Razones De Aprender Ingles

Seven hundred reasons for studying languages
Angela Gallagher-Brett

www.llas.ac.uk/700reasons

reasons for studying languages …go on, pick one

Contents
Executive Summary Why study languages? Overview of main findings Construction of taxonomy Methodology Detailed presentation of findings Discussion Conclusion References Acknowledgements Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 2 4 5 6 18 19 2629 30 35 36 37 43

Executive summary

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ew research by the UK Subject Centre for Languages has identified more than 700 reasons to study languages. It concludes that the strongest of these reasons are the personal benefits and enjoyment that people gain from learning a language. These findings are significant for the current campaign to encourage more people to learn languages in and outof school. The research project has created a taxonomy of reasons for language learning which will enable languages to be more effectively marketed, and will also provide information that could be used for the purposes of curriculum and course development. The research included an extensive review of academic and policy documents and a series of fieldwork studies, during which information onreasons for studying languages was obtained from language learners across two educational sectors (16 to 19s and undergraduates). More than 700 rationales for language learning were discovered as a result of the research. These cover themes such as citizenship; communication; economic, social and political dimensions; democracy; diversity; employability; environmental sustainability; equalopportunities; globalisation; identity; intercultural competence; international dimension; key skills; language awareness; mobility; multilingualism; personal and social development of the individual and values.

Learners who participated in the project were found to give high importance to the personal value of language study. Languages were associated with enjoyment; personal benefits such asemployability, communication and mobility; an appreciation of culture and enhanced relationships (both personal and political). Learners were, however, less sure about how far languages might be strategically important for the UK and EU.The report suggests that these findings have implications for the way language learning is marketed. The research was prompted by the findings of an earlier study of the newlandscape for languages (Kelly and Jones, 2003: 35), which recommended that rationales for studying languages be collected and classified. The study has been produced by the Higher Education Academy's Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies, based at the University of Southampton, between October 2003 and October 2004. The 700 reasons for studying languages have been grouped into70 different key areas in which languages make a difference, each area identified by a keyword. They are available in an online searchable database of reasons, which can be freely accessed on the Subject Centre website at www.llas.ac.uk/700reasons Michael Kelly, Director of the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

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I think languages just set you free

If youlook at a map and you notice how small Britain is in relation to the rest of the world and you look at the size of Latin America with, goodness knows, twenty countries, and you think, you know, you can go out there when perhaps the person next door to you ... is just going to be working here for the rest of their lives ... it's just like liberation.
(language undergraduate)

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Why studylanguages?
his project has set out to compile a detailed list of possible reasons for language learning obtained from academic literature, policy documents and language learners themselves and in so doing to provide a tool which can be used: To promote language study To inform the design of courses The principal outcome of the study has been the production of an online database consisting of...