Findings from studies captured in this special issue make for compelling reading about the direction of language and literacy research in the UK and further afield.
Ian Collen, from Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, kick starts this collection by reporting on the first British Council survey of language trends in Northern Ireland. Ian finds that most language learning in Northern Ireland continues to decline, and suggests in his post how modern language learning uptake might be improved.
Sarah O’Neill, also from Queen’s University Belfast, reinforces the message of the struggles facing modern languages in Northern Ireland, and reports on the day-to-day challenges facing two modern languages teachers and their desire to reimagine the current GCSE. From the University of Cambridge,
Karen Forbes and Nicola Morea’s research explores the existence and scope of language-related policies in secondary schools in England and finds only six of the schools researched had any form of dedicated whole-school language policy. One contradiction they discovered was the tension between promoting multilingualism in schools and maintaining high standards in English use and proficiency.
