LLAS News Blog

News articles of interest to higher education LLAS subject fields.

Thursday 12 January 2012

French town bans word "mademoiselle"

A town in Western France has banned the word "mademoiselle" - the French equivalent of "miss". The move comes as feminist groups campaign for the word to be consigned to the dustbin of history everywhere. Could its days be numbered?
There are no longer any "mademoiselles" in the town of Cesson-Sevigne.
The small Brittany community has banned the use of the term in all its official documents, arguing that women, like men, should not be defined by their marital status.

Monday 9 January 2012

15 ways to get ahead in your career in 2012

Get involved in LLAS in 2012 

1. Come along to the annual e-symposium at the University of Southampton on 27-28 January.
2. Submit a paper and attend the LLAS/ UCML/ AULC conference in Edinburgh on 5-6 July 2012.
3. If you are new to teaching in higher education come along to our new staff workshop on 12 April 2012.
4. Watch out for our annual Heads of Department workshop in September 2012 (date to be confirmed).
5. Learn to create online learning materials using our LOC tool. There is one in London on 17 April. If that’s not convenient ask us about running a workshop where you are.

Things to do in 2012 

1. HEFCE will be reviewing its support for Strategic and Vulnerable Subjects in 2012. Watch out for developments by checking out the HEFCE website regularly.
 2. Get involved in Speak to the Future, the national campaign for languages.
 3. Make sure you understand Key Information Sets. They will be required for every higher education course.
4. Encourage your best students to submit their work to Debut: the undergraduate journal of languages, linguistics and area studies
5. Teacher licensing in higher education is on the agenda. Check what you need to do to become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy if you do not already have this status.

 Challenge yourself (and your colleagues) in 2012 

1. Think about how you can integrate environmental issues/ climate change into your courses. If you think you can’t, think again!
2. Learn more about what is happening with language teaching in schools.
3. Each month read an article about teaching and learning in a language other than English.
4. Share your teaching materials in HumBox or the Languagebox and take a look at other people’s.
5. Join the conservation: share your teaching ideas on Twitter