Linguistics in MFL Project is making the case for the place of linguistics in school-based language teaching and taking positive action to address the crisis in modern foreign languages uptake in schools.
Linguistics has the potential to help students with their language skills in interesting and nuanced ways. Grammar is not really a list of constructions to be employed; it is an ever-changing system with rules and intricate interactions, used in different ways by different speakers. Understanding this, and how linguistic differences can encode social differences, is an essential skill for anyone wanting to use language authentically.
The aim of this project is to enhance uptake and results in MFLs by introducing students to the study of linguistics. By envisaging that, more students will be attracted to the study of languages and better prepared for advanced study.
Linguistics in MFL had its first major publication come out late last year and has engaged with stakeholders in particular on the forthcoming Department for Education/Ofqual GCSE specification changes (Language, Policy, Society).
As part of this project, we are organising an event at Newcastle University in September 2022 to feedback to community stakeholders on the project’s progress with its OWRI Language Acts-funded co-creation work. This work involves developing A-Level materials in consultation with teachers from schools around the England, which we are currently testing.