1. UCML Member organisations survey 2018
Professor Claire Gorrara 18 January 2019

2. Context: nomination of new Chair of UCML in July 2018
Need: to gauge views of the member organisations on UCML’s mission and activities to plan for the next 18 months to 2 years
Purpose: to drive priorities and to support a UCML action plan
Respondent group: sent to 67 member organisations on mailing list, plus Routes into Languages networks and AHRC relevant networks
Window for response: 16 September to 15 October 2018
Context and Purpose

3. Survey Design Three questions, plus free text comment box. Questions:
What are the priority issues for the modern languages community that you think UCML should address over the coming 18 months to 2 years?
What are the priority issues for modern languages for you as an organisation/network/university/devolved nation?
What are your suggestions for positive actions or developments that could support modern languages across the UK
Number of responses: 24; response rate: 36%
Type of respondent: 7 universities; 8 networks; 8 subject associations; 1 schools sector
Survey Design

4. Public understandings of languages; need to influence media perceptions on the public value of languages;
‘One voice for languages’; building further a languages community; relationship between IWLP and degree programmes
Lobbying to make languages a governmental and societal priority: need for UK Languages Policy
Curriculum content at GCSE and A level and support for transition at key learning points
Recruitment and declining pipeline of students to university languages degrees
Attitudes of senior leaders in university;
Making the case for languages research;
European partnership and mobility: Brexit, Erasmus+
Question 1: What are the priority issues for the modern languages community that you think UCML should address over the coming 18 months to 2 years?

5. Increase recruitment to language programmes
Engage the general public and improve perceptions of languages
Increased support for schools outreach and widening participation programmes
Lobby university leadership to retain diversity of language offer
Impacts of Brexit; maintaining European links or creating new ones
Maintaining visibility and capacity of languages research; value of interdisciplinarity
Raise profile of languages across government and devolved administrations; UK Languages strategy
Support for smaller languages; models for sustainability
Question 2: What are the priority issues for modern languages for you as an organisation/network/university/devolved nation?

6. Create more links between language associations: ‘clear and unified messaging
Improve links between schools and universities and support languages post-16; working with the ‘left behind’ communities and languages
Engage actively with the media: recruit visible ‘language champions’; marketing campaign
Lobby government and support development of national languages policy
Improve curriculum and support for GCSE and A level; liaision schools/examination boards
UCML as a ‘connector’; producing reports and policy advice; opinion pieces in the press
UCML to host an annual modern languages teacher conference
UCML to share expertise in language teaching and course design; support submissions to TEF
Question 3: What are your suggestions for positive actions or developments that could support modern languages across the UK

7. Suggested Priorities Building a community: ‘one voice for languages’
Leading a media campaign for and about languages
Supporting a UK Languages Strategy
Supporting the languages pipeline from school to university
Supporting the visibility of languages research
Responding to current political climate and seeking opportunities for languages to thrive

8. Loving Languages
‘Celebrate language learning that shows creative acquisition of language. Give students the confidence that failure is an opportunity and, in language matters, is a source of innovation and creativity. Support potential not performance’