This page, created in 2025, aims to celebrate work going on around the country, and further afield, to raise the profile of Languages and Multilingualism within local areas.

ALL offers this space to those involved in projects of this nature to share ideas between themselves, and to offer inspiration and different sorts of advice to others who would like to pursue similar aims.

We are currently aware of Cities of Language initiatives, or related projects in :

Newcastle, Portsmouth, Coventry, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Aberdeen  

Please let us know about others! info@ALL-Languages.org.uk

ALL Fellow Jim Anderson writes:

These grassroots movements across England are, I believe, highly significant and reflect a strong desire for there to be much greater recognition of multilingualism as a national asset which should be nurtured.  They reject deficit views breaking down language hierarchies and divisions between ‘foreign’, ‘second’ and ‘heritage’ language learning. They recognise the vitality and value of work carried out in the community-based complementary school sector and the significance of this for students’ self-esteem and harmonious identity construction. Beyond this they show how multilingualism has become increasingly woven into the fabric of home and community life in cities more generally including libraries, museums, places of worship, amenities for leisure and play, health services, catering and other businesses as well as civic celebrations and events. Multilingualism brings a richness to cultural experience, promoting intercultural understanding and building social cohesion. It extends capacity for local and global dialogue.

The projects on this page, and others,  recognise a multilingual reality and the benefits from various perspectives (educational, vocational, cultural, social, economic and psychological) of promoting plurilingualism.

Jim quotes Joe Lo Bianco (2023) calls for ‘sustained and supported strategies that ‘go beyond thinking of just teaching the language to thinking of keeping it in vibrant use, expanding users and uses, across multiple generations’. Need for ‘integrated language planning’, i.e. to ‘integrate decision making at family, school and community levels to reinforce multilingualism’ 

Jim also quotes ALL Fellow Lid King:

“The strength of urban multilingualism is first and foremost in the initiatives and structures which grow up from the ground (the mushroom-like growth). These happen because of need and in response to community aspirations. At policy and political levels, multilingual vitality will be maintained and will flourish in cities which allow freedom and give support to these communities, rather than seeking to suppress or homogenise growth and diversity"

Jim concludes:

The Multilingual Cities movement is relevant in the context of the  Coalition for Language Education UK and its work to promote dialogue across sectors.

 Newcastle City of Languages launched in January 2020 as one of three interconnected strands of Our Newcastle Our World, a framework for collaboration on internationalism.

Led by International Newcastle and Newcastle City Council and involving local, regional, national and international partners, we develop and deliver activities to achieve Newcastle’s ambition as an international city for children and young people (0-30) to be confident, global citizens.

Our key focus is supporting language teaching and learning, brokering international connections and promoting intercultural awareness and celebrating diversity in Newcastle schools. Our interventions and support aim to improve children and young people’s personal development, build skills and widen their horizons and opportunities for future education and career opportunities.

• Support the improvement of language teaching at all levels in our schools
• Increase Modern Foreign Language learning and uptake (GCSE and A Level)
• Support internation
• al links to enhance languages teaching and learning
• Increase languages and careers activities for schools and pupils
• Celebrate and promote qualifications in Home, Heritage and Community Languages
• Increase university links to schools to widen participation and progression
• Increase engagement in Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages
• Profile Newcastle City of Languages and attract investment, resources and support for schools

Find out more:

• Our Newcastle Our World - overview
• Newcastle City of Languages – evolution and activities
• Empowering Newcastle’s Youth for a Global Future (Oct 2024) – our workstrands, ambitions, achievements and impact

• Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages (8^th January-31^st March 2025)

Members of the Festival planning group are working with other local partners on resources around Languages in Careers Education.

We recognise and emphasise that everyone’s language experience is different. We do not treat language as a skill on somebody’s CV but as the personal, social and emotional dimensions of what it means to have multiple languages in one’s life. The group came together in 2020 and builds on the ethos and activities of the Multilingual Manchester project (2010-2020).

Achievements so far include a series of online, international public events and a series of language stories testimonials, which can be accessed via our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@ManchesterCityofLanguages/playlists, an analysis of census data on languages in Manchester and call and policy documents on a language strategy for cities (see below). We are currently promoting a network on city language policy that will foreground language as a human and cultural right and everyday experience.

