Our dedicated pages help you find the information you need, whether you’re a languages researcher looking to influence policy, or a policy professional

MPs debated how prejudice against strong regional accents could affect social mobility in Westminster Hall.

Thanks to the very generous award of a Special Research Grant by the MHRA, UCFL is in a position to appoint a postdoctoral researcher to take forward

Interviewing Dr Rob Ley, MHRA Languages and Policy Postdoctoral Researcher, and his Cambridge-based mentors Professor Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Professor Charles Forsdick.

Elphaba’s insistence on correctness speaks to a broader challenge facing anyone positioned as an outsider: having to work that much harder to be accepted.

Modern Humanities Research Association - Vaugelas and the Development of the French Language - Wendy Ayres-Bennett

Nottingham and Leicester are taking a swing at language departments. But those proposing closures have taken their eye off the ball, say four linguists

This paper argues that top-down language policy matters and that policymaking would benefit from: (i) a longer historical purview of what has and has not worked, and (ii) more holistic, cross-gover...

This British Academy report reveals that many parts of the UK are becoming subject cold spots – areas with no provision in a subject within a commutable distance. These are often in rural, coastal or ...

UCFL welcomes the release of a new HEPI report, sponsored by Duolingo, that highlights the urgent need for action to support and improve the uptake of languages at school level and beyond. It empha…

In this episode, Richard Westcott is joined by Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Benjamin Pitt to explore a big, everyday question: what is the value of speaking other languages? The conversation looks at ho...

In the interim report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review of March 2025 , the subject ‘Languages’ was classified as requiring Category 1 intervention, i.e., a subject currently deem…

Jo Biddle and Jane Andrews | 9th July 2025 | Opinion PieceIn this opinion piece, Jo Biddle and Jane Andrews consider a small set of examples of close-to-practice research from the four nations of the ...

In this article, Charlotte Ryland reflects on how the learning from creative translation and languages advocacy projects can feed into languages curriculum reform. By focusing in particular on the lin...

Jonathan McBride | 11th June 2025 | Opinion Piece In this article, Edinburgh-based languages teacher Jonathan McBride argues that stories have the potential to transform modern languages teaching at a...

Fiona Barclay | 3rd June 2025 | Opinion PieceIn this article, Fiona Barclay considers the longstanding deficit in the social value associated with languages. She argues that this deficit has contribut...

In this opinion piece, Thomas Rogan suggests three ways in which teachers of MFL in mainstream primary classrooms might enhance their practice by taking cognisance of the practice of IM practitioners.

Sharon Jones | 28th May 2025 | Opinion PieceIn this opinion piece, Sharon Jones, drawing on her teaching and research in languages and education, reflects on the potential of broadening access to the ...

In the following opinion article, Claire Gorrara and Lucy Jenkins explore how the Curriculum for Wales represents a radical shift in language education, embedding International Languages into the core...

Suzanne Graham and Alison Porter | 14th May 2025 | Opinion PieceIn the following opinion article Suzanne Graham and Alison Porter argue that primary language education needs a more meaningful and cohe...

In the following opinion article Lisa Panford finds that urgent intervention is needed to address the conditions into which languages teachers of Colour from the Global South are inducted. Further, th...

Interviewing Dr Liv Glaze, MHRA Languages and Policy Postdoctoral Researcher, and her mentors Professor Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Professor Charles Forsdick.

Professor Charles Forsdick and Professor Wendy Ayres-Bennett

John Worne | 24th March 2025 | Opinion ArticlesIn the following opinion article John Worne argues that the UK’s national narrative needs to evolve to encourage regular engagement with languages at all...

Advanced linguistic and cultural skills remain essential for deep insight into how people see themselves in the world, say five modern languages academics

It marks the first time the US has had an official language since the country was founded.

Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Charles Forsdick | 14th February 2025 | Policy CollectionThe eleven papers in this special collection cover a wide range of languages – indigenous (including British Sign Langu...

The global examination of culture is not possible without languages at degree level, say Wendy Ayres-Bennett, Charles Burdett and Emma Cayley