Cardiff University’s School of Modern Languages has teamed up with British Council Wales to offer a new studentship that will evaluate the effectiveness of Wales’ sole language outreach programme.
Funded by the ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership for Wales (Wales DTP), applications are now open for the PhD study of Routes into Languages Cymru; a pan Wales outreach project that supports modern languages in Welsh schools.
Routes into Languages Cymru began in 2008 and this collaborative studentship will be the first in-depth evaluation of the project, which aims to increase the number of pupils choosing modern foreign languages by promoting their visibility, uptake and profile.
The studentship is a ‘collaborative studentship' and will involve an internship with British Council Wales.
The PhD will focus on the following research questions:
- How have Routes Cymru’s activities impacted on schools and pupils? Which of their activities have had the greatest relevance across the project’s life cycle?
- What has been the role of Routes Cymru in influencing attitudes to modern languages in Wales? Where and how can these benefits be measured and assessed?
- To what extent has devolved educational policy provided opportunities for Routes Cymru’s engagement? Where and how has the Routes Cymru project fed effectively into policy decisions?
- How does Routes Cymru compare to other interventions at an international level and what can this research tell us about sustainable interventions for modern languages in a post-EU referendum landscape?
The deadline for applications for the studentship is 1 February 2017. Further details are available on the Cardiff University website .