Dear all
below is the text of an email which Ritchie Robertson, Sarah Colvin and I
have submitted to the inquiry on the role of the Foreign Office in the UK
government. The parliamentary meeting will be held on 8th December and our
written submission may well be dealt with at that meeting, though they
haven't confirmed that yet. They will be questioning David Miliband and
Malcolm Rifkind and, we hope, putting to them the importance of Modern
Languages in the UK HE sector. We are hoping that Modern Languages will be
taken up as a 'strategically important' subjects and adequately funded as
a result, but maybe it would be best not to hold your breath too long.
Anyway, for your infrmation:
To: [log in to unmask]
The Role of the FCO in UK Government Inquiry
From
Professor Ritchie Robertson, Taylor Chair of German, University of Oxford
Professor Sarah Colvin, Director, Institute for German Studies, University
of Birmingham
Dr Peter Thompson, Senior Lecturer in German, University of Sheffield
We would like to submit the following points for consideration to this
Inquiry.
We work in Modern European Languages (MEL - in our case specifically
German) at Oxford, Birmingham and Sheffield Universities and are
submitting this in response to recent concern in our field about the
direction in which government thinking about MEL has taken over the past
few years. Language departments around the country are under extreme
pressure to cut or even close due to budgetary considerations but this
comes at a point in the economic cycle in which export and globalised
trade relations are said to be taking on a new significance. Apart from
the obvious cultural and intellectual benefits of having a multi-lingual
nation, we feel that we can make a good case for MEL degrees in purely
utilitarian terms. We would therefore wish to submit the following points
for consideration:
1. In response to the question posed by the FCO Committee: "Especially
given the spending constraints set out in the 2010 Comprehensive Spending
Review, how - if at all - could the FCO better organise and utilise its
financial and human resources so as to fulfil its role?":
The CSR mentioned 'strategically important languages'. European languages
require support, particularly German, the language of the EU's largest and
most successful economy. Our universities need to produce a regular supply
of graduates fluent in German (and other languages). We therefore
recommend that the FCO should institute language bursaries at appropriate
universities for promising students who might otherwise have difficulty in
paying tuition fees. In addition we feel that there should be no cut in
the level of HEFCE teaching grant going to Modern Languages on the grounds
that they should be considered 'strategically important'.
2. In response to the Committee's request for "submissions which address,
in particular, ... the FCO's role in the management and implementation of
EU business for the UK
Government."
Given a worrying decline in the number of UK nationals active in the
European Institutions (less than 5%), the FCO must support the interests
and influence of the UK Government by actively supporting HE teaching in
European languages and cultures, thereby ensuring continued entry into the
European Fast Stream by talented British graduates.
More broadly, "Language skills are crucial for growth and jobs. Each year,
thousands of European companies lose business and miss out on contracts as
a result of their lack of language skills and intercultural competence."
(European Commission website: 'Multilingualism'). We would like to draw
the FCO's attention to Michael Worton's report into HE modern languages
teaching of 2009, which concludes that "the study of and research into
languages are just as important as STEMM." Worton notes that the current
decline in modern language learning will lead to the UK becoming one of
the most monolingual countries in the world, and that this has
implications
* For the economy and our ability to do business competitively
* For the development of generations of young people as global
citizens
* For the maintenance of the UK as a global hub for research.
The EU in its "Speaking for Europe" paper suggests that short-term savings
made in the provision of modern European languages provision is a false
economy in the most straightforward sense: "The EU is convinced that the
cost of promoting the use of a second and third language by EU citizens is
modest compared with the professional and personal opportunities lost -
and the negative effects of the EU economy [...] - due to inadequate
language skills."
This means that a key element in the FCO's management and implementation
of
EU business for the UK Government must be the championing of modern
European languages.
3. The most recent report by HECSU
(http://www.hecsu.ac.uk/research_reports_what_do_graduates_do_november_2010.htm)
shows that MEL graduates continue to be highly sought after by employers.
On all counts, from employability to initial income levels, Modern
Languages graduates come just behind the most practical degrees in
Medicine and Law. One of the reasons for this is that an essential part of
a Modern Languages degree is the compulsory Year Abroad, which gives
students an edge in language skills, life experience and maturity. Given
that the European Parliament is reportedly having to cancel debates due to
the shortage of native English-speaking interpreters and businesses are
losing contracts because of a shortage of good translators and
interpreters, we see the defence of MEL degrees in our Universities as a
central challenge for the Foreign Office.
Your sincerely
Ritchie Robertson
Sarah Colvin
Peter Thompson
--
Dr Peter Thompson
Director, Centre for Ernst Bloch Studies
http://shef.ac.uk/ernstbloch/)
Senior Lecturer in German
Department of Germanic Studies
Jessop West
1 Upper Hanover Street
Sheffield S3 7RA
tel: 0114 222 4907
fax: 0114 2222 888
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/peter-thompson--
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