Language 'predicts dementia risk'

People with superior language skills early in life may be less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease decades later, research suggests.

BBC news

Growth in bandes dessinées courses

Times Higher Education reports on the growth of courses on the graphic novels
Times Higher Education 9-15 July 2009

Primary languages missing target

Almost a fifth of primary schools in England could miss a government target to offer language teaching by next year, a report says.

The National Foundation for Educational Research says overall language provision in primaries is increasing.

BBC website

LLAS now on twitter

At LLAS we are currently experimenting with twitter for our news stories and other items. Our twitter site is http://twitter.com/hea_llas

Do you like the twitter or do you prefer the blog?

Monoglot threat to historical dominance

Decline in language skills could end UK historians European pre-eminence.


Times Higher Education, Thursday 11 June 2009, p. 12

British Academy raises new concerns over decline in language learning

A report launched on 3 June 2009 by the British Academy raises concerns that the future of the UK’s world class research base might be threatened by the decline in modern language learning and calls for a series of measures by Universities and Government bodies to address this danger.

Imperial scraps languages in course review

Imperial College London is cutting back its foreign-language teaching provision with the loss of up to 20 jobs. All beginners' language courses are to go, while courses in Arabic, Italian, Japanese and Russian are to close completely by 2010-11.

Times Higher Education
28 May 2009 (p.11)