Phoebe Whitehouse (Exeter graduate), Isabel Moros (Senior Lecturer), Polly Haydn Jones and Harry Dooner (Exeter Graduates), Christian Mossmann (Lecturer), Dr Isabel Santafe and Ms Maria Lafuente (Associate Lecturers) at the first Modern Languages Colloquium held at University of Bath in 2014.

Spanish Embassy's Education Advisor, Dr Gonzalo Capellan, to support second Modern Languages colloquium.

Born out of an initiative that began last year with an event held in Bath, colleagues across the South West from the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter will aim to bring together those involved in the field of Modern Languages Education, this time with the additional support of the Spanish Embassy's Education Advisor.

80 delegates from across the four South West institutions, as well as from the Universities of York, Girona (Spain) Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) will be attending.

The Colloquium will involve colleagues from the Graduate School of Education (last year from Bath, this year from Exeter) and from the discipline of Modern Languages; it will also provide students with the opportunity to participate and present their impressions of the learning process.

Keynote speakers are Dr. Kevin McManus (University of York), who will be giving a lecture on Linguistic Development, Language Use and Social Networks during the year abroad, and Dr Gabriela Meier from the Department of Education at the University of Exeter, who will be speaking about the Multilingual Turn in Languages Education: Understanding Language Learning.

Ms.Isabel Moros. Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of Exeter, who is co-organiser of the Colloquium, says, “For me, it is a fantastic opportunity to engage with students and practitioners in the learning and teaching process. The dynamic of round tables and the interaction with students as well as the love and commitment to the discipline of Modern Languages Education is what makes the event worthwhile and exciting”.

Dr. Irene Macias, co-organiser (University of Bath), explains, "The Colloquiums are a joint venture that bring together four key players in language provision in the South West region and an excellent example of collaboration and good practice. We are delighted to be pushing the languages agenda whilst providing stimulating CPD for language teachers".

Dr Sandra Lopez Rocha, co-organiser (University of Bristol), comments, “By means of inter-institutional collaboration we are able to carry out projects and share ‘fresh’ ideas related to didactics, practical experience, and the outcome of different practices across institutions. Collaboration is mutually beneficial and it also means sharing concerns and challenges, which then paves the way for discussing new ways to deal with or manage issues”.

The event is supported by Professor Sarah Hamilton (Associate Dean of Education) and Professor Peter Lambert, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Bath.

 

Date: 18 June 2015

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