Are you a modern languages postdoc looking for an opportunity to work on a languages policy project? There is a new opportunity to work on a @themhra.bsky.social funded project with myself and Charles Forsdick: university-council-for-languages.org/2026/06/job-...

Read about the fantastic work Rob Ley has been doing for our @themhra.bsky.social-funded project to create a policy space on the UCFL website: www.mhra.org.uk/news/2026/05/25/policy-and-belonging.html There will be plenty for academics and policymakers alike!

YOU SIGNATURE MATTERS! Help us save Modern Languages at Leicester. Sign the petition: www.change.org/p/save-moder...

In this #ShoutOutforGerman week, let's celebrate all things German! I love compound nouns like Schadenfreude, Weltschmerz and Treppenwitz.

theconversation.com/wicked-for-g... Fantastic piece on prescriptivism in popular culture by @emhumps.bsky.social

Many thanks to @themhra.bsky.social for making my 1987 book open access. It is great to see it available again: www.mhra.org.uk/publications...

The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late...

The decision to 'suspend' all courses in Mod langs from Monday is premature & ill conceived. There are world-leading researchers & teachers in languages at @uniofnottingham.bsky.social who must be given the chance to review the data and offer viable counter proposals. @ucflangs.bsky.social

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 ⬇️

Why top-down language policy matters www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... This paper argues that top-down language policy matters and that policymaking would benefit from: (i) a longer historical purview of what has and has not worked, and (ii) more holistic, cross-government approaches.

Today is the European Day of Languages. And this year, we mark 25 years of celebrating multilingualism in our Union. 🥳 Languages open doors. They help us connect, explore cultures, make lifelong friends, and journey further. We remain stronger, united in our diversity. europa.eu/!6FkntW

BA report shows that worst cold spots in SHAPE are in Modern Foreign Languages: French & German single honours degrees are declining sharply, with cold spots in all 4 UK nations. Progress in expanding provision of non-European languages is being reversed. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...

Read UCFL's reaction to the new HEPI report on languages: university-council-for-languages.org/2025/07/31/n... The recommendations for HE are particularly welcome, as are those around equality of access and social justice. @emmacayley.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social

In the latest episode of the @bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk's podcast series, Crossing Channels, Benjamin Pitt & I discuss the value of speaking other languages: pod.fo/e/2fb7e1. @benpitt.bsky.social explains how language & culture shape the way people think & the value of cultural/linguistic diversity

A great afternoon in Westminster thanks to the APPG ML. We presented our collective response to the Curriculum & Assessment Review: university-council-for-languages.org/2025/06/23/c... Was pleased to be there to represent @ucflangs.bsky.social with @wendya-b.bsky.social & @marcecazzoli.bsky.social

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...

What does it mean to think like a linguist? And how can we bring creativity and inclusive culture into language learning? Read Charlotte Ryland's fascinating piece in our LSP edited collection www.lspjournal.com/post/think-l... @cforsdick.bsky.social

Jonathan McBride looks at the power of stories in the language learning classroom in this week's LSP opinion piece. He brings interesting international insights: www.lspjournal.com/post/the-pow... @cforsdick.bsky.social

Fiona Barclay considers the longstanding deficit in the social value associated with languages, true not just of Scotland, but across the UK. She proposes 3 avenues for improving public perceptions of languages www.lspjournal.com/post/languag... @cforsdick.bsky.social

In our next LSP opinion piece Rowena Kasprowicz tackles the thorny issue of transition from KS2 to KS3 www.lspjournal.com/post/bridgin... An important intervention in light of the curriculum reviews onging in England, Scotland and NI. @cforsdick.bsky.social

What can mainstream modern languages education learn from Irish-medium practitioners? Thomas Rogan shares some fascinating insights in Languages, Society and Policy: www.lspjournal.com/post/languag... @cforsdick.bsky.social

How can primary languages best be taken forward in Northern Ireland? Read Sharon Jones's piece on this in Languages, Society and Policy: www.lspjournal.com/post/towards... @cforsdick.bsky.social

Many of us were inspired to be language learners by our international experiences - Vicky Gough and Philip Harding-Esch make a powerful case for the need for this for young learners today. @lspjournal.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social

In our next @lspjournal.bsky.social opinon piece @clairegorrara.bsky.social and Lucy Jenkins explore the new curriculum for languages in Wales. What could the rest of the UK learn from what Wales is doing? www.lspjournal.com/post/new-cur... @cforsdick.bsky.social

Here is the next of our opinion pieces in @lspjournal.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social by Suzanne Graham and Alison Porter: www.lspjournal.com/post/rethink... This important piece on primary education should be read by anyone interested in the ongoing Curriculum and Assessment Review.

How do we meet the challenge of language teacher shortages? Read Lisa Panford's new thought-provoking piece in LSP on the recruitment of teachers of Colour: www.lspjournal.com/post/the-rec... @cforsdick.bsky.social @lspjournal.bsky.social

The @lspjournal.bsky.social series on Languages in UK Education is back! @cforsdick.bsky.social Neil Kenny explores alternative qualifications in languages post-GCSE. Could a level 3 certificate be an incentive for STEM students to continue with a language?

www.mhra.org.uk/news/2025/04... Read about our MHRA-funded project to produce readable summaries for policymakers @themhra.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social @oliviaglaze.bsky.social Watch this space for ways to engage!

classiques-garnier.com/remarques-sur-la-langue-francoise-1.html New version out today at (relatively) bargain price of 13,93 €! New cover to mark the Classiques Jaunes series.

Coming next month in a new format for just 21 eurs:

Launching the opinion articles in our LPS collection @cforsdick.bsky.social , a great piece by John Worne. He argues the UK’s national narrative needs to evolve: rather than focusing only on 'fluency', a more appropriate measure is proficiency and utility. www.lspjournal.com/post/the-uk-...

This week let's celebrate the German language! 👉 Your favourite German word? 👉 That incredible trip to Deutschland? 👉 Your German teacher, aka the best teacher of all time? Use #ShoutOutForGerman and show everyone what German means to you!

"Trump makes English offical language of US": www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Yet, as the BBC website makes clear, nearly 68 million of the country's 340 million residents speak a language other than English, according to the US Census Bureau. This includes more than 160 Native American languages.

In our postface to the LSP journal special collection on languages in UK education, @cforsdick.bsky.social and I pull out some of the key threads and policy recommendations from the 11 policy papers. Read it here: www.lspjournal.com/post/languag...

Sign the petition or write to the Vice-Chancellor, but let's keep up the campaign to make languages central to any new Global Humanities faculty at Cardiff www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/card... @emmacayley.bsky.social