LCNAU contributed to the second consultation conducted by the ARC for the ANZSRC review. We advocated for the retention of FoR code 2003 Language Studies, while insisting that its name be changed to reflect the research activities of our members.  The name proposed was “Studies in Languages and Cultures”. The submission was based upon feedback from the LCNAU committee and members, and consultation with other closely related professional associations. The full submission can be read here.

We are delighted to announce that a monograph by an LCNAU member, who is very well known to you as our former secretary, Sarah Reed, has recently been published by Peter Lang. Her work, which is entitled Translating Cultural Identity: French Translations of Australian Crime Fiction, demonstrates the ways in which markers of Australian cultural identity are transferred into French, and examines what is lost, but also found or indeed reforged, in a process of transcreation.  Publication details can be found at:

https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/64342.

Please note also the publication by Routledge of an important new study by two of our committee members, Chantal Crozet and Adriana Diaz.  Their work, entitled Tertiary Language Teacher-Researchers Between Ethics and Politics: Silent Voices, Unseized Spaces, focuses on the need to engage critically with the question of language teacher identity, agency and responsibility in light of an ever changing global socio-political and cultural landscape.

For more details, go to:

https://www.routledge.com/Tertiary-Language-Teacher-Researchers-Between-Ethics-and-Politics-Silent/Crozet-Diaz/p/book/9781138584556

ANU Teaching Enhancement Grant: Transitioning to university: managing expectations in language classes

The aim of this project is to create new online video resources for languages education. These short videos (2-3 minutes in length) are aimed at current and incoming students in our programs who need more guidance on how to improve their skills to be successful university language learners. Two consistent problems facing many first-year students are the mechanics of how learning is performed at university and the expectations of what to learn and how to learn new material. This problem is particularly acute in language learning, given students’ (often) unrealistic expectations. The videos will feature footage from actual language classes, interviews with current students and staff, and general study advice. Since the videos will directly address the question of method in learning, their impact will also increase student autonomy and lead to more efficient use of time spent in class for both students and academic staff.

For more information, go to https://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/students/language-videos.

LCNAU is pleased to be supporting and maintaining University Languages Portal Australia (ULPA). With the support of the LCNAU Heads’ Cluster, the website has been updated to contain current information, and will be reviewed each year.  Its coverage of higher level courses will commence in 2020. We encourage all of our members to ensure that their institutions have links to the site in order to ensure that students and colleagues are aware of language availability across the sector.

To spread the word amongst your colleagues about this exciting development for the languages sector, encourage them to view this short animated video!

Memberships for the 2019-2020 financial year are now open.

As LCNAU memberships correspond to the financial year, all memberships become due for renewal on July 1. In order to benefit from reduced members’ rates for the 2019 LCNAU colloquium, you need to be a current member and to show proof of current membership at time of registration.

Join or renew here.