From 19 -26 November 2012, the British Academy will hold its first Language Week, involving a series of events for a combination of public and invited audiences. The events will explore and champion the learning and use of languages in schools, universities, policy making and public life. Events will take place primarily at the British Academy, and also at the University of Nottingham.
Of particular interest to those involved in the education of bilingual pupils will be the event being held on the 22nd November at the British Academy. The aim is to recommend strategies to help break down barriers to the perceived difficulty of language learning, and improve the uptake and delivery of language education so that the benefits of bilingualism can be shared more widely.
Exhibition
Ongoing 19-23 November
Stands showcasing language programmes and activities will occupy the British Academy Lobby.
Multilingualism and the Internet
6-8pm, Tuesday 20 November British Academy
Speakers will consider how the spread of a high-speed global internet and increasing use of social media has changed the way in which global citizens interact linguistically. Speakers will be invited to explore questions of language and linguistics in flux: what are the opportunities and challenges of a growing world wide web and its associated technologies? How has the internet enabled new ways for language users to interact? What impact is this having on the languages themselves?
The discussion will be chaired by Prof Shalom Lappin FBA and panellists will include Prof Louisa Sadler, Dr Matthew Stuttle (Google) and Dr Ivan Panović.
This event is free to attend. Register here.
Languages and Entrepreneurship (a joint event with the Higher Education Academy)
6-8pm, followed by a networking reception, Wednesday 21 November, 
Royal Society
This event will explore how student international mobility and language learning can give rise to entrepreneurship and commercial success. The event will begin by launching a report by the HEA that presents case studies from former students of a wide range of disciplines who used their experience abroad or built on their intercultural skills to identify business opportunities and launch an enterprise of their own. Femi Bola MBE, the University of East London's Director of Employability and Enterprise will present the Higher Education institution perspective on the value of languages. The panel discussion will begin with a video submission from The Apprentice runner-up Nick Holzherr. It will be chaired by the Telegraph's Digital Education Editor, Andrew Marszal. The panel will be composed of entrepreneurs, including founder of Applingua Ltd, Robert Lo Bue, founder of Claire L Grant Language Services, interpreter and translator Claire Lucia Grant, co-founder of Memrise, Ed Cooke and Senior Manager at Euro London Appointments, Veronica McGuinness.
This event is free to attend. Register here.
The Language Cauldron: Making the most of Multilingual Britain (a joint event with Cumberland Lodge)
10am – 5pm, Thursday 22 November, British Academy 
This conference will bring together leading academics and public sector workers, educationalists and writers in a vibrant and constructive cross-sector discussion that takes a positive approach to existing language resources in the UK. Whilst confronting issues surrounding education policy and community relations, panels will also touch on creative ways to capitalise on the UK’s existing language resources and the wealth of literary talent. The aim is to recommend strategies to help break down barriers to the perceived difficulty of language learning, and improve the uptake and delivery of language education so that the benefits of bilingualism can be shared more widely.
The conference will be divided into three panel discussions; The Language Landscape; Multilingualism and Community Languages in Schools; and, Engaging Education – the Arts and Multilingualism. Confirmed speakers include: Prof Dick Wiggins, Prof Yaron Matras, Prof Mike Kelly, Bernardette Holmes, Prof Itesh Sachdev and Dr Raymonde Sneddon.
View the complete programme.
This event is free to attend. Register here.
Consortium of Institutes of Advanced Studies
Two days of events to be held at the Centre for Advanced Studies, University of Nottingham
Wednesday 21 November: Regional schools will lead a workshop on innovation in school-based language learning in the Midlands region aimed at academics, teachers and pupils. This will be accompanied by a showcase of the East Midlands Routes into Languages Programme funded by HEFCE and led by Nottingham Trent University. These activities will be followed by a keynote lecture by Prof Jeremy Lawrance on 'Languages and untranslatability'.
Thursday 22 November : German stand-up comedian Henning Wehn will open the second day with a wry look at language learning and cultural differences. This will be followed by a workshop aimed at undergraduates and post graduates exploring the value of languages with a focus on the transferable skills and employability that they convey. The event will include a session by Experian on language skills and employability. At 4 pm Emeritus Prof Elizabeth Boa will give a keynote lecture entitled 'Languages: speeding towards the future and remembering the past'. The programme will include an exhibition of Dr Nicola McLelland’s AHRC-funded project "German Through English Eyes". This project looks at the history of textbooks of German for English speakers from 1850 to 2000, and investigates the representation of the German language to generations of British school pupils in these works, as well as the representation of the cultures of the German-speaking countries; and representations of the tumultuous history of Germany over the past century or so.
For more information please contact sally.bowden@nottingham.ac.uk
British Academy Schools Language Awards Ceremony
11am – 4pm, Friday 23 November, British Academy
Fifteen prize winning schools have been invited to the British Academy to receive their awards for innovative language programmes. Prize winners have been selected for having motivational projects supporting teaching and learning of languages including Chinese, Arabic, French, Spanish and Gujarati. The overall National Prize winner will be announced at the ceremony. The proceedings will be compared by Channel 4 News presenter, Cathy Newman and prizes will be presented by TV presenter, Naomi Wilkinson and representatives of Arsenal Football Club.
Friday 14 December 2012, Brunei Lecture Theatre, SOAS, London
This one-day event, held in association with the British Academy's Language Week 2012, will address the achievements, and future challenges, of the Language-Based Area Studies (LBAS) initiative in developing provision in the languages of Central & Eastern Europe & Russia, China & Japan, and the Arab World. The conference will ask how language training for research can be taken forward over the next decade and discuss the future of LBAS from the perspective of UK language policy.
