099 
Webinar ID: 969 8105 1234
International numbers available: https://ucl.zoom.us/u/abLfx66Gr7

More Information?

If you need more information, please email the convenor, Professor Stephen Hart at 
Stephen.malcolm.hart@ucl.ac.uk

Future Related Events

10.30am-3.00pm, 3 November 2021: ‘Modern Languages Symposium’, University College School, Hampstead; for information contact Dr Helen Laurenson (helen.laurenson@ucs.org.uk)

2.00-3.30pm, 1 December 2021: ‘Re-vamping the Modern Languages A-Level’, webinar; for information contact Professor Stephen Hart (Stephen.malcolm.hart@ucl.ac.uk)