Exploring Multilingualism

Linguistic diversity is a fact of human life – as is the imbalance in status between languages.

In the current context of globalisation, this imbalance is manifesting itself most strikingly in the rise of ‘global’ English as the universally recognised lingua franca, and the pressure this in turn puts on other less globally ‘useful’ languages.

The features in this section will present findings from our evolving research on the interaction between multilingualism and creativity, but also address aspects of the context in which our research is taking place. From the difficulties and opportunities of Modern Languages in schools to insights into the impact Brexit will have on languages and their status in the UK, we will be looking at social and political issues to better understand how we can make linguistic diversity more visible, valued, and vibrant.

DfE consultation on proposed new GCSE subject content for MFL (French, German, Spanish): Draft Response from Creative Multilingualism

We welcome the DfE’s attempts to address issues of uptake and attainment for GCSE in MFL. We acknowledge that giving learners a solid grounding in vocabulary, phonics and grammar is an important part of helping them achieve greater competence in a language. Nevertheless, we have considerable concerns about the proposed changes and believe that they will have the opposite effect from that which is intended.

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Accessible Plurilingualism

Drawing on the creative and linguistic resources of secondary school students, our project is centred on a film competition for schools leading to a film festival taking place in Roehampton where the winner will be announced. Sixth form pupils in the South East of England will be invited to take part in a film competition involving languages other than English. The teams of students will be supported through all stages of film production. They will be instructed on how to script, shoot, edit and subtitle a film.

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Authority, Language Standards, and Literature

We like to think of ourselves as living in rather open-minded and inclusive times. And we are, in some ways; it seems that ‘minority’ cultures have never been so visible and their position in society such a popular topic of conversation. Debates surrounding cultural appropriation even regulate how we take an interest in these cultures. There is also an effort to maintain an inclusive view of the English language; we almost expect the news headlines to be read to us in a Welsh accent, or that we might be persuaded to switch banks in broad Brummie.

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Winterreise – Songs and Creativity Before and After a Pandemic

About a year ago, I had a very interesting conversation with some teenagers about Johann Sebastian Bach. The teenagers were choristers in my college’s choir, and we were all preparing for the college’s annual Easter choral festival, culminating in a massive performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. My job was to supervise and help out the choristers, who had been practicing for months the excerpts from the Passion that they would be performing with the full college choir, soloists, and an orchestra.

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