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Language policy

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Language policy is a key topic in the Language and Literacies Research Cluster within the Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology (CREET). Every country in the European Union is committed to multilingualism, but English has become the lingua franca of academic and commercial life across the entire world. What are the implications of Englishisation for students across Europe or Asia who find themselves obliged to learn, to teach and to publish in English? What are the implications for primary, secondary and higher education in the United Kingdom if society believes that ‘English is enough’ (it isn’t), that everybody in the UK speaks the same English (they don’t) and that the rest of the world is learning English (they aren’t)? The Open University is involved in policy considerations in the UK, across Europe, and more widely. A large OU project using mobile technologies to develop English proficiency in Bangladesh is just one area in which language policy research topics can be explored.

Qualifications available:

PhD. See also our Master of Research (MRes) and our Doctorate in Education (EdD)

Fees:

For detailed information on current fees visit Fees and funding.

Entry requirements:

Minimum 2:1 (or equivalent)

Potential research projects

  • Language and language education policy
  • World Englishes
  • The impact of Englishisation on academic development
  • Attitudes shaping foreign language policy in the UK

Current / recent research projects

  • Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in Italian Higher Education
  • Second Language Acquisition in Primary School
  • An Analysis of Designing a Speaking Test for the Secondary School Certificate Examination in Bangladesh

Further information

If you have an enquiry specific to this research area please contact:

Name:
Mrs Anne Foward
Email:
creet-student-enquiries@open.ac.uk
Phone:
+44 (0)1908 655364

For general enquiries please contact the Research Degrees Team via the link under ‘Your questions’ on the right of the page.

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