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British Council ELT Partnership Research Award

Dr Ying Zheng has been successful in obtaining a British Council ELT Partnership Research Award. She has been awarded £10k for a project entitled:  Investigating the Practice of the CEFR outside Europe: A Case Study on English Writing Assessment in China. This project investigates the practice of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) outside Europe. Dr. Zheng will develop a case study on English writing assessment in China in collaboration with Dr. Continue reading →

New Modern Languages MOOC nearing launch

Staff from Modern Languages at Southampton are preparing to launch a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) entitled ‘Understanding Language: Learning and Teaching’, which will run over four weeks from 17th November to 12th December 2014. The course, which already has 8,000 subscribers, will introduce participants to the field of second language learning, consider language classrooms and the role of teaching in language learning, and explore the uses of technology in teaching. Continue reading →

Learning a language can increase the size of your brain

The Guardian has published an article discussing recent research undertaken by scientists at Lund University in Sweden, which has shown that learning a language can increase the size of your brain. The researchers used brain scans on adult military recruits learning Arabic, Russian or Dari intensively to monitor changes in the brain during the language learning process. To read more about the research, visit the Guardian website. Continue reading →

New initiative to help boost the language skills of teachers

The BBC has reported that a network of language teaching hubs is to be set up across England, aimed at boosting the language skills of teachers. The £1.8 million programme will provide support in the languages of the curriculum, including speaking, writing, grammar and translation skills, to approximately 2,000 primary and secondary school teachers over a period of two years. To read the article, visit the BBC website. Continue reading →

Future potential Modern Languages students to attend University Open Days

Hundreds of future potential Modern Languages students will be visiting the University of Southampton on Friday 5th September and Saturday 6th September 2014 for the University Open Days. Visitors to Modern Languages may be interested to take a look at Get Ready for Languages, an online resource which aims to guide you to useful information about life as a Modern Languages student at Southampton. Continue reading →

Battlefield Archaeology of Basingstoke Common

This year there were lots of different research projects being carried out on site whilst we were excavating in the New House. Many of these were being carried out by postgraduate students. One of these students has written a blog post about his research. The Trustees of Basingstoke Common kindly granted us permission to survey the Common using various techniques. Sam, Richard and Colin visited us at Basing House to support the survey of the Common, led by Dom Barker, University of Southampton. Continue reading →