Decolonise MFL Curriculum Special Interest Groups

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Welcome to the Decolonise the MFL Curriculum Special Interest Groups webpage. The original group (concerned with bringing attention to the issues of race and racism in Secondary MFL) has now been joined by a group addressing the same issues in the Primary curriculum. Our shared aims are underpinned by our conviction that urgent research and pedagogical intervention relating to these issues is needed in our subject.

Through these SIGs we facilitate dialogue between MFL specialists in schools, universities, HE ITT institutions and publishing, in order to mobilise pedagogical advances in decolonised curriculum development, in order to have positive practical impact on our students in the primary and secondary MFL classroom.

We subscribe to the notion that meaningful advancements in this area are only possible through collaborative working between experts with aligned values, and we are excited about embarking on this journey of learning and sharing expertise with colleagues through this group. Readers with a particular interest/specialism in this area and who are willing to commit to half-termly meetings are welcome to register their interest: [email protected]

Similarly any references to related reading material, project reports, resources or materials can be sent to [email protected] for potential inclusion.

This webpage will be updated with our ongoing work and developments in this area.

 

As an ALL member, you will receive full access to ALL publications: the Language Learning Journal, the ALL Language Zones and termly copies of Languages Today magazine. You will also be kept in the loop through the weekly e-bulletin ALLNet and receive a discount on other ALL publications. You can find out more about joining here.

What we offer for ALL members:

Local networks

Local groups across the country offering training and support.

Languages Today

Practical ideas and content for primary teachers through our termly magazine, Languages Today.

ALLNet

Weekly news and updates with our e-newsletter, ALLNet.

Events

Low cost networking and CPD events across the country.

Language Zones

An entirely interactive and interconnected archive on language teaching practice.

Language Learning Journal

Access to the Language Learning Journal archive.

Supporting work to decolonise the MFL Secondary Curriculum in collaboration with...

       

               

Decolonising MFL Reading/Research

Summer Update 2023 from the Secondary SIG
AMLUK Symposium on Pedagogies in Modern Languages, Area Studies and Linguistics
Engage African Literatures

Dr Madhu Krishnan and Dr Ruth Bush were highly commended in the 2015/16 Engagement Awards for their engaged research teaching African and postcolonial diasporic literatures to a wide audience.

This short film explores some of their work in this field.

Languages Today - Working with Decolonising

Please click here for the full article.

Languages Today - Tackling Racial Bias

Please click here for the full article.

Decolonising MFL Training Resources

Working towards a decolonised secondary languages education

The ALL Decolonise Secondary Languages Special Interest Group held its inaugural symposium, hosted online by ILCS, in June 2024. Colleagues shared ideas and action with educators working together to make advancements in decolonising secondary languages education.

Programme included:
Keynote: Dilemmas and Opportunities: Perspectives on Decolonising Secondary Languages Kerry Bevan (Cardiff Metropolitan University)

Representation: Pupil voice Caroline Conlon (UCL), Kerry Bevan (Cardiff Metropolitan University), Andrea Pfeil (Goethe-Institut), Marina Jaubert (Ealing Fields School), Camilla Smith (UCL), Ruth Bailey (University of Bristol)

Why and how do we decolonise our languages classrooms? Elaine Huggett (Nower Hill High School), Vanessa Fonseca-Cívico (Raynes Park High School), Hannah Purdy (Wellington School), Naomi Wells (ILCS)

Dismantling the hierarchies Ashni Haria (Davenant Foundation School), Maud Waret (ALL), Cecile Jagoo (University of Bristol), Mariel Deluna (University of Edinburgh), Judith Rifeser (ALL), Ro-Henry Grant (University of London)

Decolonising secondary Classics: tensions and opportunities Rachel Wright (Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls), Nadine Lewis (Nower Hill School) & Caroline Bristow (University of Cambridge)

An ALL publication is being planned.

ALL June Event 2023

For the ALL London June Event colleagues kindly contributed their own views and approaches to the keynote talk by Steven Fawkes.

We share their screens with permission here:

Jennifer Eddy, Queens College City University of New York

Maud Waret

Decolonising Education: From Theory to Practice

Decolonial Theory Course - Futurelearn.com

University of Bristol

Institute of Modern Languages Research event
ILCS PhD

ILCS is inviting applications for a fully-funded PhD on the topic of ‘Transnationalism, Culture and Race in the Modern Foreign Languages Secondary Classroom’, to begin full- or part-time in October 2023.

This project examines how researcher- and teacher-led initiatives that foreground questions of race, cultural representation and colonialism in relation to language learning can be brought together to transform the study of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) in secondary schools.

Full details and how to apply here.

Decolonising MFL teaching Resource Bank – for all languages

European Day of Languages 2023

The British Council Languages Challenge covers a wide range of languages and issues.

Please click here for full details.

Pearson Resources: Permission to speak! Amplifying Marginalised Voices Through Languages
Anti-Racist and Diverse Resources for MFL

Google Docs with thanks to Sophia Chahad for sharing

Decolonising MFL

Decolonising MFL – with thanks to St Mary’s University PGCE Secondary trainees (2020-21) for sharing

Decolonising MFL Whole School Project Work

Inclusive Outreach Through Translation Project
A Decolonised European Day of Languages
Feedback from EDoL & Pupils’ Work
Whatever your Christmas, we wish you a happy one!

Resources on Decolonising the Curriculum (non subject-specific)

What is decolonisation and why does it matter at Cambridge?
Manifesto from Keele

Keele University’s Manifesto for decolonizing their curricula

Manifesto from Kent

University of Kent’s decolonising the curriculum Manifesto

Blog from SOAS
Blog from Newcastle

Supporting work to decolonise the MFL Primary Curriculum

Welcome to the Decolonising Primary Modern Language Curriculum Special Interest Group space.

