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Inter-ethnic communication was identified as key to building social stability in Macedonia after the political turmoil of 1999-2001. But the three main ethnic groups - Serbian, Macedonian and Albanian - had only a low level knowledge of each other's languages. Professor Benati was able to apply his pioneering research on how best to help people learn a second language to provide the basis for (a) a fundamental change in the country's language education policy and (b) a significant improvement in grammar teaching methodology throughout Macedonia.
The EPP Project identifies criterial features for second language acquisition. It has engaged stakeholders in the teaching and testing of language learners. This is facilitated by the EPP network and website. The project has enabled Cambridge Assessment to define the English language constructs underlying Cambridge examinations at different proficiency levels more explicitly. The work has improved the tests themselves, but also allowed Cambridge Assessment to better communicate the qualities of their tests for accreditation and recognition. Stakeholders are more actively engaged through provision of resources for teachers, testers, ministries of education etc., on the website, and in seminars. The project has led to further research with an international language school, which has led to teachers and parents of the school pupils being more aware of the needs for successful second language acquisition.
The research of Professor Paul Simpson and Dr Joan Rahilly has informed and enhanced the broader awareness and understanding of English language in the context of secondary level education in Northern Ireland, and has had particular influence on both clinical and developmental assessment of language use. The end users who have benefited from this research include (i) schools, colleges and lifelong learning, (ii) health and well-being agencies, and (iii) voluntary organisations and charities. The main achievements can be summarised as:
Research by Macaro and collaborators since 1999 led to the distillation of eight principles regarding foreign language pedagogy, and to the development of video- and paper-based materials to support the application of these principles in teacher pedagogy and in teacher education programmes in England. The application in Schools and Higher Education Institutions was facilitated through an ESRC-funded impact project involving language teachers and teacher educators, and it was extended and sustained through the creation of practitioner clusters based on the research. Teachers report that changes have taken place in their modern languages departments following engagement with the research, with benefit to student learning; these changes have included much greater, and better quality, interaction in the foreign language, and a greater focus on processes and strategies in skills development. Teacher education programme providers have incorporated the research-based principles into their programmes, with impact on their student-teachers' practice.
Research carried out by the University of Aberdeen has made a significant contribution to understanding successful practice in teaching a foreign language while at the same time using it as a medium of instruction for a non-linguistic subject, such as History. Coyle's research findings, now used in education policies and guidelines and applied widely in teacher training across the world — especially in Europe, Australia, and Sri Lanka, give teachers a unified approach that supports students in learning both language and subject-matter simultaneously. New and developing tools based on the research have been adopted widely by schools nationally and internationally.
Dr Christopher Hall's research on second language (L2) lexical development stressed the hybrid nature of lexical mental representation in learners of English. This led him to reflect more critically on the local experiences and needs of learners and non-native users, and to develop a `plurilithic' account of the ontological ambiguity, unfairness, unhelpfulness, and unsustainability of monolithic conceptions of English for learning/teaching. Informed by this research, Hall (Reader in Applied Linguistics) and colleagues Dr Rachel Wicaksono (Head of the Department of Languages and Linguistics), and Clare Cunningham (formerly Wardman, an ECR and Lecturer in Linguistics) have taken steps to raise awareness of the implications of monolithic thinking among UK and international English Language Teaching (ELT) stakeholders, thereby challenging some firmly established tenets of language education policy.
Professor David Crystal's world-leading research on language policy, diversity and usage, conducted at Bangor since 2000, has led to a transformation in terms of public and political attitudes, both nationally and internationally, towards the nature and use of language in public and private discourse. In particular, the research has led, since 2008, to an increased awareness of linguistic diversity, changes to governmental policies on language, and the development of the world's first targeted online advertising technology, which today indexes billions of impressions across 11 languages to provide real-time data services in the emerging online advertising world.
The research findings have led directly to a decision by Cambridge English Language Assessment to change the assessment criteria in their examinations to include assessment of metaphor use. The availability of the research report on the Cambridge website widens the impact of the findings to English Language Teaching and Assessment more broadly, changing attitudes to the assessment of metaphor use at the crucial university-entry level in particular.
The findings have also led to change in the advice given by the British Council for those involved in communication with people from different linguistic backgrounds. The advice is available on their website, which receives several million hits per year (see below for details and exact numbers of hits). This advice has been amended to include information on metaphor. The website has been used by teachers to improve language teaching materials and enhance the way that students are helped to engage in academic courses in English.
Cambridge English Language Assessment is a sector leader and delivers assessment to just under 4 million students per year, including the 1.5 million candidates who take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for entry to English-speaking universities. Cambridge examinations are recognised by 13,000 institutions in 130 countries. The British Council is a global leader in English Language teaching and is a respected provider of impartial advice. The adoption by these agencies of these research findings can be expected in turn to lead to a greater focus on metaphor in language classrooms around the world.
Dr Julia Sallabank's research into Guernsey's little-studied indigenous language, Guernesiais, has greatly informed language planning and policy on the island, particularly with regard to teaching methods and raising awareness of the language among the population. Moreover, her documentation of Guernesiais, specifically the recording of audio samples, constitutes a significant contribution to the preservation of Guernsey's identity and cultural heritage. Sallabank's broader expertise on the revitalisation of endangered languages has also been solicited by language officials elsewhere, notably Jersey, the Isle of Man and New Caledonia, and resulted in her participation in UNESCO's Panel of Experts on language diversity.
QMUL research into Multicultural London English (MLE) substantially contributes to the delivery of the GCE A level English Language curriculum and, since 2010, the GCSE English curriculum, which both have a compulsory focus on spoken English. MLE figures in 3 school textbooks and in a new QMUL online English Language Teaching Resources Archive that now receives 18 000 - 20 000 hits per month. The QMUL Resources Archive addresses difficulties in delivering the spoken English curriculum faced by teachers who are mainly trained in literature, not linguistics. Teachers and students benefit from new teaching resources including accurate linguistic commentaries on MLE sound clips and accessible summaries of linguistic research published in recent journals. The impact extends to the delivery of English Language curricula in EFL Colleges and HEI institutions worldwide, and to a wider public understanding of language change in London English.