We are pleased to announce our Call for Hosts for the Language Policy Forum 2027. The event will take place sometime in April (to be agreed with the host). Submissions invited from potential hosts, anywhere in Europe. For details, click on the link below sites.google.com/view/langpol...

BAAL Language Policy group - 2027-LPF

We are now taking applications to host the Language Policy Forum 2027, which will take place in mid-late April. We invite submissions from potential hosts, anywhere in Europe. To submit your applicati...

sites.google.com

How can novice teachers build research literacy and critical reflection from the start? Ch 14 of The BERA Guide to Practitioner Research, co-authored with my fab colleagues Danyah Alsayeud and Ian Collen, highlights the importance of embedding research literacy in teachers' early career development.

BERA@beranews.bsky.social · 8mo ago

📚 OUT NOW! The BERA Guide to Practitioner Research is available now in paperback & eBook! BERA members receive a 40% discount 🌟 Find out more: www.bera.ac.uk/publication/...

Northern Ireland’s family courts should apply a “presumption against contact” in cases involving domestic violence and abuse, a report has recommended.

Call for ‘presumption against contact’ in NI family court cases involving domestic abuse

Northern Ireland’s family courts should apply a “presumption against contact” in cases involving domestic violence and abuse, a report has recommended.

irishlegal.com

Training: Engaging with Policy and Policy Papers from a Languages, Cultures and Societies Perspective, hosted by @ilcs.bsky.social 3 Dec, 2pm GMT ilcs.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Training: Engaging with Policy and Policy Papers from a Languages, Cultures and Societies Perspective

ilcs.sas.ac.uk

A very insightful article on the recent threats to UK modern languages: www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late... Support the petitions to stop the closures at Leicester and Nottingham, to sign click here: www.change.org/p/save-moder... www.change.org/p/stop-the-r... #languages #mfl

✅Check out HRER news for details of the Call for Papers for #IAHRE2026 conference ‘Re-imagining Human Rights Education in a Turbulent World’ ✅26-27 May 2025 Muenster, Germany ✅Abstracts due 3 Nov 2025 www.tandfonline.com/journals/rhr...

Learn about Human Rights Education Review

Learn about Human Rights Education Review aims & scope, editorial board, journal metrics and more.

tandfonline.com

Looking forward to contributing to this seminar on 'Professional agency & language policy in the context of the Curriculum and Assessment Review' @camedfac.bsky.social on 30th Oct with Norbert Pachler, @wendya-b.bsky.social @zhu-hua.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social and others. In-person & online ⬇️

Disadvantaged students ‘more likely to miss out on GCSE foreign languages’ www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Disadvantaged students ‘more likely to miss out on GCSE foreign languages’

In 2004, language learning ceased to be compulsory at Key Stage 4, aged 14 to 16.

independent.co.uk

Are you working on language policy? Do you like Spain? Then apply for the Language Policy Forum 2026 in Spain! 22-23 April, @ucm.es Venue details, plenary speakers, abstract deadline and submission form on our website: langpol.ac.uk. Go go go! 👇

BAAL Language Policy group

Welcome to the Language Policy special interest group of the British Association for Applied Linguistics. The Language Policy (LP) SIG provides a forum to discuss, critically engage with, and research...

langpol.ac.uk

"That's not real teaching then is it?" "Isn't that just crayons and that?" "You just did it to work with women, I know your game!" And these are family members and friends...

Teacher Tapp@teachertapp.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Nearly half of male primary teachers (45%) say they’ve received negative comments about their role - and 18% heard them as recently as this year. 👎 For your daily dose of data, download the Teacher Tapp app! 📲 bit.ly/DownloadTeacherTapp

'I have additional ideas, beginning with better respecting the glittering diversity of languages emigrants bring to the UK. We wrongly dictate that assimilation in western countries requires shifting to English monolingualism' www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Time for a reality check: Britain cannot be a big player on the world stage unless we speak more languages | Sophia Smith Galer

For all the talk of addressing the problem, things have got worse. Which is criminal when there is so much we could do, says journalist Sophia Smith Galer

theguardian.com

This new Handbook brings together the viewpoints of academics, practitioners, artists and people seeking refuge in Scotland to explore the global learnings that can be gained from this context. 30% off your print copy with code HIR30 and digital version available open access! buff.ly/j12AWU2

Prize draw @queerbritain.bsky.social

A new post for teachers interested in language teaching history. frenchteachernet.blogspot.com/2025/08/wilh...

Social mobility in Britain is low 👎 The majority of the public feel that this country is unfair and unequal. And our research shows that chances of success are heavily shaped by socio-economic background. But lots can be done to change this ⬇️

Fair opportunity for all - The Sutton Trust

Our roadmap to reducing educational inequality and improving social mobility.

suttontrust.com

Find my recently edited book "Language Policy as Practice: Advancing the Empirical Turn in Language Policy Research" with Palgrave here: link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

There is now a 🔓 1-page summary of our @berj-2025.bsky.social paper on co-creating #linguistics materials with teachers on the OASIS database 👉 www.oasis-database.org/details/mctu... #langsky #mflsky #edusky

Belfast.

www.ox.ac.uk/news/arts-bl... Nearly 50% of A* grades for A Level German go to native speakers. The exams are too hard for pupils who have learned the language in school. The exam boards cite this as "discriminating well".