Our group is focussed on the issues of race and racism in Primary Languages. We aim to facilitate dialogues between classroom practitioners, ITT providers, primary school pupils and researchers to make language provision more diverse and inclusive. Our intention is to provide support to Primary Language teachers and to enhance pedagogical practices in the language curriculum development for primary schools.

We believe that random gestures of diversity or multiculturalism are harmful, and instead of increasing representation, can lead to tokenism. Decolonising the Primary MFL curriculum therefore, is not about including a few black and brown faces in our resources rather it is forming a consensus through dialogues, which allows us to move beyond our Eurocentric view of the world.

ALL Video Resources

This page is available to members of the Association for Language Learning. It hosts video items and recordings.

Recent Events

Primary SIG launch June 2023
Primary SIG Meeting April 2024

This meeting took German examples as its stimulus and heard from Rodeane Henry-Grant.

The two presentations are here and here.

Resources for Primary

Black History Month

In this document Darnelle Constant-=Shepherd has collected some links and stories of interest to Primary teachers.

Primary SIG Review

Primary Decolonising the Curriculum SIG Report for 2023-2024.

Please click here for the full report.

Let’s talk about the heroines of French colonial past!

Please click here for the full presentation by Darnelle Constant-Shepherd.

Website resources selected by Darnelle Constant-Shepherd

Please click here gto view the website resources.

YouTube talks about decolonisation

David Olusoga

7 Nov 2022
To celebrate Black History Month join us for a lecture with award-winning writer, historian and broadcaster, Professor David Olusoga OBE.

He starts his talk about back in his days at school he was never taught about the contribution of Black people.

Click here to watch on YouTube.

British Library
A History of African and Caribbean People in Britain: Hakim Adi with David Olusoga

Despite the best efforts of researchers and campaigners, there remains a tendency to reduce the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain to a simple story…

Click here to watch on YouTube.

School of Arts, Languages and Cultures

Click here to watch on YouTube.

British Muslim Women in Cultural & Creative Industries with Raabia Hussain

Click here to watch on YouTube.

What Were Africans Doing In 1492?

Click here to watch on YouTube.

Ellie Chettle Cully's Blog

Ellie is a primary teacher in Leicester. Her blog is subtitled 'Thoughts, ideas and inspiration for everything primary MFL' and includes reflections and practical examples of de-colonising approaches.

Please click here for full details.

A Francophonie Christmas lesson and reflection

Please click here for full details.

La Toussaint French Polynesia lesson and reflection

Please click here for full details.

Métis(se)

Lesson objective: use song to expose learners to speakers of French from different parts of the world.

Please click here for Métis.

Reading

A few links below for you to further your reading and research:

UNESCO Digital Library

Empire Museum
Scottish museum of empire, slavery, colonialism and migration

Black histories and the National Trust

Flintshire History, Heritage and links to the Slave Trade
More resources here.

Dido Elizabeth Belle
Mixed parentage Dido who lived at Kenwood House, in North London

Hinamatsuri: The history of celebrating Girls’ Day in Japan

Haringey Local-National-World Links

Darnelle Constant-Shepherd introduces:

Haringey Local-National-World Links: Sylvia Collicott

Through the pages of Connections, you will be amazed to read the traces of how the world came to Hornsey and Haringey a north London borough with a diverse population.

Please click here to read more.

The ALL Special Interest Group 

Decolonise Secondary MFL Curriculum SIG
Secondary SIG Members

Please click here for full details.

Primary SIG Members

Please click here for full details.

Twitter handles

@melinairv
@panford_lisa
@ALL4Language

Facebook Group

The Decolonising MFL Facebook group (not hosted by ALL) can be contacted here.

Elsewhere on the ALL Website

OASIS

The OASIS database (https://oasis-database.org) makes research in language studies more accessible to those who don't have time or money to access research findings behind paywalls.

OASIS holds about 1,500 one-page summaries written in non-technical language - all summaries are freely available, and new summaries arrive every week.

The summaries cover a very wide range of topics including:

multilingualism            computer-assisted language learning            feedback
CLIL                            assessment                                                    classroom teaching
language policy          language learning theories                             motivation
self-efficacy                 language learning across the lifespan            teacher identity
neurolinguistics           heritage, home, and community languages     and many more!

OASIS also holds summaries of large systematic reviews of whole areas of research.

***Note*** The monthly newsletter about new summaries has ceased!

So, signing up is the only way you can receive notifications about new summaries. It takes just a minute. You will then receive an email containing links to new summaries. You can: 

1) Sign up to all summaries. Every week you will receive an email with url links to all new summaries that week. We recommend this option if you have wide-ranging interests.

OR

2) Subscribe to keywords that match your interests. Every week you will receive an email with links to new summaries that match your selected keywords.

Sign up here: https://subscriptions.oasis-database.org/

Language teaching: learning from the past

The first package from the Language Teaching: Learning from the Past project is ready to trial. It deals with “Differentiation and diversity in language teaching”. Please follow this link to access the material https://www.nottingham.ac.uk//CLAS/Research/Modern-languages-research-groups/Learning-from-the-past/Language-Teaching-Learning-from-the-Past.aspx

 

Contact for feedback etc. is [email protected]

Advice for primary teachers

Advice & guidance for teachers of languages in the primary sector.

Advice for language coordinators

Advice & guidance for language coordinators in the primary sector.

Advice for head teachers

Advice & guidance for head teachers & governors in the primary sector.

What we offer to everyone:

ALL Connect

Free training materials for KS2 & KS3 teachers through our ALL Connect programme.

Projects

Explore our range of national and international projects for teachers.

Email forum

Language teacher trainers can also join ITET Languages, ALL’s email discussion group.