Vol/51 No/1 2012FEBRUARY/MARCHTheLinguist5'The basic idea is that you learn a languagebest while you're engaged in a physical task,performing something tangible. What we'retrying to do is to see how you can engagepeople's motivations. The [French Digital]kitchen achieves this in a number of ways: first,we know young people like playing on theWii, it's fun having this kind of engagement.Second, this type of environment provideslearners with lots of choices. In British schoolsfewer and fewer students are deciding to learnforeign languages. I think we need to startfrom the idea of what motivates people.Paul Seedhouse: Learning a language is muchmore fun in the kitchen, 4/12/11 What thepapers say.[The Norman language] is now not spokenfluently by anyone under the age of 30 and isexpected to disappear within a generation. Dr Mari Jones, a leading linguist fromCambridge University, is attempting topreserve the language. "This is not work thatwe can leave until a metaphorical tomorrow:unless considerable support is given to thosepeople working to maintain and preserve theNorman French of the Channel Islands, it willdisappear within the next few decades."'Race Against Time to Record the LanguageSpoken by William the Conqueror before itDies Out', 8/12/11The latest from the languages worldRecommendations on languagelearning are published by EU Council An EU 'priority?'The Council of the European Union hasadopted a set of recommendations onlanguage learning and multilingualism,following a meeting of its Education Ministersin November. The document includes a pleafor both the European Commission andindividual member states to 'consider makinglanguage learning a priority area in the nextgeneration of EU programmes in the field ofeducation and training'.The result of intensive collaborationbetween the Commission and the PolishPresidency, the 'Council Conclusions onLanguage Competences to EnhanceMobility' lays out a series of measures aimed at enhancing mobility across memberstates, particularly in the areas of educationand employment.Member states are called on to broaden'the choice of languages offered ineducation and training, promoting theteaching of less widely used languages and(especially in border regions) the languagesof neighbouring countries, in order tofacilitate cultural, social and economicexchanges'. The Commission itself is invitedto submit a proposal 'for a possiblebenchmark on language competences, witha view to promoting continuousimprovement in language education'.Coming three years after the Resolution of21 November 2008 on a European strategyfor multilingualism, which asked memberstates to promote multilingualism in part toaid mobility and employability, the documenthas been promoted by the EU Commission as'a firm stand on languages'. It can bedownloaded at www.real-association.eu/sites/default/files/conclusionen.pdf.. A training course for primary andsecondary level teachers and teachertrainers interested in leading Europeanmobility projects will be held near Paris thissummer in French (25-29 June) and English(9-13 July). For further information about theFormoove course see www.formoove.eu.ABOVE: Androulla Vassiliou, the EC memberin charge of multilingualism, in BrusselsNEWS & EDITORIALThe Telegraph and others have reported thatthere are unacceptable variations in theability and training of doctors from abroadand that those with poor language skills arestill able to work in the NHS. This is a matterof great concern. But the responsibility forremedying it lies with the UK authorities andemployers. There is nothing in EU rules.which prevents them doing so. 'Brussels will Welcome a Stronger SafetyNet', 20/1/12© EUROPEANUNION, 2012

www.iol.org.ukNEWS & EDITORIALThe campaignfor languagesThe latest from the languages worldScotland's 80% dropin language assistants The Scottish government has met withdiplomats and local authority representativesafter it was revealed that the number ofForeign Language Assistants in Scottishschools had dropped by nearly 80 percent inthe last six years. In 2011, only seven out of32 local authorities chose to employ languageassistants, who are native speakers ofChinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish.Alasdair Allan, the Minister for Learning,met the Edinburgh Consuls General forChina, France, Germany, Italy and Spainand the Convention of Scottish LocalAuthorities (Cosla) in January to discuss theissue. He said: "Thisgovernment fullyrecognises that Foreign Language Assistantsmake a valuable contribution to Scottishschools, enhancing classroom learning andproviding a cost-effective complement tolanguage learning."Under the scheme, which is run by theBritish Council Scotland and funded by theScottish government, three schools canshare a Foreign Language Assistant for thecost of just £7,911 a year. Yet the numberemployed fell from 284 in 2005 to 59 lastyear. In England and Wales, where individualschools (rather than local authorities) decidewhether or not to take on languageassistants, there was a 21 percent decreasein the same period.The deadline for applications to host aForeign Language Assistant in the 2012-13school year is 28 February. For details seehttp://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/funding/language-assistants.The campaignfor languagesIf you haven'theard about Speakto the Future - thecampaign forlanguages - yousurely will in 2012.Launched last year,the initiative issupported, and indeed hosted at Saxon House, by the Chartered Institute of Linguists. Established inresponse to a worrying decline inlanguage learning and concern over thenumbers of specialist linguists producedby the UK, the campaign is steppingoutside the languages world andhighlighting the importance oflanguages, language learning andprofessional language activities. Itsobjectives are clear and ambitious:1Every language valued as an asset2A coherent experience of languagesfor all children in primary school3A basic working knowledge of at leasttwo languages, including English, forevery child leaving secondary school4Every graduate qualified in a secondlanguage5An increase in the number of highlyqualified linguistsThe campaign, which receives funding from the British Academy, haslaunched an online form on its website(www.speaktothefuture.org) where youcan register your interest and pledge todo your bit for the cause. If you knowhigh-profile individuals or businesseswho would like to get involved, pleaseget in touch with Project ManagerDominic Luddy via the campaignwebsite. You can also follow on Twitter.Look out for a regular feature inforthcoming issues of The Linguist,where you can follow campaign progress and find out more about whatit aims to achieve over the coming years. Dominic LuddyCollins has launched a free online version ofits English language dictionary and bilingualdictionaries in French, German and Spanish.www.collinsdictionary.com went live on 31 December, giving open access to 120,000dictionary entries in English (rising to220,000 in March), each with a wordfrequency graph, images, informationon alternative meanings, word use andword history, and translations into 38languages, including Arabic, Finnish and Thai. Unlike with other renowned dictionaries,such as the Oxford English Dictionary, whichoperates a subscription-based online system,Collins' publisher HarperCollins has madethe fully-searchable site free to all users. Youcan browse the dictionaries and Englishthesaurus by letter or search for specificwords, with an audio file giving thepronunciation for every listed word.Collins launches free dictionary© MATWRITTLE6 TheLinguistFEBRUARY/MARCH