̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Jocelyn Wyburd

Opinion: Brexit and the importance of languages for Britain #3

ta385 — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 12:00:00 +0000

Just one of the motivations to vote ‘Leave’ in the UK’s recent EU Referendum was a desire to limit immigration, fuelled by a wide range of issues including strains on jobs and public services, but also by discomfort (verging on fear) about multiculturalism and multilingualism in ‘Anglophone’ Britain.

We heard that Nigel Farage disliked sharing trains with people speaking languages other than English, and shortly before the referendum it was reported that a Muslim woman on a bus had been berated for not speaking English to her son, when she was actually speaking Welsh.

Wales is a proudly bilingual nation which, through its Global Futures strategy is dedicated to promoting language learning and greater cross-cultural understanding. Scotland, meanwhile, has adopted the EU-wide goal of mastery of Mother Tongue plus two languages (where Mother Tongue might be English, Scots or another language). No such goals exist for the UK as a whole or for England, though the Department for Education’s statement of purpose for the teaching of languages in English schools opens with the assertion that “learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures”.

Since the referendum result, it has been distressing to hear from teachers that some pupils have already announced that they no longer need to attend their language classes because we will be leaving the EU. Yet the Government’s current policy is for 90% of pupils who started secondary school last year to take a language GCSE, within the EBacc suite of core academic subjects. ̽��ֱ��2015 figure was just 48%, including in languages not taught in mainstream schools but studied in the supplementary sector run by local communities. There is already a massive language teacher shortage and restrictions on movement of workforce from the EU could exacerbate this further.

Universities have a key role to play in promoting take-up as evidenced by the Routes into Languages programme. ̽��ֱ��impact evaluation of outreach events run by us at Cambridge shows a massive change in attitude towards future language learning, as reflected in a comment from Stefanie Green of Farlingaye High School after bringing pupils to our Year 10 and Sixth form events earlier this year: “Seeing how enthusiastic students are about language learning, and how it empowers them to make intellectual connections between subjects, and how it makes them more confident, is priceless. Learning languages now is more important than ever before.”

All too often, however, we hear that pupil opportunities to continue at school are stymied by other decision-makers determining which subjects they should take, or by reduction in the availability of languages in Sixth Forms. This then impacts on applications to study languages at university. It is only through these degrees that young people develop the higher levels of linguistic competence, cultural knowledge and insights, and cross-cultural agility of the ‘transnational graduate’ required by today’s global society. On a more positive note, universities are witnessing unprecedented demand for language learning (albeit frequently at low levels) alongside their degree subjects, with students expressing dismay that they withdrew (or were withdrawn) from languages earlier.

However effective we are at conveying the importance of multilingualism to future generations, we still find ourselves swimming against a culture which all too easily rejects languages other than English. In spite of advances in Wales and Scotland, the UK Government has to date failed to articulate the centrality of languages as essential skills to UK and global citizenship, not to mention trade, diplomacy, security, soft power and social cohesion. I call on it to do so within the wider context of the climate at home as well as the UK’s role in the world post Brexit.

This series also includes contributions by Professor Sarah Colvin and Dr Heather Inwood.

Jocelyn Wyburd has written more on this topic in ̽��ֱ��Linguist (Oct / Nov 2016), pp.11-13.

In the third of a new series of comment pieces written by linguists at Cambridge, Jocelyn Wyburd, Director of the ̽��ֱ��’s Language Centre and Chair of the ̽��ֱ�� Council for Modern Languages, argues that Brexit poses an additional threat to language learning in Britain which must be overcome.

Some pupils have already announced that they no longer need to attend their language classes because we will be leaving the EU.

Jocelyn Wyburd, Director of the ̽��ֱ��'s Language Centre

Who wants to talk?

Studying languages at Cambridge

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge offers undergraduate courses in Modern and Medieval Languages; History and Modern Languages; Asian and Middle Eastern Studies;Linguistics; Classics and Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic.

