E-mentoring and digital language resources project awarded funding by AHRC

A new project set to investigate the effectiveness of e-mentoring and digital language resources has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) flagship Open World Research Initiative.

The AHRC project, which is one of six research projects to focus on modern languages, will begin in January 2018 and is led by Professor of French Studies at the School of Modern Languages, Claire Gorrara.

Professor Gorrara’s project will look into the effectiveness of e-mentoring and a digital languages resource in improving intercultural understanding and multilingual literacy in Year 9 pupils. It will involve a pilot group of secondary schools in Wales that are either in poorer areas, have low uptake of modern languages GCSEs or both.

Professor Gorrara has commented: "I am delighted that the mentoring project has been awarded this funding to research new ways of supporting language learning. This comes at a time when Wales is developing a new curriculum and re-evaluating how it delivers languages, literacy and communication in school. We are really pleased to be able to contribute to discussions and debates in Wales, strengthening the partnership between schools and universities."

A total of 68 applications for funding were received by the AHRC, showcasing the breadth and vitality of Modern Languages research in the UK. All six projects will run over two years and are aimed at reinvigorating research in modern languages and multilingualism. It is hoped that the findings of the projects will be displayed in a proposed pop-up museum of languages once the projects have been concluded.

The new research projects have been funded through the Multilingualism: Empowering Individuals, Transforming Societies (MEITS) project which is part of the AHRC’s £16 million Open World Research Initiative.