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North East to tackle language barrier

Head teachers from across the region are being invited to a special event aimed at encouraging more students to study foreign languages.

The ‘Routes into Languages’ event at The Sage Gateshead this Wednesday will focus on ways of increasing the number of young people taking modern languages at GCSE, AS and A-level. Uptake is lower in the North East than any other English region.

The German Consul General, based in Edinburgh, Wolfgang Mössinger, will host the discussion. Other speakers include Sian Warden of the UK-German Connection based in the German Embassy in London and Zélie Guérin, Manager of the Regional Language Network North East.

Routes into Languages is a Government-funded outreach project, founded in 2007, aimed at stimulating interest in modern languages through a consortium of Newcastle, Durham, Northumbria, Sunderland, Teesside and Open Universities.

The head teachers of all secondary schools in the North East have been sent an invitation to the event, which runs from 4pm to 5.30pm.

Dr Elizabeth Andersen, Director of the North East Routes into Languages Consortium and Head of the School of Modern Languages at Newcastle University, said: “Languages have never been so important to the North East’s economy and culture. The UK is developing closer links with other European countries than ever before and it is vital that future generations are able to communicate effectively, if the region is not to become isolated and left behind.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .