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Social stratification in language learning in the UK: a large scale study

Join us for this seminar with Dr Ursula Lanvers. She will discuss her research examining foreign language learning uptake and learner outcomes across the UK.

  • 5 Jun 2019, 2.15pm to 5 Jun 2019, 3.30pm BST (GMT +01:00)
  • 6 West, 1.2, University of Bath
  • This event is free
A group of young children sat around a classroom table listening to their teacher who is stood in the background
The research examined how socio-economic status, gender, and the type of school attended impacted on language learning

In this seminar, Dr Ursula Lanvers will discuss the implications for language policy, both at national and school level.

A large scale study investigating foreign language learning uptake and learner outcomes across the UK was conducted in relation to socio-economic status variables gender and type of school attended. Large data from the Centre for Evaluation and Measurement were sourced for this purpose.

The results reveal that socio-economic status significantly relates to foreign language uptake, both for year 10 and A level. These results did not relate to socio-economic status.

Furthermore, in both state and independent schools, we could replicate the above socio-economic status patterns. Gender patterns in uptake and learner outcomes, however, differed between independent and state schools.

Speaker profiles

Dr Ursula Lanvers is a language education lecturer at the University of York, and has previously worked at the Open University. She has published widely on language learner motivation and language education policy.

She is currently working on motivational interventions to address the UK language learning crisis, large scale data analysis of educational data, and relations between learner beliefs and learning outcomes.

Location