Inspiring events for prospective students for these subjects are run by the ̽��ֱ�� and the Cambridge Colleges throughout the year:

More information and advice for prospective students and teachers of Modern Languages and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Upcoming events organised by ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Language Centre are listed here

More information about Cambridge's Widening Participation programmes is available here

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Gift to support Sri Lankan Language scheme and public health project

th288 — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 13:04:32 +0000

LycaHealth’s donation will support two different projects to be undertaken by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� as part of the Lyca Group’s mission, to bring together people from all different backgrounds and be a part of the fabric of communities in which they have a presence.

̽��ֱ��donation will be split in two ways: £50,000 will go towards the “Sri Lankan Language Fund” enabling the ̽��ֱ�� to establish a dedicated Sri Lankan language scheme for a period of five years. ̽��ֱ��donation cost will cover intensive full-time summer courses, or part-time ‘in-sessional’ programmes at the university.

A further £100,000 will be used to improve public health in Sri Lanka through a pre-pilot project, run by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge to extend the expertise of the Sri Lankan Heart Infarction and Neurological Event Study (SHINES). Building on the ̽��ֱ��’s exceptional record of public health support in Pakistan and Bangladesh the donation will cover local medical staffing costs, laboratory supplies and equipment, travel and training expenses. ̽��ֱ��seed donation will mean that within 3-5 years, SHINES will have gained a sufficient evidence base to secure long-term funding from larger medical bodies.

Jocelyn Wyburd, Director of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Language Centre said:

"I was fortunate enough to have the chance to visit Sri Lanka on holiday last summer for the first time and loved it! I'm therefore all the more excited about this relationship with LycaHealth and to have the chance to promote Sri Lanka's languages and an interest in the country to others."

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ��'s Language Centre provides resources and courses to support language learning by all members of the ̽��ֱ�� community. It stocks learning resources in some 170 languages, including in the major two Sri Lankan languages (Tamil and Sinhala) and are able to offer supported self-study of these languages as individuals might require. ̽��ֱ��Sri Lankan language fund will enable the Centre to expand this provision, promoting the learning of Sri Lankan languages, not least to those who might be engaged in fieldwork in Sri Lanka as part of the accompanying public health initiative.

Jocelyn Wyburd added: “We will engage further with Sri Lankan students in the ̽��ֱ�� to support learners face to face and to help us to develop supplementary online learning resources. We will also be able to provide financial support to Sri Lankan students who wish to develop further their academic skills in English to support their studies in the ̽��ֱ��."

Prema Subaskaran, Chairperson of LycaHealth, said: “We are delighted to be making the donations to such a reputable ̽��ֱ�� as Cambridge, to implement study on these worth-while causes. ̽��ֱ��investment mirrors our ethos of expanding the importance of healthcare across the globe whilst bringing together people from all types of backgrounds.”

̽��ֱ��donation comes soon after LycaHealth’s first centre was opened in London. ̽��ֱ��centre, located in Canary Wharf was opened by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London. ̽��ֱ��Canary Wharf centre is the first step in LycaHealth’s growth plans, with further centres planned to open around the UK, South Asia and eventually Africa over the next five years.

Cambridge’s current £2 billion fundraising campaign for the ̽��ֱ�� and Colleges focuses on Cambridge’s impact on the world. Cambridge will be working with philanthropists to address major global problems, as it has done throughout the course of its history. More than £590 million has already been raised, including the gift from LycaHealth, and 30,000 donors have already given to the campaign.

Photographed L - R

Dr Manpreet Gulati, CEO of LycaHealth; Prema Subaskaran, Chairperson of LycaHealth; Subaskaran Allirajah, Chairman of Lyca Group.

Dr Emanuele Di Angelantonio , Director, ̽��ֱ�� Department of Public Health and Primary Care; Jocelyn Wyburd, Director, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Language Centre; Chris Chaney, Director of Major Gifts, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

LycaHealth, the new healthcare brand, have presented a donation of £150,000 to Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� to support Sri Lankan students and improve public health in Sri Lanka.

We are delighted to be making the donations to such a reputable ̽��ֱ�� as Cambridge, to implement study on these worth-while causes.

Prema Subaskaran

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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