Linguistics in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

Description

The project makes the case for the inclusion of linguistics in school-based language teaching and learning. It engages students with linguistics, deepening their interests in language, including its historical, cultural and social dimensions. We are interested not only in how stimulating and relevant teachers and pupils find these topics, but also in what effect this exposure has on language attitudes and students’ confidence levels when using another language. We ran a successful scoping study in 2017-2019 involving over 300 A-level pupils in French, German and Spanish. In a follow-on study, linguistics materials that we co-created with experienced A-level teachers and which were designed to be integrated into current A-level syllabi, were tested in classrooms. You can read about the results in our recent article published in the British Educational Research Journal.

We have also developed research-informed materials for teacher training and have run CPD for both experienced and trainee teachers.

Impact

In 2025, the project won a Newcastle University Engagement and Place Awards in the “Inclusive Education, Life Long Learning and CPD” category.

Materials co-created by teachers and academics during the project have been published on Kerboodle, an online learning platform hosted by Oxford University Press.

Publications and outputs

Sheehan, M.; Corr, A.; Havinga, A. D.; Kasstan, J. R.; Schifano, N. & Stollhans, S. Forthcoming. Language teaching needs language science: A manifesto for linguistics and language teaching in the United Kingdom. In Humanities Forward: Opportunity, Innovation, Policy in the 21st Century, ed. by Stephan Nitu and Arlene Holmes-Henderson (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press).

Havinga, A. D., Stollhans, S., Corr, A., Kasstan, J. R., Schifano, N. & Sheehan, M. 2024. Addressing the UK's 'languages crisis': moving beyond skills-based language teaching through the inclusion of linguistics in secondary education. Languages, Society and Policy.

Sheehan, M., Havinga, A. D., Kasstan, J. R., Stollhans, S., Corr, A. & Gillman, P. 2024. Teacher perspectives on the introduction of linguistics in the languages classroom: Evidence from a co-creation project on French, German and Spanish. British Educational Research Journalhttps://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4009

Sheehan, M., Corr, A., Having, A., Kasstan, J., Schifano, N. & Stollhans, S. 2023. A manifesto for linguistics in language teaching in the UK context

Sheehan, M., Corr, A., Havinga, A., Kasstan, J., Schifano, N. & Stollhans, S. 2021. The DfE/Ofqual consultation on revised GCSE qualifications in Modern Foreign Languages – a view from linguisticsLanguages, Society and Policy.

Stollhans, S. 2020. Linguistic variation in language learning classrooms: considering the role of regional variation and ‘non-standard’ varieties. Languages, Society and Policyhttps://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.62274

Video presentation of the project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT9RPoPNv7g

Article in The Conversation “Learning German has many benefits for young people – and it’s not as hard as its reputation suggests”: https://theconversation.com/learning-german-has-many-benefits-for-young-people-and-its-not-as-hard-as-its-reputation-suggests-253263

Article in The Conversation “Linguistics could make language learning more relevant – and attractive – for school pupils”: https://theconversation.com/linguistics-could-make-language-learning-more-relevant-and-attractive-for-school-pupils-255068

Submission to the Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review Call for Evidence 2024: https://linguisticsinmfl.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Linguistics-in-MFL-response-to-DfE-Curriculum-and-Assessment-Review-Nov-2024.pdf

Project website

https://linguisticsinmfl.co.uk/