Summary

What is the IoT Languages Strategy Network?

 

This is an initiative by IoT language lecturers and builds on existing language expertise within the IoT sector. Our initial focus is to create awareness of Good Practice and to promote language learning by designing and adopting internal Language Policies within the various IoTs. Inter-institutional collaboration is encouraged in order to support and facilitate the formulating of such policies and to thereby create opportunity for innovation within both the teaching and learning of languages.

This Network is a unique forum providing IoT language lecturers with a new opportunity to exchange ideas and acquire new learning on language policy and planning, teaching and learning, current research, good practice models. Twelve of the IoTs have attended events during 2006/07/08/09.

 

Relevance of the Language Network

 

The relevance and success of this Network is dependent on creating new dialogue and adopting a pro-active, collaborative and inclusive approach involving all stakeholders, both language and non-language specialists, practitioners and management from all domains.

 

Network participants are cognisant of the necessity to involve all stakeholders and to refer also to the expertise of non-linguists in order to widen the discussion and generate motivation for initiatives within languages in the IoT sector.

It is a very opportune time to further develop the impetus created by the Network as there is a general consensus amongst language lecturers that we can be participants in bringing about positive change and that college language policies are a valid instrument in this process.

 

Network participants adopt a cohesive and pro-active approach to addressing the various problems and opportunities and to actively promote the learning of languages, and transferable skills related to language learning, within the IoT sector. The emerging linguistic and cultural diversity so evident within the educational context today can be planned for strategically within a relevant IoT Language Policy.

 

(Please note: IoT: Institute of Technology: There are 14 Institutes of Technology in Ireland. Institutions in the technical sector provide programmes of education and training in areas such as Business, Science, Engineering, Linguistics and Music to higher certificate, ordinary and honours degree levels. The Department of Education and Science has overall responsibility for the technical sector of third level education. Source: Language Education Policy Profile, Country Report Ireland, Department of Education and Science, Ireland).

 

Co-founder of network: Dr. Riana Walsh, Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin

Participants of Institute of Technology language lecturers to date include:

AIT (Athlone IT), ITB (Blanchardstown IT), CIT (Cork IT), DIT (Dublin IT) DkIT (Dundalk IT), GMIT (Galway-Mayo IT), LyIT (Letterkenny IT), LIT (Limerick IT), ITS (IT Sligo), ITTD (IT Tallaght Dublin), ITT (IT Tralee) and WIT (Waterford IT)

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