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SUMMARY:LANGUAGES IN THE CURRICULUM - REMOVING THE MONOCULTURAL STRAIT JAC
 KET - Dr Lid King\, National Director for Languages
DTSTART:20100111T170000Z
DTEND:20100111T183000Z
UID:TALK21289@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Ewa Illakowicz
DESCRIPTION:Over 50 years ago HH Stern made a startling claim about the ro
 le of languages in the school curriculum.   Describing education systems a
 s still in the main “ monocultural\, monolinguistic and ethnocentric\,
 ”  he described the far reaching and potentially subversive consequences
  of introducing a foreign languages into this “limited monoglot world”
  .    How much more should this be the case in the 21st Century with its b
 uzzwords such as Globalisation\, Intercultural Understanding\, Plurilingua
 lism – words which did not exist when Stern was writing.\nAnd yet we sti
 ll have far to travel.  The idea of “languages for all” has become wid
 ely accepted\, but the reality in many secondary schools is one of “lang
 uages for some”.  We have made major advances in introducing languages i
 nto the primary curriculum\, but the significance of this reform hardly im
 pinges on our educational debates.   The Rose review accepts languages (li
 nked to English and communication) as a given.  The Cambridge Review  says
  very little.  This could mean that the learning of languages is now a sin
 e qua non of our conception of education\, or more likely that it is still
  regarded as desirable but not essential \nIn this talk I will examine the
  English view of language learning\, relating this to the progress we have
  undoubtedly made since Stern’s time\, but also seeking to challenge the
  idea that monolingualism is normal and that another language is just a bo
 nus.  On the contrary knowledge of more than one language combined with in
 tercultural understanding are core attributes of a human and a 21st centur
 y citizen.  Monolingualism is a handicap.  Language learning is – or nee
 ds to be - one of the golden threads  in children’s learning journey. \n
 \nDr Lid King has extensive experience of languages teaching\, materials d
 evelopment and examining at secondary level\, and in Adult and Higher Educ
 ation. As Director of CILT (1992-2003) he played a major part in expanding
  the work of the organisation\, spearheading a range of national and Europ
 ean projects\, including the establishment of the Comenius network and the
  initiation of support for Primary Languages.  He was centrally involved i
 n the development of support services on languages to British business\, a
 nd the establishment of a Languages National Training Organisation in 1997
 \,  \n\nIn September 2003\, he took up the post of National Director for L
 anguages with responsibility for the effective implementation of the Natio
 nal Languages Strategy\, and its centrepiece of an entitlement to language
  learning for all pupils in Key Stage 2. Between 2006 and 2007 Lid worked 
 with Lord Dearing on the “Languages Review” of which he is co-author.\
 n
LOCATION:Faculty of Education\, 184 Hills Road\, Cambridge\, room GS5
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