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1 Feb 2008 14:17:23
Universities across the East of England have teamed-up to encourage more secondary school and higher education students to study languages as part of the Government’s £4.5m Routes into Languages programme.
The initiative, which brings together Anglia Ruskin, Bedfordshire, Cambridge and the Open universities, was launched this week by Dr Lid King, National Director for Languages from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).
Routes into Languages is a DCSF and Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) initiative to increase and widen participation in language study in upper secondary and higher education, which will be delivered via clusters of universities across the English regions.
Rita Mascia, Project Co-ordinator at the University of Bedfordshire, believes the programme will open up many opportunities for those who take part. She said: “The UK is lagging behind its European counterparts when it comes to learning languages. We are now very much a part of the larger global village and are increasingly aware of the greater cultural mix within our own communities.
“It is for this reason that we will be looking to promote all the exciting career and job opportunities that learning a language and intercultural communication can bring. This programme will offer a new range of ideas and activities designed to inspire young people, university students and the business community to study languages.”
Student volunteers will take part in the programme as language ambassadors to encourage young people to think about the various study options.
One of the initiatives within the programme is ‘Language Learning in Partnership’, where local business people and students will learn together a foreign business language and the culture of that country. Bedfordshire will offer business language courses in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish to local businesses and students.
Routes into Languages will run from January 2008 for three years and is worth more than £615,000. “All the universities involved will be working closely to make a difference to language learning in the East of England,” Rita added.
For further details about the programme call 0800 328 5334 or visit www.beds.ac.uk/knowledgehub
Latest news» 2008» February» Universities join forces to inspire young people to learn languages
