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Thursday, 15 April 2010

The decline of language learning in schools and universities is the focus of a lecture at The University of Western Australia.

The lecture will be presented by UWA Professor of Linguistics, Professor Anne Pauwels, who is also in the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

Professor Pauwels' research interests and expertise are in language and gender, languages in migration and contact, language maintenance, multilingualism and linguistic diversity.

In her lecture she will talk about the chequered history of languages in education and the impact of world events on decisions about which languages should be studied and how they should be learnt.

She will argue there is a growing disjuncture between rhetoric and practice: while there is general appreciation of the relevance of language-learning and the value of multilingualism, language-learning at schools and universities is in ‘crisis'.

Professor Pauwels will offer examples of how languages and language study can be revitalised in higher education.

WHAT: Lecture: Multilingualism in education and the academy: the study of languages in the 21 st century

WHEN: 5pm Tuesday April 20

WHERE: Fox Lecture Theatre (nearest carpark off Hackett Entrance 1)

Media references

Christine Lindsey (+61 8)  6488 1247
(Marketing Manager, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences)
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716

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