💬 "Research by the Sutton Trust finds younger people especially attuned to these disparities: only 21% of 18 to 24-year-olds believe everyone has the same chance to succeed." Our research cited in @uk.theconversation.com 👇

Welcome to post-growth Europe – can anyone accept this new political reality?

An expert in public policy asks if it will ever be possible for political parties in Europe to be honest about the limits of growth – and still get elected.

theconversation.com

It’s a challenge coming up with homework ideas where AI can’t be used to cheat. Using a sentence builder for chunk learning is one. This is another (kind of) frenchteachernet.blogspot.com/2018/01/goog...

Google Translate beaters

Google Translate is a really useful tool, but some teachers say that they have stopped setting written work to be done at home because s...

frenchteachernet.blogspot.com

In our final LSP opinion piece, Biddle and Andrews present inspiring examples of close-to-practice research. The entire collection underlines the vital role of collaboration. Let's all work together! @charlesforsdick www.lspjournal.com/post/how-can...

How can we move from cold spots to hot spots? Learning from current practices which nurture languages education in the four nations of the United Kingdom

Jo Biddle and Jane Andrews | 9th July 2025 | Opinion PieceIn this opinion piece, Jo Biddle and Jane Andrews consider a small set of examples of close-to-practice research from the four nations of the ...

lspjournal.com

✨ The Languages in UK Education special issue is now complete! Many thanks to our guest editors @wendya-b.bsky.social & @cforsdick.bsky.social for compiling this important collection, and to every contributor for sharing bold ideas to shape language education policy. 🔗 www.lspjournal.com

LANGUAGES, SOCIETY AND POLICY - HOME | LSP

Languages, Society and Policy

lspjournal.com

How can we turn the UK’s 'cold spots' for language learning into 'hot spots?' 🔥📚 J. Biddle & J. Andrews highlight practical grassroots projects across the UK that show what works: @wendya-b.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social www.lspjournal.com/post/how-can...

How can we move from cold spots to hot spots? Learning from current practices which nurture languages education in the four nations of the United Kingdom

Jo Biddle and Jane Andrews | 9th July 2025 | Opinion PieceIn this opinion piece, Jo Biddle and Jane Andrews consider a small set of examples of close-to-practice research from the four nations of the ...

lspjournal.com

“We’re at real risk of language education being accessible only to young people in the most affluent schools in England. This would be a disaster, shutting many young people out of essential education” : @cforsdick.bsky.social

Fewer pupils in less affluent English schools taking languages, survey finds

Less than half taking foreign languages GCSEs compared with 69% in most prosperous state schools

theguardian.com

What does it really mean to think like a linguist? Charlotte Ryland argues it's time to move beyond grammar drills and embrace creativity, culture, and collaboration in language education. 🔗 www.lspjournal.com/post/think-l... ✍️ Collection Edited by @wendya-b.bsky.social & @cforsdick.bsky.social

Think Like a Linguist: Community and collaboration for a new languages curriculum

In this article, Charlotte Ryland reflects on how the learning from creative translation and languages advocacy projects can feed into languages curriculum reform. By focusing in particular on the lin...

lspjournal.com

Curriculum and Assessment Review: ILCS, ALL and UCFL issue a statement. 'The development of a sustainable model for language provision across the whole of the educational sector is of the highest concern to all members of the subject community' Read the statement: ilcs.sas.ac.uk/research-pol...

Curriculum and Assessment Review

The interim report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (March 2025) classified 'Languages' as requiring Category 1 intervention.

ilcs.sas.ac.uk

These topics are much more complex and nuanced than a few lines can address, but glad that a couple of the educational issues I raised, including the need for more explicit commitments to antiracism in the curriculum, made the cut in this piece.

‘Where are the foreigners?’: does a facile explanation lie behind Ballymena’s outbreak of hate?

Northern Ireland faces stark questions over the racism, xenophobia and intolerance that has forced families from abroad to flee

theguardian.com

💬 What if stories—not grammar drills—were the key to unlocking language learning? Jonathan McBride explores how storytelling can transform language lessons, boost motivation, & help every learner succeed. 📚✨ @wendya-b.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social Read more: www.lspjournal.com/post/the-pow...

The Power of Stories in the Languages Classroom

Jonathan McBride | 11th June 2025 | Opinion Piece In this article, Edinburgh-based languages teacher Jonathan McBride argues that stories have the potential to transform modern languages teaching at a...

lspjournal.com

Pleased to have contributed to this systematic review of literature on academic selection in the UK, led by Ian Cantley. Consistent with the emphasis on evidence in NI education policy, it offers a robust evaluation and synthesis of the research. bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Review of Education | BERA Educational Research Journal | Wiley Online Library

Academic selection for post-primary education is an important feature of the educational landscape in some parts of the United Kingdom, most notably in Northern Ireland and some areas of England, in ...

bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com