Cabinet Secretary for Education visits School to launch new collaborative language office

Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kirsty Williams visited the School of Modern Languages this week to learn more about two new collaborative partnerships which aim to increase and aid the professional development of language teachers in Wales.

This year has seen both the Spanish Embassy Education Office (SEEO) and the Goethe Institut London choose the School of Modern Languages as a location for a satellite office. The aim of the office is to help support students who are learning languages, specifically Spanish and German, and to also increase the uptake of teacher training and professional development in further education colleges and secondary schools across Wales.

Both partnerships are the first of their kind between the organisations and a Welsh Higher Education provider which meant that the event, which took place on Thursday 21 September, was an opportunity to showcase the curriculum support and interactive activities and materials that both organisations will have available to teachers working in Wales.

The presence of two such organisations at the school supports the work of Welsh Government who set out their five year Global Futures strategy in 2015 to help learners in Wales communicate effectively in other languages. The Global Futures strategy also aims to build capacity and support for the professional development of the education workforce enabling them to deliver modern foreign languages effectively from year 5 onwards.

Speaking on behalf of the event Head of School, Professor Rachael Langford said: “We are thrilled to welcome the Spanish Embassy Education Office (SEEO) and the Goethe Institut London to our School. This is an unprecedented collaboration which goes a long way to illustrate the measures that we, and Welsh Government, are putting in place to future proof the learning of modern foreign languages in Wales. We look forward to working with both organisations alongside Welsh Government; developing both our students and the country’s language teachers.”

Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kirsty Williams, said: “I  am delighted to  celebrate  the launch  of  the Goethe  Institut  and Spanish  Embassy  Education Office’s  presence  at Cardiff  University.

We want more of our pupils and learners to  recognise the  importance  of modern  foreign  languages and  the  significant life  and  career opportunities  they  can provide. Our aim is to improve the  learning and  teaching  experience of  modern  foreign languages  in  our schools,  to  make them subjects  that  more choose  to  study at  GCSE,  A-level and  at  university.

I  want  our young people  to become  global  citizens, able  to  speak to  people  in other  languages  and  to understand  and  appreciate their own and other  cultures.”