The Yorkshire Language Teaching Research and Scholarship Network - report from the inaugural meeting
On 26th January 2024, the inaugural event of the newly formed Yorkshire Language Teaching Research & Scholarship Network took place at the University of Sheffield.
The aim of this new network, founded by colleagues at Sheffield and Leeds, is to create a platform for language teaching practitioners at every stage of their careers to share research and scholarship, and also to help start, expand or finish new and existing projects. The network provides a friendly space is for sharing ideas and experiences, findings and data but also more hands-on tips on methodology, academic writing and presenting.
The idea first came about at the AULC conference in Durham in 2023, when discussing differences between Language Centre courses and Language Degree courses in terms of teaching, research and scholarship, contractual circumstances but also feeling of belonging and prestige. Together with colleagues from the University of Sheffield, I identified a gap in existing networks and opportunities to share ideas and scholarship beyond the staff kitchen or post-conference dinners.
Immediately after the conference, we had our first constituting session with Irina Sadovina taking the main lead for the University of Sheffield. The programme of the first network meeting was an amazing representation of the diversity of research and scholarship into language teaching carried out in both institutions.
Oranna Speicher (Sheffield) and Sascha Stollhans (Leeds) opened the event with a workshop on how to develop an initial idea into a scholarship project. The parallel sessions that followed focused on abstract writing, conference presenting and potential scholarship outputs followed by a showcase of finished and ongoing projects and best practice examples and reflections.
Apart from Sascha Stollhans’s insights into scholarship and my own presentation on abstract writing and conference presenting, Leeds was also strongly represented by Terry Bradford, who shared an online presentation about the exciting world of LTEs or Life Translation Events, while Juan Muñoz López and María García Florenciano presented their experience designing and teaching Politics and Social Issues in the Contemporary Spanish-speaking World, a Level 2 core module on the Spanish Ab Initio programme.
After the more professional and content-focused exchange, we provided space for more informal discussions about current issues in student education like AI, mental health and decolonising the curriculum, allowing the participants to share experiences, ideas and approaches. This was, of course, followed by visit to one of Sheffield’s finest pubs.
The overall feedback received by colleagues who attended the event was incredibly positive!
Open feedback comments from colleagues who attended the event
With this newly formed network we want to strengthen and empower the language teaching community by building on and expanding the rich variety of expertise and experience.
The next event will take place in Leeds - so watch this space for more information!