We need languages graduates to steer us through our post-Brexit troubled...
Languages departments are closing as undergraduate numbers fall. This must change to protect the UK’s international relations Just after the first world war, the UK produced its most comprehensive...
View ArticleAmerica’s origin myth, and its reputation at risk | Letters
Contrary to popular belief, the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci has little to do with the name of the modern-day continent, writes Colin Moffat. Plus Patrick Billingham says Donald Trump has...
View ArticleFrench and German GCSEs to be marked less harshly, Ofqual rules
Regulator responds to students being put off foreign languages due to grading severityFrench and German GCSEs are to be marked less severely from next year amid concerns that students are being put off...
View ArticleWhy are British people such nervous linguists? Shame | Adrian Chiles
I have failed at French, German, Croatian – and now I’m learning Welsh‘No other subject,” says my language teacher, “is the cause of so much shame. You might struggle with other subjects, but you’ll...
View ArticleSoas survived the end of empire but can it recover this time?
London’s School of Oriental and African Studies was already struggling as modern language study declines in UKSoas to slash budgets and staff as debt crisis worsens in pandemicFor more than 100 years,...
View ArticleUniversity subject profile: modern languages and linguistics
Learn to speak and write in another language, along with literature, history and cultureWhat you’ll learnOnly 32% of young people in the UK can read and write in another language, compared with 90% of...
View ArticleRoy Wisbey obituary
My friend and colleague Roy Wisbey, one of the leading figures in British German studies, has died aged 91.Roy revolutionised the study of modern languages by pioneering the field of digital...
View ArticleFears language degrees at risk as Erasmus replacement focuses on UK trade agenda
Study of modern languages at university has fallen by 38% in 10 years. Will the post-Brexit Turing scheme make things worse? The dramatic fall in students taking language degrees in the UK could...
View ArticleIan Wallace obituary
My father, Ian Wallace, who has died aged 78, was a lecturer in German and European studies. He was drawn to exile studies, which follows the Jewish writers who had to leave Germany under Hitler, but...
View ArticleDear Gavin Williamson, if Latin is about levelling up, I have other ideas |...
Why not emulate private schools with class sizes, playing fields, music facilities and modern languages?Just as many of us are thinking ahead to winter and a possible next wave of Covid, worrying about...
View ArticleThousands of British students in limbo with post-Brexit visa chaos
Students delay studying abroad and some even switch continents because of visa delaysThousands of British students have been hit by post-Brexit visa hurdles, leaving many struggling to complete their...
View ArticleAlain Viala obituary
My friend and colleague Alain Viala, who has died aged 73 of a heart attack, was emeritus professor of French literature at Oxford University. Alain was celebrated for his work on early modern France...
View ArticleTeachers reject plans to have pupils learn 1,700 words for language GCSEs
Making pupils in England ‘grind through list of words’ will not encourage uptake, DfE toldProposals to make pupils in England learn a set of up to 1,700 frequently used words as part of government...
View ArticleCan you say Squid Game in Korean? TV show fuels demand for east Asian...
Japanese and Korean are in top five choices in UK this year at online platform DuolingoWhether it’s down to Squid Game or kawaii culture, fascination with Korea and Japan is fuelling a boom in learning...
View ArticleInterest in anime and K-pop drive boom in Korean and Japanese degrees
More students now study Korean than Russian, and Japanese than Italian, report showsInterest in anime, gaming and K-pop is fuelling a boom in Korean and Japanese university degrees that is helping to...
View ArticleLoss of school trips to the UK has been a Brexit tragedy | Letters
New visa requirements mean that EU students will go elsewhere, writes Karen Brandes, while Brigid Hoffmann worries about the consequences for language learningThe slump in school trips to the UK...
View ArticlePlan for pupils to learn 1,700 words for language GCSEs gets go-ahead
Teachers criticise DfE decision, saying narrow focus on grammar and vocabulary will put students offThe government is to push ahead with changes to languages teaching in schools that will result in...
View ArticleFrancisco Perez Navarro obituary
My friend Francisco Perez Navarro, who has died aged 96, was a writer and teacher who loved lively conversation, especially when he could share his passion for art and culture over a glass of beer or...
View ArticleTeachers encouraged to use Taylor Swift lyrics to make Latin accessible
Cambridge University academic writes guide suggesting Latin should be taught more creativelyLatin teachers are being encouraged to use Taylor Swift’s lyrics, Disney songs, Minecraft and fan fiction to...
View ArticleValentina Polukhina obituary
My friend and colleague Valentina Polukhina, who has died aged 85, was the leading authority on the life and work of the Nobel Laureate poet Joseph Brodsky. She wrote more than 20 books of literary...
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