2024
9 September 2024 – Inaugural Meeting
Link to the Minutes
18 March 2024 - Annual General Meeting
Link to the Minutes
2023
13 November 2023 – Hurdles facing school trips and exchanges abroad: finding solutions
Presentations from:
- Gill Harvey, CEO, School Travel Forum
- Brian Stobie, International Officer, Durham County Council
- Liz Black, President, Association for Language Learning (ALL)
- Suzanne O’Farrell, Association of School & College Leaders (ASCL)
View the School Travel Forum’s Presentation
View ALL’s Presentation
Minutes available on request.
17 July 2023 – Languages TEDx: What's new in the field of languages?
Presentations from:
- Vicky Gough, Schools Adviser, British Council: Language Trends report 2023.
- Prof Emma Cayley, University of Leeds and Dr Begoña Rodríguez de Céspedes, Portsmouth University: University Council for Languages update.
- Prof Michelle Sheehan, Newcastle University, and Sascha Stollhans, University of Leeds: Linguistics in MFL project and Manifesto launch: the case for linguistics in the classroom. (NB. Prof Sheehan and Prof Stollhans were presenting on behalf of the rest of their team: Dr Jonathan Kasstan, Westminster University; Dr Norma Schifano, Birmingham University; Dr Alice Corr, Birmingham University; and Dr Anna Havinga, Bristol University.)
- Mursal Hedayat, Founder and Hu Naqvi, Chief Revenue Officer: Chatterbox – a language learning platform matching marginalised and refugee professionals to global brands and business professionals.
View the APPG’s list of links to key contacts for all the presentations
Download the Language Trends Presentation
Download UCFL’s Presentation
Download Linguistics in MFL’s Presentation
Minutes available on request.
22 May 2023 - Annual General Meeting
The APPG re-elected its Officers, approved an income & expenditure statement and annual report for the reporting year, and discussed issues relating to the forthcoming reporting year.
Link to the Minutes
Link to the Income & Expenditure Statement
Link to the Annual Report
30 January 2023 - Report launch: 'Languages Provision in UK Further Education'
By the British Academy and Queen's University Belfast, presentations from:
- Sarah Cowan, Head of Policy (HE & Skills), British Academy
- Ian Collen, Director, Northern Ireland Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (NICILT) at Queen’s University Belfast; Minchen Liu, Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB; Leanne Henderson, Lecturer in Education Studies; Aisling O’Boyle Senior Lecturer, Education;
- Jennifer Roberts, Lecturer, Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation
- Caroline Cordier, Lecturer in French, Edinburgh College
- Eddie Playfair, Senior Policy Manager, Association of Colleges
- Karen Thomas, Director, Tourism and Events Research Hub Canterbury Christ Church University and lead author of UKinbound’s 2018 report Breaking the Language Barrier: Equipping our tourism workforce for the UK’s future.
Link to the British Academy report
Link to the UKinbound report
View the minutes
View Queen University Belfast’s PPT
View Eddie Playfair’s PPT
View briefing/commentary handout from the Association of Colleges
16 January 2023 - A brave new world? Artificial Intelligence and Machine Translation and the implications for policy
Presentations from:
- John Worne, CEO and Dom Hebblethwaite Head of Membership, Chartered Institute of Linguists
- Neil Coulson, CEO, ComSOFT, Sabine Braun, Director of the Centre for Translation Studies, University of Surrey, and Felix do Carmo, Senior Lecturer in Translation and Natural Language Processing, University of Surrey
- Lucas Nunes Vieira, Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies, University of Bristol.
- Guto Dafydd, Head of Business and Development, Translation, Welsh Government Translation Service
- GCHQ
View the Minutes
Read the CIOL’s blog on this meeting and topic
View SLATE.com article with inputs from Neil Coulson and University of Surrey
View Felix do Carmo’s presentation
View Lucas Nunes Vieira’s presentation
Link to Lucas Nunes Vieira’s paper ‘Understanding the societal impacts of machine translation: a critical review of the literature on medical and legal use cases’
Link to Lucas Nunes Vieira’s paper ‘Machine translation in society: insights from UK users’
2022
11 July 2022 - Languages TEDx: A series of short presentations on languages and policy
Presentations from:
- Baroness Coussins, Co-Chair of the APPG on Modern Languages
- John Worne, CEO, Chartered Institute of Linguists
- Szymon Szaran, Clarinda Calma and Tomasz Balcerowski, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London
- Vicky Gough, Schools Adviser, British Council
- John Claughton, Founder, The World of Languages and Languages of the World (WoLLoW) and Steffan Griffiths, Head, Norwich School
View the Minutes
31 March 2022 - Annual General Meeting
There were no thematic presentations at this meeting.
View the Minutes
28 January 2022 - Report Lauch: "What is the economic value to the UK of speaking other languages – and what is the economic case for building up language teaching in our schools?"
