10.00 – 16.00, Tuesday 12 February 2013
The University of Sheffield
This event is being held as part of "Language Rich Europe", a Europe-wide project led by the British Council to promote multilingualism.
We want to record the main issues and recommendations from the group, with reference to LRE areas of
focus but specifically looking at the
city.
Our position is that cities are
uniquely placed as drivers of linguistic and cultural change, they can lead on
this but also face particular challenges.
These issues & recommendations to
be fed back via LRE to European and national policymakers.
Prompt questions:
1) Citywide & local language
strategies:
i.e. what are the main issues facing policy makers introducing a language strategy? What form should a strategy take and how can it effectively be developed? How can such a strategy make a difference in reality? How do you move the strategy forward (once you have it) to effect real change? What are the barriers and how might they be overcome?
i.e. what are the main issues facing policy makers introducing a language strategy? What form should a strategy take and how can it effectively be developed? How can such a strategy make a difference in reality? How do you move the strategy forward (once you have it) to effect real change? What are the barriers and how might they be overcome?
2) Education for multilingual cities and
its role in the multilingual cityscape: what makes it different and how can it
be enriched through engagement with the cityscape?
i.e. within the school; in the city context e.g. in the community; reaching out and engaging through projects in the city e.g. architecture, media, cultural, etc. How can education help to encourage learners’ multilingual voices to be heard? How can all phases of education from pre-school to AE/HE benefit from the multilingual cityscape?
i.e. within the school; in the city context e.g. in the community; reaching out and engaging through projects in the city e.g. architecture, media, cultural, etc. How can education help to encourage learners’ multilingual voices to be heard? How can all phases of education from pre-school to AE/HE benefit from the multilingual cityscape?
3) Aspects of the multilingual cityscape
and public services:
i.e. what specific issues are there surrounding public services, economic life, media and cultural life (with reference to translation and interpreting)? How can they work together cohesively? What are the barriers? What other aspects of the cityscape might be involved? How can public spaces be transformed into multicultural meeting spaces? How can the public be engaged in this? What form can creativity take in urban spaces, and how can it reflect multilingualism?
i.e. what specific issues are there surrounding public services, economic life, media and cultural life (with reference to translation and interpreting)? How can they work together cohesively? What are the barriers? What other aspects of the cityscape might be involved? How can public spaces be transformed into multicultural meeting spaces? How can the public be engaged in this? What form can creativity take in urban spaces, and how can it reflect multilingualism?
Provisional agenda
10.00 Registration
and coffee
10.45 - 11.00 Welcome
Dr Terry Lamb, University of Sheffield
and Prof Cathy Nutbrown, Head of the School of Education, University of
Sheffield
11.00 - 11.30 An overview of Language
Rich Europe and the focus on the cityscape and public services
Lid King, The Languages Company
11.30 - 12.15 The Sheffield Languages Strategy
Dr Terry Lamb, and Dr Mike Reynolds,
former Sheffield City Councillor & Languages Sheffield
12.15 – 13.15 Lunch
Lorna
Carson, Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics, Trinity College Dublin
& LUCIDE work package leader for research
14.05 - 15.30 Breakout sessions – group discussion
Group 1: Citywide & local language strategies
Group
2: Education in the multilingual city
Group 3: Aspects of the multilingual
cityscape & public services
15.30 - 16.00 Feedback in
plenary Chaired by Dr Lid King and Dr Terry Lamb
16.00 Close
Please RSVP to: philip.harding.esch@languagescompany.com