Manchester City of Languages

contact: info@mcrcityoflanguages.org

The initiative aims

• To celebrate all of the languages spoken and studied in our schools and communities;
• To inspire everyone, whatever their age, to love and learn languages formally or informally;
• To engage parents in supporting their children’s language learning and in understanding its value and importance, including for employability;
• To build relationships with organisations and employers across Portsmouth, and beyond, that value languages and language learning;
• To facilitate sharing the experience, skills and expertise of teachers (from nursery to KS5)
• To create and maintain a point of reference relating to language learning;
• To create opportunities for cultural capital across the city.

 Activities

We hold regular Network meetings, Festivals and events for the benefit of the Supplementary schools, providing updates on national and the statutory education sector. We have local university partnerships with Liverpool, John Moores and Hope University teacher trainee departments  and research work with Bangor University bilingual faculty and Liverpool School Improvement Community Languages Lead.

Reading's language use investigated in university study: Click here

In Cambridge

Cambridge Research in Community Language Education (CRiCLE): CRiCLE Network

Inaugural leadership forum for heritage language schools in Cambridge: Heritage Languauge Schools

In Birmingham 

The report below by Emmanuelle Labeau draws attention to multilingualism work in in the city linking education, business, public services and communities: Languages of BRUM- Voices of grassroots

In Nottingham

The recently established Complementary Education Network (Nottingham City Exchange) looks beyond education to include linguistic rights and access to public services: Complementary Education Network

‘We are excited to announce the launch of the Complementary Education Network, funded by the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE). Our initiative is dedicated to promoting the value of multilingualism for social justice and inclusion. As a network, we believe that embracing and encouraging multilingualism can have a profound impact on identity formation, greater motivation for learning in mainstream schools, protect cultural heritage and foster social resilience.

Our mission goes beyond statutory education. The promotion of linguistic rights is crucial for creating equitable access to public services, such as social and healthcare. By equipping the youth with bilingual skills, we can foster a workforce that is prepared to meet the needs of a diverse society’.

 An inter-organisational project to promote languages and language learning across Coventry.

Follow @CovLanguages on X.

Coventry’s residents use one of over 86 languages other than English (LOTEs) as their “main language” (Census 2021). Maintaining/reviving the use of a first/heritage language is important for cultural identity, child well-being, community cohesion, social inclusion and economic growth. Supplementary language schools play a critical role in ethnic minority communities successfully using their first/heritage language, but the schools face many challenges. The Coventry Language Schools Network aims to improve the visibility of, enrolment in, and support for community language education in Coventry so that supplementary language schools can better support language use in this diverse city.

Coventry Language Schools Network

Coventry Community Languages

Multilingual Capital is an initiative based at Queen Mary University of London, in the East End of London. ‘We aim to engage with all groups impacted by multilingualism – parents, children, support services, schools, the general public – and to share and develop insights about multilingualism’.

Multilingual Capital: Languages in London

Related publications relating to London:

An illuminating document on London as a global city was produced as part of the Lucide Project by Dina Mehmedbegović, Peter Skrandies, Nick Byrne and Philip Harding-Esch.

Multilingualism in London: LUCIDE city report (2015): Click here

Wang, C. & Lamb, T. (eds) (2024) Negotiating Identities, Language and Migration in Global London: Bridging Borders, Creating Spaces. (Bristol: Multilingual Matters).

What’s going on in Sheffield

Plans are ongoing in Sheffield. Here we thank Dr. Sabine Little of Sheffield University for updates on current projects around Multilingualism.

Details of each project are in the pdf ‘post-it’ link that follows.

Growing up multilingual with Chinese heritage

Traditional Tales, Untraditionally Told

Multilingual library

LoveReading

The strategies, projects and aspirations belong to the individual projects featured on this page, and ALL has no editorial role in these; they are shared in a spirit of practical collaboration, and intellectual property rights remain with the original project and should be acknowledged. ALL is grateful for all these contributions, and congratulates the projects on their efforts to raise the profile of Languages of all sorts art this time, and encourage language learners and those who know languages through family or communities to celebrate what they know.

Further details and information are available on the websites of the projects themselves, referenced in their entries.

If you are aware of other similar projects, anywhere in the world, please let us have details through info@ALL-Languages.org,uk