This meeting marked the publication of ‘The economic value to the UK of speaking other languages’ by RAND Europe and University of Cambridge; funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), with presentations from the lead authors of the report:
- Professor Wendy Ayres-Bennett, University of Cambridge
- Marco Hafner, RAND Europe
View the Report
View the Minutes
2021
14 July 2021 - Languages TEDx: A series of short presentations on languages and policy
Presentations from:
- Baroness Coussins, Co-Chair of the APPG on Modern Languages
- GCHQ
- Hugo Griffin and Matthew Brown, founders, Civil Service Languages Network
- Ian Collen, Queen’s University Belfast, lead author of the 2021 Language Trends report
- Pascale Vassie, Director, National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education (NRCSE)
View the Minutes
View the Presentation from Ian Collen
View the Presentation from Pascale Vassie
20 May 2021 - Annual General Meeting, followed by report launch: The value of language capabilities in UK SMEs’ export success
The Association of Translation Companies and Aston Business School conducted a quantitative survey of 415 UK SMEs which for the first time statistically proves that language capabilities add 30% in value to exporting success, supporting the Government’s Industrial Strategy and UK SMEs’ export activities.
Presentations from:
- Ankita Tibrewal, PhD Research Author
- Dr Geoff Parkes, Senior Lecturer, Marketing and Strategy Group, Aston Business School
- Dr Ad de Jong, Professor of Marketing, Copenhagen Business School
- Raisa McNab, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Translation Companies
View the Minutes
17 May 2021 - Modern Languages in our schools: a conversation with School Standards Minister Nick Gibb
View the Minutes
13 May 2021 - Police Approved Interpreters and Translators scheme (PAIT), the new standard for safe and effective language services in the UK's police forces
PAIT is a new classification for interpreters and translators carrying out police assignments across England and Wales that provides regulation, standardisation and assurance for all police forces in the UK that the interpreters and translators used are of the correct standard, have the right vetting and qualifications and (if they are not up to the job) receive training or are removed from police work. PAIT is supported by all Chief Constables in the UK.
Presentation from:
- Mark Lewis - National Police Contract Manager – Language Services. Leicestershire Police
- Simon Cole QPM, National Police Chiefs Council lead on language services, and Chief
- Constable of Leicestershire Police
- John Worne, CEO, Chartered Institute of Linguists
- Rob Beswick, Chartered Institute of Linguists
View the Police Approved Interpreters Translators (PAIT) presentation
View the Minutes
3 February 2021 - ‘Good news in MFL: New ideas for schools to make MFL a success this year’, online webinar open to all, jointly hosted with the British Council*
*NB this was not a formal meeting of the APPG.
Presentations:
- What lessons have we learned from the Mandarin Excellence Programme? (Adobe PDF 6MB)
The MEP is for state schools in England, fully funded and supported by the DfE, UCL Institute of Education and the British Council. Katharine Carruthers, Director, UCL Institute of Education. - Help your bilingual students get their home language GCSE this year. (Adobe PDF 416KB)
Ensure they do not miss out, and you could boost your school’s Ebacc score in the process. Suzanne O'Farrell, MFL Consultant, ASCL; Bernadette Clinton, Languages Consultant; and Andy Jackson, Head of MFL, Gladesmore Community School, Tottenham. - Boost your students’ qualifications in languages by offering the EPQ. (Adobe PDF 3MB)
Pearson’s Extended Project Qualification is a stand-alone qualification, equivalent to half an A Level. Eva McManamon, Senior Qualification Manager, Pearson.
View the Minutes
2020
16 November 2020 – 'Languages for all: how do we get there?', a solutions-focussed look at practical steps schools can take to transform MFL uptake and success, online webinar open to all, jointly hosted with the British Council.*
*NB this was not a formal meeting of the APPG.
Presentations:
- Pedagogy in MFL at KS3 and KS4: ways forward for schools. Ian Bauckham, CEO of the Tenax Schools Trust and Chair of the Teaching Schools Council’s Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review.
- Successful primary-secondary transition: ways to give students the best possible start in Year 7. Suzanne O'Farrell, MFL Consultant, ASCL.
- Fresh approaches to bringing languages alive through cultural knowledge and international connections. Oliver Hopwood, Languages teacher.
View the Minutes
Tuesday, 6 October 2020 - online meeting: 'Languages, Covid-19 and Brexit: Never more important, never more vulnerable. What MPs and Peers can do to improve policy', launch meeting of the APPG on Modern Languages for the return of Parliament and Election of Vice Chair
A focussed briefing for MPs and Peers on why language policy is important everywhere but often forgotten - and specific actions Parliamentarians can take to address this.
View the Minutes
27 January 2020 - Inaugural election of Officers and hosting of the launch of 'Boys studying modern foreign languages at GCSE in schools in England', a report by the Education Policy Institute commissioned by the British Council
Many schools are missing the government’s Ebacc target of 75 per cent of students entering, and achieving a good grade, in five core subjects (including a language) by 2022. Boys significantly underperform in languages at GCSE, in both entry rates and attainment. If this were addressed, the Ebacc target would be easier to achieve.
View the Report
View the Minutes
2019
28 October 2019 - Annual General Meeting
There were no thematic presentations at this meeting.
View the minutes
View the income and expenditure statement
15 July 2019 - Languages TEDx! Including an update from Nick Gibb MP, Minister for Schools Standards
Presentations:
- The important work of Translators Without Borders in supporting humanitarian and development work around the world: Andrew Bredenkamp, TWB.
- An update on the current controversy over harsh grading in MFL exams from Katrin Kohl, University of Oxford.
- The British Council’s latest findings from the annual Language Trends report on MFL provision in England: Vicky Gough, British Council.
- Update from Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP is the Minister of State for School Standards
Minutes available on request.
20 May 2019 - The role of EU Embassies and Cultural Institutes in supporting language learning in UK schools: policy and school perspectives.
Presentations from:
- Benoît Le Dévédec, Institut Français; with Philip Yorke, Shaftesbury Park Primary School.
- Karl Pfeiffer & Georgia Herlt, Goethe Institut; with David Kennedy, Headteacher, John Warner School (Hertfordshire)
- Ruben Barderas Rey, Concha Julián de Vega, & Jesus Manuel Hernandez Gonzalez, Spanish Embassy.
- Mara Luongo, Italian Consulate; with Stephanie Toussaint, Christ the King College.
Minutes available on request.
25 February 2019 - Save our school exchanges! Meet the schools who can show us how
Presenters:
- Vicky Gough, Schools Adviser for the British Council
- Jody Gee and Sinead Earley, Anglo European School (a long established history of school exchanges and international experiences in several different countries in Europe and around the world).
- James Edwards and Mark Cottingham, Shirebrook Academy (implementing a school exchange for the first time).
Minutes available on request.
2018
5 November 2018 - Annual General Meeting, followed by: Fighting transnational organised crime in 2018: improving police communication across languages
Presenters:
- Joanna Drugan, Professor of Translation, School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich; Principal Investigator, Transnational Organised Crime and Translation (TOCAT) research project
- Jenni Heggs, Detective Inspector, Leicestershire Police; Staff Officer to Chief Constable Simon Cole
- Jo Taylor, Policing Standards Manager for Investigation and Forensics, College of Policing
Minutes available on request.
11 October 2018 - Working together: How universities can boost language learning in schools and the wider community – lessons from Wales.
Presenters:
- Prof Claire Gorrara, University of Cardiff and Chair of the University Council on Modern Languages
- Lucy Jenkins, National Coordinator for the MFL Student Mentoring Project in Wales
- Students and mentors participating in Routes Into Languages Cymru and the MFL Student Mentoring Project
Minutes available on request.
16 July 2018 - Languages TEDx: Five quick-fire presentations on language innovations in the UK
Presentations:
- New data on the state of MFL teaching and learning in England: 2018 Language Trends survey: Vicky Gough, British Council
- New interactive mapping of language teaching & research in the UK from the British Academy: Neil Kenny, Lead Fellow for Languages, and Maxime Delattre, Policy Adviser, British Academy
- New centres of excellence in bilingual education: Domini Stone, Westminster University; & Emmanuelle Labeau, Aston University.
- Real Lives examinations – Chartered Institute of Linguists: Nick Mair, Dulwich College and Independent Schools’ Modern Languages Association.
- New DfE MFL Hubs: Ian Bauckham, Chair of the Teaching Schools Council’s MFL pedagogy review.
Minutes available on request.
21 May 2018 - A duty of honour: Securing international protection for interpreters in conflict zones
Presenters:
- Linda Fitchett, former President of the International Association of Conference Interpreters/Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence (AIIC)
- Maya Hess, CEO & Founder, Red T
- Lewis Kett, Duncan Lewis Solicitors
Minutes available on request.
15 May 2018 - Respecting communities in International Development: languages & cultural understanding. Recommendations for NGOs, donors & HE, with evidence from research in Peru, Kyrgyzstan and Malawi
Presenters:
- Prof Hilary Footitt, University of Reading
- Dr Angela Crack, University of Portsmouth
Minutes available on request.
19 March 2018 - A solution to the MFL crisis in schools? Hackney’s innovative primary-secondary MFL teaching model - with leaders, teachers & pupils from Hackney schools
Presenters:
- Richard Hardie, former Chair of Hackney Learning Trust & Honorary Vice-President of the Chartered Institute of Linguists
- Bernadette Clinton, MFL Consultant to Hackney Learning Trust
- Teachers and pupils from Hackney schools
Minutes available on request.
29 January 2018 - The cognitive benefits of learning a language
Presenters:
- Thomas Bak, University of Edinburgh
- Dina Mehmedbegovic, UCL Institute of Education
- Li Wei, UCL Institute of Education
- Bencie Woll, UCL
Minutes available on request.
