Towards ‘languages for all’ in England: the state of the debate

Whether the study of languages should be a core element of a balanced and broadly based curriculum for all pupils in England’s 11–16 state-funded secondary schools is also part of a wider debate concerning how to harness England’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity and improve the quality and range of language skills of the country. While learning a second language throughout compulsory schooling is increasingly the norm across the world, fewer than 50% of 14–16 year olds in state-funded schools in England gained a modern language qualification (General Certification of Secondary Education or GCSE) in 2015. From 2015, recent government education policy has required the majority of pupils commencing secondary school to study a language to GCSE level, suggesting that schools who do not comply will be unable to gain the top inspection grade. This paper reviews the state of the debate examining divergent and contradictory perspectives within education policy and in the literature. It concludes by setting out six conditions for achieving this policy goal for enabling secondary schools to successfully implement a coherent and relevant languages curriculum for all young people, such that they can develop the linguistic and intercultural competencies needed to contribute to and thrive in increasingly diverse local and global communities

Infant bilingualism A longitudinal case study of two bilingual siblings

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN026464 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

'People can be smarter with two languages': changing anglophone students' attitudes to language learning through teaching linguistics

With English as an undisputed global lingua franca, there is long-standing concern in anglophone countries over the lack of interest in language learning. In the UK, significant changes in language education policy, a mentality of insularity and the global spread of English have all contributed to a drop in language learning uptake beyond the compulsory stage. While the UK has seen many initiatives aiming to foster language learning, no interventions so far have aimed to change learner attitudes by raising students' language awareness of (a) the spread of English globally, and (b) cognitive benefits of mulitilingualism, and the ubiquity of multilingualism, globally and in the UK. A teaching intervention designed for this purpose was delivered to 97 students aged 12-13 in three different state schools in England and Scotland. The effect of the intervention was measured by a pre- and post-questionnaire, with questions closely tailored to the content of the intervention. In addition, qualitative student feedback was gathered after the intervention. Results show significant changes, across the cohort, in two out of three constructs studied, and effects on students' attitude towards language learning. Thus, we conclude that raising anglophone students' awareness of language through raising awareness of cognitive benefits of multilingualism, and the spread of English globally, has the potential to change the attitudes of learners otherwise not interested in language learning

Changing mindsets and Modern Languages : a school intervention

In the context of the UK language learning crisis, several studies have aimed to influence student attitude towards languages via school interventions, with mixed results. A six-session tacking diverse metalinguistic issues (e.g. cognitive benefits of language learning, world languages) was carried out in three secondary schools in England, using both whole-class and small-group teaching. The study included a hitherto unmet aim, that of changing mindsets in mixed-ability settings, including students with the most negative language mindsets. Pre-post differences reveal that beliefs about language learning improved more than self-efficacy. Inclination to continue modern foreign language (MFL) study improved more in those students initially most disinclined to continue. Given the well-known gender divide in MFL uptake, it was pleasing to note that the intervention showed greater effect on boys than girls. Qualitative and quantitative data suggest that the intervention might have had a small ‘ equalising’ effect in gender differences, in that boys’ self-efficacy improved more than girls’. The study concludes that the dual delivery (whole-class teaching and in school mentoring, delivered by older students in the same school) offer a promising format, but that, in order to achieve greater effects, more contact time and more mentor preparation are needed

Language alternation in infant bilinguals: A developmental approach to codeswitching

Taking as its starting-point the total lack of data on infant code switching, this anonymously peer-reviewed article tackles three aspects of the question: methodological problems in the identification and analysis of infant switching incidences; the need for a qualitative, contextualised approach; and the provision of comprehensive new data. Carefully collected unique developmental data from two children was used to analyse over 50 switching incidences between age 1,3 and 3,0, each time checking the switch against the child’s actual lexical knowledge and the language context (German, English or bilingual). Surprisingly, results show that switching for emphatic effect appears as the earliest form, with sociolinguistically motivated switches appearing only gradually. Focusing on one aspect in early bilingualism, these results have implications for the theory of language acquisition in general, suggesting an earlier capacity for creative language manipulation than previously noted in the literature

Megalin genetic polymorphisms and individual sensitivity to the ototoxic effect of cisplatin

