LAGB Education Committee report

The LAGB’s activities in 2012-2013 have been concentrated in the following areas, in addition to its continuing work with BAAL members on CLIE.

1.     A grammar terminology project

Following last year’s LAGB EC session, a group of academics and teachers worked on a project (in line with changes to the National Curriculum, on which see 2 below) to provide a list of grammatical terms, recommended by LAGB, for use in schools. A draft version of the glossary is now available at the following website: (http://teach-grammar.com/context#glossary). This version will certainly be revised in the light of comments at least once, before being presented to the LAGB membership for further comment and eventual approval. The historical background to the project (http://lagb-education.org/lagb-education-sessions#20) is of some interest, including such characters as Otto Jespersen and Henry VIII.

2.     Input on grammar for the newly revised National Curriculum

Dick Hudson, along with Debra Myhill, Ron Carter and Geoff Barton, advised the government on grammar in the National Curriculum. The controversial new ‘SPaG’ (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation) test made history by testing Year 6 children’s knowledge of grammatical metalanguage (for the first time in England since the early 1960s). The new curriculum for 2014 (not yet published but based closely on http://tinyurl.com/ncdraft2013) contains a great deal of detail about grammar, including a special appendix and a glossary. Whatever you think about the educational pros and cons of teaching about grammar, it’s better for the grammar to be academically respectable.

3.     Linguistics Olympiad

Participation in UKLO continues to grow, particularly at the foundation and intermediate levels: at 3,000, the number of entries in UKLO is greater than in any of the other member nations which form the anglophone consortium of linguistics olympiads (i.e. North America, Ireland and Australia). We are also noticing a gradual shift in the proportion of state school to independent school participants, though independent schools continue to dominate. A British Academy sponsored project reviewing UKLO’s success and outlining plans for the future was submitted this year. And in July 2013 the UK hosted the international competition in Manchester: the UK team did well, with one silver medalist and five honourable mentions, and the event was a resounding success. We are grateful to the LAGB for its continued financial support for UKLO’s work, and to many LAGB members for their practical help with marking and other duties. More information is available from the UKLO website (www.uklo.org).

4.     2013 LAGB EC session

This year’s session will look at issues that pertain to the development of a school-level qualification in linguistics (at AS or A-level). The speakers will be Willem Hollmann (Lancaster University), Marcello Giovanelli (University of Nottingham), and Neil Sheldon (vice-chair, UKLO).

5.   Membership of the EC

Vivienne Rogers, who joined the LAGB Education Committee in 2006, is stepping down as of May 2014. We are grateful to her for the work she has done for the committee, including her work as CLIE secretary. We are in the process of seeking a replacement member of the committee, and will provide further information in due course. 

6.     Co-opted members of CLIE

A proposal has been made that co-opted members of CLIE serve a term of three years. The regularly changing nature of the issues that are dealt with by CLIE means that we would benefit from increased flexibility in co-opting members who can provide advice, guidance and expertise on various topics, as they arise. A vote on this matter will be taken at the AGM, as this change to the structure of CLIE requires approval from both its sponsoring organisations, i.e. LAGB and BAAL.

7.     New website

The committee has a new website: http://lagb-education.org/