NEW: 'Investing in Our Languages' symposium

On 13 July 2009, the Our Languages consortium held a symposium entitled ‘Investing in Our Languages’ at the House of Lords. The event was hosted by Baroness Jean Coussins, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Languages, and featured Leonard Orban, European Commissioner for Multilingualism, as guest speaker.

Overview of the 'Investing in Our Languages' symposium

On 13 July 2009 a high profile symposium at the House of Lords hosted by Baroness Jean Coussins, Chair of the All Parliamentary Group on languages, set out to re-examine the link between language and identity and create new synergy between community languages and the social cohesion agenda. Kathryn Board, CEO of CILT, the National Centre for Languages, welcomed the 60 participants to the event, entitled ‘Investing in Our Languages’, organised to celebrate the achievements of the Our Languages project over the last two years.

Guest speaker Leonard Orban, the European Commissioner for Multilingualism, presented the European perspective on language learning and community languages to the assembled stakeholders and policymakers in his speech ‘Multilingualism and the new demography of Europe’. This was followed by a joint presentation by Dr Charmian Kenner, Goldsmiths, University of London, and Professor Li Wei, Birkbeck, University of London, summarising recent ESRC-funded research on bilingualism and complementary schooling. Their presentation highlighted the cognitive benefits of bilingualism for young learners and the positive role of complementary schooling in raising attainment across the curriculum. On behalf of all the partners, Sarah Cartwright, Consortium Programme Manager, presented a slideshow detailing major project achievements. In particular, the toolkit “Partnerships in Language and Culture” and the Our Languages website were identified as two key outcomes for effecting future change.

The rationale behind the development of partnerships between mainstream and complementary schools is the Every Child Matters legislation – a new approach by the government to the wellbeing of children and young people from birth to age 19 that takes a holistic, multi-agency approach to education, and recognises the link between affective factors and attainment. Promoting in schools an appreciation of the languages every child/young person speaks, as well as an understanding of the cultures and communities to which they belong, can play a vital role in achieving the objectives of Every Child Matters – in particular every child’s right to enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and achieve economic well-being. Kelly Badwal, Director for Children and Families at ContinYou, reinforced this message by delivering a powerful personal testimony on the role that complementary schooling played in her education, boosting her confidence as a new arrival, raising her parents’ aspirations for her, and thus enabling her to fulfill her potential.

The second half of the event comprised a lively panel discussion. The audience submitted questions to put to the panel of experts which comprised Commissioner Leonard Orban, Baroness Jean Coussins, Kathryn Board, CEO of CILT, Nick Johnson, Director of the Institute for Community Cohesion, Dr Terry Lamb, Senior Lecturer in Education at University of Sheffield and Chair of the Languages Diploma steering group, Sunny Hundal, journalist and Editor of Asians in Media, and Zahrah Mostaque, Prime Minister’s Global Fellow and undergraduate at the University of Cambridge. Panellists selected questions to answer in turn under the chairmanship of Professor Itesh Sachdev, Director of the SOAS-UCL Centre of Excellence in 'Languages of the Wider World'. These questions can be viewed here. We will shortly also be launching an 'online panel discussion' giving you the chance to 'have your say' on the issues covered by the symposium, so keep an eye on the 'what's new' feature on the homepage.

As many of the audience were drawn from the ranks of ‘the converted’, it was widely agreed that it is incumbent upon all of us to promote the benefits of plurilingualism and the contribution complementary schools can make, not only to individuals but also to society at large - through enriching cultural and intellectual life, by facilitating economic activity and international trade, and by acting as a powerful tool in fostering greater community cohesion.

In the concluding phase of the symposium, Dr Lid King, the National Director for Languages, gave his reflections on the complexities of the world of community languages. In particular he emphasized the need for practical solutions, such as the Our Languages Toolkit “Partnerships in Language and Culture”, in order to reduce the power of prejudice. He also highlighted the increasing threat of social exclusion for monolinguals, claiming that language tolerance is essential for our survival on earth. Kathryn Board, CEO of CILT, the National Centre for Languages, then closed the event with a summary of the proceedings, reiterating the importance of languages as a social glue, the need for everyone to learn more than one language, and the necessity to work collectively in order to further the languages and social cohesion agenda.

The symposium was followed by tea at the Marriott Hotel. The whole event was ‘visually minuted’ by Creative Connection Artists in Residence. Their work is available to view as a download here.