Exclusive: The Director of CILT, on the Routes into Languages programme
The first few months of this year have seen a great flurry of activity at CILT across all languages sectors. I for one was very sorry to miss the launch of Routes into Languages, which took place last month in the very glamorous setting of London’s City Hall.
The first few months of this year have seen a great flurry of activity at CILT across all languages sectors. I for one was very sorry to miss the launch of Routes into Languages, which took place last month in the very glamorous setting of London’s City Hall.
Routes into Languages is an £8 million programme, involving more than 50 universities across the UK to encourage more young people to study languages at university. Set to run for three years, the programme is co-ordinated by the HE Academy Subject Centre for Languages at the University of Southampton, with CILT and the University Council of Modern Languages (UCML) as partners. A consortium of universities in each region of England is working in partnership with other stakeholders such as Comenius, local FE colleges and schools, and Aim Higher.
The programme also supports two National Networks, one for Translation and one for Interpreting, which work with the regional consortia to promote these career paths to students studying several languages, or to those looking to enter these professions after leaving university.
Routes has also undertaken three research projects to map provision and make recommendations on developing the capacity of language programmes. One project examines the languages spoken by minority communities in England; another looks at attracting and supporting major international events; and a third at building language students’ capability to engage in enterprise. The community languages report and the enterprise report are already completed and are available to download from the Routes website.
I know that programme director Michael Kelly is rightly very pleased with the project’s progression so far, having seen Routes grow from a small project group to a bustling network of activities across England in the course of the last few months.
CILT colleagues attending the project’s launch were particularly pleased to present a copy of the new Languages Work Activity Guide to all attendees. The Activity Guide provides support, information and resources for anyone aiming to inspire students to seriously consider the benefits of languages, and as such is packed with activities for learners at different stages, including post-16. The Guide was written partly with languages ambassadors in mind, making its availability a very welcome addition to the launch event.
The Language Ambassadors scheme is an important part of the Routes project, which organises school visits for languages students at university to talk to teenagers about the opportunities offered by language skills. It is wonderful to see students motivating younger pupils to take up languages, and always deeply encouraging to hear their enthusiasm when talking about their plans for the future. Through working with Routes into Languages and through material such as the Languages Work Activity Guide, I hope we will be able to pass on some of our own enthusiasm to encourage more young people to take their languages skills to the next level.
Isabellla Moore, director, CILT
Comenius
Routes into Languages
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