Cisplatin wird in der pädiatrischen Onkologie mit Erfolg bei der Behandlung verschiedener Tumoren eingesetzt. Die hohe therapeutische Effektivität wird jedoch durch die Oto- und Nephrotoxizität limitiert. Histologische Untersuchungen zeigen nach Cisplatin-Gabe eine vermehrte Akkumulation von Cisplatin-DNA-Addukten in den proximalen Tubuluszellen der Niere und den Marginalzellen der Stria vascularis des Innenohrs. In beiden Geweben wird der LDL-Rezeptor Megalin hoch exprimiert. Megalin ist verantwortlich für die Endozytose verschiedener Moleküle, unter anderem auch der ebenfalls oto- und nephrotoxischen Aminoglykoside. Ein Zusammenhang zwischen der Aminoglykosid-Toxizität und Megalin konnte bereits hergestellt werden. Unter der Hypothese, dass Megalin an der Cisplatin-induzierten Ototoxizität beteiligt ist, untersuchten wir die Häufigkeit der Single-Nucleotide-Polymorphismen (SNP) rs2075252 und rs4668123 bei je 25 Patienten mit und ohne Entwicklung einer Hörstörung nach Cisplatin-Therapie. Eingeschlossen wurden nur Patienten ohne zusätzliche ototoxische Medikation, kranielle Bestrahlung oder vorbestehenden Hörschaden. Das A-Allel des SNPs rs2075252 trat signifikant häufiger in der Gruppe mit als in der ohne Hörstörung auf (0.32 vs. 0.14) (chi2=5.83, p<0.02; OR 3.45; 95%CI 1.11-11.2). Diese Untersuchung läßt erstmals eine Beteiligung des Megalins an der Pathogenese der Cisplatin-Ototoxizität vermuten

Resistance to EMI in the Netherlands

Internationalization policies, as a response to globalization, have led many universities to offer English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes. Yet the introduction of EMI programmes is controversial. This chapter documents a public controversy about EMI programmes in the Netherlands. Specifically, we consider two issues, the quality of education offered through EMI and the effect of EMI on cultural identity. We relate the opinions concerning quality and identity to the perceptions gained from one crucial group of stakeholders, EMI students themselves. The public debate and the students tend to diverge on the issue of quality but converge on cultural identity. We argue that neither group is harmonious but each contains various subgroups with contrasting opinions. Moreover, language is only one among many factors affecting both quality and identity

audiologische und laborchemische Untersuchungen

Zu den dosislimitierenden Nebenwirkungen des Cisplatins zählen seine Oto- und Nephrotoxizität. Ein wesentlicher Pathomechanismus besteht in der Schädigung der cochleären Haarzellen. Ein frühes Zeichen niedriger Cisplatin-Toleranz bzw. einer Haarzellschädigung kann daher in einer Änderung der otoakustischen Emissionen vermutet werden.Wir untersuchten 15 Kinder und Jugendliche mit Osteosarkom, welche gemäß COSS96-Schema (40 mg/m² als 72h-Dauerinfusion) behandelt wurden vor und während der Chemotherapie. Neben pädaudiologischen Kontrollen im Intervall erfolgte unter der Cisplatininfusion die Messung der TEOAE 24, 72 und 96h nach Infusionsbeginn. Gleichzeitig erfolgten laborchemische Bestimmungen des Cisplatins, der Elektrolyte und des Kreatinins. Von 15 Patienten entwickelten 9 eine Hörstörung mit einem Hörverlust von mehr als 20 dB ab 4 kHz, davon 3 auch unter 4 kHz. Im Gruppenvergleich lieferten die TEOAE unter Infusion keinen sicheren Vorhersagewert zur Ausbildung einer Hörstörung. Die Cisplatindosen bis zum ersten Auftreten einer Hörstörung differierten deutlich (zwischen 165 und 516 mg). Signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen mit und ohne Hörstörung zeigten sich beim anorganischen Phosphat, Magnesium und Kreatinin. Die Untersuchungen lassen vermuten, dass die Patienten, die eine Hörstörung entwickeln, auch Zeichen einer Beeinträchtigung der Nierenfunktion aufweisen